eCampus 101 is an introductory guide designed to help you become familiar with how to begin setting up your first course from scratch. This guide walks through the steps to add and manage content, customize your layout, create tests or assessments, interact with the grade book, and use various course tools including the Collaborate online meeting tool. Click through the content sections below to learn more about the topics that interest you, or join us for a live training session during scheduled events.
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Getting Started with eCampus Training Sessions: the ITS Training group holds virtual training sessions for eCampus at the beginning of each semester. Visit the WVU Events Calendar page to see when classes are available, or keep an eye on your email for eCampus training sessions.
You may also contact ITS Training to request one-on-one training , or customized group trainings, or in-person training. We will design our content to meet your needs.
ITS Help Center: You will find a list of all eCampus for Faculty articles in our help center.
Blackboard Help: View Blackboard's video tutorials, or review the Blackboard Help guides.
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Click the Build Content button at the top to select a content type to place in the content area. Select from many types including items, files, pages, images, links, and other media. When you create any type of item (such as an text-item, file, test, or link) in eCampus, you will be given a screen where you can give it a name, description, and define some parameters for how it will behave. Some fields are are required and will display an asterisk.
Example: Add a welcome message to the content area
An Item is a flexible content type that lets you insert text, images, links, and attached files.
Click Build Content > Item.
On the Create Item page, give the item a Name (required).
Optionally, click the color-selector drop down to choose the Color of Name that the text will display on the page. Choose any color swatch, or enter a hexadecimal color value in the field at the top. Click Apply to change the title color.
In the Text area below, enter a welcome statement, description of the class, how to interact with the material in this course, how to contact the instructor, or similar information.
Text editing boxes in eCampus provide many tools for formatting or inserting data or images from your eCampus Content Collection, or other sources. You can even insert your own HTML or CSS code.
In the Attachments section, you can attach a file to go with this item - such as your syllabus. Click a button in the Attach Files area to select from your computer’s local files, a file in your Content Collection, or from a cloud-hosted file service. You can also simply drag-and-drop files into the dotted line to attach them.
Attached files will be copied to your eCampus Content Collection for this course.In the Standard Options section, you can choose whether you want to:
Permit Users to View this Content - select Yes if you want them to see it.
Track Number of Views to see how many times students have clicked on it.
Select Date and Time Restrictions to make this item display only between certain times that you set. The item will not be visible to students outside of the selected date range. If you leave the date and time restrictions blank, the system will display the item immediately, and will not remove it unless you take it down/make it unavailable.
Click Submit to place the item in the Content Area.
Example: Add a file to the content area
The File content type displays only a clickable file link. Many file types can open directly in the eCampus environment: Supported File Types.
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A Learning Module is an organized container for course materials that automatically adds a table of contents for the material included. Learning modules allow you to organize your course content as you would in your syllabus...each Learning Module might correspond to a chapter or module in your course. They also permit special options such as forcing the items in the module to be completed in the correct order. Learning Modules are recommended as the highest-level organization for course material - using content folders for each section within a module.
Example: Create a Learning Module
Click Build Content > Learning Module
On the Create Learning Module page, enter a Name for this module (required).
In the Text area, enter a description of this module - what it contains or its purpose. You can include any formatting or images, links, etc. desired.
Choose the Default Content View for this module. Do you want students to see an icon for each content type, only the text name/label, or both?
In the Learning Module Options section, you can specify whether students must view the content in order (the 3rd section will not be available until the student has read the 2nd section). Select Yes if you want to Enforce Sequential Viewing.
Select the Standard Options for the module: do you want users to see this module (yes/no), do you want to track views, and do you want to restrict access to a certain date range?
Finally, in the Table of Contents section, choose whether to Show Table of Contents to Users. The default selection is yes. When students click on the learning module from the main content page, they will see the table of contents for each item/section of the module on the left side of the module screen.
Select the Hierarchy Display for each item in this module - meaning choose whether the topics in this module will be listed and ordered with letters, numbers, Roman numerals, or mixed symbols.
Click Submit to place the new Learning Module on the content page.
Click on the new learning module to begin placing topics and content inside the learning module, using the Build Content, Assessments, Tools, or Partner Content menus to choose things to add.
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The instructor or course builder can add links to the course menu to help users navigate the course more easily. Tool links can be added to help students find useful items like the journal, send email options, discussion boards, the course calendar, or the My Grades tool.
