IMIC Faculty HelpDesk

February Workshops

2012-01-30T10:02:00.000-07:00

Here are our February Workshops

Wed Feb 8th Revolving Door Workshop 9am-12pm and 1pm - 5pm ELC 206

Feb 21st 12-1pm Canvas Power Hour: Quizzes & Exams ELC 206

Webshops

Feb 27th at 3pm Webshop: Respondus How to Install & Use It is an online workshop please access at this address http://breezep.suu.edu/webshop/

Best Practices Webinar, Keeping Students on Track in Canvas

2012-01-20T09:35:00.000-07:00

Announcement from Instructure:

On Friday Jan 27th, at 11am EST, Instructure will be hosting a webinar as part of its Best Practices in Canvas series. The topic is Keeping Students on Track with Canvas. The webinar will be presented by Jason Gilbert, a Canvas Coach and an instructional designer at Panola College.One of the most effective things an online teacher does is establish and maintain a presence in his or her online courses. Giving students constant feedback let's them know you're there and you're watching. This webinar will cover key ways teachers can use tools in Canvas to establish and maintain a presence and keep students on track. Topics will include Conversations, Discussions, Modules and the Grade Book. I invite you to attend this webinar and learn more about Keeping Students on Track in Canvas.

Register here: http://marketing.instructure.com/acton/form/2108/000a:d-0005/0/index.htm

Canvas Power Hour Date Change

2012-01-18T08:53:00.000-07:00

We had have changed the date of our Canvas Power hour from Jan 24th to Jan 31st. Here is the updated flyer

Faculty and Staff Canvas Meet and Greet Convocation

2012-01-10T17:12:00.003-07:00

All SUU Faculty and Staff are asked to come "Meet and Greet" Scott Allen (UEN Learning Systems Administrator), Kevin Erickson (Instructure Support Guru) and Ike Nelson (Instructure Account Manager).

They will be coming to SUU to meet faculty and staff. The event will begin at 12 noon, on Thursday, January 19th. Ean Harker (SUU Instructional Tech. guy) will MC, Scott will share changes coming to UEN, Kevin and Ike will have a Canvas presentation to ooo and ahhh us all. Afterword a Q and A session will be open about Canvas.

Refreshments will be provided to all Faculty and Staff that come.

The School of Continuing and Professional Studies with Distance Education is sponsoring this event, and will be hosted by the Instructional Media Integration Centre.

We look forward to see you there.

January Workshops

2011-12-15T11:59:00.000-07:00

Here are our January workshops they will all be located in ELC 206. Though we are not hosting workshops during the first week of school we are still available to help you. Just let us know if you have any questions.

Jan 3rd Revolving Door Workshop 9-12 and 1-5
Jan 4th Revolving Door Workshop 9-12 and 1-5
Jan 24th Canvas Power Hour: Using Video and Other Advanced Canvas Techniques 12-1

Jing - Screen Capture Tool

2011-11-21T10:40:00.000-07:00

Jing is a free program that can capture images and video. It will record whatever action you are taking on your computer. There are many different ways this could be used to benefit you and your students.

Give your students the information they need, when they need it. Use Jing to record your feedback as you grade papers, or take a snapshot to share with your class. Your students can even use it to collaborate, or ask questions!

http://www.techsmith.com/jing.html?gclid=CIqa64ucyKwCFQRYhwods17Tqg

December Workshops

2011-11-15T16:56:00.005-07:00

Here are the workshops for December

Thursday Dec 1st 12pm-1pm Canvas Power Hour: Gradebook and Rubrics in ELC 206

Wednesday Dec 7th Revolving Door Workshop 9am-12pm and 1pm-5pm in ELC 206

Webshop Thursday Dec 15th at 3pm Migrating Courses from eLearning to Canvas and How to Duplicate Content from One Canvas Course Shell to Another for Spring go to http://breezep.suu.edu/webshop/

Webshop Monday Dec 19th at 10am Migrating Courses from eLearning to Canvas and How to Duplicate Content from One Canvas Course Shell to Another for Spring go to http://breezep.suu.edu/webshop/

New Online Workshop Format: Webshop

2011-11-15T16:49:00.002-07:00

What is a webshop? A webshop is an online training session. Starting this December webshops will replace some of our regular workshops.

With webshops you will be able to attend our trainings from your office or home.

To join the training go to the URL http://breezep.suu.edu/webshop/ at the time we have scheduled. Headphones are recommended.

The webshop schedule will be listed on the Workshop Schedule page. Also, watch out for announcements elsewhere.

Workshops in November

2011-10-25T16:12:00.002-06:00

All of the following workshops will be located in ELC 206

On Nov 3rd 12pm-1pm we will have the Power Hour (Noon): Canvas - Migrating Courses from eLearning to Canvas and How to Duplicate Content from One Canvas Course Shell to Another for Spring

Nov 9th 9am-12pm and 1pm-5pm Revolving Door Workshop (when you can come in at any time during workshop hours to ask questions about Canvas).

On Nov 17th 12pm-1pm we will have the Power Hour (Noon): Canvas - Migrating Courses from eLearning to Canvas and How to Duplicate Content from One Canvas Course Shell to Another for Spring

Seeing Total Points in Canvas

2011-10-11T08:59:00.000-06:00

In Canvas, in the grade book, grades are input into columns. Assignments are organized with assignment groups and each assignment group shows the percentage a student has earned. If you hover the mouse over the percentage it will show the points earned by the student. It will show this for each assignment and each assignment group. Here is a short video preview:

Total Points Video

October Workshops

2011-09-19T14:11:00.000-06:00

These are the list of workshops for October. All of these will be held in ELC 206.

October 6th 2pm-3pm Effective Techniques in Using Canvas and 4pm - 5pm Using a iPad and Canvas

October 12th 9am - 12pm and 1pm to 5pm Revolving Door Workshop

October 18th 3pm - 4 pm Preparing Your Courses for Spring

October 26th
1pm - 2:15pm Canvas: Migration and User Settings
2:15pm- 3:00pm Canvas: Key Course Tools
3:00pm-4pm Canvas: Gradebook, Rubrics and Outcomes

Sending Messages to Students Before the Course is Published

2011-09-01T16:59:00.002-06:00

The semester has already begun, but so you know before a course is published you can send messages to students (that are already registered for the course). This is because Canvas populates the course shell once it is created and the Canvas notification is set up so that students can receive messages before the course is published. This can be especially useful if you want to give your students information such as what textbook they need or any other requirements that you would like to let them know before the semester has begun.

Publishing Courses and Quizzes

2011-09-01T16:16:00.001-06:00

In Canvas, for students to be able to see your course it must be published. It should be published on the first day of class.

Quizzes also need to be published individually so that they will be accessible by students. Also, once quizzes are published they will appear in the calendar and the syllabus tool.

Canvas - Hide Module Contents

2011-08-31T16:57:00.000-06:00

In Canvas under Modules it says "Hide Module Contents" this doesn't hide the items in the module from students. It only collapses the items from an individual users view. Student and faculty can both use this feature.

eLearning Attached Assignments to Canvas

2011-08-25T17:16:00.000-06:00

There is a potential issue with any eLearning assignments that had an attachment for students to download. In eLearning if your assignments included attachments they may not have carried over into Canvas. For any of these situations you will need to add them to your assignments in Canvas to be available to students.

September Workshops

2011-08-25T15:02:00.001-06:00

Workshops in September are all in ELC 206

September 9th 2pm - 3pm Canvas and Turnitin

September 14th Revolving Door Workshop 9am- 12pm and 1pm to 5 pm

September 19th

1pm - 2:30pm Canvas: Migration and User Settings
2:30pm- 3:15pm Canvas: Key Course Tools
3:15pm-4pm Canvas: Gradebook, Rubrics and Outcomes

September 27th 3-4pm Effective Techniques in Using Canvas

Instructor and Course Assignments Issue in Canvas/Banner

2011-08-10T09:39:00.000-06:00

If you are not aware as of yet, we are going to be offering a majority of Distance Education, hybrid and supplemental courses via Canvas this Fall. We are dependant on the information departments submit to the Registrar's office regarding their course sections in shell creation.

Since Canvas is integrated with Banner, unlike eLearning, course and instructor information is vital in the course shell creation. The other component that we rely on is faculty requests of Canvas shells for the courses they teach every semester. The key information we use to verify and create these course shells is the CRN that the Registrar assigns to each section. We use the CRN to verify that there is a match with the initial request and what is found in Banner. This way we have a means to identify and address any conflicts in information.

We have been finding is that some of the courses listed in Banner do not have the correct instructor assigned to the course. We also have found many "blank" instructor assignments for courses (TBA's and etc).

Again Canvas assumes that Banner's information to be correct, this is a portion of course data that populates Banner identified users. Situations as mentioned will result in either course shells to not being created or correctly assigned to the instructor.

So we need all faculty and departments to verify their Fall course assignments in Banner and correct any errors or missing information.

Canvas/eLearning for Fall Semester 2011

2011-08-09T14:52:00.000-06:00

eLearning Faculty:

As we come to the close of Summer term, and get ready for Fall, just a few house keeping items.

Students will have access to their Summer courses up until Tuesday, Aug 16th.

