UNIVERSITY OF DENVER
AN INTRODUCTION TO WEBCENTRAL
FOR FACULTY

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

Following the completion of this course students will be able to:

Effectively navigate within webCentral

Customize pages within webCentral to meet their unique informational needs

Use e-mail within webCentral

Determine the appropriate method to disseminate information within webCentral

Understand the relationship between Blackboard and webCentral

WHAT IS WEBCENTRAL?

WebCentral is an on-line portal designed for all students, faculty and staff of the University of Denver. With a single login and password you will be able to access information such as your email, calendar, benefits, vacation hours, courses, Blackboard, as well as create, manage and join groups. You can customize the various screens to meet your unique information needs.

ACCESSING WEBCENTRAL:

To access the University of Denver's WebCentral site, do the following:

To log in and use webCentral effectively, we suggest you use one of the following browsers:

Windows

o Internet Explorer 5.5 SP2

o Internet Explorer 6.0 plus latest security patch

o Netscape 6.2.3

Macintosh (works best with OS10 or higher)

o Internet Explorer 5.1 or higher

o Netscape 4.79 or higher

o If you log in using a browser other than those specified above, you may experience problems. Please go to http://webcentral.du.edu/misc/browsers/ to view further information about browser compatibility.

Open a Web browser of your choice and login to http://webcentral.du.edu. Or go to the DU home page at http://www.du.edu and select the link to webCentral.

Enter your DU ID and passcode in the top left corner.

o Your DU ID number is your 9-digit number which appears at the top left corner of your DU ID card below your name or is printed on your pay stub.

o If you are logging into webCentral for the first time, your passcode is your PIN (Personal Identification Number).

o Note: If you are a faculty or staff member and don't know your passcode, contact Human Resources at 303-871-7420. Your passcode can be changed by going to the MyWeb tab. Instructions for changing your passcode are detailed later in the handout.

AN OVERVIEW

After logging in, you will see several tabs across the top portion of the screen including Home, Resources, MyWeb, etc.

All content within these tabs is displayed using channels. Channels are topic-specific areas that provide convenient access to information, applications, or other Web resources you may want to access. These channels can be customized to meet your needs as discussed later in the handout.

Home tab

Click the Home tab to view Personal Announcements, Campus Announcements, Bookmarks, Denver Weather, and more.

With appropriate approval, Campus and Personal Announcements can be posted to webCentral. Campus Announcements are posted to all webCentral users. Personal Announcements target a specific audience. For example, you may want to post a message to all students, or all sophomores, or all students by major. There are many options available when determining your target audience. To create a personal announcement you must complete the form located at http://www.du.edu/portal/documentation/announcementsForm.html. Your request will then be reviewed by an announcement manager and published if deemed appropriate.

Within the Home tab, the DU news content is published by the Office of Communications & Marketing.

Resources tab

The Resources tab provides access to tools to help you get information and do other online tasks. By default, it provides ways to locate the email address of individuals at the university, access the DU portfolio community, the Penrose Library, the Google search engine and even provides a dictionary and thesaurus.

MyWeb tab

The myWeb tab provides secure access to your grades, transcript, pay check, vacation, benefits, and other personal information.

You can also change your passcode here. To change your Passcode:

Within the MyWeb tab, select Personal Information.

Select the link to Change my Passcode and follow the instructions on the screen.

Campus Life tab

The Campus Life tab has information about life on campus at the University of Denver: events, sports, meals, residence halls, and much more. It also includes access to all campus calendars.

MyChannels tab

In the MyChannels tab, you can create your own custom tab. The content of this tab can be a single Web page, or a selection of channels. Instructions for customizing this tab are described in the section below titled, "Customizing Your WebCentral Content."

Courses tab

The Courses tab is designed to access your personal academic information. All courses that you teach will be listed within this tab. To view only a single quarter, click the drop-down arrow beside course schedule: . Select the appropriate quarter.

The Courses tab also provides access to Blackboard.

Setting your course home page

By default, course titles listed under the Courses tab are linked to a webCentral course home page. However, if you activate a course within Blackboard, the course title within webCentral will automatically change to the Blackboard within 24 hours. To set an immediate link between webCentral and Blackboard, use the following procedure:

Click the Courses tab. A page opens displaying a list of your classes for the current quarter and a drop-down menu box that lists other quarters.

