Student Homepages

View a student's homepage
Edit a student's homepage

• add a link
• edit a link
• delete a link
• move a link forward or backward
• edit or add an upper textblock
• edit or add a lower textblock
• modify the layout of links

• customize page colors
• modify or add a background image
• modify or add a banner
• restore a homepage
• backup a homepage
• clear a homepage

About Student Homepages | Top

Student Homepages gives students the tools they need to create a personal web page, which contains information about themselves, the projects they are working on, and links to their favorite web sites. As a designer, you can view and edit a student's homepage.

Viewing a student's homepage | Top

1. From the Course Menu, click Homepages. The Student Homepages screen appears.
2. Click the View tab if it is not already selected. Depending on administrator settings, one of the following appears:
   • A table that contains records for all students registered in the course. Note: If a student has created a homepage, the student's name appears as a link, and the Status column indicates that the homepage is “Available.” If a student has not created a homepage, “Blank” appears in the the Status column.
   • A table that contains records for only those students who have created a homepage.
     
   • The message, “There are no homepages available.” If this message appears, the administrator has selected an option that only allows a student to view their own homepage.
3. If there is more than one page of student records, to display the other records, either select a range of records from the Page drop-down list or click Next page .
4. To view the student's homepage, click the student's name. The student's homepage appears.

Editing a student's homepage | Top

If required, you can edit students' homepages. The editing options include the following:

• add a link
• edit a link
• delete a link
• move a link forward or backward
• edit or add an upper textblock
• edit or add a lower textblock
• modify layout
• customize page colors
• modify or add a background image
• modify or add a banner
• restore a homepage
• backup a homepage
• clear a homepage

Adding a link | Top

1. From the Course Menu, click Homepages. The Student Homepages screen appears. A table containing records for all students registered in the course appears. Note: To display the next page of student records, either select the range of records from the Page drop-down list or click Next page .
2. Click the student whose homepage you want to edit. The student's homepage appears.
3. Under Options: Links, click Add link. The Add Link screen appears.
4. In the Title text box, enter a title for the link.
5. In the URL text box, enter the complete web address.
6. To replace the current icon for the link:
   1. Click Upload icon. The File Upload screen appears.
   2. To select the icon file, click Browse. Your computer's file manager appears.
   3. Locate and select the file you want to upload. The file's path and filename appear in the Please enter the filename of the icon file text box.
   4. Click Continue. The Add URL screen appears. Under Current icon, the icon you uploaded displays.
7. Click Add. The student's homepage appears with the added link.

Editing a link | Top

1. From the Course Menu, click Homepages. The Student Homepages screen appears. A table containing records for all students registered in the course appears. Note: To display the next page of student records, either select the range of records from the Page drop-down list or click Next page .
2. Click the student whose homepage you want to edit. The student's homepage appears.
3. Select the link you want to edit.
4. Under Options: Links, select Edit. The Update URL screen appears.
5. If you want to edit the link's title, in the Title text box, enter a new title for the link.
6. If you want to edit the URL, in the URL text box, enter a new complete web address.
7. If you want to replace the current icon for the link:
   1. Click Upload icon. The File Upload screen appears.
   2. To select the icon file, click Browse. Your computer's file manager appears.
   3. Locate and select the file you want to upload. The file's path and filename appear in the Please enter the filename of the icon file text box.
   4. Click Continue. The Add URL screen appears.
8. Click Update. The student's homepage appears with the edited link.

Deleting a link | Top

1. From the Course Menu, click Homepages. The Student Homepages screen appears. A table containing records for all students registered in the course appears. Note: To display the next page of student records, either select the range of records from the Page drop-down list or click Next page .
2. Click the student whose homepage you want to edit. The student's homepage appears.
3. Select the link you want to delete.
4. Under Options: Links, select Delete. A warning message appears.
5. Click OK. The link is deleted from the student's homepage.

Moving a link forward or backward | Top

Depending on how the student has modified the layout of links on the page, the following describes how the Move forward and Move backward options will move the links on the student's homepage.