Example: Add a Tool Link to the Course Menu
Click the Plus sign.
From the drop-down, choose Tool Link.
All new menu items are required to have a Name - give the menu link a name that matches the tool you will select.
Select the tool you are linking to from the Type drop-down menu.
Make sure to check the box to make this link Available to Users.
And click Submit to add the tool link. Click the link to view the tool as it will appear in your course.
Example: Link to MyGrades
Providing a link to the My Grades tool lets students see grades for each assignment and total course grades - which they would otherwise only be able to see from the Report Card feature on the home page.
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The Content Collection is in the Control Panel menu. Your Content Collection is segregated into folders for each course you teach, so you will see a link to a content collection for this course as well as a link to your entire content collection that contains files for All Courses Content. On the Course Content page, You will see a listing of all files and folders already in your content collection. Upload a file to import content or media. You can also upload course packages in ZIP format.
Example: Upload a File to the Content Collection
On the Content Collection>This Course page, click Upload at the top of the page.
Select Upload Files.
Click Choose File to browse to the file’s location. A file is required for this step.
Select the desired file and click Open. The chosen file will display on the upload page.
Review the Options for file uploads. You can lock the file, allow comments, enable versioning, or enable tracking of who accesses the file.
Submit the file to be uploaded.
The imported file will now appear in the Content Collection and will be available to be placed in the course and accessed by all users.
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You can create several different types of assignments in eCampus that will help determine your students’ level of mastery. These may include self or peer-assessments and multiple third-party tools assignments (Turnitin, Voice Thread, or publisher-created). Each assessment you create in the eCampus course will be added to the Grade Center as a new column and calculated into total grade values for the course.
Example: Create an Assignment
Begin by clicking the Assessments menu in a course content page or learning module.
Choose Assignment.
Provide a Name (title) for the assignment. You can also choose a Color for the title by clicking the drop-down.
In the Instructions text box, give the students instructions on the details of this assignment. You can type directly into the box, or copy/paste from an existing document. Use the many editing tool buttons to format the text, add links, images, formulas, or video content.
Assignment Files: If you wish to attach a file to go with this assignment, either drag and drop the file into the dotted line, or use the buttons to browse for a file from your computer or eCampus content collection.
You will see the attached file appear below the files area.
Click the calendar to set a Due Date for the assignment. eCampus automatically chooses a time of 11:59 pm (the end of the calendar day). You may set a different time if desired.
The due date will be visible to students on the course calendar, and in their To Do list on the eCampus institution page. Assignments turned in after the selected due date will be marked as late in the Grade Center.
In the Grading section, assign the number of Points Possible for this assignment. This will be the total points available for the assignment in the Grade Center column.
Choose other grading options:
Under Submission Details, choose whether the assignment will be submitted as an individual or group project, and the Number of Attempts a student is permitted for this assignment.
Under Grading Options, choose whether student names will be visible to the grader, and whether grading of this assignment will be delegated to another grader (for instance a graduate teaching assistant). If you enable delegation, you will be able to choose a grader and assign them a set of submissions to grade. The course instructor will still need to reconcile the scores for this assignment after an assistant has graded them.
Expand Display of Grades to choose how the grade for this assignment will display in the grade center and My Grades student view.
For the Primary display (in My Grades and the Grade Center), and the Secondary display (which will appear in the Grade Center only), For each view, you can choose whether the grade will appear as a numerical score, a letter grade, a text value, a percentage, or simply complete or incomplete.
You may then select whether this assignment will be Included in Grade Center calculations (totals columns, or other calculated columns). Un-check the box if you do not want this assignment included.
Do you want to this grade to Show to students in My Grades? By default, students will be able to see this assignment in their My Grades view - you can un-check the box to hide the grade from the student view.
Do you want to Show Statistics (average and median grades) for this assignment to students in My Grades? Check the box to allow them to compare their grade to the rest of the class.
In the Availability section, make sure the Make the Assignment Available box is checked to allow students to see the assignment. It will be visible by default, but you can also Limit Availability to a range of dates, if you wish. You can also check the box to select to Track the Number of Views to see how many students have clicked on the assignment.
Click Submit to create the assignment and place it in the content area or learning module. If you have set date/time restrictions, or un-checked the available box, students will not see the new item yet.
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Example: Create a Test
In the Tests, Surveys, and Pools course management area, click Tests.
