Is your toolkit ready for the fall?

Instructional Toolkit, that is. The Instructional Toolkit from ITC is a collection of Web-based tools to help instructors create class home pages (without having to learn a lot about the technology) and use electronic resources to administer and manage courses.

The Web makes it possible to communicate quickly, to distribute class materials without using paper, and reduces the time the instructor must spend administering these and others tasks so that more time can be devoted to instruction. A grade book feature was added in July that provides a place to record students¹ grades during the course of the semester, including an option for calculating each student¹s final grade and a way of submitting final grades electronically to the Registrar¹s Office. The toolkit makes it easy for instructors to take advantage of these benefits.

Faculty, staff, and graduate teaching assistants may use the toolkit to create home pages for courses, workshops, training sessions or other types of classes. Basic experience with a Web browser, such as Netscape, is helpful but not required. All instructors need to do is fill out a Web-based form. The Toolkit automatically generates a course home page based on input by the instructor.

See http://toolkit.virginia.edu. Online help pages list many frequently asked questions and their answers.