Getting Started

About OAKS

OAKS is the College’s learning management system, based on the Desire2Learn platform. OAKS allows faculty to post content, administer quizzes, foster discussion, grade assignments, display grades, etc. all in a secure online environment.  Students can then access the course materials through OAKS during and after class, participate in class discussions and contact other students in their courses. In order to access OAKS, internet access is required. You can log into OAKS on or off campus. To ensure that you’re browser is compatible, please complete the browser check.

Log into OAKS

• Using a web browser navigate to MyCharleston at https://my.cofc.edu
• Log in to MyCharleston using your Cougars Login ID and password.
• In the upper right corner, click on the OAKS icon

• From your My Courses area, click on the course link you wish to access.

For problems with logins or OAKS access issues, please contact the CofC Helpdesk at helpdesk@cofc.edu or 953.DESK.

OAKS My Home Page

My home is the first page you will see when you log into OAKS. Your My Home page will show the following widgets:

• Courses (Courses are entered in OAKS through Banner)
• News (Important News posted by the system administrator)
• User Settings
• Help

If you would like to go back to your “My Home” page when you are inside a course, click on the My Home link in the upper left hand side of the screen.

Getting Started Module

Student Computing Services recommends the following basic tools to get you started with OAKS:

The OAKS 10.3 Student Tutorials Playlist provides a single point of access to all the new tutorials.

The OAKS Overview for Students – Logging in and Course Navigation (v10.3) tutorial contains instructions for logging in to OAKS, a navigation overview, and a brief description of the tools featured in the OAKS version 10.3 upgrade. Topics covered include My Home, My Course pages, and Navigation Bar tools. Information on where to find additional student tutorials on how to use OAKS and resources/contact information for finding assistance when experiencing difficulties with OAKS is also included.

Subsequent tutorials in this playlist include detailed instructions for using the various features and tools in OAKS.

• OAKS Overview for Students – Course Content (v10.3) – Topics covered include viewing, bookmarking, downloading, and printing course content.    

• OAKS Overview for Students – Communication Tools: Chat, Classlist, Discussions (v10.3) – Topics covered include viewing the Classlist, sending email from OAKS, composing and replying to Discussions, and subscribing to Discussions via email and text.    

• OAKS Student Overview – Grades Tools: Checklist, Dropbox, Grades, Quizzes and Surveys (v10.3) – Topics covered include viewing a Checklist, downloading and submitting assignments using the Dropbox, viewing the grade book, taking and submitting a quiz using the Quizzes tool, and viewing the Surveys tool.

• OAKS Student Overview – Management Tools: Attendance, Calendar, and Groups (v10.3) – Topics covered include viewing Attendance Registers, viewing and adding tasks to the Calendar, viewing groups, and self-enrolling in Instructor created Groups.