ℹ You can also create a test from a content page in your course, just choose Test from the Assessments menu.On the Tests page, you will see any tests already created for this course, and buttons to build or import a test. Click Build Test to create a test canvas on which you can place questions.
When you create a test, you will need to give the test a Name, identifying what content is covered by this exam (required).
A Description is not required by the system, but can help identify the course content covered by this test.
In the Instructions field, you can provide directions for students about taking the exam, such as specifics about the question format or the length of time permitted.
After entering the basic details, click the Submit button to create the test canvas.
After creating the test canvas, you can now add questions. Click Create Question to select a question type.
ℹ You can also Reuse existing questions in a question pool, or Upload questions that you have saved in a file.Click on the question type (ex: Multiple Choice) from the menu.
Depending on the type of question you selected, you will have different options and fields to complete. All questions can be given a title (for identification purposes).
In the Question Text field, enter the actual test question. You can use the formatting tools to alter the text appearance or include images, formulas, or other content.
In the Options section, choose the type of numbering students will see next to each answer. You can also select a vertical or horizontal layout for the multiple choice answers, allow partial credit, or have the system display the answers in a random order.
In the Answers section, you can set the number of answers students can choose from on this question, and enter text for each answer you will provide.
In each numbered answer text box, enter an answer.
Then, indicate which answer is Correct by clicking the radio button next to that answer.
The Tests tool can provide feedback to the student after they take their exam to tell them why the answer was correct or incorrect. Enter Correct Response Feedback and Incorrect Response Feedback in the fields provided. Students will be able to see the appropriate feedback (depending on their answer) after their exam is complete.
When you have completed the question, with answers, responses, and any notes, you can Submit the question to be added to this test. You will see a Success message indicating the question has been created.
Click in the Points field at the upper right corner of the question to edit the scoring for this question, if desired. Questions default to 10 points.
Continue adding questions to the test canvas. Click the plus icon above or below a question to select a question type and place it in that location on the test, or click Create Question at the top of the page to choose a question type (and place it at the bottom of the page).
Click Create Question > Essay to add an essay question.
In the Question Text field, enter the essay question.
In the Answer field, enter the grading guidelines or criteria for a correct answer. Essay questions cannot be graded by the system, and will require manual grading.
Add a Rubric for grading the answer to this essay question by creating one here, or selecting an existing rubric.
You can choose categories and keywords, and provide instructor notes for anyone who will be grading this question.
When you’re happy with the question, click Submit. Question 2 will now appear on the test.
Review the question and adjust the Points field if needed.
Continue adding questions until complete, and click OK at the bottom of the test canvas page to return to the Tests area.
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After creating a test in eCampus, it lives in the Tests, Surveys, and Pools area of your course. To make it available to students, you must deploy the test to a content area where they can see it. During this step, you will also set some parameters for how and when it will display, what access restrictions will be applied, how the grade will display, and what feedback students will see (and when).
Example: Deploy a Test
Navigate to the content area in your course where students will take the test.
Under the Assessments menu, click Test.
From the Create Test page, you can either create a new test, or Add an Existing Test. The list will display any tests in the Tests, Surveys, and Pools area of your course that are not already deployed.
Click on the test name from the Select Test Below list.
Click Submit to edit the Test Options that will determine how students see this test.
On the Test Options page, make sure that the test Name and Content Link Description are correct.
Select the checkboxes to choose whether you want to show test description to students before they begin or show instructions to students before they begin.
In the Test Availability section, choose:
Whether to Make available to students. You must select Yes here for students to see and access the test. You might want to leave it not available if you are still setting things up, but you must come back and change this option.
Whether to Add a new announcement for this test. Selecting Yes will send an announcement to students with a link to the test via the eCampus Announcements tool.
Whether students will get Multiple Attempts at completing this test. If selected, you can allow unlimited attempts, or only a certain number…and if selected, which score should be counted by the Grade Center.
Whether to Force Completion. When selected, students must complete the test in one sitting; they cannot stop the test and resume later.
Whether to Set a Timer for this test. You can designate a limited amount of time in which to complete the test, and if so, will the test auto-submit when time expires.
Dates and times when the test will Display (after/until) on the page where students can see it. The default will be to make it available now (when you submit) and to remain available. You can set a date and time for the test to become available to students and disappear from their view.
Whether to set a Password for access to the test.
Whether to Restrict Location by IP address. This option is used primarily for tests that must be taken in a WVU computer lab.