Summer courses will be archived beginning on Tuesday, Aug 16th. Following the archival process, Summer courses will then be reset and cleared of student data. This does not remove content, just the students and their related data, to get the shell ready for use again in an upcoming term.

The eLearning platform has been more stable since that change we made in mid-July. However, I do need to restart it again to do some basic maintenance before Fall semester begins. I will be restarting the server on Friday night, Aug. 12th. There will be some other network maintenance done that night, so I will do it during the same window.

Now for Fall.

For any that are not aware, SUU is adopting Canvas as it's new eLearning platform. The contract with Blackboard (our current vendor) is up on July 1, 2012. We participated with the other state institutions in submitting a RFP, and selecting a new vendor back in the Spring, to give us time to migrate our courses before the July 1 deadline. Many of you have already been training and are working on migrating your content from our current eLearning platform to Canvas. We hope to have most Fall classes offered via Canvas. If you haven't had a chance yet to begin migrating your content, our current eLearning platform is still available for Fall semester. However, all Spring 2012 and subsequent courses need to have been migrated to Canvas. eLearning will not be available beginning Spring 2012.

Since two systems will be running at the same time, we will need to know which system you will use for each of your courses.

If you're going to use the current eLearning platform, please submit your Course Population Request at: http://www.suu.edu/it/webdev/webct/regcourses.asp .

If you're going to use Canvas, please submit your Course Population Request at:
http://www.suu.edu/imic/reqCanvasshell.asp

The IMIC will be holding a Canvas Kickoff on Aug 16th and 17th to provide training for faculty on the new Canvas system. See http://www.suu.edu/imic/pdfs/Canvaskickoffflyer.pdf for details.

If you have questions about Canvas, please contact Ean Harker or Michelle Thayer in the IMIC.

Mark

Turnitin Update

2011-08-08T16:53:00.001-06:00

SUU Turnitin users:

The information I sent you recently on implementing Turnitin in your Canvas course needs a bit of qualification as some of the instructions refer to the Canvas administrator setup process. If your course is still on the migration server at http://suu.instructure.com, the Turnitin/Canvas integration is not enabled.

If your course have been moved to the production server at http://learn-suu.uen.org, the Turnitin/Canvas integration is enabled and you only need to click a single box while setting up your assignment.

To enable Turnitin for an assignment:
1) You can create a new assignment from Assignments (top bar or left menu) or from the Calendar.
2) Click Assignments on the left menu, click on the new assignment, then click Edit Assignment
3) Click "more options"
4) In the “Submission” field, select “Online Submission”. If you check either “Allow File Uploads” or “Allow Text Entry” then you will see a new checkbox appear which says “Enable Turnitin Submission Evaluations”. Turnitin originality checks are only available for these two types of online submissions.
5) Click "Enable Turnitin Submission Evaluations"
5) Click Update Assignment

You will now see a message indicating that this assignment is Turnitin-enabled, and when students try to turn in this assignment they will be required to check a box indicating that they agree with the plagiarism pledge before they can submit the assignment.

/Richard Eissinger

Canvas Help - How do I...

2011-07-28T11:43:00.002-06:00

The “How do I…” is a page of tutorials and videos designed to help you help yourself. There are various topics, and frequently asked questions that you can read to help you use Canvas and all of its features. You can search for specific topics. The URL for the “How do I…” page is http://help.suu.edu/imic/. Make sure you visit it soon!

Workshops in August

2011-07-21T15:44:00.004-06:00

All Workshops are held in ELC room # 206.

Tues August 2nd Topic: How to Help Your Students Use Canvas Time: 2pm – 3pm

Wed August 10th Topic: Revolving Door Workshop 9am- 12 pm , 1pm – 5pm

Tues August 16th Canvas Kickoff
9am-10:30am Canvas: Migration and User Settings
10:30am-11:15am Canvas: Key Course Tools
11:15am-12pm Canvas: Gradebook, Rubrics and Outcomes

1pm - 2:30pm Canvas: Migration and User Settings
2:30pm- 3:15pm Canvas: Key Course Tools
3:15pm-4pm Canvas: Gradebook, Rubrics and Outcomes

Wed August 17th Canvas Kickoff
9am-10:30am Canvas: Migration and User Settings
10:30am-11:15am Canvas: Key Course Tools
11:15am-12pm Canvas: Gradebook, Rubrics and Outcomes

1pm - 2:30pm Canvas: Migration and User Settings
2:30pm- 3:15pm Canvas: Key Course Tools
3:15pm-4pm Canvas: Gradebook, Rubrics and Outcomes

Wed August 24th Topic: Gradebook, Rubrics, and SpeedGrader Time: 3pm – 4pm

Mon August 29th Topic: Assignment & Quizzes Time 2pm-3pm

Canvas Shell Creation Delay

2011-07-21T09:37:00.003-06:00

Canvas Faculty:
With our luck and nature of technical issues coming in bundles, we have found that shells requested are not being created. We have some ideas of what it could be but are unable to fix it until our IT support has returned from vacation. (Additional cosmic humor?) Anyway this problem does not effect those who have courses, just those who have requested courses.

Keep in mind that we will unfortunately have additional bumps in the road as we transition to Canvas for this Fall. I know that no one likes the road construction we keep hitting on our journey. I completely understand the frustration. We ask you to be patient as all those involved are doing the best they can.

It is my hope that shells will begin to be created by the first part of August.

Please continue to submit your shell requests and I will verify that it is in Banner.

Again thanks for your patience.

-Ean

eLearning Outage (update)

2011-07-21T09:15:00.003-06:00

eLearning faculty:

I restarted the eLearning environment again at 3:00am this morning. Everything looks good. The three things that I was aware of that weren't working, chat, delivering messages, and saving assessment settings, are all working as expected now. And I'm not seeing all of the errors being thrown in the error logs.

So, fingers crossed, I hope we're going to be more stable from now on. But if you do notice anything out of the ordinary, please contact Josh Foremaster.

Also, it does appear that my suspicions were correct concerning mail messages within the system. They appeared to be successfully sent from the sender's perspective, but the messages were never actually delivered to the recipient. I don't know if they are in a queue someplace, and eLearning will eventually get to them. I suspect not. My belief is that whatever messages were sent yesterday didn't get delivered and won't be. So please be aware that some of your students may have messaged you, and you never will get the message. And you may have messaged some of your students, and they will never get that message. You may want to send out a broadcast e-mail to all of your students telling them to resend any messages from yesterday.

And who knows, but there may be residual effects from yesterday's issues that surface later in the term that we're not aware of yet. We may need to make some accommodations for the technology issues that we had.

My sincerest apologies for the issues that we've been experiencing. Obviously my goal is to provide the best environment that I can. But these gotchas creep up every once in a while.

Thanks again for your patience and understanding.

Mark

eLearning Outages

2011-07-20T10:53:00.005-06:00

"eLearning faculty:

We had another unplanned outage this morning, the 20th. We did find something on the database server that seems to be the cause of our problems. That has hopefully been fixed. Let's all cross our fingers that we found and fixed the cause. However, when the server came back up this morning, it didn't look quite right. It seems that the Chat server is down, and won't restart. And I think there is a problem with mail being delivered. The sender gets a message that the message was sent successfully. But I don't think the recipient is actually getting the message. So just be aware of those potential problems.

Because of things not looking quite right, I want to do another full restart of the system. I will do this tomorrow morning, the 21st, at 3:00am. Hopefully none of you will be impacted at that time of the morning.

Thanks again for your patience.

Mark"

For the past few weeks you may have noticed eLearning has been down a few times. IT is working hard on resolving this issue.

For faculty planning on using eLearning in the Fall, if you would like to use Canvas instead there is still time to set it up. eLearning will be shutdown by spring and with the issues that we have had with eLearning lately it may be good time to switch.

Workshops in July

2011-07-01T14:11:00.001-06:00

Canvas: Assignments and Quizzes Tues the 5th at 2pm - 3pm

Canvas & eLearning: Revolving Door on Wed the 13th 9am – 12 pm and 1pm – 5pm

Canvas: Gradebook, Rubrics, and the SpeedGrader on Mon the 18th 2pm - 3pm

Canvas: How to Help Your Students Use Canvas (set up profiles, etc) on Thurs the 28th 3pm - 4pm

Vote for Canvas Improvements

2011-06-09T09:48:00.000-06:00

All of the UEN Consortium has submitted what is the top five ideas for improving Canvas for teaching and learning issues and administration features/functions. To prioritize these ideas, UEN created a uservoice forum to vote on which issues should be the most important. Each person has 10 votes and you can vote for 10 different issues or use up to three of your votes on any one issue if you think that issue is really important.
UEN has decided to open this site up for voting to all faculty and students within the consortium that are currently using Canvas.

If you want to vote go to: uen.uservoice.com Individuals can also submit a new issue to vote on if it is not already listed.

Please complete your voting by Friday, June 17th, 2011.

Support Systems For Canvas and Other Instructional Technologies

2011-06-07T10:34:00.000-06:00

Here at the IMIC we are making progress in the support systems we will be using for Canvas and other instructional technologies. This post hopefully will inform you in what they are as we transition from the eLearning to Canvas LMS.