Select the appropriate quarter.

Click the red button labeled Edit next to the course homepage you want to direct to Blackboard.

From the "Set Course Homepage" window, click the radio button that is associated with Blackboard.

o Note: If a URL is not listed but you have a Blackboard course setup, please email blackboard@du.edu or contact the Center for Teaching and Learning at 303-871-2084.

If you want the course title link to use the default webCentral course homepage, set the radio button to "Campus Pipeline."

To set the course title link to a different web site/URL, select the "None/Other" site and enter a URL in the address box.

Click Save Changes.

WebCentral course home page features

The webCentral course home page has a variety of tools available to help manage a course. To access any of the following tools, click the course title under the Courses tab. (This is assuming that you have not activated the course in Blackboard. To set the course title link to use the default webCentral course homepage see the Setting your course home page instructions above).

Message board A message board is available in each class that you are assigned to teach. For additional information about using the Message Board application, click the Help icon located in the Message Board application frame.

Chat The webCentral system provides a chat room for each class that you are assigned to teach. For additional information about using the Chat application, click the Help icon located in the Chat application frame.

Calendar A course calendar is automatically created for every course, and it's made available to each enrolled student and assigned instructor. Automatically, these course calendars contain all class times. Faculty may elect to add exam times and other important information for all students to reference. For additional information about using the Calendar application click the Help icon located in the Calendar application frame.

E-mail class Faculty have the ability to e-mail an entire class. The system automatically creates a list of students' e-mail addresses and presents them to you for easy selection at the bottom portion of the screen. To send a broadcast e-mail message to students enrolled in the selected class, select two or more students by clicking their names while holding down the control key. Click the right-arrow button to populate the "E-mail Recipients" list box. Clicking the All button will move all available names into the opposite list. When the "E-mail Recipients" list box is populated with the desired student names, click the Compose button. In the resulting window, create and send your message.

Add and edit links on the course home page

The webCentral course tools also allow you to create and maintain a list of linked Web resources that appear on the home page of every course you teach. To add, edit, or delete content from the lists of linked resources, do the following:

Click the Courses tab.

Click the name of the course whose home page you want to modify. (If necessary, use the drop-down menu to select a different quarter.)

Within the course home page click the red Add/Edit button within the "Course Links" window. Add titles or short descriptions in the boxes on the left and complete URLs on the right. For example, to link to the Library of Congress, you would add Library of Congress in the Title/Description box and http://www.loc.gov in the URL box. Each Web address must point to an existing location for a published Web page.

If you make a mistake while entering descriptions and Web addresses, click the Clear Fields button to delete all the information you have entered.

Click Save Changes when finished.

Grouping courses

Course grouping allows you to consolidate courses from the same term so that you can use common Chat, Message Board, and Web links for all. This feature is available only for courses set to webCentral's home page. Courses linked to Blackboard and courses set to another course home page (or no course home page) cannot be included in a course group.

Creating a new group

To create a new group:

Click the Course Grouping button located on the main "Courses" tab.

Under the heading "Create a New Course Group," type a name for the new group in the Course Group Title field.

Put a check next to any courses from the same term you want to add to the group.

Click the Create New Grouping button.

Click Done.

The course group has been created containing all courses that you selected. The students in each grouped course can now use a combined message board and chat room. It is important to note that the existing course links for each course in the group will be combined, up to the maximum of six per course. For ultimate flexibility, you should add links to each course homepage prior to grouping them so that you have more data entry fields to work with. If you do not add links prior to grouping, you will only have the default, which is six.

Changing group names and course compositions

To change the name of an existing course group, or change the composition of the classes that make up a course group:

From the main Courses tab, select the Course Grouping button.

Click on the group name of the group you wish to edit.

o To change the name of this course group, retype the name in the Course Group Title field and click Save Title.

o To delete a course from the course group, click the checkbox next to the course that you want to delete and click the Remove Course button.

o To add a course to the course group, locate the Add Courses section of the window, click the checkbox next to the course you want to add, and then click the Add Course button.

When you are finished editing the course group name or its course composition, click Done.

Deleting Groups

To delete a course group:

From the main Courses tab, click the Course Groupings button.