Circumstances or individual educational needs may require that some students receive exemption or exceptions to the availability requirements above. In the Test Availability Exceptions section, you can add individual users or groups you’ve created in this course who will receive different availability limits.
Select a Due Date for the test. If the test is still available after this date, any submissions will be marked Late, unless you check the box to not allow students to start the test if the due date has passed.
Under Self-Assessment Options, the default selection is to Include this test in Grade Center score calculations. You can also choose to Hide results from the instructor and Grade Center, but this option cannot be reversed without deleting prior attempts.
In the Show Test Results and Feedback to Students section, you’ll select when and how much feedback will be shown to students. A tiered approach allows for students to see some details about how they did on the test as soon as they submit, and other details later (after the due date, or after grading is complete).
Finally, select the style of Test Presentation. Should questions appear all at once (scroll down the page to see all questions), or one at a time (one question on the page, click next to proceed) - and whether to prohibit backtracking to already-submitted questions. You can also select a checkbox to Randomize Questions on this test.
When all test options are set, click Submit to deploy the test to the content area. It will be visible on the page to the instructor, and will be visible to students depending on the availability options you chose. If
you selected to send an announcement, it will go out at this time.
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The eCampus system allows you to send an announcement to all users who are enrolled in your course at one time - to share important information about upcoming events, schedule changes, or other details. Announcements will show up in the Activity Stream area on the WVU eCampus home page.
Example: Create an Announcement
Click Announcements under Course Tools in your Course Management panel to create an announcement.
On the Announcements page, click Create Announcement.
Enter a Subject (title) for this announcement and select a text color from the selector at the end of the Subject field.
In the Message text box, type or paste in any information you wish to share with students - a new content module is available, a study session is scheduled, class is cancelled. Use the formatting options to edit the presentation of the text.
In the Web Announcement Options section, choose the Duration of this announcement. Choose whether to leave it viewable indefinitely (Not Date Restricted), or make it viewable only between selected dates (Date Restricted).
Also in the Web Announcement Options section, check the Email Announcement box if you would like to send an email to students' WVU Mix email.
You can also link to a page or content area in this course by selecting it in the Course Link Location field. Click the Browse button to choose a page or item in the course.
Click Submit to create the announcement. If not date restricted, it will appear in the Activity Stream of all members of this course on the main WVU eCampus home page, and in the Announcements area inside this course (as well as in email if you chose that option).
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Another eCampus tool you may wish to use in your course is the Discussion Board. This tool allows you to pose a question or discussion topic for students to comment on or respond to. You can even track individual responses and make the discussion a graded assignment.
Example: Create a Discussion Board
Click the Discussion Board link under Control Panel > Course Tools.
Click the course name where you want to add the discussion board. You will see a list of any forums already created for this course.
Click Create Forum to set up the new discussion.
On the Create Forum page, you will first give the forum a Name (required).
In the Description field, enter something about the purpose or topic of this forum.
In the Forum Availability section, choose whether students can see it now (Available: Yes/No), and set any Date and Time Restrictions that you would like to apply.
In the Forum Settings section There are some more specific options you can set for forum behavior such as whether students are required to post before they can view other threads, whether participation will be graded (and how many points are possible), whether students can subscribe to the forum, and what editing privileges are permitted.
Click Submit to create and place the new forum on the course discussion board.
Now that the forum has been created, start a thread to post a question. Click the forum title on the Discussion Board page.
Inside the forum, click Create Thread.
Once again you’ll see a creation page. Enter a Subject for the thread (required).
In the Message field enter a question, writing prompt, or discussion topic for students to respond to.
You also have the option to include a file Attachment with the new thread post.
Click Submit to create the thread.
You will see your thread posted to the forum. Click the thread title to view and respond to the question. Students should see the newly posted forum thread too. You (or your students) can reply to the thread. Any posted replies will appear below the original forum thread post.
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The Course Messages tool in eCampus allows you to send messages to students inside of the eCampus application. You can send messages to an individual or to groups (or the whole class). They will appear in the Messages section of the eCampus home page. The Course Messages page displays your Inbox, and your Sent box - just like an email program.
Example: Send a Course Message
Click Create Message to start a new one.
On the Compose Message screen, you can choose which members of your course will receive the message by selecting them. Click the To button to pick recipients.