Feedback Feature

Within Canvas there is a feature called Feedback (upper right hand corner). This feature is where any Canvas user can submit feedback to the Canvas Support (IMIC) or to the instructor of a given course. Users have three choices: Problem, Idea, and Compliment to presort their submission (see right). From there the user will enter a Subject and Description to send. [Read more information on the Feedback feature here.]

This month we have begun to use another support system here at SUU. It is called the IMIC Help Center. This will contain help information for instructors and students in using instructional technologies.

This system is already being used as a centralized location for some help services at SUU. We have included a direct link to it within the Canvas LMS and have called it "How do I... ". There you will find that we have and are continuing to gather a collection of support/tutorial information and resources. We feel that this would be of greater assistance to you because of its searchable abilities and approach in supplying information, but for us as well - since we would be able to know if our information is helpful, and if we need produce something specific. There too we can get feedback from users to elevate the quality of our services and effectiveness of information.

By using the Help Center, you will notice changes to our website as well. We will continue to have our website as the center post of our support systems. But you will see that we will be slimming it down to take advantage of this systems as we make the transition from eLearning to Canvas. We will retain the eLearning content on our website until the end of Fall 2011.

If you are not aware as of yet, we also will be reassuming support services for students using the learning management systems- Canvas and eLearning. It is our hope that all of our efforts will cover the needs of students needing assistance. The rule of thumb will be that as students encounter issues in Canvas that the first inquiries are made to the instructors. (Most of the issues are resolved at this first approach.) We will have the Feedback feature, and the IMIC Help Center for traditional after hour support. We intend to also create a Call center that would assist students that are unable to use the first two support systems. As we get closer to the start of the fall semester we will have more details on this.

Again our website [http://suu.edu/imic/] will continue to be the main trunk of instructional tech support and development. As well as our IMIC Blog [http://imicfacultyhelpdesk.blogspot.com/] and RSS feeds will continue to bring you the most up-to-date information.

As to all faculty and staff, the IMIC is available to you directly for any of your instructional technology support and development needs. If there is anything that you would like to see or suggest to enhance our online support, please feel free to contact us.

June Workshops

2011-05-25T16:44:00.001-06:00

Here is the list of workshops we have scheduled for June. All of these workshops will be in ELC 206.

Workshop 6/7/11 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm "Gradebook, Rubrics, and Outcomes"

Workshop 6/8/11 9:00 am - 5:00 pm "Canvas/eLearning Revolving Door Workshop"

Workshop 6/14/11 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm "Modules and Files"

Workshop 6/20/11 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm "Migration to Canvas"

Workshop 6/28/11 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm "Key Course Tools"

Going to Canvas @ UEN Server & Shell Requests

2011-05-19T10:28:00.000-06:00

We are just within a fortnight away from giving full access to the UEN instance of Canvas. Because of this, we are asking everyone that has recently requested (or going to request) a course shell in Canvas, to be patient with our delay in creating them. We will continue to accept requests and intend to have the requested shells created on the UEN instance.

Again the reason for the delay in shell creation is that it will be easier for everyone to work on the UEN instance once it is made available to faculty.

If you have any questions or concerns please contact us. We again appreciate your patience while we make this transition.

May Workshops

2011-04-20T11:27:00.002-06:00

All of the following workshops are in ELC 206

May 2nd @ 3pm - 4pm Canvas: Key Course Tools
May 3rd @ 3pm - 4pm Canvas: Gradebook, Rubrics and Outcomes
May 4th @ 3pm - 4pm Canvas: Migration and User Settings

May 10th Canvas Kickoff

9am-10:15am Canvas: Migration and User Settings
10:15am-11:15am Canvas: Key Course Tools
11:15am-12pm Canvas: Gradebook, Rubrics and Outcomes

1pm - 2:15pm Canvas: Migration and User Settings
2:15pm- 3:15pm Canvas: Key Course Tools
3:15pm-4pm Canvas: Gradebook, Rubrics and Outcomes

May 11 @ 9am - 5pm Canvas/eLearning Revolving Door Workshop

May 20th

1pm - 1:45pm Canvas: Gradebook, Rubrics and Outcomes
1:45pm- 3pm Canvas: Migration and User Settings
3pm-4pm Canvas: Key Course Tools

May 26th

1pm - 2:15pm Canvas: Migration and User Settings
215pm- 3:15pm Canvas: Key Course Tools
3:15pm-4pm Canvas: Gradebook, Rubrics and Outcomes

Canvas: Video Creation on Migration Server

2011-04-07T12:15:00.000-06:00

FYI: We have learned that any video created in your courses on the Canvas migration server (suu.instructure.com) most likely will not move over to the UEN instance. Instructure's connection to Kaltura allows one to record video from a webcam and embed into a document created in Canvas. Though the courses will be migrated over from Instructure's server to UEN's servers, items hosted by Kaltura will not move over at this time. Instructure and UEN are investigating possible ways to let this happen. Until then. It is recommended that you do not use the Kaltura feature on the migration server at this time. If you want to embed video please contact the IMIC for an alternative.

Canvas: Image Display Issue

2011-04-07T10:09:00.003-06:00

With the migration, some images may have a hard time to display correctly. We are thinking that with some transfers images are not going to the "Images" tab, thus the broken image icon. We will keep monitoring this. Let us know if you experience this too.

Here is a screencast on how to get pictures into Canvas and some common issues that may occur: http://screencast.com/t/Yg2ZSPZN

April: Canvas Walkthrough Workshops

2011-03-25T17:06:00.006-06:00

April Canvas Walkthrough Workshops

We will begin a series of workshops in April to walk through important factors of using SUU’s new LMS Canvas.

Date Time Lesson
April 8th
1:00 PM – 2:15 PM Migration and User Settings
2:15 PM – 3:45 PM Key Course Tools: Content Delivery
3:45 PM – 5:00 PM Gradebook, Rubrics, and Outcomes

Date Time Lesson
April 13th

9:00 AM – 10:15 AM Key Course Tools: Content Delivery
10:15 AM – 11:45 AM Gradebook, Rubrics, and Outcomes
1:00 PM – 2:15 PM Migration and User Settings

Date Time Lesson
April 19th 1:00 PM – 2:15 PM Gradebook, Rubrics, and Outcomes
2:15 PM – 3:45 PM Migration and User Settings
3:45 PM – 5:00 PM Key Course Tools: Content Delivery

Date Time Lesson
April 28th
1:00 PM – 2:15 PM Migration and User Settings
2:15 PM – 3:45 PM Key Course Tools: Content Delivery
3:45 PM – 5:00 PM Gradebook, Rubrics, and Outcomes

Canvas Walkthrough Workshops:

1. Migration and User Settings: We will walk you through the migration process and how to change your user settings.
2. Key Course Tools: Content Delivery: We will go over the main course tools Canvas offers (Modules, Quizzes, Assignments, etc)
3. Gradebook, Rubrics, and Outcomes: We will go over the Canvas grade book, rubrics and outcomes.

eLearning
eLearning Revolving Door Workshop will be on Wed April 13th from 2:15 PM – 5 PM

Canvas: Migration of eLearning Web Links

2011-03-08T11:35:00.003-07:00

In the migration of your eLearning course to Canvas, the URL's found in the Web Links tool do not move over. You will need to manually migrate them via "copy and paste" [Ctrl +C, Ctrl +V] actions.

If you plan on creating a section within the Canvas Module tool, be sure that your links are fully copied. We have reason to believe that there is a hiccup in the pasting action for long URL addresses. This results in cutting off a portion of the URL. Hence a 403 "Page Cannot be found" or "Access Denied" Error message.

If you have audio/video or Adobe presentations on our Media server, please go ahead and use that link during the migration process. When we are officially on the UEN system we will then be able to upload media to the UEN media server.

If you have any questions please contact us.

eLearning = Blackboard CE 8

March Workshops

2011-02-28T08:54:00.007-07:00

March Workshops Canvas/eLearning

We will have one more formal Canvas Intro Workshop. If you have not been able to attend please contact us for individual appointment.

In March we will begin offering a new Canvas workshop 'Migration to Canvas' where the process of migrating from eLearning to Canvas will be taught.

Workshop 3/1/11 9:00 am ELC 206 Canvas Intro
Workshop 3/15/11 1:00 pm ELC 206 Migration to Canvas Workshop
Workshop 3/21/11 3:00 pm ELC 206 Migration to Canvas Workshop
Workshop 3/31/11 3:00 pm ELC 206 Migration to Canvas Workshop
and a Revolving Door Workshop on the 9th for both eLearning and Canvas.

