This page introduces the typical layout of a WebCT/Blackboard eLearning site for the psychology units at Sydney University, and provides links to guides and tutorials that show you how to use your unit eLearning sites and some of its tools and facilities.

Note that if you have any technical difficulties using your eLearning site, or with the files and other material provided on your unit's site, check out the 'Technical Help' section of the 'Student Resources' page.

The layout

• The first thing you will notice when you open up the eLearning site for a psychology unit you are enrolled in is that the screen is split into two sections.

• On the left of the screen is a menu with a variety of tools. When you click on a link on the menu, that menu item opens up in the main frame to the right of the menu.

The menu

• Note that the menu can collapse down so that it just displays the icons. Accessing some tools in the site may cause the menu to automatically collapse down to give you more room in the main frame. Click the grey arrows to the right of the menu to expand it back out again.

• While the items on the menu may be different across different psychology units, most units will contain the following links on the menu:

This is the main page where you access all eLearning material for the unit that has been made available to you. This may include lecture notes, tutorial material, information about exams and assessments, practice exams, on-line assessments, and so on. Some psychology units may include more, or less material than other units.

The Course Content homepage for each of your Psychology eLearning sites will also contain the following two links:

Student Resources This is a central list of resources providing a world of information to help you in your studies in psychology and at university more broadly. It includes such things as: This quickstart guide. A help file for technical problems you may be having with your eLearning site, or different file formats. Guides to help you when writing essays and reports in psychology. Information about the Library's psychology-specific services (eg. library classes for psych students). Many useful links to University web-pages and services. And lots more... These pages should be able to answer any questions, queries or confusions you may have regarding your study in psychology, or if not, will inform you where to go to get the answers you need. This page is also available through the School of Psychology's "Current Students" webpage.

Unit of Study Information This link will take you to the administrative information for your unit of study, including syllabus, timetables, lists of assessments, required textbooks, and class locations. This page is also available through the School of Psychology's "Current Students" webpage.

Your lecturers may post important announcements about the unit here, including information about assessments, or changes to the normal class routines caused by such things as public holidays, or lecturer illness. It is VITAL that you check for new announcements every time you log on to your unit's eLearning site. Note that when a new announcement has been posted, a green marker is placed next to the link.

The 'Calendar' tool allows you to view and add important dates, such as due dates for essays or dates of exams. Note that your calendar is accessible from the 'My eLearning sites' welcome page (where all your unit eLearning sites are listed) and is COMMON to all of your units' eLearning sites. That is, you can view all of the dates you've entered across any of your units' sites through the calendar. Also note that for some units your lecturers may add in important dates for you. When they do so, a green marker will be placed next to the link.

The discussion forums allow you to ask questions about the course and discuss issues with students and the academic staff. Please try to keep your discussions specific to the unit in question, and note that your posts are NOT anonymous - so be polite. Note that when a new discussion post or reply has been added, a green marker is placed next to the link. For further information on using the discussion tool, check out the 'eLearning site facilities guides' at the top of this page.

For some of your units, particularly those that have on-line assessment components such as on-line quizzes, you may be able to use the 'My Grades' tool to view your results. Note that some units may not use this tool to display all of your grades, so do not expect all of the grades for your unit to be on display here.

The 'Notes' tool allows you to save quick notes as you are working through the material in your unit's eLearning site. You may find it useful.