Click the Delete button displayed next to the course group you wish to delete.

Confirm that you want to delete the group by clicking OK.

Click Done.

CHANGING THE DEFAULT TIMEOUT SETTING

By default, if webCentral is left inactive for 15 minutes, the current session will automatically be closed. You will then need to log back into webCentral. To change the amount of time that elapses before webCentral times out:

Directly below the row of tabs, there is a text link to Preferences. Click this link to access the User Preferences screen

Click the Change Timeout link

Specify a new time and click Save Changes. The new timeout period will take effect the next time you log out and log back into the system.

Note: If you regularly use computers in labs, if you share a computer, or if you typically leave your computer where others can access it while you step away, you must take precautions to protect your privacy. Long time-outs increase the security risk if you forget to log out of webCentral. Carefully weigh the value/risk of increasing the pre-set 15-minute timeout.

WORKING WITH CHANNELS

As mentioned earlier, each tab within webCentral contains a series of smaller windows, or "channels," which can be focused, minimized or closed.

To focus a channel:

Click the Focus button in the top right-corner of the channel in order to open the contents in its own window.

To return to the main tab after "focusing" a channel, click the Back to tab button in the far right corner of the window.

To minimize or collapse the contents of a channel:

Click the Minimize button in the top-right corner of the channel.

To maximize the contents of a channel:

Click the Maximize button .

To close the contents of a channel:

Click the Close button in the top-right corner of the channel.

You will learn how to reopen a closed channel in the section below on Customizing Your WebCentral Content."

CUSTOMIZING YOUR WEBCENTRAL CONTENT

Directly below the row of tabs, there is a text link to Preferences. Click this link to access the User Preferences screen and begin customizing your tabs to meet your individual information needs. After accessing the User Preferences screen, all existing columns and channels currently included on that particular tab will be displayed.

To view the user preferences for a different tab, simply click the tab names at the top of the page as displayed below:

Changing your default "active" tab

By default, the "Home" tab is designated as being the "active" tab, or the tab that is displayed when you first log into the portal. To change this:

Within the User Preferences screen, select the tab that you wish to be the active tab.

Click the link to Make this the default active tab.

Changing the order in which the tabs appear

To change the order in which the tabs appear within webCentral:

Within the User Preferences screen, click the left arrow beside the tab you wish to move one tab to the left.

Click the right arrow beside the tab you wish to move one column to the right.

Customizing the column width

Within the Campus Life tab, the MyChannels tab and any custom tabs you create, the widths of the columns can be modified. To do this:

Within the User Preferences screen, click the Select Column button within the column you wish to resize.

Enter a new percentage in each of the boxes and click Submit.

Note: If it states "Column is unmovable" directly above the Select Column button, you will be unable to resize that particular column.

Adding a channel

If you have closed a channel and wish to add it back to your page, or simply wish to add a new channel to the page, do the following:

Within the User Preferences screen, click on the tab you want to add the channel to.

Click the New Channel button within the appropriate column and location where you wish to insert a new channel.

Click the drop-down arrow beside Step #1 to display a list of available categories.

Select the category you wish to add and click Go.

Some categories have subcategories. If a subcategory list appears after you click Go, select a subcategory within Step #1a and click Go again.

From the list displayed in Step #2, select a channel from the list.

In Step #3, click Add.

The new channel will be inserted in the desired location.

Changing the location of a channel

Within User Preferences, the channels can be easily moved around within a page. To change the location of a channel:

Changing your webCentral display name

After logging into webCentral, your display name will be shown in the top left corner of the page. To change this name you must add a new channel:

Access the User Preferences screen by clicking the text link to Preferences located directly below the webCentral tabs.

Within the User Preferences screen, click on the tab you want to add the channel to.

Click the New Channel button within the column and location where you wish to insert the new channel.

Click the drop-down arrow beside Step #1 to display a list of available categories. Select the Other category. And click Go.

From the list displayed in step #2, select the Change display name channel.

Click the Add button in step #3.

If you get a Channel Settings screen, click Finished.

Exit the User Preferences screen and return to the webCentral tab containing the Change display name channel.

Within the channel input your DU ID number, Passcode and the new display name. Click Go.

After changing your display name, close the channel by clicking the Close button in the top right corner of the channel.