Feb Workshops: Canvas Introduction

2011-01-28T10:07:00.003-07:00

We are going to hold three Canvas introduction workshops in February

Canvas Preview: The Next LMS 2/4/11 ELC 206
2:00 pm - 3:00 pm

Canvas Preview: The Next LMS 2/17/11 ELC 206
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Canvas Preview: The Next LMS 2/23/11 ELC 206
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm

January Workshops

2011-01-05T14:37:00.001-07:00

January Workshops

In ELC 206 we will have the following workshops:

12th Revolving Door Workshop* 9-5, open workshop (for more details about a revolving door workshop look below)

13th 10 am to 12 pm Preview of Canvas, the next LMS

19th 10 am to 12 pm eLearning’s Grade Book, 1 pm to 2 pm Preview of Canvas, the next LMS

26th 10 am to 12 pm Preview of Canvas, the next LMS, 1 pm to 2 pm eLearning’s Grade Book, 3 pm to 4 pm Richard Eissinger Turnitin

If you would like more information on any of these workshops please contact Michelle Thayer at 435-586-1994 or thayerm@suu.edu

*Revolving Door Workshop

A Revolving Door workshop is where faculty can walk-in at any time during the workshop hours to ask any questions about eLearning. Faculty can stay for as long as desired. There is no set material /topics that will be covered, as the workshop is determined by those who come and what questions they might have. Just come with questions or come and work at the lab computers and we will be there to assist you when needed.

If you have not had an overview/introduction to eLearning and its tools, this can also be covered during the workshop period, if you ask for an overview or if you need a refresher.

If you cannot make it on this day we can schedule individual or small group training in our office, which is a service that is available year round. If you have any questions or would like to set up a meeting, please contact us (imic@suu.edu or #1994).

eLearning Downtime

2010-12-21T11:52:00.001-07:00

eLearning Faculty:

Blackboard recently released a security patch for our eLearning system. I feel it is important to install this patch as quickly as possible. I apologize for the short notice, but I would like to install the patch on Wednesday morning, the 22nd. The system will be down starting in the morning and possibly into the afternoon. I will try and get the system back up as quickly as possible.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Mark

Instructure's Canvas Awarded RFP

2010-12-14T10:35:00.006-07:00

It is official, Instructure's Canvas has been awarded the LMS RFP. Here is the Press release:

=======

(Salt Lake City, UT) – A selection committee representing Utah colleges and universities has chosen Utah-based Instructure to provide a statewide Learning Management System (LMS) for Utah college students and faculty. Instructure's Canvas LMS is a software application that enables educational institutions to efficiently administer, document, track and report on classroom and online learning. The Utah Education Network will host and support the application from its facilities at the Eccles Broadcast Center. More than 109,000 Utah college students and 29,000 higher education faculty and staff will have access to the system by June 2012. The system will also be available to about 40,000 public education students and their teachers.

"The selection committee's decision is a win-win-win for the state of Utah. It's a win for Utah students and faculty who gain a state-of-the art Learning Management System at a competitive price. It's a win for a Utah-based vendor that's created an excellent product, and it's a win for all Utah citizens who benefit from the economic development made possible by a well-educated cadre of college students," said Michael Petersen, Executive Director of UEN.

"We're excited about this opportunity to partner with UEN, higher education and public schools in Utah," said Josh Coates, CEO of Instructure. "With Canvas, a new standard for simplicity, usability and elegance has been set, and we believe this will have a direct and positive impact on education in Utah."

UEN will start to phase in the Canvas LMS during Summer semester of 2011 at the University of Utah, Utah State University, Utah Valley University, Salt Lake Community College, Weber State University, Snow College, Southern Utah University, Dixie State College and the Utah College of applied technology.

The LMS selection process started in late 2009 to choose a replacement for the current Blackboard Vista system, which will no longer be supported by Blackboard after December 2012. A Request for Proposal (RFP) was issued in October 2010 and eight competitors responded. That list was narrowed to three by a selection committee representing all nine of the state-owned colleges and universities in Utah. The committee included nine voting members (one from each institution) and numerous other technologists, instructional designers and administrators.

"Although Instructure is relatively new to the market, the Canvas product is very innovative, and the company is solid and poised for growth," said Scott Allen, Learning Systems Administrator at UEN. "The competitive bidding process is tough on vendors and our selection committee was impressed with what Instructure could offer."

Each Utah institution participated in evaluating the products from multiple vendors. "The selection committee recommended Instructure's Canvas product because it offered the best match to higher education's criteria for a Learning Management System. By hosting the application at UEN, we will continue realizing the cost savings and other benefits that we have been able to provide to state colleges and universities during the past several years with Blackboard Vista," said Allen.

The Canvas product is currently used by more than 20 universities. It provides compatibility with all web browsers across a variety of platforms ranging from Microsoft Windows through Mac OSX and Linux. It also functions on Smartphones including iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch, Android, Palm and Blackberry. The product is built on a multi-tenant architecture, which allows it to support multiple institutions from a single installation.

Instructure is a technology company focused on improving education. Founded in 2008 by two Computer Science graduate students, Instructure set out to disrupt the complex, legacy Learning Management System industry by creating Canvas - a simple, yet powerful software system that sets a new standard for open technology in education.

The Utah Education Network is an award-winning consortium of public education, higher education and the state's library system. UEN provides broadband connectivity to Utah school districts, public colleges and universities and public libraries throughout the state. UEN also provides instructional services and professional development for educators, connects hundreds of Utah class rooms via interactive video conferencing, and operates public broadcast station UEN-TV.

For more information, contact:
Scott Allen, 801-581-5382
See also: uen.org & instructure.com

=======

Faculty, Staff and Students can contact Ean Harker, 435-865-8747, for more information regarding the implementation and migration to the next LMS at SUU.

Connect Pro Server Down on Mon Dec 13th

2010-12-10T16:16:00.002-07:00

Connect Pro Server Maintenance

Due to Updates the Connect Pro server any video conferencing via Connect or Presenter uploads will not be available on Monday, December 13th.

December Workshops - Update/Canceled

2010-12-07T15:26:00.004-07:00

We had workshops scheduled for December however, we found out that ELC 206 (our scheduled room) was no longer available to due asbestos removal on the 8th or 15th.

If you were interested in attending the Grade Book workshop stop by the Hunter Conference Center 103 M or call ext 1994 or email imic@suu.edu. We are encouraging faculty who were interested in this workshop to just come by our offices. Thank you.

For those interested in the Turnitin workshop, please contact Richard Eissinger,

December 8^th: 10 am and 1 pm, in ELC 206 eLearning – Grade Book, and 3 pm in ELC 206 Turnitin Training with Richard Eissinger CANCELED

December 15^th: 10 am and 1 pm, in ELC 206 eLearning: Preparing Your Course For Migration CANCELED

LMS Demos Today

2010-12-03T09:14:00.004-07:00

We will soon be going to a new Learning Management. On Friday Dec 3rd, there will be demonstrations of the 3 top picks before the final decision is made by the UEN RFP consortium committee. We encourage all able to attend to learn about these systems.

SUU has been actively participating in the UEN State-wide effort to replace the BlackBoard learning management system, which is destined to expire in 2012. The finalists, selected from rankings by all Utah institutions, are BlackBoard, Desire2Learn, and Instructure.

UEN has asked the finalists to give Web-based state-wide presentations this week to faculty, staff, and interested students. The presentations will be broadcast this Friday, December 3, from 1:00 to 4:30 pm, in Library Room 002 (lower level of the library). The broadcasts will be archived for those unable to attend the live presentations:

Location: Library Room 002 (lower level of the library)

Presentation schedule on Friday, December 3:

1:00-2:00 pm - Desire2Learn
2:15-3:15 pm - Instructure
3:30-4:30 pm - Blackboard

Agenda for each presentation:

First 25 minutes focused on student issues (including mobile access)
Last 25 minutes focused on faculty & LMS administrator issues (migration of course content, ease of use, grading, etc.)
10 minutes for questions

Following these presentations Richard Eissinger will post a Web form to gather your feedback on these vendors, along with a link to the archived presentations.

Open Door Workshop

2010-11-29T08:57:00.003-07:00

We are having a “Revolving Door” workshop on Wednesday, December 1st: 9am - 5 pm, in ELC 206. At 10 am and 1 pm in ELC 206 the topic eLearning: Preparing your Course for Migration will be discussed.

A Revolving Door workshop is where faculty can walk-in at any time during the workshop hours to ask any questions about eLearning. Faculty can stay for as long as desired. There is no set material /topics that will be covered, as the workshop is determined by those who come and what questions they might have. Just come with questions or come and work at the lab computers and we will be there to assist you when needed.

If you have not had an overview/introduction to eLearning and its tools, this can also be covered during the workshop period, if you ask for an overview or if you need a refresher.

If you cannot make it on this day we can schedule individual or small group training in our office, which is a service that is available year round. If you have any questions or would like to set up a meeting, please contact us (imic@suu.edu or #1994).

For faculty that need some training that are not able to physically be here we can schedule a time to meet over the phone or online via Connect Pro (internet). For those interested please contact us.

Contact us if you have any questions.

Creating Good File Names

2010-11-22T11:50:00.004-07:00

File Names

File names are important and simpler file names are better. Have you ever noticed that when a file is uploaded sometimes strange characters appear such as %20? This occurs when there are spaces in the file name because the program needs to be able to read the file name and it can’t read spaces so it fills them with other characters.

When you upload a file make sure the file names don't have spaces or special characters. It is best to keep files names as simple as possible. Underscores work well for separating words. The underscore is a character that is accepted.

File names are sensitive and it is best to use file names that simple example of file names that are ideal look below:

1. example.docx
2. example1.docx
3. example_2.docx

Periods do NOT work as separators for words because periods distinguish file extensions such as - .docx. If there periods in the file name for example – example.2.docx, it will read the .2 as part of the file extension and won't be able to read the file correctly.

