Course Builder

This page is a tool that allows faculty to quickly construct an interactive course Web site. The long form below is all you need to assemble your content in meaningful ways for your students. You may build your course as many times as you wish, but be warned that rebuilding will wipe out certain content areas such as the forum, Q&A archive, assignments and lecture notes. Content for your syllabus and resources can be reclaimed after rebuilding using the tools in the Instructor's Control Panel (found as a link on the Welcome page of your site).

Three letter
course designator 		tst
What the three letters mean, for example, History, Music, Business:
Three digit course number: 101
Initials of your first and last name: ajd
Enter the title of your course, for example,
Principles of Marketing, Western Civilization:
Your name, as you want it to appear to students:
Your email:
Your pages can include a small graphic in the upper left corner of the screen.
Your pages can include a colorized left margin. Select the color for this below.
The following optional information will be included in your syllabus
Office hours:
Office location:
Room in which you will hold class:
Campus extension or phone number where you can be reached:

Content concerns and adding features

The boxes below are for insertion of content in various
places in your Web site. You may include HTML tags if you
wish, but copied elements from a word processor file
(MS Word, Claris Works, etc) will not display properly
unless saved as "Text only."

HTML formatting

A brief tutorial is found at Simon's playground,

Can't remember the tags? <-- click this

Important: a single line return in the boxes below will be automatically tranlated as the HTML tag for a line break, <BR>, unless you have checked "Paste HTML," in which case, line breaks must be supplied. Similarly, a double line return will result in the paragraph tag <P>, unless "Paste HTML" is checked where applicable.

This means that if you are copying and pasting from an HTML source file that already has these tags, the result will look slightly off unless you check off "Paste HTML."

Welcoming message.

An explanation of the course features you select
will be automatically included on the homepage
of your course Web site. Below, please add whatever
introductory message you would like students to see.

Paste HTML - check this box if you are pasting HTML code from some other application

Syllabus

a place to keep course guidelines, grading policies or a
brief overview of work assigned.

Paste HTML - check this box if you are pasting HTML code from some other application

Add your syllabus here:

Note: Content for your syllabus may now be entered after you have finished building your site. To add or edit content, go to the Instructor's Control Panel and select "Edit Syllabus" from the drop down menu

Forum
A fully "threaded" discussion area that organizes submissions
by Date, Subject, or Name

Allow duplicate submissions to the class email list
Check this if you are using an email list and want all submissions duplicated in email.

Email list
Sets up ability to request and maintain a class email list

Please select what best describes the students using your course site:

Off campus students. (Off campus students primarily using personal email addresses; most typically CyberEd students)
- Use a test list while learning Course Builder

On campus students. (UMD students primarily using University created email addresses)


If selecting an on campus email list, please supply your course's two digit section number assigned by the Registrar's office, e.g. 01, in the space above

Assignments page

Add assignments throughout the course of the
semester. A special instructor's desk will be created containing
a link to a form that allows you to add content to the assignments page.

This module uses a three column table structure. To allow the greatest flexibility for how you contruct each assignment you may enter your own column headings in three boxes below.
Leaving these boxes blank will insert the following default headings:

  Start date    Due date    Task 

Resources (formerly Cybrary)
Add links to handouts, links to outside resources
that I provide, and links that students add.

Access privileges -- Who should be allowed to add what?

All may add anything
Instructor only adds handouts and entries to the instructor area. Students add to the student area.
Instructor is the only one who may add anything

Questions form This sends student questions to you via email. It gets around the problems associated with email in public labs. Using this utility, students circumvent the settings of the browser they are using, ensuring messages are properly signed and dated.
If you selected the Questions option, you may wish to provide students with your email policy, that is, how long they can expect to hear a reply, how frequently you check email on weekends, etc. Enter that policy here:

Occasional paper

area, includes a builder form that allows you to add
articles, reviews, news stories, etc to a menu and allows
students to comment on each.
Access privileges -- Who should be able to add an Occasional Paper

Instructor and/or students
Instructor only

Who's who

adds a place to list class members. Students fill
out a form that adds them to the list

You can opt to use a form that skips the technical details
of hardware/software use. This is most useful if you meet
in person once or more per week.

Include techy details
Spare me the techy details

You may include up to three of your own questions to include
in the form students use: This will result in questions and
answers from your students that you devise.

Q&A Archive
As the name implies, this an archiving system that stores
on the Web email answers to frequently asked questions.
A form is created that only the instructor can see.

Lecture notes

Allows production of notes on book chapters or sequentially
linked lecture pages. Differs from assignment page in that
assignments may include lecture notes, but usually lecture notes
do not include assignments.