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NWE Help: Instructor: Semester Start

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Here are most of the things we think you should know as you start teaching in the Networked Writing Environment.

Handling Syllabus Inclusion

All NWE syllabi are listed on the web at this location. You can add your syllabus to the list by naming the first page of your syllabus after your section number. For example, if your section is "f00-4520", make sure the filename of your syllabus is "4520.html". If your syllabus has more than one page, the filename of the first page should be "4520.html".

If you've already got a syllabus, or want to have a different name for the first page, just make a small placeholder document that points to the "real" syllabus. Here is an example (you can save this small document to your public_html directory and edit it as necessary -- there are comments in the HTML to help).

 

Student accounts

Student accounts are generally ready on the second day of classes. Come by Rolfs 111 to pick them up.

You'll be given an extra copy of the password information for your students. Please keep this safe. If a student forgets a password you can provide a reminder using that extra copy. You are encouraged to charge as needed for this service.

You should pick up account cards in the first week and send updates for drop/add changes by the end of the second week, regardless of when computer use enters into your pedagogical schedule. If you do not distribute your sections' account cards to your students then you will be mis-using the NWE's unique resources, and you will not be allowed to teach in any NWE classroom during future semesters.

 

Drops and Adds

Please handle all drops and adds by emailing the following to help@nwe.ufl.edu. Use the roster (see below) as needed for accuracy in spelling, etc.

  1. Your name
  2. Your course name and section number
  3. The time your course meets
  4. The full, properly spelled names of new or deleted students
  5. The UFID number of any new students.
NOTE: Social security numbers are NOT needed.

Please help us be more efficient by "bundling" your adds, and giving us at least one business day's notice. If you know the username of a person to be dropped, it is helpful to include that as well.

Come by Rolfs 111 the next time your class meets to pick up your adds. Please do not send students to pick up adds. You need to pick them up yourself. (Students can pick up a reset password, but we want all new account requests to go through you.)

 

Class Rosters

The NWE web includes a form to automagically generate a current roster from the records about your class that we maintain on our servers. Try it now. You can link to this page in your syllabus with the URL: 

      http://web.nwe.ufl.edu/cgi/roster?f00-XXXX

You can also save this page to your public_html directory (though doing so will break the links that keep the roster current).


Due to the Buckley amendment, the NWE roster can only be checked on campus.

 

Forgotten Passwords

If a student forgets a password, and you don't have a copy of the original password sheet, please glare menacingly at the student, then email help@nwe.ufl.edu and we'll make a new account card (with a new password) for the student by the next day. You can pick up the card from Rolfs 111, or send your student (with a picture ID).

Passwords must NEVER be emailed. Electronic mail simply lacks the security features need to keep your account safe from packet sniffers. If you email a student's password, we will deactivate their account until they can pick up a new password from us. Don't do it.

 

Class Email Lists

Every class in the NWE has an electronic mailing list. All students and the instructor are subscribed automatically. The address takes the form: 

     two-digit year
          |
          |
        f00-XXXX@nwe.ufl.edu
        |     |
        |     |
     term     section #

Every night, these lists are archived automatically on the Web. The archive can be sorted by subject or author. You can find your list on the web my using a URL of the form: 

      http://web.clas.ufl.edu/archives/TERMyear-section/

Select this link to see a list of current archives. (For older archives, see this link.)

To minimize spam, these lists are "closed," so if people not in your class want to subscribe to your class list, or if students wish to sign up from a different address, you'll need to approve their addition to the list.

Please note that some email services (like AOL and Hotmail) can have problems with the list-serves. See this page for information on how to handle that.

If you are teaching somewhere other than the NWE, you can still set up a class email list through CLAS.

Class Bulletin Boards

Bulletin Boards are not automatically set up for your class. Bulletin boards are located on the NWE, linked from http://www.nwe.ufl.edu/boards, or on CLAS linked from http://www.clas.ufl.edu/boards.

The CLAS and NWE bulletin boards have been discontinued, due to lack of support. We are leaving these archives linked to give you an idea of what instructors have done in the past. Please see the following links for resources regarding bulletin boards: http://groups.google.com/ and http://groups.yahoo.com/.

 

NWE Policies

We've collected a lot of our student user policies into a few simple documents. Please ask your students to read these documents at the beginning of the semester. At least once every semester we have to ask a student to stop hogging server space or harassing people in the MOO -- we feel a lot better doing so when they know the rules and the possible consequences of breaking them.

We're also writing down a large number of the policies we've always followed regarding classroom assignment, eligibility for teaching, and the like. We'll have links to that material from this page and others as soon as possible.

 

NWE Updates

The NWE is a dynamic environment. Stuff breaks or becomes outdated. Things gets fixed or are improved (hopefully more of this than the former). Keep up with NWE updates by reading mail from the NWE-L mailing list (to which all instructors are automagically subscribed) and reading the NWE update pages periodically.

There are links to the NWE update pages in the navigation bar of the NWE home page.

 

NWE Documentation

The core of NWE documentation is being updated continually. You and your students should find it accurate and easy to use. If not, tell Us.

 

Video Projectors

Video projectors are available in most rooms. Instructions are available online. Tip: Data2 for terminal; Video1 for VCR. Because some schmaltz stole the remote from 114, we've got to check out remotes as they are needed. Come to 111 to get a projector remote from us.

 

Extra Help

Want more help? Bug the IT staff. Email help@nwe.ufl.edu.

We'd also love to hear your comments about what we can do to make the Networked Writing Environment a better place to learn, teach, work, and experiment. Drop us a line anytime.