WebTycho Quick Reference Guide

 

Introduction | Accessing WebTycho | Managing Your WebTycho Account | Navigating Your Course Site | Using Conferences | Submitting Assignments

 

Introduction

WebTycho is a customized program developed to facilitate course delivery via the World Wide Web. Each semester, WebTycho provides an interactive classroom experience to more than 40,000 concurrent students and faculty around the world. Uses for WebTycho range from complete course delivery at a distance to supplemental enhancement of face-to-face classrooms.

Before You Begin
Please verify your system meets the minimum requirements to run WebTycho. You’ll find a set-up checklist at: https://usa8.tycho.ubalt.edu/wtdocs/wthelp/html/setting_up.html. It is very important to double-check these requirements before accessing WebTycho.

The following instructions will help you to understand the basics of WebTycho.

Accessing WebTycho

To access WebTycho, go to http://ubonline.tycho.ubalt.edu and enter your username and a password. The WebTycho system administrator provides you with this information in an email.

Username and Password

Your WebTycho username is identical to your MyUB (Peoplesoft) username. Your initial WebTycho password has been set to the last four digits of your seven-digit University of Baltimore ID number.

Forgotten Password

You may contact WebTycho support 24/7 to request your login and password information at tychosupport@ubalt.edu or 1.866.267.9868. You will be asked to verify two pieces of information about your account (example: date of birth or home address).

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Managing Your WebTycho Account

Use Account Preferences to make changes to your WebTycho account and to the way your classes are displayed. Settings made here are global and will be applied to all of your classes. You can make changes as often as you want. Changes take place immediately.

Click the “Options—Account Preferences” link in the upper right of the Class List (the first screen after entering your username and password).

Changing Your Email Address

It is very important for you to maintain a valid email address in WebTycho so your instructors can communicate with you. Otherwise, you may miss critical information about your courses. The default email address is your UB mail account. If you would prefer to use a different email address, please change your address in Account Preferences.

Managing Your Classroom Settings

Classroom settings control the way your classes are displayed. You can enable or disable these features at any time:

• Classroom Awareness—allows you to see and instant message with other classmates who are logged into WebTycho.
• Text Formatting Editor—provides HTML-type formatting in a WYSIWYG text editor.
• Spell Checker—allows you to check text typed into any plain text or HTML text box.
• Red Stars on Class Menu—provides a visual notation that you have not yet read content within your course.
• Include Topic Note Text When Responding in Conferences—allows you to display the text of the note to which you are responding.
• CD-ROM Drive Identifier—specifies a CD-ROM drive for accessing WebTycho course content provided on CD.

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Navigating Your Course Site

When you login WebTycho, you will see the Orientation to WebTycho course on the first page (called your Class List). This orientation provides you with very useful information, so we strongly encourage you to spend the 15 minutes necessary to read through the screens.

Class List

Your Class List provides links to all the courses in which you are currently enrolled. Click the appropriate course name to access the course.

Note: You can also access your courses at any time by clicking the “Classes” link in the upper right corner of your screen.

Class Menu

Once you select a class from your Class List, you will see the announcements for that class. Use the menu on the left side of the screen to move to the various parts of a class. The class menu may look different from course to course because instructors can enable and disable particular features depending on their needs.

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Using Conferences

Conferences are the online equivalent of classroom discussions. Use the conference area to read and respond to your instructor’s and classmates’ comments, questions, and ideas.

Reading Messages

1. Click on Conferences in the Class Menu.
   The class menu will then display all class conferences listed by title.



Note: You will see a red star next to each new message in the conference area. The star indicates you have not yet read the message.

2. Click the title of the conference you want to read.
3. Click on Full Screen View to open the conference in its own new window.
   This makes the conference larger for easier reading and allows you to work in both the conference and the rest of the classroom at the same time.

Responding to Messages

A response is a reply made to a main topic or another response. The back and forth of a discussion takes place in responses. All class members create responses.

1. Click on the Respond link at the bottom of the message to which you want to respond.
2. Enter a new title if you want, and type the text of your message in the text box.
   Note: do not use HTML tags or quotation marks in title box.
3. If you want to share a file with your classmates, click the Add Attachment button below the text box.
4. Click the Submit link at the bottom of the screen.
   You will see your note as it will be seen by all class members.
   As the note’s author, you can return to the note and edit or delete it at any time.

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Submitting Assignments

Students turn in personal work in the Assignments Folder. Your submissions are visible only to you and to your instructor. Assignments may be created in text boxes or as attachments. Once an instructor grades an assignment, it no longer displays in your assignment folder. You can view the assignment in your portfolio with the grade noted.

1. Click on Assignments Folder in the Class Menu.
2. Select the assignment you want to submit from the list.
3. Type the title.
   Note: do not use HTML tags or quotation marks in title box.
4. Type or copy and paste content into the text box.
   Text boxes are intended for very short assignments with simple or no formatting.
5. To submit longer assignments or specific types of files (e.g., Microsoft Word documents or Excel spreadsheets), click the Add Attachment button below the text box.
6. Click the Submit link at the bottom of the screen to submit the assignment to your instructor.
   To save the file for later editing, click the Save link. Your instructor will not see the assignment until you actually submit it.

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