Adding tabs

To add tabs to webCentral:

Within the User Preferences screen, click the New Tab button .

In Step #1 enter a name for the tab.

In Step #2, select the type of tab you wish displayed. "Traditional" will display channel options. "Frames" will allow you to enter a URL for a Web page that you wish to display underneath your new tab.

In Step #3, select a location for the tab by clicking inside one of the radio buttons.

And finally, in Step #4 click the Submit button.

Renaming tabs

The "Campus Life," "myChannels" and any new tabs that you create can easily be renamed. To rename these tabs:

Within the User Preferences screen, select the tab you wish to rename.

Within the options section of the page, enter a new name in the Rename the tab: field and click the Rename button .

Deleting tabs

The "myChannels," "Campus Life," and any new tabs you create can be deleted. To remove any of these tabs:

Within the User Preferences screen, select the tab you wish to delete.

Click the link Delete this tab within the Options for modifying this tab section of the page.

E-MAIL

WebCentral e-mail will be the primary way to access your DU email account online. You may choose to use webCentral as your only e-mail client or you may choose to use Outlook, Netscape, or another client as your main e-mail software when working on campus and use webCentral to access your e-mail from home or when traveling. If you choose to use another email client along with webCentral, do not open both e-mail systems at the same time.

To access your e-mail account directly within webCentral, click the e-mail button from the row of icons in the top right corner of webCentral.

Creating messages

To create a message within the e-mail section of webCentral:

Click the Compose button on the e-mail toolbar.

Input an e-mail address or click the Address button to access your address book and select a recipient.

To insert an attachment:

o Click the Attach button within the compose window and follow the step-by-step instructions within the window.

Within the main "compose" window, select the appropriate checkboxes to save a copy of the message to your sent folder, to add a signature or to request a read receipt.

Click the Spell Check button to review your message for spelling errors.

If you would like to save the message and complete it at a later time, click the Save a Draft button . The message will then be stored in the "Drafts" folder within the folder list.

Click the Send button to send the message.

Deleting messages

To delete messages:

From the main e-mail window, place a checkmark beside the messages that you wish to delete by clicking in the checkbox.

After selecting all the messages you wish to delete, click the Delete button on the toolbar.

NOTE: By default, deleted messages do not get moved to the Deleted folder in the Folders pane. To change the default setting, click on the Options tab, then click on Display Settings and change the Deleted Messages setting from Delete from system to Send to Deleted folder.

Working with folders

Any folders that you have created on the server can easily be accessed via webCentral. To gain access to the folders that reside on the server, you must "subscribe" to them as follows:

Within the folder list of webCentral, click the Subscribe link. A listing of all files and folders on the mail server will be displayed.

Click the "carrot' immediately to the left of a mail folder to display all subfolders.

Click each folder and subfolder you wish to subscribe too. (After selecting a mail folder, it should appear as an open file folder which means you have successfully subscribed to the folder.)

After each of the folders you wish to subscribe to, click the Done button in the lower right corner of the window.

The folders should now be displayed within your folder list.

To create a folder within webCentral:

Click the Add link within the folder list.

Enter a new folder name.

Click the icon for the mail folder where you want the new folder to reside. Click OK. Repeat to add additional folders.

Click on Done when you are finished.

The new folder will now reside within your folder list.

To delete a folder:

Select the Delete link within the folder list.

Select the folder you wish to delete and click OK.

When you have finished deleting the desired folders, click on Done.

Outlook and webCentral

If you are using an IMAP Microsoft Outlook account in conjunction with webCentral, you will need to open Outlook and subscribe to the new folders that you created within webCentral. To subscribe to the new folders you created within webCentral using Microsoft Outlook:

Open Microsoft Outlook and right-click on your mail(k).du.edu account, where "(k)" represents the first letter of your first name. (This account should be listed within the Outlook folder list if you have an IMAP account.)

Select IMAP Folders.

Select the All tab and click the Query button.

Locate and select the folder you created in webCentral and click on Subscribe.

Click OK.

The new folder should now be displayed within your folder list in Outlook as well as in the webCentral folder list.

To move messages between folders

To move messages from folder to folder:

From the main e-mail window, place a checkmark beside those messages that you wish to move by clicking inside the checkbox.

