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One of the strengths of SmartSite is its expanding and diverse tool set. But when you are getting started, this can be a bit overwhelming. The tools you use will depend on tangibles things such as class size, course format and subject as well as intangibles like your teaching style and comfort with technology. We recommend picking one or two reasons for using a site and starting with the default tool set. You can always add or subtract tools as they are needed. Sites are scalable; so establishing how sophisticated or simple your site will be is a matter of assessing your course's particular needs.
The Gradebook is a tool for instructors to calculate and store grade information and distribute it to students online. Instructors may:
- Autocalculate course grades, with the ability to override any letter grade
- Define course letter grades based on a 100% scale
- Add, view, edit, and release point values of assignments and/or assessments to students
- Enter, view, edit, and release to students scores, grades, and comments
- Transmit scores to the Gradebook from other tools such as Assignments to create an entry and record student scores
- Export class rosters, scores and grades to Microsoft Excel (in .xls or .csv format)
- Import assignment scores from spreadsheet (.csv) files
- Let students view their own scores and grades once instructors have released them
- Submit final grades to the registrar
Using the Resources tool, you can share many kinds of material securely with members of your site, or make them available to the public. You also have your own private Resources area in your My Workspace. You can upload files (e.g., word processing documents, spreadsheets, slide presentations, and videos), as well as create and post HTML (web) pages and simple text documents, and share links to useful web sites. You can organize your Resources items into folders, and you can control which groups or types of users can access and add to different folders. Also, you can show or hide an item at any time, and set a start and/or end time for its availability. Many classes post weekly readings in their Resources. These can include links to websites as well as to other kinds of documents, like Adobe PDF files. Some classes also post presentations or slides used in lectures. By setting folder Permissions, a large collaboration site can use one folder in Resources as a space to archive important documents, and allow only certain site participants to modify those documents.
Schedule allows instructors or site organizers to post items in a calendar format. The calendar has day, week, month, year, and flat list views. Many instructors use Schedule to post readings for each class on the day they are due to be read. Research, group, and department projects often use Schedule to post group deadlines. A Schedule overview appears on the Home tool for individual worksites. Any Schedule item can have multiple attachments. You can print an Adobe PDF file of any view of a Schedule by clicking Printable Version while in the desired view. This will open a PDF file in a new browser window.
The Site Info tool provides information about the worksite that you are currently in. If you have a role that allows it, you can use this tool to :
- Change information about the site
- Select the tools available in the site
- Display a participants list
- Decide who has access to the site
- Publish a course site after its been developed
- Alter your site's appearance and description
The Syllabus tool is the official outline for your course. As an instructor, if you or your department has prepared an online syllabus already, you can direct the Syllabus tool to link to it. Otherwise, you can enter material to post directly to your syllabus. As you create a syllabus, you can designate that it be visible to the general public or just to members of your course. Some features of a traditional syllabus are divided between the Syllabus and Schedule tools. Some instructors use the Syllabus tool to display the department's official online syllabus, and use the Schedule as a detailed resource for students.
The Web Content tool allows site owners to choose external websites to display within their worksite's menubar. Departments, collaborations, or other groups may use the Web Content tool to provide a prominent link to their public worksite. If you want to provide many links to websites for your course or project participants, you can avoid cluttering your menubar by listing most of them in the Resources section.
Some common reasons for using SmartSite and the tools associated with them are listed below. For a complete list of SmartSites course tools, please visit smartsite.ucdavis.edu
Some general reasons for using specific SmartSite and tools to accomplish them include:
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Improve and encourage communication
Chat
You can use the Chat Room tool for real-time, unstructured conversations among site participants who are signed on to the site at the same time. Instructors can easily create an "Online Office Hours" chat room for student questions and answers.
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Announcements
The Announcements tool is used to inform all site participants about current items of interest. Announcements can have multiple attachments, such as documents or URLs.
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Mailtool
You can use the Mail tool to send a message to your site's particpants. It provides easy editing, file attachment, the ability to select recipients by group or class section.
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Email Archive
Each site has an automatically generated site email address, which you can view in the Email Archive feature. Email sent to the site email address is copied to all site participants and owners. All messages sent to your site's email address are stored in the Email Archive. Each message sent to site participants will indicate if there is an attachment, and provide a link to get the attachment from the worksite itself.
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Encourage collaboration
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among students
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Wiki
A Wiki is a tool for people with no technical knowledge to change and create web pages. Wiki was designed specifically for researchers and lecturers to collaborate on documents, share information and create teaching materials. It is a useful tool for creating Wikipedia-type entries for course terms and topics, developing group projects and collaborative writing assignments.
