If you are an MCC faculty member and find any material in this course that you would like to use, you have my permission to copy it. You may use as is or edit as you wish for your needs.

Students complete laboratory experiments using a kit they purchase with directions from a lab manual. Occasionally students must purchase supplies at local stores (e.g. fresh spinach, hydrogen peroxide).   They have an assignment they mail to the instructor each week. e.g. a graph of the results of several experiments they performed.

The content of the course is contained in the course "Modules". There is a menu for each module, describing the objectives for that week's lesson, the tasks the student is to perform, and links to pertinent sites. Some Flash animations have been developed that give the student a visual presentation of abstract topics. The course calendar (available from the homepage) lists deadlines for assignments.

Students take a weekly online quiz.  The quizzes are available for 3 days (access is controlled by WebCT as directed by the instructor). The first two days the quiz is on time. The third day there is a 10 percent late penalty assessed.

These online Bio 100 quizzes utilize WebCT's "alternate question" option. The attachment to this email message tells you how to set up alternate questions.

Students take a proctored midterm and final examination. These are in person, pencil and paper, with no access to the internet, notes, textbook, or other aids. In the past, the MCC Testing Center has been where most of the exams were administered. However, the prospects for this to continue in the future are not likely. We will discuss this issue at a later meeting.

Each week students post to a bulletin board (WebBoard). They are expected to post their own response and comment on/reply to at least one other student's response each week. Questions often pertain to results of experiments. To set up a WebBoard for your course, you must first have a live WebCT course established. Once you have this, you can associate a WebBoard (bulletin board) with it.

To set up WebBoard, use the directions posted on the CTL homepage (http://ctl.mc.maricopa.edu; find the heading "All How To Documents") or do this:

1. Type in this URL:   http://www.mc.maricopa.edu

2. Enter your username and password (the same one you use for your MCC email account).

3. Click “submit”.

4. Click on the “My Tools” link that appears on the next page (purple tab, top right).

5. Click on “WebBoard Tools on the toolbar that appears on the next page.

6. Click on “Create a WebBoard”.

7. Select “20056”. This means it is the year 2005. The “6” indicates it is the fall semester. A “2” would be spring. A “4” would be summer.

8. Click “submit”.

9. From the options (classes) that appear, select the one you want to use. You will receive an email telling you when the WebBoard has been created. This usually happens within a few hours.

This URL gives students directions on how to use the WebBoard: http://dltutorials.mc.maricopa.edu

 You may want to direct your students to it.

We will be having a workshop on Basic WebCT at our next DLMG meeting (4 P.M., Sept. 15 in AS 192).  If you are already comfortable using WebCT, you do not need to come to the workshop. But if you are unfamiliar with WebCT or would like to become more comfortable using it, this will be a great opportunity to do so.

Before the WebCT Basics workshop, you should set up a WebCT development course if you don't already have one.

To set up a development course in WebCT:

1. Type in this URL:   http://www.mc.maricopa.edu

2. Enter your username and password (the same one you use for your MCC email account).

3. Click “submit”.

4. Click on the “My Tools” link that appears on the next page (purple tab, top right).

5. Click on “WebCT Tools on the toolbar that appears on the next page.

6. Click on “Create a Development WebCT course”.

7. From the  “Choose a Template” pull-down menu, select “blank”.

8. Use the pull-down menus to select the correct prefix and course number for your development course. Choose the dev number of your choice (this is arbitrary).

9. Click “submit”.

10. You will receive an email telling you when the development WebCT class has been created. This usually happens within a few hours. You can access it by going to http://webct.mc.maricopa.edu    Type in the username and password you use for your MCC email account.  

You can modify this course as much as you wish – it is your working course.  Students do not have access to it until you make it a live course. This is normally done a few days before the semester starts.

 

ALTERNATE QUESTIONS

To create alternate questions in a WebCT quiz, follow the directions at this site: http://www.mc.maricopa.edu/~johnson/ALTERNATEQUEST_WEBCTQUIZ.pdf

There are a lot of good resources (directions) for working with WebCT on the CTL homepage. Check it out:  http://www.mc.maricopa.edu/other/ctl/