Click the Move button on the toolbar.

Select the folder you wish to move the message into and click OK.

Using your address book

To add frequently used addresses to your address book:

From the main e-mail window, select the Address Book tab located at the top portion of your screen.

Click the New Contact button and input data for your new contact.

Click OK when the data is complete.

To create a distribution list to e-mail a group of people:

Within the Address Book tab, select the New Group button .

Enter a name for the group.

Select the contacts that you wish to include in the group, by selecting them from the list and clicking the Add member to group button .

Click the Remove member from group button to remove an individual from the list.

Click OK when you have added the contacts to the group.

To send a message to a distribution list (group) from your address book:

Within the address book, change the view to display the desired group by clicking the drop-down arrow beside the view box.

After selecting the group you wish to e-mail, click the Email Group button .

To send a message to the distribution list from within the "compose e-mail" window:

Within the "Compose e-mail" window, select the Address button .

Select the desired group from the group portion of the window and click the To button to address the message.

Click OK when you are finished addressing the message.

To edit a distribution list (group):

Within the Address book, select the group you wish to edit by clicking the drop-down arrow beside the View drop-down list .

Select the Edit Group button .

You can now add and delete contacts.

Click to add members to the group and click to remove members from the group.

Click OK when finished.

To delete a distribution list (group):

Within the Address book, select the group you wish to edit by clicking the drop-down arrow beside the View drop-down list .

Select the Edit Group button .

Click the Delete Group button .

Importing your address book from Microsoft Outlook

Addresses from Outlook can easily be converted into your webCentral address book. This process will not eliminate the contacts from your Outlook folders, but will rather create a copy that can then be imported into webCentral. To export your contacts from Outlook, do the following:

Open Microsoft Outlook and go to your contacts folder.

Select File/Import and Export from the menu bar.

Select Export to a file and click Next.

Select Comma Separated Values (Windows) and click Next.

Select the contacts folder to export from and click Next.

Click the Browse button to locate a destination on your hard drive where you wish to save the file.

Click Next and Finish.

Return to the e-mail section of webCentral.

Select the Address Book tab.

Click the Import/Export button .

Follow the steps within the window to continue importing your contacts. (You have already completed Step 1 within the dialog box, so begin with Step 2.)

Importing your address book from Netscape

Address books from Netscape versions 4.x and 7.x can easily be exported into webCentral. If you are using Netscape 6.x and wish to export your address book, you must first upgrade your browser to version 7 and then follow the instructions below.

Importing your address book from Netscape 4.x

To export your address book from Netscape 4.x, do the following:

Access your Netscape 4.x address book.

Go to File and select Export.

Specify the location on your computer where you wish to save the file.

Enter a name for the file. Save the file as an .ldif file. (This is the default file type).

Return to the e-mail section of webCentral.

Select the Address book tab within the webCentral e-mail.

Click the Import/Export button .

Follow the steps within the window to continue importing your contacts. (You have already completed Step 1 within the dialog box, so begin with Step 2.)

You should get an Import Completed message if the import was successful.

Importing your address book from Netscape 7.x

To export your addresses from Netscape 7.x, do the following:

In your Netscape 7.X address book, highlight Personal Address Book.

Click on Tools and then select Export.

Select Comma Separated (*.csv) file type. When naming the file, make sure to manually type in the file extension .csv (addressbook.csv). Also note which directory you are saving your file in (such as the desktop or your hard drive).

Return to the e-mail section of webCentral.

Select the Address Book tab within the webCentral e-mail.

Click the Import/Export button .

When asked to select the program to be used, choose Netscape 4.x (even though you are using Netscape 7.x). Browse to the file location, double click on the file. Then click on Import Now.

You should get an Import Completed message if the import was successful.

Log in to WebMail and click on the Export Address Book button at the top of the screen. Your WebMail address book will be emailed to you along with the following instructions.

Save the attached file (yourEmailAddress.CSV) to your computer. Remember where you save it so you can easily find it later.

Log into webCentral and click the e-mail icon.

Click the Address Book tab.

On the right side of the window, click the Import/Export button.

In the Import section, go to step 2 and select Microsoft Outlook from the drop-down menu.

Click the Browse button in step 3 in the Import section.

