What is an eLearning site? What are WebCT and Blackboard, what are the differences between them, and what version does Sydney University use?
Most units of study at the University of Sydney have an eLearning site which can be used to provide access to material such as lecture notes, present quizzes and assignments, allow you to discuss questions with staff/students, and so on. These eLearning sites are built using software called WebCT (Web Course Tools) or Blackboard. The two used to be rival companies, but have recently merged, so you may hear your unit's eLearning site referred to either as your 'WebCT', 'Blackboard' or 'eLearning' site - they are all referring to the same thing. For more information on WebCT/Blackboard, visit their web site. As of 2007, Sydney University uses the Blackboard CE6 (Campus Edition 6) Enterprise Licence.

Do I have to use my eLearning site?
First year psychology students: You will find your eLearning site invaluable for first year. It contains information about many aspects of the course, including assessment, which is updated on a regular basis. It is also how you access your compulsory tutorial exercises, gain access to Experimetrix to sign up for experiment participation, ask questions through the Discussion Forums, and take your tutorial quizzes. It is therefore essential that you know your UniKey username and password, so you can log-in frequently.

Second and third year psychology students: Second and third year psychology units use their eLearning sites to differing extents. Most units provide lecture notes, announcements and Discussion Forums through their site, but you should check the unit guides to see the role that eLearning will play in each unit.

How do I log in to use my eLearning site?
1. Go to the Psychology web page: http://www.psych.usyd.edu.au
2. Click on the 'Current Students' link on the menu bar
3. Under the 'For Undergraduates' heading, click the link labelled 'Log in to eLearning'. This will take you to the eLearning log-in page.
4. Click the 'Check Browser' button to check that your browser is set up correctly to view your eLearning site (this check may also run automatically when you access the log-in page).
5. Enter your UniKey name and password to log-in.

What is my log-in name and password, and what if I've forgotten my password?
If you are an enrolled student, you will be able to log in with the UniKey Account details that were sent to you with your confirmation of enrolment. If you don't know, or have lost or misplaced these details, you may request for a duplicate copy to be mailed to you by contacting the IT Assist Helpdesk (http://itassist.usyd.edu.au/). Alternatively, you can request this in person by visiting one of the Computer Access Labs on campus. UniKey details will not be passed out via email or on the phone. For most students, your UniKey is also your university email address, in the form: yourunikey@mail.usyd.edu.au.

When I log in, the list of available unit eLearning sites does not include all of the units I am enrolled in
Not all units in the University have WebCT/Blackboard eLearning sites, so you should not automatically expect the list of available units to include every unit you are enrolled in. However, the majority of units on campus DO have an eLearning site, so if you appear to be missing units, you should check the administrative guide (or contact the administrative staff) for your unit to confirm whether the unit does or does not have an eLearning site. If you do not have access to an eLearning site that you know you should have access to, click here.

How do I navigate in my eLearning site?
To move forward to a page, simply click on the icon on the screen. When you do so, you will notice the name of the page you have moved to appears in a navigational display (called a breadcrumbs line) towards the top of the page. To move back to previous pages, DO NOT use your browser back button, but click on the page you want to move back to on this navigational display. If you get confused, you can always click on 'Course Content' on the 'Course Tools' menu to go back to the main page for the unit. For further information about the layout and navigation of your eLearning site, go to the 'Using your eLearning site' section of the 'Student Resources' page.

What are the 'Assessments', 'Assignments' and 'Discussions' tools, and how do I use them?
Your eLearning site contains a number of built in assessment and communication tools, including on-line quizzes, electronic submission of assignments, and discussion forums where students, tutors and lecturers can send messages and discuss topics. While all psychology units have discussion forums to allow you to ask questions and discuss topics with other students, your unit may or may not make use of facilities such as the quiz and assignment tools. To learn more about how to use these tools, go to the 'Using your eLearning site' section of the 'Student Resources' page.

I don't have a computer, or a reliable internet connection at home. How do I access my eLearning site?
There are many computer labs on campus where you can access your eLearning sites. A list of on-campus computer access is available at: http://itassist.usyd.edu.au/student/services/labs/index.shtml.

Help within your eLearning site
If you are having problems within your eLearning site, the 'Help' button towards the top-right corner of each page will give you information about the page you are currently on, and allow you to search for help on your problem.

