The CATE System
Understanding, Building, and Teaching with Class Websites using SRJC's Computer-Assisted Teaching Environment

1. Introduction 2. Basic Concepts 3. Overall Structure 4. Personal Homepages 5. Course Homepages 6. Section Homepages 7. Images 8. Uploading Files 9. File Management Image-Picking Interface Link-Picking Interface 10. Nav Bars 11. Schedules Text-Entry Interface 12. Presentations 13. Tests and Exercises 14. Rosters and Student Management 15. Web Groups 16. Passwords and Authentication 17. Message Boards 18. Other Communications 19. Tools for Students 20. Gradebooks 21. The Next Step

1. Introduction The CATE system is easy enough for most instructors to learn about personal homepages and section homepages and some other basic tools without any training at all. However, for anyone delving into the more sophisticated modules -- such as online testing, gradebooks, Message Boards, etc -- it's usually a good idea to participate in our training sessions. That's especially true for anyone planning to create and teach an online class. The CATE online courseware package comprises a series of interconnected modules ranging from the basic (such as Personal Homepages and Section Homepages) to the advanced (such as Communications and Gradebooks). Our training workshops are structured to cover the entire system (although we look at some components only briefly) in a series of nine sessions. Each session deals with one or more of the modules. The workshops are arranged so that the earliest ones cover the easiest and most commonly used modules while the later workshops cover the more advanced modules. For example, almost everyone can easily understand and utilize personal homepages, which are covered in the first workshop. On the other hand, class message boards and gradebooks are more sophisticated and not utilized by as many instructors, so they're not covered until the final workshops. Each workshop also builds on the material presented in all the previous sessions, so in a sense this training is like studying addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division in succession. That means almost all instructors attend the first couple of workshops, but fewer folks attend as we move closer to the end. Many instructors only need to build personal homepages and section homepages, so they only join us for the first two workshops. Instructors planning to teach online classes -- but not many others -- typically attend all nine workshops so they'll have a good grasp of the entire system. Therefore, you need not commit to all the workshops-- just the ones that cover the modules you want to use. A word of caution is nevertheless in order. In the same way that you wouldn't skip classes on addition and subtraction and try to jump straight into calculus, don't skip the early workshops if you're planning to attend the more advanced ones. Sample Class Websites WWII 101 A plain-vanilla sample class website Rock 101 A fancier sample class website Feedback Please provide us with comments, corrections, and/or suggestion regarding this material. Be sure to identify the lesson and the material to which you're referring. Thanks for taking the time to help us improve these online training materials. CATE Online Training Feedback

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