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Mild/Moderate Special Education Distance Education Program
The following links provide information on downloading and installing current versions of Internet software for students' computers (extension center computers will have the current software). The software listed below is considered essential to the program as students are required to access course materials and information on course-specific webpages. Students can choose whether they use Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer to access these pages. Adobe Acrobat Reader is mandatory for students view and/or print course materials.
Students are required to access some course materials on the Internet. The course webpages are created within an online course delivery platform called WebCT. Students can access their courses by entering through USU's WebCT website (this will list all of the student's courses), or by selecting a course from the pull-down menu on the upper right-hand corner of the Mild/Moderate website (this will go directly to the content for the selected course). Follow the prompts on the WebCT screen to enter your User ID and password.
Each course website has the same basic layout. In the upper frame, you will find the department listing and the course title. In the left-hand column you will find a list of links to course materials. These materials are available as Adobe Acrobat PDF files. With Adobe Acrobat Reader correctly installed, all course materials will open in this frame (go to the Adobe Acrobat Reader link above for information on downloading and installing). Grades, quizzes, chat, bulletins, and other WebCT tools are available by clicking the WebCT button at the top of the screen. You may return to the opening page by clicking the course number and title at the top of the page. You may return to the Mild/Moderate Special Education Distance Education Program website by clicking the Mild/Moderate Licensure button.
Utah State University provides currently enrolled students with student email accounts. Students enrolled in this special education program are encouraged to use their USU email account for any correspondence related to their program. Students will also send assignments to their instructors through email. To apply for a USU email account go to http://www.webmail.usu.edu and click on the "apply for a USU student email account" link. You will be asked to read some user policies and answer questions regarding these policies. You will then create a username and password and your account will be activated.
Accessing Course Webpages
Q: Where is the Mild/Moderate Special Education Distance Education Program website?
A: The program website can be found at http://sped.usu.edu/mild.
Q: Where can I find my course syllabus and/or online readings?
A: All the course syllabi are kept on the WebCT server. You can access them through the Mild/Moderate website or you can enter through the WebCT main page. After entering the course webpage, click on the links in the left-hand column for the course syllabus and/or readings.
Q: I couldn't get into my class page; my browser said something about a Javascript error as soon as I clicked on the course number.
A: This happens when you try to enter through the Mild/Moderate page with an old or outdated browser; some browsers are unable to simply ignore these Javascripts. You have two choices: you can upgrade your browser (go to the software section above), or you can login through the WebCT main page.
Q: I couldn't get into my class page; when I try to login, a page comes up that says "Authorization Required."
A: You either don't have a WebCT account set up or you entered your username/password erroneously. If you have an active account, then you should first check to ensure that you entered your username and password properly--this means that all the letters must be lowercase and there should be no spaces or dashes. If this is not the problem, contact your instructor to verify that your username is correctly entered into their course.
Q: I couldn't get into my class page; when I try to login, the program seems to crash. (If I am in Windows either the "blue screen of death" gives me a "fatal exception error" or a window pops up to say something about an illegal operation; or if I am in Mac OS, my computer just freezes.)
A: This is almost indubitably an operating system/application problem and has nothing to do with the page or the browser type/version. The only thing that may remedy this problem quickly is to reinstall a different version of your preferred web browser (go to the software section above).
Q: I am on AOL. Any problems with that?
A: Yes, but there is a solution. AOL is notorious for having inferior browsers; even though the new AOL browser is based on Internet Explorer, there are still some definite problems with the way it reads important pages--WebCT course pages for example. If you use AOL, you can still download and install Netscape's Navigator/Communicator. To use Navigator instead of the AOL browser, simply dial-up through AOL, minimize the browser, and open up Navigator.
WebCT User ID & Password
Q: How do I get a WebCT account (User ID/password) to login to my class?
A: You will be assigned a username/password according to the following formula:
User ID: the first two letters of your first name, followed by your entire last name then the last two digits of your student (SS) number (e.g. Rocky Balboa's User ID is "robalboa89").
Password: Student (SS) number with no dashes or spaces (e.g., 123456789).
Accessing Course Materials
Q: I couldn't open up the Handout/Assignment/Study Guide that I am supposed to read for a test/assignment/quiz tomorrow. Help me PRONTO!
A: This could be caused by one of several problems, all of which are related to the fact that the online course materials are Acrobat PDF files. The most obvious problem may be that you don't have the free Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer. In this case, you need to download and install the reader (go to the software section above).
Q: That's not the problem; I know I have downloaded Acrobat Reader, but the pages still don't show up.
A: You may have properly downloaded Acrobat Reader, but did you properly install it? Go to the software section above for more help. Remember that downloading and installing are two distinct processes.
Q: I installed Acrobat Reader after I downloaded it. The pages still don't appear.
OR
Q: I got the Handout/Assignment/Study Guide to open, but when I click on any of the little blue links inside the Handout/Study Guide file, nothing happens or the file can't be found. What is up with this?
A: Assuming you are being patient enough to allow the pages to download (some of them take quite awhile), your web browser probably does not recognize that Acrobat Reader is available as a "plug-in." To remedy this, you must force Netscape to accept Acrobat as a plug-in. Click on the link below for details on how to do this.
Q: How do I print a PDF document?
A: Click on the printer icon that appears just above the PDF document.
Q: How do I print an HTML (web page) document?
A: Choose the "File" menu from the browser window, and select the "Print..." option.
Acrobat Reader
Q: What is Acrobat Reader?
A: Acrobat Reader is a piece of free software from Adobe which basically allows you to view any document that is formatted as a PDF.
Q: What is a PDF?
A: A Portable Document Format file is a readable, printable, solid file format for easy and dependable display of text, graphics, and layout, both on and off the WWW. It works as a plug-in with most web browsers to display pdf information directly within the web page.
Q: Do I need Acrobat Reader? How do I get it?
A: YES. If you are going to read any handouts, assignments, Electronic Reserve materials, etc. Acrobat Reader is required. Acrobat Reader is free, it is simple to download and install, and it is easy to use. To do this go to the software section above and select the Adobe Acrobat Reader link.
Utah State University
Mild/Moderate Special Education Distance Education Program
2865 Old Main Hill
Logan, Utah 84322-2865
Phone: 435.797.7575 Fax: 435.797.3572