I have other questions not answered on this page, where do I go for further help?
If this page does not answer your question, or you've tried the suggestions mentioned here and still have problems, go to the University's eLearning Help Page for futher information and details to contact the University's eLearning helpdesk.

Are my computer and web browser compatible with my eLearning site?
Most modern computers should be able to run WebCT/Blackboard. You do however need to make sure that you are accessing your eLearning site through a browser that is compatible with WebCT/Blackboard, or certain parts of your site may not work. To check your browser's compatibility, click the 'Check Browser' button on the eLearning login page. This will examine your browser and let you know if the browser is compatible and if you have all the necessary plugins installed to make your site work:

- If the check tells you your browser is not compatible, you may need to download a new browser.
- If any other parts of the browser check fail, follow the links provided in the browser check to fix the problem. Detailed instructions on fixing problems with the various browser requirements can also be found by running a browser tune-up.

How do I find out what internet browser I'm using?
PC: Open your browser and click on the Help menu at the top of the screen. Near the bottom of the menu you will find an About... option, which will show you your browser name and version.

Mac: Open your browser and click on the browser's name in the menu bar at the top of the screen (probably the top left-hand item in the menu bar). At or near the top of the menu, you will find an About... option which will show you your browser name and version.

Setting up your web browser for your eLearning site: Pop-up's and pop-up blockers
Some of the links in your eLearning site always open in a new browser window. If you are having problems opening links in your site, you may have spyware, a pop-up window blocking or ad-blocking program on your computer. Some common names for these programs are Pop-Up Blocker, Pop-Up Killer, STOPzilla and SpyBot. These programs function to prevent unsolicited advertisements popping up on your computer; however, they will also stop other windows from opening, such as the ones in your eLearning site.

Visit http://www.popup-killer-review.com/rundetect.htm to help you detect any spyware or pop-up blocking programs on your computer. Once you have found the name of the program, you need to disable it when using WebCT/Blackboard or uninstall the program. If you are unsure about how to do this, free programs such as Bazooka or Ad-aware, available from http://www.download.com, can assist you. The same problem could also be caused by having Norton Firewall or Norton Internet Security on your computer. If you have either of these Norton programs, then you need to have a look for a setting in the program which is called ad-blocking (advertisement-blocking) and turn it off while using your eLearning site.

Having problems downloading files?
If you are having problems saving PDF files, see the section on PDFs. If you are having problems downloading files in general, this is probably due to the version of the internet browser you are using and you should download a new browser.

My eLearning site (or unit material accessed from it) isn't working with my current browser - how do I get a new one?
If you have tried everything and still can't get some part of your eLearning site to display properly, or can't get one of your tutorial exercises to display, it might be worth trying a different (and newer) browser. If you don't have any other browsers installed, you can download one. Click here and scroll down to the Download Browsers section, then select and download one of the browsers listed.

Fixing Java problems
If your computer has the wrong version of Java installed this can be resolved by following the instructions listed here.

Streaming Lectures in QuickTime format - how do I get a QuickTime player?
The Lectopia Lectures are streamed in QuickTime format. You must download and install QuickTime if you don't already have it. Please Click here and scroll down to the Plug-ins section to find a link to download QuickTime.

I have the latest QuickTime but the lecture streaming is not working.
This is probably a firewall related issue – a firewall may be blocking the transport protocol or ports we’d like to use.

To ensure QuickTime streaming works behind a Firewall you need to make sure your QuickTime Preferences for Streaming Transport Setup are set to HTTP.

In QuickTime go the Edit Menu>> Preferences >> QuickTime Preferences, Advanced tab >> Streaming ; Transport Setup: Custom… >>Transport Protocol: HTTP>>Port ID: 80

You can also check out the following web page for QuickTime troubleshooting http://www.apple.com/quicktime/troubleshooting/

What are PDF (Portable Document Format)? How do I view/print/save them?
Some lecture/tutorial notes may be presented as Portable Document Format (PDF) files. To view and print a PDF file, you need a program called Adobe Reader. Even if you have Acrobat Reader installed, it is worth downloading the most up-to-date version, as there can be problems viewing new files using old versions of the program. Click here and scroll down to the Plug-ins section to find a link to download Adobe Reader.

