NAU encourages instructors to make class preview pages available for each of the classes they teach.
What Is a Class Preview Page?
A class preview page is a publicly visible document that lets students and prospective students know what to expect in a class. Take a look at a sample class preview page. Students can view class preview pages when they search for classes by using classes.nau.edu. If a class has a preview page available, a link to the preview page is displayed in the details for that class. Class preview pages are stored in Blackboard Bb Vista.
What Information Should a Class Preview Page Contain?
A class preview page should contain enough information about the class to help prospective students decide whether the class is right for them. It also should contain accurate information about textbooks and other required class materials so that enrolled students can purchase those materials and have them on hand for the first day of class, an especially important consideration for distance learning students. Some instructors use modified versions of their class syllabi as their preview pages. Other instructors prefer to create a customized web page.
What File Format Should I Use for My Class Preview Page?
The e-Learning Center provides a template that instructors can use to create a class preview page. The template is a web page (an HTML page, .htm) that contains headings and placeholders for the kinds of information that should be available on a class preview page. Instructors can use an HTML editor, such the one built into Bb Vista, or products such as Adobe Dreamweaver or Microsoft FrontPage, to modify the template, replacing the placeholder information with their own information.
Although a web page is the preferred format for a class preview page, instructors can instead use a Portable Document Format (.pdf) page, which students can view using the free Adobe Reader.
Another alternative is Rich Text format (.rtf). Many text editors, including those that come installed on computers (such as WordPad on a PC or TextEdit on a Macintosh), can create and read .rtf files.
Although it is possible to use a Microsoft Word document (.doc) as a class preview page, it is not recommended. Students who do not have a licensed copy of Microsoft Word will not be able to view preview pages formatted as Word documents. Use .htm, .pdf, or .rtf instead.
How Do I Create a Class Preview Page?
The simplest way is to start with the e-Learning Center's template. When viewing the template page in a browser, go to the browser's File menu and select Save As or Save Page As, depending on which browser you are using. Save the template file to your computer, giving it a name that you will remember. Consider using your class number, term, section number, or Peoplesoft number as part of the file name (for example, NUR307_1071_5767_preview.htm or PreviewPage_HIS200_Fall2007_Sec801.htm). It's a good idea to avoid spaces in file names. You can separate parts of file names with underscores.
Edit the Template File on Your Computer
You can use the HTML editor or text editor of your choice (such as Dreamweaver, Netscape Composer or NotePad) to modify the template file.
- Open the template file in your HTML or text editor.
- Highlight the placeholder text for each section in the template file and replace it with the information about your class.
Example shown from Dreamweaver: highlight Put Class Title Here.
Then type your class title, replacing the highlighted text.
Example: highlight Put Your Name Here. Then type your name, replacing the highlighted text.
You can either type your class information directly into your HTML or text editor, or if you have the information in some other document on your computer, such as your syllabus, you can copy information from the other document and paste it into the HTML or text editor. The formatting from your other document might not transfer well, so you might have to adjust it in the HTML or text editor.
Continue down the page, editing each section.
- Save the file when you've finished editing it.
Upload your Class Preview Page file to Bb Vista
- Log in into vista.nau.edu
- From your MyWebCT page, select the course where you plan to post the class preview page.
- Go to the Build tab, and in the left column, under the Designer Tools heading, select Manage Course .
- Select the Course Preview Page Setup link.
- Select the Browse for Course Preview Page button. A pop-up window will be displayed.
- In the pop-up window select the My Computer icon. A dialog box will be displayed, showing a list of directories and files on your computer.
- Navigate to the template file that you saved to your computer and select it.
- Then select the Open button.
A small popup window will be displayed while your file is being uploaded to the Bb Vista Public Files folder. When the file has finished uploading, you will see the file name above the Browse for Course Preview Page button.
If you are using a file that is already located in your Class Files, you will need to copy or move that file to the Public Files folder.
Note: To see your class preview page the same way that students will see it, go to classes.nau.edu, and browse for your class there. When you view the details for your class, you should see a link to your preview page. Select the link to see how the page will look to students.
For assistance in uploading or editing your class preview page, contact the e-Learning Center's Faculty Help Line (elc-help@nau.edu, 928-523-5554, or Toll Free 1-866-802-5256).
