Participating on WebBoard

 

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WebBoard is quite user friendly; the prompts are self-explanatory and the help screens are useful. However, if you have not used WebBoard, here are some tips to help you get started.

1. Subscribing to WebBoard

A. You will need to subscribe to WebBoard the first time you logon. There are two routes to logging on to the WebBoard for this class.

1. You can use the link (button titled “WebBoard”) from our course home page at  http://www.public.asu.edu/~mdg42/ENG101.html
2. You can go directly to our class WebBoard at   http://english.asu.edu:8080/~goggin
B. When you first enter WebBoard, you will be prompted to give your User Name and Password.  (The user name and password are the ones you selected when you obtained your ASUrite account and the ones you use for email and other online activities through ASU.)

 Note: you must accept the cookie; it will only return to itself. Make sure you disable any software that prevents accepting cookies.

C. You will then be asked to fill out an on-line form as a new user. You must fill out the following fields (flagged by a red button); the other fields are optional.

  First Name (enter your real name)
  Last Name (enter your real name)
  password  (I recommend that you use the password you selected for your ASUrite account)
  Email Address (enter your preferred email address; it does not have to be your ASU email address)

2. Navigating WebBoard

There is a good help screen for navigating your way through WebBoard. But here are some tips to help you do some of the tasks you will be doing most frequently for this class.

A. On the left side of the screen (“Conferences”), you will see the Conference title for this class (e.g., “ENG101 Maureen Daly Goggin SP 03”); under this title you will see a list of posts. Click on each post to read and then reply to it. For each virtual class, you will see a message from me with the subject line “Forum” followed by a number (the number of that week--e.g., Forum 2 contains the prompts for the virtual class for week 2.)

B. Replying to Messages: there are two ways to reply. 1) Reply:  hit the reply button (at the top of the page or at the bottom) to respond to the thread of discussion; 2) Post: hit the post button to start a new topic or thread of discussion. Use this only if you are introducing a new thread of discussion. MOST OF THE TIME YOU WILL USE THE REPLY BUTTON.

C. Editing Messages: You have an opportunity to edit and spell check your message before sending it to the forum. (The send button is labeled “post”--confusing since Post for replying to messages means something else.) The spell check is automatic. The suspect words will be highlighted (double check these; not all words in our language are in the dictionary for the spell check); if there is an error, click on the highlighted word, and you’ll have a chance to retype or select a suggested spelling. Hit “done” and the correction will be made. When you are satisfied that the message is ready to send, then hit the post button.

D. Logging Off: When you are done you can either close the navigator window or hit the “Logoff” button.

3. Participating on the WebBoard for this Class

Our virtual class takes place on the WebBoard. Each week you must logon BETWEEN 12 NOON ON WEDNESDAY AND 12 NOON ON FRIDAY to participate in the virtual class. You will find a message from me with that week’s activities and prompts to get you started participating in an asynchronous discussion. You must make at least one substantial reply, although I’d encourage to visit the board several times and participate in the discussion as often as you can. YOUR VIRTUAL CLASS REQUIRES THE SAME AMOUNT OF TIME AS THE FACE-TO-FACE CLASS: 90 minutes.

Complete the homework assignment for each virtual class BEFORE YOU LOG ONTO THE WEBBOARD. Participation in the virtual class (i.e., on the WebBoard) includes reading the posts by other students, responding to the prompts and to the points raised by other students.

  HINT: Compose your posts in wordprocessing (e.g., Microsoft Word); cut and paste the post into WebBoard to avoid problems with accidently erasing or losing your post while on WebBoard.

4. Troubleshooting

 1. You can’t get on to the WebBoard.
  a) did you enter the correct Username and password?
  b) did you accept the cookie and/or disable software that stops cookies
  c) you get a message to the effect “Not Accepting New Users” --try again later; there are too many users on the system. WebBoard is being used throughout the university. Try to avoid peak times (if you can).

 2. You posted your message and it has not yet appeared while you’ve been on WebBoard. DO NOT RESEND IT. Sometimes it takes time for it to appear. The screen should automatically refresh itself, and that’s when new messages from you and others will appear. Try hitting the “Refresh” button.

 3. You can’t find the forum prompt message from me or this week’s thread of discussion.
  a) Go to the left-hand side screen (“Conferences), and press the + sign to open thread
  b) The past messages may have filled the left-hand side of the screen (“Conferences); go to the end of this screen and press more to list the subsequent messages. (As an alternative, you can choose to have the most current messages listed first. Go to “more” option and click order of messages under your profile screen.)

 4. You forgot your password. Go to Computing Commons with your student ID and have the staff look it up.

 5. Whenever you are stuck, try to be creative in problem solving. If all else fails, you can call the computer helpline at: 965-6500.

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