CD-ROM Tool Implementation


Implementing the CD-ROM tool

Before you attempt to use the CD-ROM tool you should familiarize yourself with the File Manager and Path Editor. See File Manager - Directory Operations in the online Help for detailed information on these features of WebCT.

The following steps describe how to set up the CD-ROM tool for use with a compact disc you have distributed to your students.

NOTE: The CD-ROM feature is a student tool. As long as you are working on a course in the WebCT Designer View, you cannot use CD-ROM to view the files you have distributed on a compact disc. However, you can log on to your course as a student in order to test your configuration of the CD-ROM tool.

  1. The first step in setting up the CD-ROM tool is to use the File Manager to create a directory within the COURSE FILES directory. The next step is to upload a copy of the the files you have distributed on a compact disc. These copies are only downloaded to the student's computer if they do not load from the compact disc you distributed. This can happen when a student has incorrectly configured the CD-ROM tool.

    Once the CD-ROM tool is configured, the computer that students are working on will look for the files in its own CD-ROM drive rather than download the files you have placed on the WebCT server.

    Create a directory within the COURSE FILES directory called CDROM. Using File Manager, upload the audio and video files to the CDROM directory.

    Note: If you wish to save server space, don't upload the actual files. However, you must create the directory structure, as well as dummy files with names identical to the files you distribute on the compact disc. Furthermore, you must type at least one character in the dummy files.

  2. Add the CD-ROM tool to the course Homepage by clicking Organize Icons then Add then WebCT Tool. Select the option button below the CD-ROM icon. Type a title for the icon (optional) in the text box and click Add.

  3. To configure the CD-ROM tool, click its icon to open the CD-ROM Configuration screen. Click Add on the CD-ROM toolbar to open the CD-ROM Addition screen and type a title for the CD-ROM in the Title text box.

  4. The Directory Path to Mirror drop-down menu allows you to indicate to WebCT the directory on the compact disc which contains the multimedia files. The WebCT server will transfer this path information to the client computer the student is working at, allowing it to open the files on the compact disc without the student having to enter their location manually.

    The available directories listed in the drop-down box are relative to the COURSE FILES directory. This means that if you select CDROM for the path, the computer will start at the COURSE FILES directory and then look for the CDROM directory. WebCT will then direct all references in the course to the audio and video files to the compact disc in the student's computer.

  5. After you have selected the appropriate directory, click Add. Clicking Cancel will cancel any changes that you have made.

  6. In order for students to be able to access the multimedia files on the compact disc you distribute, you need to place the HTML code that points to the files on the compact disc onto the path page from which you want students to access the files.

    To do so, click Course Content on the Homepage, then click on the title of the course content page on which you want to create a link to the multimedia files. Next, click Edit on the Page toolbar. The Page Content Editor opens. Type the appropriate HTML code, ensuring that you include the path to the multimedia files and their file names. Samples of this HTML code are contained in the online Help section titled HTML code for use with CD-ROM tool.

  7. Click the Update Student View button on the Homepage toolbar to save these changes and make them available to your students.

Configuring the Student View of the CD-ROM tool

This section describes the steps which students need to take to enable the CD-ROM tool. These steps are also described in the online Help for students that deals with this tool. You can follow these steps if you wish by logging on to your course as a student. The easiest way to do this is to substitute the word "student" for the word "designer" in your browser's Location box (which contains the URL of the Web page that is open in your browser window). This section assumes that the compact disc you distributed to your students is in the CD-ROM drive on your computer.

  1. Students first click the CD-ROM icon on the course Homepage to open the CD-ROM Configuration screen. They then specify the drive letter where the compact disc is located (in this example, drive D:\. For example, if the files are located in the root directory of the CD-ROM, that is, not in a subdirectory, students type D:\. If the files are located in a directory on the compact disc named Movies, for example, they would type D:\Movies.

    Instructors should include this information with the compact disc when they distribute it.

    If students do not specify this information, WebCT will transmit to the student's computer the copies of the files the instructor has uploaded to the server. This can only happen if the instructor has uploaded the actual files and not the dummy file names mentioned in step one of this section.

  2. Once these steps are complete, you can place links to the files on the compact disc onto course content pages, as mentioned above.



[ Top ] [ Help Index ]