Student FAQs
How to find an answer to your question:
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FAQ List
FAQ Details
1. What is WebCT? See the description on the WebCT Features page
2. Can any student access courses on WebCT? Only students registered in a course for which the instructor has chosen to use WebCT may access the course. Check with your instructor for confirmation.
3. Where do I find my WebCT course? For Troy on campus students, click on the 'my WebCT'
login button at the top of this page (or at the top of any page
on the WebCT
@ Rensselaer
site).
You may also view
a complete listing of WebCT courses available on the Troy server
by clicking on the 'Course Listing' button.
4. What ID and password do I use to log in? For Troy on-campus students, see the
Student Login Instructions page and the Student
Login Help page.
5. What's the difference between my Troy RCS account and my WebCT account? In order to access WebCT courses, you need a WebCT account. If you are registered for a course that has a WebCT site, you will be automatically given a WebCT account. Your WebCT id and password are identical to your RCS account and password. If you do not know if you have a WebCT account or not, you can create one using the RPI Student Account Utility. To access this utility you will need to login using your RCS id and password. The utility is located at https://www.cis.rpi.edu/AFS/dept/arc/webct/cgi/WebCTAdmin.cgi
6. What software do I need to access a WebCT course? For basic course access, all you require is a web browser that is Java and Javascript enabled, and accepts cookies. If your instructor uses material in the course that requires a browser plug-in or special software for viewing, they should provide the necessary information on how/where to acquire and install the programs. Information on a number of common plug-ins and viewers is available from the WebCT plug-ins page.
7. What web browser should I use? You can use any supported browser - Microsoft Internet Explorer, Netscape, Mozilla and AOL. Other browsers, such as Opera, Safari, and Mozilla, are NOT supported for use with WebCT. Supported Browser Versions in WebCT CE 4.1 Go to the
WebCT
Browser Tune-up page to get
the most up-to-date information about supported browsers and recommended
browser settings. 
For Troy on-campus students
For Troy campus distance (RSVP/EWP) students,
see 'Troy
Originating Course - Login Instructions'
9. Why can't
I upload my assignment file?
It could be a browser problem. If you are using an unsupported browser or browser version you may not be able to upload an assignment, the assignment filename may show up on the upload screen as corrupted, strange-looking characters. When this happens, you will not be able to delete the file or submit an assignment. The instructor/designer needs to reset the submission before the you can try to submit the file again. Check to see if you are using a supported browser. Does the file name have any spaces in it? WebCT does not recognize file names with spaces in it. Rename files to remove spaces or special characters. You can use an underscore character to replace a space in a file name. Is the document you are attempting to upload open on your desktop while performing the upload? This problem occurs more often when using Microsoft software, but can happen with non-Microsoft products. It is recommended that your document is kept closed before performing the upload. Do you have DSL connection which passes through a router (e.g., Yahoo DSL) or an older model of a D-Link router? A quick way to determine if the router’s the problem would be to bypass it by going straight to the DSL modem from your computer. Be aware that if you do this, you should have firewall software running on your computer in addition to an anti-virus utility. Otherwise, your computer will be a target for spam mail and viruses. Zone alarm is recommended. If you have an older model D-link router, go to D-link’s website at www.dlink.com and download the latest version of the firware software. Does the uploaded assignment appear with extraneous characters in the file name? Refer to questions 1-3. Before you can upload your assignment again, the course instructor/TA/designer must reset your assignment submission. If none of these solutions work for you, submit a WebCT problem report.
10. Why can't I view PowerPoint files using Windows XP? Summary: When attempting to view Microsoft PowerPoint
files inside your WebCT course, the file may not open, you may receive
error messages, or your WebCT ID and password may be rejected. For more information, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Articles Q314535
PPT2002: Web Session and Cookie Information Lost Opening Presentation See Also: KB0000000001060: How do I view a Microsoft Word, Excel, or PowerPoint file in my WebCT course if I do not have these programs?
11. How can I delete/drop a WebCT course on 'my WebCT' page? Students can delete themselves from a WebCT course using the 'Remove Course' button on their my WebCT page. Instructors can also delete students. When a student deletes the course from their my WebCT, the student record remains in the course database as an 'orphan' account. However, when the instructor/designer deletes the student from the course the student's data is also deleted. 12. I can't access Discussions and/or Quizzes in my WebCT course. If you have a personal firewall security program installed on your computer, it may be performing content filtering that is affecting your access to WebCT. To test whether this is the case, you can try temporarily disabling the firewall to see if this alows you to access WebCT discussions or quizzes. 13. The Whiteboard and/or Chat programs don't
work properly. http://java.sun.com/getjava/download.html Your Internet Service Provider may also be blocking access to the ports that the Chat/Whiteboard programs run on. You may need to contact them directly for information. 14. I can't view video files using the Windows
Media Player.
16. Why is WebCT sometimes slow when I access
it from home? 17. How do I logout of a WebCT session? 18. Problems Viewing PDF Files Some problems viewing PDF files on the web appear to have been fixed in the most recent upgrade of the Acrobat Reader (5.05). If you don't have the most recent release, then you can download it at: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html If after installing the most recent version of the Acrobat Reader (5.05) you are still having problems viewing a pdf file in WebCT, then disable the Acrobat browser integration feature so that the file will view in the Acrobat viewer instead of the browser window. Adobe refers to this as configuring Acrobat as a 'helper' application. This solution works for both browsers. Configuring Acrobat as a Helper Application After you configure an Acrobat viewer as a helper application, Navigator starts the Acrobat viewer in a separate window and displays PDF files within that window. Acrobat 4.x and later viewers include a preference option that enables you to specify the viewer as a helper application. To configure an Acrobat 5.0 viewer as a helper application: To configure an Acrobat 4.x viewer as a helper application: The next time you select a link to a PDF file in Navigator, a dialog box will ask what you would like to do with the file. If you select "Open it," Navigator opens the PDF file in your Acrobat viewer as a helper application; if you select "Save it to disk," Navigator saves the PDF file to your hard disk.
19. Can I use web pages created from Word documents? The Microsoft Office Word program lets you save a Word document as an html page. The problem with Word's normal conversion to html is that it adds a lot of extra code to the web page to allow the page to be resurrected as a Word document. Generally speaking, when you create a web page using Word's 'save as html' command, there will be problems viewing the document in WebCT. Usually it is best to just leave the document in Word format. Any user who is using Internet Explorer browser or has Word on their PC can view the Word file. If you really need to convert a Word document to a web page, it is
best to save it using the Microsoft Office HTML filter. If you are
using Windows XP, save as a 'web page filtered'. If you are not using
XP Office, download the web filter at : http://office.microsoft.com/downloads/2000/Msohtmf2.aspx (So many people had problems with Word's 'save as html' command that Microsoft was forced to come up with a solution. Macromedia's Dreamweaver has the best solution - it includes a special command 'clean up Word html.)
20. Why can't I change my WebCT password? You cannot change your WebCT account password using the WebCT 'Change Password' feature! Your WebCT account uses your RCS password for authentication. You
can change your RCS password by going to: 21. How can I solve problems with pop-ups, downloading files, chat, whiteboard, Internet Explorer SP2? For problems with popups & WebCT - See #6 Disable Pop-Up Blocking
for WebCTat:
If you are using Microsoft Internet Explorer with Windows XP Service Pack 2 you may experience problems downloading files and/or running Chat and Whiteboard. To fix this Internet Explorer problem, follow these steps:
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