TOPIC 9

TOPIC 9: USING WEBCT E-MAIL

Before starting, please print this page so you can read it and interact with WebCT at the same time. Using the E-mail feature in WebCT is similar to other E-mail facilities, however, you can only send E-mails to your Instructor and the other students enrolled in your course. Click on the E-mail (Private mail) icon on the WebCT Homepage or click the E-mail link in the Course Menu. When the E-mail page opens you will see buttons for controlling the messages and a list of the mail boxes.

Click here to download and view a video about WebCT e-mail. This is a large file and may take a long time to download. There is sound on the video but you may have to turn the volume almost all the way up to hear the sound. You may need to install a flash player. When the video has finished click on the back arrow to return to this page.

---- Main Mail page ----

This is what you'll see à

On the first line: Is the title of the mail page and displays the folder name of the current page.

On the second line: Buttons for compose a message, search, and message settings.

Compose message

This is the link to the message creation page.

Compose message line one: Is the title to let you know that you are on the Compose message page.

Compose message line two: Is the "Send to:" text box.

Compose message line three: Is the "Subject:" text box.

Compose message line four: Is the "Message:" text box.

Do not type your message in all capital letters. It is equivalent to shouting or screaming and is considered VERY RUDE. Also be aware that nonverbal cues are absent in e-mail. Be aware that attempts at humor using sarcasm on your part may be misinterpreted. And always type your name at the end of the message.

It is unethical to copy and forward information from e-mails to others outside the class. It is also inappropriate to talk about things discussed by classmates in the discussion forum or e-mails that may be of a personal nature.

Compose message line five: Is the button to change the text editor from a text box to a simple web page editor with limited features. The HTML editor is a What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) editor that can create simple web page messages.

Compose message line six: Is the link to attach files to the e-mail.

Compose message line seven: Buttons for Send, Preview, Cancel, and Save draft of the message.

Clicking this option allows you to look for previous messages using a number of different criteria such as: Subject, recipient, date, or to use a content search.

Message settings

Is used to personalize the display of the Mail page.

On the third line: Is a display of how many unread messages are in the mail box Folders.

On the forth line: A list of Folders where the e-mail is stored.

Click on this link if you want more detailed instructions for the Main Mail Page.

---- Folders page ----

This is what you'll see in the Inbox / Outbox / Draft folders à

On the first folder line: The name of the Message box appears

Mail Messages: Inbox

On the second folder line: Buttons for compose a message, update listing, search, and mark all the messages as read. It also tells you that you have some additional options at the bottom of the page.

Compose message

See the Compose message information above and on the Main Mail Page link.

Update listing

Clicking this option allows you to update the page and allows you to see your message without going back to the main Mail page. If you don't click on "Update listing" you will not see your message after you post it.

Search

Clicking this option allows you to look for previous messages using a number of different criteria such as: Subject, recipient, date, or to use a content search.

Mark all as read

This allows you to mark all the messages as read at one time. Using this function will reduce screen clutter [however this will be done automatically as you READ the messages if you have toggled unread]. That is the preferred way to reduce screen clutter.

Message options: Indicates that there are more options at the bottom of the page.

On the third folder line: Buttons for Display – All / Unread, Threaded / Unthreaded, Select folder:

Display: All or Unread

This function is a toggle and allows you to reduce screen clutter by hiding the messages you have read.

Threaded and Unthreaded

This function is also a toggled display. The Threaded display lists the messages under the separate main messages. Unthreaded list the messages in one long list.

Select Folder

This function allows you to access another folder without going back to the main Mail page.

On the fourth folder line: You will see the words Status, Subject, Author, and Date.

Status

Icons are used to represent the status of the individual messages.

Subject, Author, Date

The Subject, the Author, and the Date of the individual messages are listed.

On the fifth folder line: This line and the lines that follow it display the messages and the replies along with the name of the authors and the date and time each message was sent. You can also see if you have read the message.

On the next to last folder line: Is the Actions direction line

The double box indicates that you can checkmark more than one of the messages from the message list.

On the last folder line: Buttons for Compile, Mark as read, Mark as unread, Delete, and Move to:

Compile

You can Compile one or more messages and this feature will remove some of the blank lines and open areas of the messages (white space).

Mark as read

You can "Mark as read" messages that you have not read so that they will not be displayed the next time you view the Inbox.

Mark as unread

You can "Mark as unread" messages that you have viewed/read but you want to read again at a later time.

Delete

You can "Delete" messages that you have created/authored if you posted the message by mistake or the message is no longer needed.

Move to:

This last function allows you to move messages to another folder.

Click on this link if you want more detailed instructions for the Folders Page.

---- Message page ----

This is what you'll see when you view an individual message à

On message line one: The subject of the message is displayed.

On message line two: The message number is displayed.

Knowing the message number is useful if you have to tell your instructor that you sent a message for an assignment.

On message line three: The name of the message author is displayed.

On message line four: The date and time the message was created is displayed.

Starting on message line five: The contents of the message are displayed.

On message line six: If the message has an attachment a notice is displayed to view the attachment.

On the next to last message line: Button for Reply, Forward, Quote, Download, and Close.

Reply takes you to the Compose message page with the Subject line already filled in with "RE:" and the subject of the message that you are replying to. See the Compose message information above and on the Main Mail Page link.

Forward

Forward takes you to the Compose message page with the Subject line already filled in with "(Fwd)" and the subject of the message that you are forwarding. The Message: text box also has the message number, the date, the author, and the original message. You select the recipients and add your comments before forwarding the message.

Quote

Quote takes you to the Compose message page with the Subject line already filled in with "RE:" and the subject of the message that you are replying to. The Message: text box also has the message number, the date, the author, and the original message. You add your comments before sending the message back to the original author.

Download

Download opens a file download window so that you can open the message, or save the message to your computer, or cancel the download.

The currently opened message will be closed.

On the last message line: Previous and Next icons