Here are more tips for making good file names:

1. All lowercase
2. No spaces
3. No more than eight alpha-numeric characters before the extension - i.e. example.docx

Workshop Today November 17th: Preparing Your Course For Migration

2010-11-17T08:50:00.003-07:00

November 17^th: 10 am and 1 pm Preparing Your Course For Migration in ELC 206

We will discuss how to prepare for the upcoming course migration.

Tips and Tricks of eLearning #3: Grade Book Organizing Columns

2010-11-08T09:55:00.004-07:00

In the Grade Book, if you click on the View All tab and not the Grades tab and then click Reorder Columns you can organize the columns in the order you want them to appear.

Turnitin Training By Richard Eissinger

2010-11-01T10:04:00.004-06:00

Dear SUU Faculty:

The Center of Excellence for Teaching and Learning will be hosting its third training seminar of the semester--Turnitin.com.

Although the University pays for access to this plagiarism-busting program, few faculty take advantage of it. The library's very own Richard Eissinger, who knows everything there is to know about this system, will be running THREE separate training meetings to walk both faculty and staff through the ins and outs of this powerful tool.

Wednesday, November 10, 3 p.m., LIB 002
Thursday, November 11, 2 p.m., LIB 002
Thursday, November 11, 3 p.m., LIB 002

This is a great opportunity to learn about Turnitin!

November Workshops: Update

2010-10-29T16:56:00.008-06:00

eLearning Workshops in November (Hosted by IMIC)

Here is our schedule of upcoming workshops:

___________________________________________________

Wednesday in November

November 3^rd: 10 am and 1 pm Instructional Technologies (software available to SUU Faculty will be discussed)

November 10^th: 10 am and 1 pm eLearning – Grade Book (also, revolving door)

November 17^th: 10 am and 1 pm Preparing Your Course For Migration

______________________________________________________________________

eLearning Workshops in ELC 206
On November 10th it will be a revolving door workshop with a special topic at 10am and 1pm the topic will be the Grade Book.

We will be available during the rest of the workshop hours as an open door workshop so faculty/staff can come in at any time during the workshop hours and receive training but receive training on particular topics at 10 am and 1 pm.

For more information on training and workshops click our Training & Workshops page.

Come with questions or come and work at the lab computers and we will be there to assist you when needed.

Contact Information:

Who we are: The Instructional Media Integration Centre (IMIC)

Our Website: http://suu.edu/imic/

Our Blog: http://imicfacultyhelpdesk.blogspot.com/

Our email: imic@suu.edu

Our phone #: 435.586.1994

October's Revolving Door Workshop

2010-10-12T08:59:00.000-06:00

October's Revolving Door Workshop

We are having a “Revolving Door” workshop on Wednesday, Oct. 13th, 9am - 4:50 pm, in ELC 206.

Student Questions - How Do I Submit My Assignment?

2010-09-22T15:20:00.012-06:00

If you are asked by students "How Do I Submit My Assignment?" here are instructions for students on how to submit work to you through the Assignments Tool. There is also an accompanying video tutorial. If you would like this video included in your course please let us know at imic@suu.edu.

1. Go to Assignments

2. Click the name of an assignment.

3. Read/ or Download Attached Instructions.

4. Click Add Attachments to upload a file (your homework).

5. Click My Computer to browse your desktop for a file.

6. Select your file and select Open. (Do this for all files, if there are multiple)

7. Your attached file will uploaded and be listed under the Submission Box.

8. Click Submit when you are ready to submit your assignment.

eLearning Workshop on Sept 8th in ELC 206

2010-09-02T16:48:00.002-06:00

September's Revolving Door Workshop

We are having a “Revolving Door” workshop on Wednesday, Sept. 8th, 9am - 4:50 pm, in ELC 206.

eLearning Outage - August 13th

2010-08-12T17:10:00.003-06:00

eLearning will be down on Friday, August 13th starting at 8:00am to perform upgrades and database maintenance. It is anticipated that it will be down for most of the day.

August's Revolving Door Workshop (18th) Plus Orientation

2010-08-11T15:34:00.004-06:00

We are having a “Revolving Door” workshop on Wednesday, the 18th, 9am - 10am, 11 am - 2pm and 3pm - 5 pm, in ELC 206.

These are organized in blocks because on the 18th we are also having 2 Orientation Workshops. These are at 10 am - 11 am and 2pm - 3 pm, also in ELC 206.

The orientation is for new faculty or faculty who are new to eLearning.

Linked is a copy of our Workshop Flyer.

Respondus Update/News - Test Banks

2010-08-10T09:32:00.008-06:00

First, there has been an update, so if you use Respondus you will need to enter in a new installation password to reactivate it. Please contact us at 435.586.1994, for the password.

Second, in the Respondus 4.0 update there is a new feature. Below is Respondus's announcement.

You use Respondus 4.0 because it saves time creating exams, right? Well, be sure to take advantage of the biggest time-saver that Respondus 4.0 offers: the
Respondus Test Bank Network.

Test banks for thousands of the leading textbooks in higher education are available from the Respondus Test Bank Network. These are the official test banks from publishers including Pearson, Cengage, McGraw-Hill, Wiley, and dozens more. Each test bank is available in the ready-to-use Respondus format and they are FREE to instructors who adopt a participating textbook for their course. And, if you use StudyMate Author, the same test banks can be used to create learning activities, self-assessments and games.

Here's how it works:

Go to the Respondus Test Bank Network at www.respondus.com/testbank
Search for the textbook being used in the course
Fill out the request form completely and submit it

The request is immediately sent to the publisher for confirmation and approval. Once approved, the instructor will receive an email containing the File Code and Password for downloading the test bank. The test bank is then downloaded within Respondus or StudyMate Author using these steps:

Select "Open" from the Start menu
Select "Download Test Bank"
Enter the File Code, Password, etc., and click "Download"

That's it! The publisher test bank will start downloading to the "Projects" folder. If using Respondus 4.0, you can use the Exam Wizard to select questions from the test bank, or you can supplement the questions with some of your own. Then, you are just a few clicks away from publishing the exam or learning activities to an online course in Blackboard, ANGEL, Desire2Learn, Moodle, and several other systems.

For more information, including step-by-step instructions, watch the brief demo movie, Downloading Publisher Test Banks

July's Revolving Door Workshop (28th)

2010-07-12T09:59:00.005-06:00

We are having a “Revolving Door” workshop on Wednesday, July 28th, 9am - 4:50 pm, in ELC 206.

The IMIC staff is unavailable on Thursday July 1st

2010-06-30T16:54:00.004-06:00

The IMIC staff will be attending a UEN Meeting in SLC, but we will be back Friday. Please email us at imic@suu.edu if you have any questions while we are away and we will get back to you asap.

SUU Course Syllabus Policy Update

2010-06-16T14:11:00.002-06:00

The following link opens a PDF document policy update for SUU course syllabi. Please review and apply any necessary changes.

http://www.suu.edu/pub/policies/pdf/PP636Course.pdf

June's Revolving Door Workshop

2010-06-15T11:21:00.005-06:00

We are having a “Revolving Door” workshop on Tuesday, June 22nd, 9am - 4:50 pm, in ELC 206.

eLearning: Wimba Update

2010-06-03T09:58:00.004-06:00

Last weekend the Wimba Classroom server integrated with eLearning was updated from version 6.0 to 6.1. The update brings improvements to the video capabilities in Wimba and some minor interface refinements including:

Enhanced one-to-one video. Previously if 2 people were video chatting in Wimba each person saw themselves until the other person spoke. Now when 2 people are on a video chat they always see each other. If a third person joins, the video behavior changes and shows the person speaking

Improved video input detection. Wimba should now auto-detect any camera or video device connected via USB, firewire or an internal video capture card. This includes webcams, digital video cameras, DVD players or any other video input. Presenters can switch video inputs on-the-fly in the OPTIONS menu within a Wimba classroom.

Improved video bandwidth. Wimba's highest available video bandwidth has been increased from 256 kbps to 512 kbps. Users with existing Wimba rooms will need to set new room default settings to have the highest available bandwidth selected by default. Bandwidth can also be selected on-the-fly using the room's OPTIONS menu.

Start archive reminder. Wimba can now be set to display a reminder to start archive recording. The reminder shows in the presenter's console. The archive reminder is off by default, but can be enabled by users in their Room Settings.

Hand Raise Chime. Wimba now plays a chime when a participant clicks to raise their hand in a Wimba classroom. This is turned on by default. It can be turned off in the room OPTIONS menu or in the Room Settings.

A overview list of Wimba Classroom features can be found at: http://www.wimba.com/products/wimba_classroom/

[Note: For those of you that are unfamiliar with Wimba, it is an alternative video conferencing system to SUU's Adobe Connect.]

Office 2010 vs. Adobe Presenter 7

2010-06-02T14:58:00.003-06:00

If you are planning to upgrade to MS Office 2010 or have received a new PC from IT with 2010 installed, be warned that Adobe Presenter 7 does not recognize it. Thus the Presenter plug-in cannot be installed. Adobe has been contacted and hopefully a new Presenter version will be out soon.

Honestly, with the three patches that are in addition to the current download, Presenter has needed a major update for the past year.

