OWL, ISU Online Writing Lab information page

Welcome
to the Center for Teaching and Learning's
Online Writing Lab (OWL)

The Online Writing Lab is a virtual writing center where you can meet with a certified tutor in a chatroom and chat screen-to-screen about writing issues and writing projects. The OWL does not offer proofreading or editing services. Instead, we'll work directly with you to improve all aspects of your paper. Our appointments typically last forty-five minutes.
Online Tutoring Sessions are made by appointment only. To make an appointment, please contact Cindy Haddon or call the Center for Teaching and Learning at 282-3662 between 8 AM and 8 PM, Monday-Thursday and Friday between 8AM and 5PM.

Have you already started (or finished!) some part of your writing project? If so, you can make the best use of your tutoring session by sending it to the tutor ahead of time. Please email it as an .rtf attachment to: isuowl@isu.edu

To access the tutor, you will need a WebCT ID and Password to login. You'll also need a Java-enabled browser such as Internet Explorer version 5.0 or later, or Netscape Navigator 7.0 or higher (WebCT does not currently support alternate browsers such as Opera).
During peak use hours, the system may run slowly. Please be patient and wait for the appropriate page to appear.

We're glad you found us. Please come on over and use our services!

Signing in
(click on any of the following images to see a larger, higher-resolution version)

To Log In to the OWL (Online Writing Lab) your browser must be Java enabled.

To enable Java in Internet Explorer go to Tools > Internet Options > Advanced tab. Find Java VM heading and ensure that "Java JIT compiler" (or similar wording) is checked.

To enable Java in Netscape go to Edit > Preferences > Advanced. Ensure that "Enable Java" and "Enable Javascript" (or similar wording) are checked.

After you've logged in to WebCT, you'll see your "My WebCT" page. If your WebCT ID has been added to the OWL database by the Center for Teaching and Learning staff, you'll see "OWL, ISU Online Writing Lab" among the options there. Click on the link on the left side of the page,(the red arrow in the accompanying graphic), not the smaller link on the right, which takes you to the public information page for the OWL, and not the OWL itself, (the blue arrow).

Once you've arrived at the OWL page, click on "Main OWL page" (the red arrow again).

On the Mail OWL page you'll see information about the consent form. Follow the instructions there, and then proceed to the Chat rooms. Click the "Talk with a Tutor" on the menu bar or in the paragraph underneath (more red arrows to guide you).

From the Chat Room screen, select "Tutor 2," where the online tutor will be logged in if you have scheduled an appointment.

Last step (except for the actual tutoring, of course). This is the application you'll use to chat with the tutor. Chat as you would in many other chat applications.

Center for Teaching and Learning | Idaho State University