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Promote independent and self-paced learning
Forums
Forums is a communication tool that you can use to create an unlimited number of discussion forums for your course. It is integrated closely with other tools like Resources and Gradebook and is an effective tool for continuing and clarifying class discussions online.
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- Students can use Chat as a space to ask a question the night before an exam and clarify any concepts or information they may have missed.
- Promoting independent and self-paced learning
- Post example tests in the Resource tool
- Use the Wiki tool to create a detailed bibliography of articles, books and websites on a particular subject.
- Assessment, evaluation and feedback
- Create student groups and give them feedback on a collaborative project with the Mail tool
- Have students complete a mid-quarter teaching evaluation in conjunction with the TRC
It is also useful for posting past essay and short answer exam questions for review.
Collecting, grading and returning assignments
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Assignments
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For courses, the Assignments tool allows instructors to create, distribute, collect, and grade online assignments. Assignments are private; student submissions are not visible to other users of the site. The Assignments tool offers multiple grading options, including letter grades, points, checkmarks, pass/fail, or ungraded. Assignments can also be returned, with or without grades, for re-submission. Instructors can download all submissions to an assignment to their computer at once. When instructors release grades for an assignment, students can access instructor comments and their grades.
Sharing resources with students, TAs and colleagues
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Resources
Using the Resources tool, you can share many kinds of material securely with members of your site, or make them available to the public. You also have your own private Resources area in your My Workspace. You can upload files (e.g., word processing documents, spreadsheets, slide presentations, and videos), as well as create and post HTML (web) pages and simple text documents, and share links to useful web sites. You can organize your Resources items into folders, and you can control which groups or types of users can access and add to different folders. Also, you can show or hide an item at any time, and set a start and/or end time for its availability. Many classes post weekly readings in their Resources. These can include links to websites as well as to other kinds of documents, like Adobe PDF files. Some classes also post presentations or slides used in lectures. By setting folder Permissions, a large collaboration site can use one folder in Resources as a space to archive important documents, and allow only certain site participants to modify those documents.
Web Content
The Web Content tool allows site owners to choose external websites to display within their worksite's menubar. Departments, collaborations, or other groups may use the Web Content tool to provide a prominent link to their public worksite. If you want to provide many links to websites for your course or project participants, you can avoid cluttering your menubar by listing most of them in the Resources section.
Automating processes and reducing paperwork
- Keep students informed of their current grade with Gradebook
- Send graded assignments from the Assignments tool to Gradebook
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Gradebook
The Gradebook is a tool for instructors to calculate and store grade information and distribute it to students online. Instructors may:
- Autocalculate course grades, with the ability to override any letter grade
- Define course letter grades based on a 100% scale
- Add, view, edit, and release point values of assignments and/or assessments to students
- Enter, view, edit, and release to students scores, grades, and comments
- Transmit scores to the Gradebook from other tools such as Assignments to create an entry and record student scores
- Export class rosters, scores and grades to Microsoft Excel (in .xls or .csv format)
- Import assignment scores from spreadsheet (.csv) files
- Let students view their own scores and grades once instructors have released them
- Submit final grades to the registrar
Organizing and Managing your course
Syllabus
The Syllabus tool is the official outline for your course. As an instructor, if you or your department has prepared an online syllabus already, you can direct the Syllabus tool to link to it. Otherwise, you can enter material to post directly to your syllabus. As you create a syllabus, you can designate that it be visible to the general public or just to members of your course. Some features of a traditional syllabus are divided between the Syllabus and Schedule tools. Some instructors use the Syllabus tool to display the department's official online syllabus, and use the Schedule as a detailed resource for students.
Schedule
Schedule allows instructors or site organizers to post items in a calendar format. The calendar has day, week, month, year, and flat list views. Many instructors use Schedule to post readings for each class on the day they are due to be read. Research, group, and department projects often use Schedule to post group deadlines. A Schedule overview appears on the Home tool for individual worksites. Any Schedule item can have multiple attachments. You can print an Adobe PDF file of any view of a Schedule by clicking Printable Version while in the desired view. This will open a PDF file in a new browser window.
Section Info
The Section Info tool provides a way for instructors to efficiently manage sections of a class. The tool is designed to help an instructor manage a course that may consist of lectures, labs, discussions, studio work, recitations, or any combination therein. The Section Info tool is designed to work with other tools, such as Announcements and Gradebook
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Site Info
The Site Info tool provides information about the worksite that you are currently in. If you have a role that allows it, you can use this tool to :
- Change information about the site
- Select the tools available in the site
- Display a participants list
- Decide who has access to the site
- Publish a course site after its been developed
- Alter your site's appearance and description
How do I create a SmartSite... Quickly?
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