So if you already have 2010 on your PC, see if you can get 2007 installed instead. If you or your IT rep has any questions please contact us.

May Topic Workshop: eLearning Refresher on May 26th

2010-05-20T14:58:00.003-06:00

We would like to invite faculty to come to our eLearning Refresher Training session which is an overview of the basics of eLearning on May 26^th from 10-11am. The training will continue on to the 11-12 hour, but will be an open forum format for any question and you can attend one or both of these hour long sessions.

As this is at a specific time we know that there are those who may not be available at this time, so if you would like to have a refresher/overview we are available to set up individual and small group training meetings at our offices on any eLearning topic year round. Our work hours are 8am-5pm M-F.

May Workshop

2010-05-14T16:08:00.003-06:00

We are having a “Revolving Door” workshop on Tuesday, May 18th, 9am - 4:50 pm, in ELC 206.

A Revolving Door workshop is where faculty can walk-in at any time during the workshop hours to ask any questions about eLearning. Faculty can stay for as long as desired. There is no set material /topics that will be covered, as the workshop is determined by those who come and what questions they might have. Just come with questions or come and work at the lab computers and we will be there to assist you when needed.

For this workshop, though all are welcome as are all eLearning topics, we would like to encourage anybody who needs to build, rebuild, or has inherited a previous instructors course to come to this workshop if possible and we can help you with this transition.

If you have not had an overview/introduction to eLearning and its tools, this can also be covered during the workshop period, if you ask for an overview or if you need a refresher.

If you cannot make it on this day we can schedule individual or small group training in our office, which is a service that is available year round. If you have any questions or would like to set up a meeting, please contact us (imic@suu.edu or #1994).

For faculty that need some training that are not able to physically be here we can schedule a time to meet over the phone or online

End of Spring Semester/Prepare for Summer Info

2010-04-19T16:32:00.004-06:00

1. Spring 2010 courses will be archived and reset beginning on Wednesday, May 5th. A "reset" clears out all of the students and their data to make the shell available for use the next time it is needed. If you want to make a copy of the grade book, there is a button at the bottom to "Export to Spreadsheet". Once you have it imported into Excel, you can then save it to your computer. You'll want to do this prior to May 5th.

2. Since Maymester will begin before Spring courses are archived and reset, if you are teaching Maymester, then we can create a new shell for you to use.

3. Population Requests for Summer courses are now being accepted. Please indicate which session you are teaching, Maymester, Session 1, Session 2, etc. A Population Request needs to be submitted using the online form, http://www.suu.edu/it/webdev/webct/regcourses.asp, for each class that you will be using eLearning. These population requests are used to know which courses have an eLearning component. This must be submitted for students to have access to eLearning.

4. You can check the list of Confirmed Courses at http://www.suu.edu/it/webdev/webct/courses.asp . This is a list of courses for which a Population Request has been submitted, and the sync between Banner and eLearning has been configured.

Respondus Update

2010-04-08T08:52:00.007-06:00

Respondus Inc. has released Respondus 4.0.2. This update includes major enhancements, including the following features:

- A new Media Wizard makes it easier to add images, audio and video files, and to link to content on external web servers (e.g. YouTube and Picasa)

- The Question List on the Edit tab now includes context menus with options such as preview, edit, delete, move, and more

- Question Lists now offer an “Expanded View” that displays a full-screen version of the list of questions

- The Import task now allows importing of Ordering, Jumbled Sentence, and Fill in Multiple Blank question types

- Printing includes new features to control randomizing of questions and answer choices

- Campus-wide license users can now update their annual license information at any time using File > Update License

A number of bug fixes were also included in this update. Note that the online help and user guides were updated to reflect the above enhancements.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Updating from Respondus 4.0.x to Respondus 4.0.2
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If Respondus 4.0 has already been installed, the easiest way to obtain the 4.0.2 update is to use the "Check for Update" feature in Respondus. Follow these steps:

* Start Respondus 4.0
* Select "Help" from the menu bar
* Click "Check for Update" (this requires a live Internet connection)
* Click "Get Update"
* Upon exiting the Respondus software, the update will automatically be applied

April Workshop

2010-04-06T09:33:00.004-06:00

We are having a “Revolving Door” workshop on Wednesday, the 21st, 9am-1pm and 2pm - 4:50 pm, during the 1-2 pm hour we will have a focused workshop on the Grade Book, for the preparation of the end of the semester, in ELC 206.

A Revolving Door workshop is where faculty can walk-in at any time during the workshop hours to ask any questions about eLearning. Faculty can stay for as long as desired. There is no set material /topics that will be covered, as the workshop is determined by those who come and what questions they might have. Just come with questions or come and work at the lab computers and we will be there to assist you when needed.

If you have not had an overview/introduction to eLearning and its tools, this can also be covered during the workshop period, if you ask for an overview or if you need a refresher.

If you cannot make it on this day we can schedule individual or small group training in our office, which is a service that is available year round. If you have any questions or would like to set up a meeting, please contact us (imic@suu.edu or #1994).

For faculty that need some training that are not able to physically be here we can schedule a time to meet over the phone or online via Connect Pro (internet). For those interested please contact us.

eLearning Outage

2010-03-18T08:44:00.006-06:00

Due to a server memory chip failure, eLearning will be offline on Friday, March 19th at 8:00am.

Mark Walton hopes to have it restored by the end of the hour.

Thanks for your understanding.

March Workshop

2010-03-09T13:58:00.002-07:00

We are having a “Revolving Door” workshop on Wednesday, the 24th, 9am-4:50pm in ELC 206.

A Revolving Door workshop is where faculty can walk-in at any time during the workshop hours to ask any questions about eLearning. Faculty can stay for as long as desired. There is no set material /topics that will be covered, as the workshop is determined by those who come and what questions they might have. Just come with questions or come and work at the lab computers and we will be there to assist you when needed.

If you have not had an overview/introduction to eLearning and its tools, this can also be covered during the workshop period, if you ask for an overview or if you need a refresher.

If you cannot make it on this day we can schedule individual or small group training in our office, which is a service that is available year round. If you have any questions or would like to set up a meeting, please contact us (imic@suu.edu or #1994).

For faculty that need some training that are not able to physically be here we can schedule a time to meet over the phone or online via Connect Pro (internet). For those interested please contact us.

Faculty Using Online Tech for Lecture Courses

2010-03-02T09:18:00.003-07:00

The AAC&U came out with an interesting news article called The Promise of Blended Learning: Redesigning Large Lecture Courses at the University of North Texas .

This is a trend we are also seeing at SUU. Tell us what you think.

February Workshop

2010-02-19T15:20:00.003-07:00

We are having a “Revolving Door” workshop on Tuesday, the 23rd, 9am-4:50pm in ELC 206.

A Revolving Door workshop is where faculty can walk-in at any time during the workshop hours to ask any questions about eLearning. Faculty can stay for as long as desired. There is no set material /topics that will be covered, as the workshop is determined by those who come and what questions they might have. Just come with questions or come and work at the lab computers and we will be there to assist you when needed.

If you have not had an overview/introduction to eLearning and its tools, this can also be covered during the workshop period, if you ask for an overview or if you need a refresher.

If you cannot make it on this day we can schedule individual or small group training in our office, which is a service that is available year round. If you have any questions or would like to set up a meeting, please contact us (imic@suu.edu or #1994).

For faculty that need some training that are not able to physically be here we can schedule a time to meet over the phone or online via Connect Pro (internet). For those interested please contact us.

Presenter 7 Issues

2010-02-09T11:48:00.004-07:00

We have just upgraded to Connect Pro 7.5. Unfortunately this upgrade did not include a version of Presenter 7 with the three update patches. I am not too pleased with Adobe about this.

So with the upgrade, if you have not already, you will need to download Presenter 7.0.

After the download and install of Presenter 7, the following update patches will need to be installed one after another in this order:

7.0.1 [http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/detail.jsp?ftpID=4005]
7.0.2 [http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/detail.jsp?ftpID=4092]
7.0.5 [http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/detail.jsp?ftpID=4562]

DO NOT create a new presentation without the updates. It seems that issues will plague the presentations made between the update patches.

Once all of these are installed then you can work with the application.

Please note that we have received information that the 7.0.5 install is a bit fickle. If you experience this please contact us.

Also we have been told that the following PowerPoint error prompt is displayed:

"PowerPoint experienced a serious problem with the adobe presenter powerpoint com addin add-in. If you have seen this message multiple times, you should disable this add-in."

The recommended action is to re-boot your PC and then start PowerPoint again. It is assumed and has been discussed that this could be from a lack of virtual memory available. (i.e. PowerPoint could be demanding more than what is available.) Again if you get this let us know.

These issues are elusive, but I guess that is the deviant universe in action. hehe.

Connect Pro Server Downtime Due to Update

2010-02-05T08:41:00.004-07:00

At 1 p.m. today (Friday, 2-5-10), the Adobe Connect Pro Central server will be unavailable due to software updates. This could up to 2 hours.

Once this update is completed, all faculty using Adobe Presenter will need to uninstall their Presenter plug-in and download the new one.