Move forward:

• If the student has selected a one-column layout, Move forward moves the link down by one position.
• If the student has selected a two-column layout, Move forward moves the link either one position to the right or down one row.

  Note: If the link is the last item on the student's homepage, Move forward does not move the link.

Move backward:

• If the student has selected a one-column layout, Move backward moves the link up by one position.
• If the student has selected a two-column layout, Move backward moves the link either one position to the left or up one row.

  Note: If the link is the first item on the student's homepage, Move backward does not move the link.

1. From the Course Menu, click Homepages. The Student Homepages screen appears. A table containing records for all students registered in the course appears. Note: To display the next page of student records, either select the range of records from the Page drop-down list or click Next page .
2. Click the student whose homepage you want to edit. The student's homepage appears.
3. Select the link you want to move.
4. Select the direction of the move:
   • To move the link forward, under Options: Links, select Move forward. The link moves forward.
   • To move the link backward, under Options: Links, select Move backward. The link moves backward.

Editing or adding an upper textblock | Top

1. From the Course Menu, click Homepages. The Student Homepages screen appears. A table containing records for all students registered in the course appears. Note: To display the next page of student records, either select the range of records from the Page drop-down list or click Next page .
2. Click the student whose homepage you want to edit. The student's homepage appears.
3. Under Options: Textblocks, click Edit/Add upper textblock. The Edit/Add Upper Textblock screen appears.
4. Edit or add an upper textblock by doing one of the following:
   • In the Edit textblock text box, enter your text.
   • To edit and format the text using an editor, click HTML editor. For help, see HTML editor. Note: Depending on administrator settings, the HTML editor may not be available.
5. Click Update. The student's homepage appears displaying the upper textblock.

Editing or adding a lower textblock | Top

1. From the Course Menu, under Study Tools, click Homepages. The Student Homepages screen appears. A table containing records for all students registered in the course appears. Note: To display the next page of student records, either select the range of records from the Page drop-down list or click Next page .
2. Click the name of the student whose homepage you want to edit. The student's homepage appears.
3. Under Options: Textblocks, click Edit/Add lower textblock. The Edit/Add Lower Textblock screen appears.
4. Edit or add a lower textblock by doing one of the following:
   • In the Edit textblock text box, enter your text.
   • To edit and format the text using an editor, click HTML editor. For help, see HTML editor. Note: Depending on administrator settings, the HTML editor may not be available.
5. To save the lower textblock and return to the student's homepage, click Update.

Modifying the layout of links | Top

The links on a student's homepage can be formatted in either a one-column or two-column layout.

1. From the Course Menu, click Homepages. The Student Homepages screen appears. A table containing records for all students registered in the course appears. Note: To display the next page of student records, either select the range of records from the Page drop-down list or click Next page .
2. Click the student whose homepage you want to edit. The student's homepage appears.
3. Under Customize, click Modify layout. The Modify Layout of Links on Page screen appears.
4. Select the number of columns and click Update. The student's homepage appears with the modified column layout.

Customizing page colors | Top

You can choose a predefined color scheme for background, text, links, and visited links on student homepages.

1. From the Course Menu, click Homepages. The Student Homepages screen appears. A table containing records for all students registered in the course appears. Note: To display the next page of student records, either select the range of records from the Page drop-down list or click Next page .
2. Click the student whose homepage you want to edit. The student's homepage appears.
3. Under Customize, click Customize page colors. The Customize Page Colors screen appears.
4. In the Color Set column, choose one of the predefined color schemes by selecting the radio button for the appropriate set.
5. Click Update. The student's homepage appears in the selected color scheme.