Opening PDF files in your web browser: The Adobe Reader program includes a browser plug-in, which allows you to view, save and print PDF files from within your web browser. After installing Adobe Reader, when you click on a link to a PDF file from a web page, your browser will load the plug-in and display the file. Note that PDF's can be several pages long and can contain photos or other images, so they are often very large files. If you click on a link to a PDF and just get a blank page, the file is probably still downloading. This is especially likely on a home computer with a slow internet connection (such as a dial-up connection). Be patient - the page should show itself in the end. To save or print a PDF file from within the browser, you MUST use the toolbar directly above the PDF file (see picture), NOT your browser's toolbar. If you try to print a PDF by using your browser toolbar's print button, or the print option from the file menu of your browser, your printed pages will be blank.

Problems with opening PDFs in browsers:
The Adobe Reader browser plug-in can be quite clunky and slow to load, especially in some browsers. If you are finding it is taking too long for a PDF file to open in your browser, or your browser/computer hangs (stops responding) when you click on a link to a PDF file, try the following:

• If the web page will let you, right-click (PC) or CTRL-Click (Mac) on the link. This will bring up a menu allowing you to save the file to your hard disk, bypassing the browser plug-in. The menu-option allowing you to do this is different for different web browsers - it might be 'Save As...' or 'Save Target As...' (Internet Explorer), 'Download link' (Safari), 'Save Link Target As...' (Mozilla), or 'Save Link As...' (Firefox). Note that most links in WebCT will not let you do this - all that will download is a web page (html file), NOT the PDF file. If a link won't let you download the file in this way, you must click on it normally to access the file.

• You can set the Adobe Reader program to bypass the browser plug-in when you click on a link to a PDF file. To do this, open the Adobe Reader program, then select 'preferences' on the 'edit' menu. Under the 'Internet' category, untick the box next to 'Display PDF in browser'. Now, when you click on a link to a PDF on a web page, the Adobe Reader program will open SEPARATELY from the browser (rather than loading 'in' the browser) and show the PDF. This is often much quicker than waiting for the browser plug-in to load.

• If all else fails, try re-installing Adobe Reader or using a different browser.

What are PowerPoint (PPT) files? How do I view them?
Some lecture/tutorial notes may be presented as PowerPoint (PPT) files. PowerPoint is a Microsoft office slide presentation program, used by lecturers and tutors when giving presentations to students in class. If you have a recent version of Microsoft Office on your computer, chances are you have PowerPoint and can simply download the file onto your computer and open it. Check the list of programs on your computer to see if you have it, or try re-installing Microsoft Office from the original installation disk and see if you have it on disk to install.

Some browsers may also be able to view PowerPoint files (and other MS-Office files, eg. Word, Excel) directly. However you may need to update your Microsoft Office to be able to view these files directly from your browser. For example, if you get a blank screen after opening a PowerPoint file within WebCT, you need to go to: http://office.microsoft.com/OfficeUpdate/default.aspx. Then, scan for Office Updates and install any patches or Service Packs for MS-Office.

Note for Printing with Powerpoint: If you own MS PowerPoint, when you're printing PowerPoint files with PowerPoint there is an option to print them out as a 'handout' where you can print multiple slides on the one page. If you pick the '3 per page' option it will also give you printed lines to write you own notes next to each slide. In older versions of powerpoint, select 'print' then got to the option 'Powerpoint' to find the 'print handout' option.

If you don't have Microsoft Office on your computer, you may have to use one of the other formats that lecture/tutorial notes will be presented in, such as PDF format, or print the PowerPoint files from a University computer that does have PowerPoint.

What are Flash and Shockwave? How do I view them?
Some tutorial exercises may be presented in Flash or Shockwave format. These file formats allow the presentation of interactive elements and animations, and both require plug-ins to be installed so that your browser can play them. Even if you think you have the Flash and Shockwave plug-ins installed, it is worth downloading the most up-to-date plug-in, as there can be problems viewing new files using old plug-ins. Click here and scroll down to the Plug-ins section to find a link to download the Flash plug-in, and another link to download the Shockwave plug-in.

Note that unlike PDF and PowerPoint files, you cannot download Flash or Shockwave files to view them off-line - you will have to view them within WebCT while on-line.

Where do I go for further help on file formats and accessing files?
Further help information regarding file formats, problems with viewing or accessing files, and so on, can be found at the University's eLearning help page.