If you have any questions feel free to contact us.

eLearning Notice: eLearning will be temporarily down on the 16th

2010-01-15T11:00:00.004-07:00

Because of a eLearning server issue eLearning will not be available for part of Saturday the 16th. It will be down from about 4pm for 30 - 60 minutes or until the issue is solved. Service will be restored as quickly as possible. Thank you for your patience on this matter.

Are my students in my course?

2010-01-05T15:32:00.004-07:00

Welcome back!

Just a quick note on Students being added to your eLearning courses.

(First week of semester check)To make sure you students have access to your course log in to eLearning and enter one of your courses. Click the Teach tab. Click Grade Book which is under the Instructor Tools. You will see a list of your students.

If you don't fill out this form to populate your students into all of your courses. The request must be filled out for each course.

eLearning & Connect Pro Central Servers to have Downtime

2009-12-21T09:32:00.004-07:00

This week the eLearning and Connect Pro Servers will have limited availability and downtime for system backups, upgrades and updates. We have accumulated updates and patches throughout the fall semester and are now able to install them this week.

If you are unable to access the servers, please consider that the semester end maintenance is being performed. Feel free to check the servers for availability at different times.

If you are unable to upload your Presenter PPTs to the server, please save them for posting at another time. The Presenter plug-in is not dependent on real-time server access in order to work.
Keep in mind that your current Presenter plug-in may need to be updated to publish your presentations to the server. We should have further information available after the Connect Pro Central server is updated.

Feel free to contact us if you have any further questions.

December Workshop

2009-12-10T08:20:00.012-07:00

We are having a “Revolving Door” workshop this Wednesday the 16th, 9am-5pm.

We are doing something a little different this time. We will be holding our regular Revolving Door Workshop and then have a presentation within the workshop. For information on the presentation look below the dotted line.

A Revolving Door workshop is where faculty can walk-in at any time during the workshop hours to ask any questions about eLearning. Faculty can stay for as long as desired. There is no set material /topics that will be covered, as the workshop is determined by those who come and what questions they might have. Just come with questions or come and work at the lab computers and we will be there to assist you when needed.

If you have not had an overview/introduction to eLearning and its tools, this can also be covered during the workshop period, if you ask for an overview or if you need a refresher.

The workshop is scheduled for one day this month, Wednesday the 16th, from 9am-4:50 pm in ELC 206.

If you cannot make it on this day we can schedule individual or small group training in our office, which is a service that is available year round. If you have any questions or would like to set up a meeting, please contact us (imic@suu.edu or #1994).

For faculty that need some training that are not able to physically be here we can schedule a time to meet via Connect Pro (internet). For those interested please contact us.
.......................................................................................

At 12:30-1:30 (Wed. 16th, ELC 206)There will be a presentation called: Using Instructional Technology as an Alternative Means of Teaching During Flu Outbreaks or Instructor Illness.

We will be addressing concerns about courses under potentially difficult circumstances. "What if an illness outbreak occurs and a portion of my students are unable to attend class?" This is not strictly for campus wide disturbances, but could also supplement individual instructors who may find themselves unable to physically be on campus. Our intent is to share with faculty what software SUU has available. This is purely a technological capability and application solution on the event of problems.

Feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

Thank you.

Grade Book Questions Before Grades are Due?

2009-11-20T11:14:00.004-07:00

If you use the eLearning Grade Book and need assistance before grades are due, contact us at ext 1994 or imic@suu.edu.

The Learning Module

2009-11-11T16:02:00.016-07:00

The Learning Module is where the bulk of the course content is located.

The Learning Modules under the Build Tab is where the majority of the work is done when it comes to developing a module. To learn more about Learning Modules while under the Build Tab click here.

When you are using the Teach Tab you can edit only. To learn more about Learning Modules while under the Teach Tab click here.

To see a few examples of how the Learning Modules can be organized click here.

The Mail Tool

2009-11-09T13:42:00.005-07:00

The Mail Tool is an internal mailing system within eLearning. To learn more about the basic functions available in the Mail Tool click here.

eLearning Mail Forwarding

2009-11-05T09:27:00.015-07:00

If you would like eLearning Mail forwarded to a personal email account follow the instructions below.

Go to eLearning and log in.
On the page that lists your courses, look at the top right part of the screen. Click My Settings.
Go to My Tool Options.
Go to the section Mail.
Then the sub-section Mail Forwarding.
Then check mark 'Forward all mail messages to the e-mail address in my profile'.
Click Save.

This forwards email from eLearning to your personal email account, but eLearning still needs to be used to actually reply or send messages to other members of the course in eLearning.

The email address can be edited under My Profile.

Students can also set this up in their accounts.

The Assessment Tool

2009-10-28T15:51:00.016-06:00

The Assessment Tool is where exams are quizzes are accessible to the students. They can be imported or created directly into eLearning.

Please Read this for information on the Assessment Tool.

Please Read this for additional information on the Assessment Tool.

There is also a post about Respondus. Respondus is software worth a look if you are interested in using the Assessment Tool. It import tests from word documents.

Adobe Presenter Updates and Fixes:

2009-10-26T09:46:00.004-06:00

Since the last full product update of Adobe Presenter to Version 7, there are two additional patches that users will need to perform to fix some of the issues found in 7.0.1.

If you have not upgraded to Presenter 7.0.1 this summer, you will need to uninstall your current version and download the following .MSI file: presenter.msi

Before the installation, contact the IMIC for the serial number to activate the plug-in.

Once installed, start your MS PowerPoint application. Verify that your Adobe Presenter is enabled. If you can see your Presenter Tab in PowerPoint, click on the Application “Preferences" menu. A preference window will appear. You may need to re-enter your personal information into the Presenter information if it is not listed. Under the “Servers” tab be sure that you have the SUU server listed. If not, click on the “Add” button. A prompt will open, enter “SUU CPC” for the name and “ breezep.suu.edu “ into the URL field. Click OK. This should now display the CPC server. Click OK again.

Close down your PowerPoint application.

Update downloading and installation:

Your first update will bring you up to Version 7.0.2. Download/save the Adobe Presenter 7.0.2 update onto your desktop. Once downloaded, please run the patch. After the patch update has been installed, open MS PowerPoint to verify that Presenter is enabled. If so, close the application.

The last update will give you Version 7.0.5. Again download/save the Adobe Presenter 7.0.5 update onto your desktop. Click on the patch icon to install the update. Once installed open MS PowerPoint to verify that Presenter is enabled. Check your settings and preferences to validate the success of your updates.

From this point you should have all the updates –to date. If you find any other issues please contact us.

Presentation: Using Instructional Technology as an Alternative Means of Teaching During Flu Outbreaks or Instructor Illness.

2009-10-21T11:21:00.006-06:00

We are currently preparing for a presentation on "Using Instructional Technology as an Alternative Means of Teaching During Flu Outbreaks or Instructor Illness" We have seen increased cause for concern about courses under potentially difficult circumstances… “What if an illness outbreak occurs and a portion of my students are unable to attend class?” This is not strictly for campus wide disturbances, but could also supplement individual instructors who may find themselves unable to physically be on campus.

Our intent is to share with faculty what software SUU has available. This is purely a technological capability and application solution on the event of problems.

We would like to obtain a head count of interested individuals to schedule an appropriate size room for the presentation. Please contact us for your interest to attend and your preferred availability.

Thanks.

Workshops and Training

2009-09-28T10:12:00.003-06:00

With the Semester in full swing we would like to hear back from you. We are planning on having another series of "topic specific" workshops in the month of October. So here is your chance to let us know what you would like the topics to be.

If you want to know how to incorporate audio or video into your course content to amplifying your grade book, or something new, let us know what specific workshop or training you want.

We will look forward to hear back from you - Contact Us.

Adobe Presenter 7.0.5 Update Now Available.

2009-09-08T08:45:00.004-06:00

Attention Faculty and Staff using Adobe Presenter:

We have just installed the latest update for Presenter and have installed the patch to our Connect Pro Central server. The Adobe Presenter 7.0.5 update addresses a number of issues across the entire product. Adobe recommends that all SUU Adobe Presenter 7 users apply this update.

Because this is a full product update, it is possible that your current version may no longer be accepted by the Connect Pro Central server.

What you will need to do is to download the new version from the Connect Pro Central "Getting Started" page.

Scroll down to the Publish Presentations section and click on the first link called Install Adobe Presenter.
Download the plug-in to your desktop.
Contact the IMIC for the serial number for the application.
Be sure all other applications are closed during the installation.
Once downloaded, install the plug-in by double-clicking on the "presenter.msi" file.
During the installation it will ask for the serial #.
After the installation you can delete the install file and the tutorial presentation if desired.
Your plug-in should be available as a tab in your MS PowerPoint application.

To see what issues have been addressed here is an information link:
http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/506/cpsid_50677.html?trackingid=EWLPE

If you have any further questions feel free to contact us.

IMIC News

2009-08-05T10:54:00.003-06:00

A few things are coming up and we would like to let you know about them.

The new semester is approaching fast. Before each semester begins we go through the courses to check for potential technical issues. As we have done this each semester issues are now rare, but we still check so this "pre-flight checklist" is currently being performed.

If there are any issues with your course as far as the template is concerned (i.e. wrong course number/name, new footer info, or anything else) please let us know and we will fix it.