Modifying or adding a background image | Top

You can create a background image, or download an image from the web. The image must be in .GIF or .JPG format

1. From the Course Menu, under Study Tools, click Homepages. The Student Homepages screen appears. A table containing records for all students registered in the course appears. Note: To display the next page of student records, either select the range of records from the Page drop-down list or click Next page .
2. Click the student whose homepage you want to edit. The student's homepage appears.
3. Under Customize, click Modify/Add background image. The Modify/Add Background Image for Page screen appears.
4. Do one of the following:
   • If you want to modify or add a background image:
     1. Next to Background options, select Upload a file and click Continue. The File Upload screen appears.
     2. To locate the file, click Browse. A browser screen appears.
     3. Select the file and click Open. The File Upload screen appears with the filename in the Please enter the filename of the background file text box.
   • If you want to remove the background image that appears on the student's homepage, next to Background options, select No background image.
5. Click Continue. The student's homepage appears.

Modifying or adding a banner | Top

To modify or add a text banner | Top

1. From the Course Menu, click Homepages. The Student Homepages screen appears. A table containing records for all students registered in the course appears. Note: To display the next page of student records, either select the range of records from the Page drop-down list or click Next page .
2. Click the student whose homepage you want to edit. The student's homepage appears.
3. Under Customize, click Modify/Add banner image. The Modify/Add Banner Image for Page screen appears.
4. Do one of the following:
• If you want to modify or add a text banner, next to Banner options, select Use text, and edit or enter the banner message.
• If you want to remove the text banner that appears on the student's homepage, next to Banner options, select None.
5. Click Continue. The student's homepage appears.

To modify or add an image banner | Top

1. From the Course Menu, click Homepages. The Student Homepages screen appears. A table containing records for all students registered in the course appears. Note: To display the next page of student records, either select the range of records from the Page drop-down list or click Next page .
2. Click the student whose homepage you want to edit. The student's homepage appears.
3. Under Customize, click Modify/Add banner image. The Modify/Add Banner Image for Page screen appears.
4. Do one of the following:
• If you want to modify or add an image banner:
  1. Next to Banner options, select Upload a file and click Continue. The File Upload screen appears.
  2. To locate the file, click Browse. A browser screen appears.
  3. Select the file and click Open. The File Upload screen appears with the filename in the Please enter the filename of the banner file text box.
• If you want to remove the image banner that appears on the student's homepage, next to Banner options, select None.
5. Click Continue. The student's homepage appears.

Restoring a homepage | Top

To restore a student's homepage, you must have first made a back up file. To back up a file, see Backing up a homepage.

1. From the Course Menu, click Homepages. The Student Homepages screen appears. A table containing records for all students registered in the course appears. Note: To display the next page of student records, either select the range of records from the Page drop-down list or click Next page .
2. Click the student whose homepage you want to restore.
3. Under Options: Homepage, click Restore a homepage. The File Upload screen appears.
4. To locate the backup file of the student's homepage, click Browse. A browser screen appears.
5. Locate and select the file and then click Open. The File Upload screen appears with the filename.
6. Click Continue. The restored student's homepage appears.

Backing up a homepage | Top

You can create a backup file of a student's homepage so that you will always have a copy. To restore a homepage, see Restoring a homepage.

1. From the Course Menu, click Homepages. The Student Homepages screen appears. A table containing records for all students registered in the course appears. Note: To display the next page of student records, either select the range of records from the Page drop-down list or click Next page .
2. Click the student whose homepage you want to back up. The student's homepage appears.
3. Under Options: Homepage, click Backup a homepage. A dialog box appears asking you what you want to do with the file.
4. Select Save this file to disk and click OK. The Save As screen appears.
5. Select where you want to save the file and click Save. The student's homepage is saved in the location you selected.

Important: Once the backup file is downloaded, do not modify it. The file is encoded by WebCT; any change will permanently destroy the file.

Clearing a homepage | Top

Warning: This feature deletes everything on the student's homepage.

1. From the Course Menu, click Homepages. The Student Homepages screen appears. A table containing records for all students registered in the course appears. Note: To display the next page of student records, either select the range of records from the Page drop-down list or click Next page .
2. Click the student whose homepage you want to edit. The student's homepage appears.
3. Under Options: Homepage, click Clear the page. A warning message appears.
4. Click OK. The student's homepage is cleared.

[ Top ] [ Help Index] [Ask Dr. C]