A box will open displaying a list of possible recipients. You can select individuals one at a time and move each name into the Recipients box, or choose to Select All to send to your whole class.
After choosing the desired recipients, click the arrow to move them to the Recipients field.
In the Compose Message area, a Subject line is required. Enter a subject.
In the Body field, enter the text of the message you want to send.
Then click Submit when you are satisfied that the message is ready to send.
You will see a success message at the top of the screen. The message will now be visible to the selected recipients on the WVU eCampus home page in their Messages area.
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The Send Email tool can be useful if you need to send messages outside of the eCampus system. This tool sends to each person’s MIX email address, but does not keep a copy - so it’s helpful to send one to yourself, too.
Example: Send an Email to MIX
In the Course Tools menu, select the Send Email tool.
On the Send Email page, you can choose a variety of different groups as recipients. Choose a user group, such as All Users or All Student Users.
The To and From fields in the email will be filled in. Enter a Subject for the email.
In the Message field, enter the text of the message you want to send. You can format the content or copy/paste from a document.
The e-Campus system does not save a record of email messages. Make sure to check the Return Receipt box if you would like a copy of this email sent to you.
Note that you also have an option to include a file Attachment with the email.
When you are ready to send the email message, click the Submit button. A notification will tell you that the email was sent to your selected recipients.
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You will find the Grade Center in the Course Management Control Panel. To view all grades and assignments, choose Full Grade Center. The Full Grade Center displays a list of all students enrolled in the class, their eCampus username, and ID, and the last date on which they accessed the course, as well as the student’s current availability and grade totals. The remaining columns show the student’s score on each assignment or test.
Example: Create a Grade Center Column
Click Create Column at the top of the page.
On the Create Grade Column page, enter a Column Name (required). A separate display name for the Grade Center is optional.
Choose the type of Primay Display and Secondary Display that will be used for this graded item. Select from Score, Letter, Text, Percentage, or Complete/Incomplete.
Enter the number of Points Possible for this column (required).
If you are using a grading rubric for this assignment, you can click Add Rubric to attach one here.
In the Dates section, select a Due Date from the calendar and choose the Time of day when the assignment must be submitted.
In the Options section, make sure you have selected whether to include this column in Grade Center calculations (such as the total grade) and whether to allow students to see this column or statistics about the assignment.
When you’ve entered all the options, click Submit to create the new column. A success message appears at the top of the page, and the new grade column will appear at the end of the existing assignment columns.
You may enter grades for this assignment directly into the Grade Center column if desired. Click in a cell and type a score or grade. The new entry will be saved when you press the Enter key.
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The Grade Center tool also allows you to download a copy of the grade information to edit in Excel (or your favorite spreadsheet tool) and then upload your changes.
Example: Download the Grade Center
Click Work Offline in the upper right of the Full Grade Center to download grades.
Click Download.
On the Download Grades page, you will see some options for how you want to download the data. It is advised to leave the default settings for downloading the Full Grade Center and using Tab-delimited column format.
Choose to download the file to your computer or your eCampus content collection.
Then click Submit to compile a downloadable file.
The system will generate a file for download. Click the Download button to save a copy to your selected location.
Depending on your browser, you will see the download appear in a list or pop up, or in your designated folder. Open the downloaded file.
Grade Center data is downloaded in Excel spreadsheet format, using Tab-spacing to determine where each new column begins. Click Yes to allow Excel to open the file.
Make any changes or corrections to the data that are needed. It is advised to make minimal changes using this method.
ℹ You should NOT change the column headings, or add, remove, or change the order of the columns to allow the Grade Center to be able to import the file again.
⚠ If you use formulas in your spreadsheet to calculate grades, do so in another document, then copy and Paste Values into the grade center spreadsheet. eCampus cannot read the formula - the data must be values only.Save the file with the same name before you upload it to the course again.
Excel will ask you if you want to keep the same format. Click Yes.
Example: Re-Upload Grade Center Changes
In your browser window, go back to the Full Grade Center page, and import the file you edited by clicking Work Offline > Upload.
Click a button to browse for the file on your computer or in your content collection.
Select the file from your computer, then click Open.
The name of the selected file will appear. Leave the Delimiter Type set to Auto, and click Submit to import the data file.
The system will display a confirmation screen, with details about which data has been changed in each column. Review the changes, then click Submit.
You should now see a notification at the top of the page, and the changes you made will appear in the Grade Center view.
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