FSCS allows instructors to keep class communication separate from personal communication and gives professors the option of letting teaching assistants share the workload. The system was designed and developed in house by OCCS and the Center for Learning Technologies, utilizing the expertise and advice of faculty members who recognized the need for a closed system for class discussions.
Features
Simply post a message, and direct it to the entire class as an announcement, to an individual students or other instructors. Unlike Shared Email, where the students send and receive messages via their student email, all tasks are performed within the FSCS database.
Because FSCS operates in a database environment, you can sort and view messages in several ways, including read/unread, by site, or by date. All students' submitted assignments (including attachments) and messages to the instructor are stored in the database and can be accessed at any time for review. In addition, students can view a list of everything they have submitted to the instructor.
FSCS can be accessed by going to http://www.odu.edu/fscs and logging in with your MIDAS id and password.
Once inside the FSCS application, you can review the FAQ and tutorials for more information. If you have any questions, please contact the Technical Support Center at 683-3192.
Using The Faculty/Student Communication System
Sign On
Login using your user name and password. The user name is the first half of your ODU email address (before the "@"). The password is your email password. Select one of the four (4) options:
- View Announcements from Instructor
On the menu screen, select "View Announcements from the Instructor." Expand the date and topic, then click on any unread messages. These messages are broadcast to the entire class by the instructor and are viewable by all. BE SURE TO READ THE MOST CURRENT DATE.
- Submit Assignment/Messages to Instructor
On the main menu screen, select "Submit Assignment/Messages to Instructor." Fill in the form with the title (subject), your site name, browse for an attachment (up to 5) if necessary, and/or enter a message. Once all the appropriate fields of the form are completed, press "submit."
A successful submission will return a confirmation message. If you receive the confirmation message, do not resubmit. Once the instructor has opened your submission, it will appear in your submission log. If for some reason, you do not receive the confirmation message, there may have been a technical difficulty, and it would be appropriate to resubmit.
Attachments
When you click "browse" to locate your document, the browser may default to searching for HTML documents. Change to "all files" as the type of file in the locator window.
- My Submission Log
On the main menu screen, select "My Submission Log." Expand and Collapse each topic or date as necessary to view the content in your log. Items will appear in the submission log once the instructor has opened them.
- Messages for Me
On the main menu screen, select "Message for Me." Expand and collapse each topic or date as necessary to view the content in these messages. Remember these are private message to you, not viewable by others in the class.
Expanding Entries:
There is a triangle (twistee) beside topics or dates that can be expanded or collapsed. Click the triangle with your mouse to expand (or open) a topic or date. To expand all entries at once, use "expand" from the menu.
Collapsing Entries:
To collapse (or close) a single topic or date, click the triangle with your mouse. To collapse all entries at once use "collapse" from the menu.
Reading Entries
Expand one or more categories. Each entry is underlined and linked to a view of its content. You will notice that items you have read will be a different color than those that are unread. Click an entry with your mouse to read it.
TIP: Returning to menu screen
Use the "back" button on your browser to retrace your steps to the menu screen. To save a few steps, you can click the "back" button and hold down the mouse button to see a list of pages visited. Choose the desired page from the list. If the list is long and you do not see the page you need, choose the last page in the list and hold down "back" again to continue looking.
Sign Off
To ensure your privacy and the security of your password, EXIT the browser when you are finished. If you are planning other activity from the course site after reading the FSCS, you may wait to exit the browser when you are finished with all your web activity. Just remember to exit the browser before you leave the computer to someone else's use.