This site contains helpful tips for using Webcourses@UCF. Be sure to also check the known issues page for other challenges you may be experiencing.
The list below shows tips sorted by category. Answers available in Ask UCF are linked here. If you need help implementing the listed workarounds, please contact the Instructional Technology Group at itg@mail.ucf.edu or (407) 823-0407. If you encounter an issue not listed here or on the known issues page, please submit it using the Faculty Support Request Form.
Browser, HTML Creator, Login, Roles
Some browsers may not work with various aspects of Webcourses@UCF. Run Check Browser to make sure yours does before trying to troubleshoot anything else. Please click here if you connect to the Internet using AOL.
Announcements, Calendar, Chat, Discussions, Mail, Roster, Who's Online
Mac renders Webcourses@UCF differently than Windows, so rather than clicking on the linked chat room name, users must click on the ActionLinks icon to open the chat room.
Course Preview, File Manager, Folders, Learning Modules, Media Library, Search, Selective Release, Syllabus, Web Links
When you select files in a folder in File Manager, Zip them, and download them to your local computer, you can't open the file using Windows XP "Compressed (zipped) folders" tool. Webcourses adds a backslash at the beginning of all the filenames, and the WinXP zip tool blocks these files from being opened.
The files look like this in the .ZIP archive...
Windows XP flags these files as a security risk., but you will be able to open the zipped file with any other unzip program (such as WinRAR).
To change the total point value of an assessment after it is created, do so in the Assessment itself- the Gradebook will automatically update with the new point value.
When selecting questions in the Question Database to create an assessment, any previous checked question become unchecked when you click to open another folder.
This is actually working as designed and is a function of the web browser. When you click to open the folder, the browser window refreshes and you must reselect your questions.
The easiest workaround is to open all folders you wish to pull questions from before you begin selecting.
Questions and answers cannot be edited after one or more students have taken the quiz. Review all questions prior to administering the quiz, or delete and re-add the question.
Assignment Dropbox, Assessment Manager, Grade Book, Group Manager, Tracking, Grading Forms
Pay close attention to the due date and cutoff date for Grading Forms. If the due date is set to occur after the cutoff date it will cause duplicate column issues. If you do this by mistake, cancel your changes, and go back in and change the settings again.
To confirm which groups a student belongs to, in either the Build or the Teach tab, click Selective Release and then the Members tab. Click the Last Name column title to sort by last name- the groups each student belongs to appear in the Group column.
Instructor-created grade book columns do not migrate, they must be re-created. Any grade columns associated with an Assignment, Assessment, or Discussion will transfer.