Locate your exported WebMail address book file.

Select the file.

Click the Import Now button.

Wait for webCentral to complete the import.

When the import is finished, click the Done button.

Changing your e-mail options

WebCentral allows you to change several options within your e-mail setup. Click the Options tab at the top portion of your e-mail window. The options you can modify include:

Choosing how many contacts to display per page.

Forwarding messages to another account for off-line message management.

Setting up an auto-response.

Blocking addresses from which you do not wish to receive e-mail.

Display settings.

Filtering to sort incoming e-mail automatically into folders and also filtering out unwanted e-mail.

Message preferences such as saving a copy of set messages and requesting return receipts.

Retrieving e-mail from other IMAP accounts.

Creating a signature.

For further information regarding email features, click the Help button in the top right corner of the dialog box.

CALENDAR

The calendar feature allows you to access and manage your schedules from anywhere you have Web access. You can create departmental calendars, view one another's schedules and share calendars. To access the calendar click the Calendar button .

To change the views of your calendar:

Click the links to day, week, month and year within the window.

To create an appointment:

Click the Schedule New Appointment button within the appropriate date.

Complete the information about the appointment and click on OK.

To delete an appointment:

Within the calendar, select the appointment you wish to delete by clicking the subject link within the appropriate date.

Click the Delete button in the lower left corner of the window.

For further information regarding the calendar features, click the Help button in the top right corner of the dialog box. In addition, more information regarding the various calendar features is covered in the "WebCentral Calendar & Groups" course. The online course handouts can be found at http://www.du.edu/uts/training/materials/handouts/webcentral/webcentralcalendars.html

COMMUNITY GROUPS

Groups can be used to form communication between certain work groups, committees, student organizations, etc. The Community Groups feature allows you join an existing group or request the creation of a new group. After joining a group you have easy access to a main group home page containing news, articles, photo links, etc. Groups can be either public or restricted. Anyone can join a public group. To join a restricted group, users must request to join and group leaders must then accept or deny the membership requests.

To join an existing group:

Select the Community Groups button .

Select the link to Groups Index.

Select a category to display a listing of all groups related to that particular category.

o Restricted groups will be displayed with an orange icon beside the group name. To join a restricted group, click the Join Group button . Read through the group policies. In the appropriate box, type in why you wish to join the group. Your request will be reviewed by the owner of the group. If deemed appropriate, you will be allowed to join the group and your membership activated. Upon approval, you will receive an email message and the group you joined will be displayed within the main Community Groups window.

o Public groups will be displayed with a green icon beside the group name. To join a public group, select the link to the group you wish to join and click the Join Group button. Read through the group policies. In the appropriate box, type in why you wish to join the group. Once your membership is activated, you will receive an email message and the group will be displayed within the main Community Groups window.

To create a new community group:

Within the Community Groups home page, select the Request Group tab at the top of the dialog box.

In the "Request Group" window, complete all required fields.

Click the Submit Request button.

You will be notified within 24 hours whether your request has been accepted or not.

For further information regarding the functionality of the community groups feature, click the Help button in the top right corner of the dialog box. In addition, further information regarding this subject is covered in the "WebCentral Calendars & Groups" course. The online course handouts can be found at http://www.du.edu/uts/training/materials/handouts/webcentral/webcentralcalendars.html.

ADDITIONAL HELP

For further assistance with webCentral:

Click the Help button located in the top right corner of the screen.

Select the desired category.

LOGGING OUT

After completing a webCentral session, remember to click the Logout button to close the session. This will ensure that your privacy is protected.

UNIVERSITY OF DENVER AN INTRODUCTION TO WEBCENTRAL FOR FACULTY

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

WHAT IS WEBCENTRAL?

ACCESSING WEBCENTRAL:

AN OVERVIEW

CHANGING THE DEFAULT TIMEOUT SETTING

WORKING WITH CHANNELS

CUSTOMIZING YOUR WEBCENTRAL CONTENT

E-MAIL

CALENDAR

COMMUNITY GROUPS

ADDITIONAL HELP

LOGGING OUT

WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO DISPLAY YOUR CONTENT?

UNIVERSITY OF DENVER
AN INTRODUCTION TO WEBCENTRAL
FOR FACULTY