Frequent Asked Questions for Students. What is CourseWorks? CourseWorks is Columbia University s course management and collaborative system.

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1 Frequent Asked Questions for Students What is CourseWorks? CourseWorks is Columbia University s course management and collaborative system. What Does CourseWorks offer? Tools for more flexibility for instructors and students alike. The tools include calendar, chat, wikis, blogs, better file management, and a personal space for all individual users. What are the system requirements for using CourseWorks? For system requirements please go to: How do I login to CourseWorks? Access CourseWorks at Click on the "Login" link in the upper-right corner of the screen. Use your University Network ID (UNI) and password to log in. If you have any further questions regarding logging into CourseWorks, please send to courseworks@columbia.edu o For issues with your UNI go to: o Forgot your Password? go to: What is My Workspace? In CourseWorks, each user has their own private space called "My Workspace". After logging in to CourseWorks, you will automatically be taken to "My Workspace". This is the space where you will view an integrated announcement and calendar for all your courses, and edit your preferences. Why am I unable to see my courses? Courses that you are enrolled in are listed on the landing page after logging in, next to "My Workspace." You may not see a course because: o Your instructor is not using 'CourseWorks' o You just registered for the course o There is an issue with your registration

2 I just dropped a course and it is still showing up in CourseWorks. What can I do? If you just dropped the course it will be taken off your CourseWorks course listing the following morning. I have old sites appearing in my course listing. How can I delete them? You cannot delete sites in CourseWorks, only hide them. What about Popup-Blockers? CourseWorks is configured with safe pop-ups to enhance user experience. If you discover that certain course materials will not open when you click on the link, hold down the Ctrl key and click on the link again. Please configure your browser to allow pop-ups from CourseWorks. For more on how to configure pop-ups (including for Macs) check your browser settings. Where do upload personal files? You can upload your own files in my "My Workspace" and then clicking on My Files. How do I upload files to my Drop Box? How can I tell if my instructor has received them? As long as you see your file in the Drop Box, your professor will be able to see it as well. You also have the option of sending an notification to the instructor once you have uploaded the file. How much content can I upload? You may only upload 100 MB worth of files at once. Your quota for "My Workspace" is 512 MB. If you require more space, please send a request to courseworks@columbia.edu How can I copy text from a Word document? If you wish to copy formatted text from a Microsoft Word document while retaining the formatting, you may do this by using the "Paste from Word" button. The Paste from Word tool is indicated by a blue "W" in the editor window. How do I know if my assignment has been received? When you are ready to "submit" your work using CourseWorks Assignment tool, click Submit. You will see a confirmation message with a submission ID number. An message will also be mailed to you with the same submission ID. If you do not see either message, your work may not have been saved in CourseWorks. Note: Be sure to keep a copy of your work on your computer. How can I Check an Assignment Grade? In the menu bar, click Assignments. When the Assignments page appears, you will see the title of your assignment and information about its status. Click the title of the assignment for more

3 details. You will see when your assignment was graded as well as the original instructions. Can I Resubmit an Assignment? If you feel that you need to resubmit an assignment, your instructor. You will then see your assignment. Once you have your instructor's approval, your assignment will show as resubmit. When you are finished revising your assignment, click Resubmit. What should I know about taking tests and quizzes? Tests and quizzes can be configured in many ways by each instructor. This guide applies to the default settings. Do not submit your test before you are done. Only click the Submit for Grading button when you are absolutely sure you are finished with the test. How can I view my grades? Select the Gradebook tool within your course; the information that you see is based on what your instructor has made available. You will see one or both of the following: Course Grade. The course grade is a cumulative grade based on items you have completed. Gradebook Items: The list of Gradebook items shows each item name, its due date (if applicable), your grade, and any comments associated with the grade. If you do not see any grades listed please contact your instructor. How do I view my instructor s comments in the Gradebook? If your instructor has added comments, they will appear under the column Comments. Please note that if the item is highlighted in yellow, you will need to access the Assessments or Assignments tool to view the comments. Why am I unable to see my grades for assignments, Tests and Quizzes? If you are unable to see your grades, your instructors may not have the grade visible. Please your instructor. What does the Search tool do? The Search tool allows you to search an entire site to find documents and other materials that contain text you specify. The tool searches the content and file names of the following:.doc (MS Word document),.pdf (portable document format). You have the option to search your current site or all your sites. Can I setup an (RSS Feed)? Yes, you can set up an RSS feed, to view information from a news sources, blogs, events listing. Click on the RSS Aggregator tool and then click on Subscriptions. What is CourseWorks Text Editor? CourseWorks uses a single consistent editor across all areas where text can be input, by students or instructors. It is a WYSIWYG editor, which means that the text being edited on looks as similar as possible to the results users have when publishing it.

4 How can I rearrange my courses? If would like to change the order in which the course listing appears or hide some of your courses you can do so in the "My Workspace" area under "Preferences" and click on Customize Quick Links. What is the Mail tool? CourseWorks has its own tool. This is not the same as your regular university account. The Mail tool in CourseWorks will only send mail to people within a particular course, e.g., HUMAQ9100_001_2011_3. How Can I upload /download multiple files to my course site? You can upload/download your files by creating a link in your CourseWorks Files & Resources folder on your desktop as a virtual drive, hence you can use drag and drop to upload and download files and folders to and from your CourseWorks. For more information, see Files & Resources - Upload-Download Multiple Resources. How do I create a virtual drive? You can create a virtual drive using WebDAV*, which allows you to connect your CourseWorks Resources on your desktop so that you can use drag and drop to upload files and folders to and from your CourseWorks Resources. To set up WebDAV Click on Files & Resources and then follow the link to Upload-Download Multiple Resources. (*Web-based Distributed Authoring and Versioning) Can I set up a virtual drive on my MAC? If you are an OS X user you might want to try using idisk or Goliath (available from For instructions on how to set up a WebDAV, click on Files & Resources and then go to Upload-Download Multiple Resources. How do I go back to a tool s main screen? To go back to tool s main screen use the reset button. It appears to the left of the name of the tool you are using and looks like two arrows pointing in opposite directions How can I edit a file detail? To edit the name, description, availability, access settings, or other properties for a file, from the Actions menu next to your file's name, click Edit Details. Make your changes, and then click Update to save your changes. How can I subscribe to My Workspace calendar? Your course site has a URL for ical export or subscription. To subscribe to your My WorkSpace calendar, click on export, here you will find the URL for your My WorkSpace calendar.

5 How do I submit a document to Assignments which I have stored in My Workspace? Select your file and click on actions button, select move. Your file will be grayed out. Click on Show other sites. Select the course site in which to move your files to, click on actions and then select Paste moved Items. Is there a Discussion Board in CourseWorks? Yes. Your instructor needs to create a forum and topic before you will be allowed to participate in discussions. CourseWorks is asking me to log back in whenever I click on a link. How do I fix this? Please clear your internet browser s history, cookies and cache. Once you have done this, you will need to quit your browser completely and restart it. Are there tutorials that I can access on how to use Coursework s? You can find tutorials at What do I need to know about copyright? See Log out Be sure to click the Log out button when you are finished working. Close all browser windows to ensure that you are completely logged out to prevent unauthorized access to your sites by others. Please note CourseWorks system has an inactive timeout of 90 minutes. Morningside Campus courseworks@columbia.edu Telephone: +1 (212) (dial from a campus phone CUIT Client Service Center, 202 Philosophy Hall Medical Center courseworks@columbia.edu Telephone: +1 (212) (dial from a campus phone CUMC IT, 2 nd floor, Hammer Health Sciences Library