INSTRUCTOR BRIEFCASE NOTES

Introduction
The Instructor Briefcase was created by the Center for Information Services (formerly the Communications Technology Center) to enable faculty to conduct college business through the Internet. With the Instructor Briefcase, faculty can submit grades for the classes they teach and they can change their PINs (personal identification numbers) using a web browser. Additional capabilities may be added in the future.

Platform Requirements
The Instructor Briefcase works best running Netscape Communicator 4 or Microsoft Internet Explorer 4 on Windows 95 or on Macintosh OS 8.0. The results of the CIS testing the Briefcase on different platforms and browsers is listed in the following table. The specific version of the browser used for each platform is in parenthesis.
 

	Windows 3.1	Windows 95	Macintosh OS 8.0
Netscape 3.x	(3.01)           OK	(3.01)           OK	(3.0)             OK
Netscape 4.x	(4.05)           OK	(4.01a)         OK	(4.05)           OK
Internet Explorer 3.x	(3.03)    did not work	(3.02)           OK	untested
Internet Explorer 4.x	(4.01)   extremely slow	(4.0)             OK	(4.01)           OK

 

The Briefcase Interface

The Briefcase Time-out
When you open your Instructor Briefcase, you are given a code (called a ticket) that uniquely identifies you to the administrative computer. This ticket is hidden to you but will be submitted each time you request information from, or send information to the administrative computer. For security reasons, this unique ticket is useable only for a predetermined period of time set by college technical staff. The Briefcase notifies you two minutes before the expiration of the ticket, and gives you the opportunity to reset the time period. However, if you do not respond within two minutes, the ticket will expire, and you must return to the Open Instructor Briefcase form and log in again.

You can also reset the time available on your current ticket by clicking on the clock in the lower right corner of the Briefcase at any time.

Navigation in the Briefcase
While using the Instructor Briefcase, always use the navigation button labeled Show Briefcase Contents or Hide Briefcase Contents to navigate. Results may be unpredictable if you use the Back, Forward, or Reload button provided by the browser. Using the Back, Forward or Reload button may cause your Briefcase to close. If you accidentally close the Briefcase while using one of these buttons, use the Open Instructor Briefcase form and log in again.

Recommendations

• When a new version of the Instructor Briefcase is delivered to your campus, clear the memory and disk cache in your browser before using the new version.
• If you are using Netscape Navigator 3.x or Internet Explorer 3.x, do not double-click on the grade roster link (item number or page numbers). Results are unpredictable.
• Do not allow another person to log into the briefcase with your Instructor ID and Employee PIN number.