There will be Topic Workshop sessions on the 18th & 19th.

The Grade Book Workshop Tuesday, August 18th, 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM in ELC, 206
Assignments, Assessments and Respondus Workshop Tuesday, August 18th, 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM in ELC, 206
Assignments, Assessments and Respondus Workshop Wednesday, August 19th, 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM in ELC, 206
The Grade Book Workshop Wednesday, August 19th, 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM in ELC, 206

Media Library

2009-07-27T10:42:00.008-06:00

The Media Library is an electronic library and is made up of collections. A collection is a like a file repository. Whether it’s a glossary of terms or a collection of a particular media file type, or several types of files with a particular subject a collection can be a valuable resource for students.

To view a document on the Media Library click here.

Web Links

2009-07-17T11:06:00.006-06:00

The Web Links tool allows you to easily add links to external web pages or other types of URL links.

For example if there is a website on the topic you teach or perhaps a link to the publisher's website you can create a web link that would be linked to that site.

You can also add Adobe Presenter presentations in this area.

Web Links can be added to the Learning Modules or Welcome Start Here: Section Information area.

Click here to view a document on Web Links.

Upcoming Workshop: July 16th

2009-07-13T08:24:00.004-06:00

We are having a “Revolving Door” workshop this Thursday on the 16th.

A Revolving Door workshop is where faculty can walk-in at any time during the workshop hours to ask any questions about eLearning. Faculty can stay for as long as desired. There is no set material /topics that will be covered, as the workshop is determined by those who come and what questions they might have. Just come with questions or come and work at the lab computers and we will be there to assist you when needed.

If you have not had an overview/introduction to eLearning and its tools, this can also be covered during the workshop period, if you ask for an overview or if you need a refresher.

The workshop is scheduled for one day this month, Thursday the 16th, from 9am-4:50 pm in ED 338.

If you cannot make it on this day we can schedule individual or small group training in our office, which is a service that is available year round. If you have any questions or would like to set up a meeting, please contact us (imic@suu.edu or #1994).

For faculty that need some training that are not able to physically be here we can schedule a time to meet via Connect Pro (internet). For those interested please contact us.

Feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

Thank you.

Edit your Question in eLearning

2009-07-07T09:12:00.022-06:00

Many of you are familiar with the Assessment Tool. Here is a detailed list of options when creating or editing a question in the Assessment Tool.

Title: The title of the question
Question Text: The question itself.
Image: You can browse for an image if one should be included in the question.
Image title: Give the image a title
Sharing: Lists which quizzes or exams the question is being used.

Answers:

One Answer -Select the Correct response check box for the correct answer. A 100% value will be attributed. You can enter your own value in the Value (%) text box, but one answer must be worth 100%.

Multiple Answers -
Select the Correct response check box for each correct answer. A 100% value, divided by the number of correct responses, will be attributed. You can enter your own values in the Value (%) text boxes, but one answer combination must add up to 100%.

There a certain amount of default answer boxes but these can be added to or taken from your question. The answer box is where you enter the answers for your question and check mark the correct answer (s).

You can set the value of answers which used if there are multiple correct answers.

You can include feedback for a question.

Settings:
Answer layout: You can have your answers displayed vertically or horizontally

Answer labels: You can have your answers displayed with numbers or letters

Randomize answer ordering: You can chose to have the answers rotate each time the question is taken (in a quiz/exam) without effecting the originally order. It only changes it for the student not for you. This prevents students who complete the assessment first from sharing their answers with others. To keep the answers in the same order that you entered them, select No.

Grading scheme: Cumulative or all or nothing. If there is only one correct answer or if there are multiple correct answers and you want each correct answer to count for a portion of the total score, select Cumulative. If you want all correct answers to be selected for a score 100%, select All or nothing.

Allow negative score: Yes or No. To deduct a percentage value for incorrect answers, next to Allow negative score, select Yes. You may want to inform Students in the question text. For example, An incorrect answer will result in a negative score. To make incorrectly answered questions worth 0%, next to Allow negative score, select No.

More Options:
General feed back: If you want to include a comment about the question, enter it in plain text or HTML format in the General feedback text box. The comment appears when students view their graded assessment.
Section designer notes: If you want to include a note that is visible only to yourself or other Section Designers, enter it in the Section Designer notes text box.
Category: Questions may be placed in categories in the Question Database, for organizational purposes. You may use existing categories or create new ones.

Sources: eLearning Help.

What is WebDAV?

2009-07-01T10:59:00.007-06:00

WebDAV (Web-based Distributed Authoring and Versioning) is a feature available through eLearning.

WebDAV is another way you can upload files into your course. It creates a folder on your desktop that reflects your class files in eLearning, basically your eLearning 'Class Files' or 'My Files' can be managed from your desktop.

Using WebDAV makes it possible for you to drag and drop files into your elearning course indirectly through the WebDAV folder. The WebDAV folder is similar to any other folder on your desktop you can add, delete, rename, or edit files. You do not need to zip folders to upload multiple files, instead, you can drag and drop your folder into the WebDAV folder and its contents will be accessible through eLearning's File Manager.

Though the WebDAV feature does get files into eLearning's File Manger, either Class Files or My Files, you can not make it create links to the content automatically for students to view. So you still need to link the content to its specfic tools. Such as the Learning Module, you would still need to click Add Files and select the files from the File Manager for students to be able to access the information.

Here is an example of how to create a WebDAV folder. This will be Windows XP, if you have a different system such as Vista or a Mac, please contact us for their process of adding a WebDAV folder to your desktop.

Set Up a Web Folder

Go to one of your eLearning couses. Select the Build tab and click File Manager.
To the right of the File Manager title, click the ActionLink button.
A menu appears. Click View WebDAV Info link.
A window opens with the WebDAV URL for the current course. This is a long address something like this:
https://webctapp.suu.edu/webct/webdav/thencode/indicatingyourcourse
Select the URL and copy it.
To close the WebDAV Info window, click OK button.

Here is how to set up a WebDAV folder for Windows XP:

Go to My computer - Control Panel - Network and Internet Connections - My Network Place - Add a New Network Place.
Click Next , select Choose Another New Location
Paste your WebDAV URL from Step 4 above click next
Enter your login and password information.
Name your folder.
Drag and drop the folder onto your desktop.
Open the folder and you should see the files that are in your course.

There are different ways to do this depending on if you have Vista, XP or some versions of Mac operating systems. Ask us if you need instructions for a different operating system.

The File Manager

2009-06-22T14:28:00.007-06:00

The File Manager is an eLearning feature accessed under the Build Tab. It is where files for courses are stored and accessible by the course designer.

To view a document on the File Manger click here.

In the document a term WebDAV is mentioned. This feature will be the focus of the another blog in the future. What does WebDAV do? It makes it possible to link a folder on your desktop to eLearning's File Manager, so you don't have to log in to add, remove, organize files or folders in your courses. You can organize your desktop folder as easily as you normally would and its changes would be duplicated in your course.

June 'Revolving Door Workshop'

2009-06-18T16:08:00.006-06:00

We had a 'Revolving Door Workshop' this month on the 17th-18th.

A revolving door workshop is where faculty can walk-in at any time during the workshop hours to ask any questions about eLearning. Faculty can stay for as long as desired. There is no set material /topics that will be covered, as the workshop is determined by those who come and what questions they might have. Lab computers are available to work on.

We will use this area as one of the venues where we announce workshops in the future, so keep a look out!

Feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

The Assignment Tool

2009-06-16T10:47:00.007-06:00

The Assignment Tool is where you can set up assignments and students can submit them to you.

An assignment usually consists of instructions for the students - such as what the assignment is and what is required of them.

What can students submit to me through the assignments tool? Word, Excel, PPT, HTML, video (depends on size), audio, etc. Some formats are more complicated but still possible. Please explore this feature through using the student view and ask us any questions you may have.

To view a document on the Assignment Tool, click here.

To view a document on the Assignment Dropbox, click here.

To view a document which has a few Assignment Tool hints, click here.

The Assignment Tool provides a specific place for students to submit homework to you. There are options with the Assignment Tool to set it up to work for your class.

Respondus - What is it? A test creation tool.

2009-06-12T11:32:00.026-06:00

Respondus is a third party product that we have access to because of a state-wide license provided through UEN.

Respondus is a test creation tool. Questions can be created in Respondus or imported from a word document into Respondus. The created quizzes or exams can then be transferred to eLearning easily. They are sent to eLearning's Assessment tool and the questions are loaded into the question database. Once a quiz is sent to eLearning it is ready to be taken by students except for properties that need to be set such as dates available, point value, etc.

The main feature of Respondus is its ability to import questions from a word document into its program, for examples of how the word document should be prepared before the import, click here.

For a link to a document on how to install Respondus, click here.

If you are interested in using Respondus or just learning more about it, please let us know.

The Grade Book

2009-06-11T11:14:00.002-06:00

The Grade Book is where the teacher can view, update, and organize student grades. These are the basic terms for one of the more complicated, yet, sometimes a simple to use tool in eLearning.

Why is it complicated? Because there are so many aspects to it and option with it. Typically the more options we are given the more complicated it is - because we can do so much with it.

Why is it simple? It is easy to use the fundamentals of the tool - like changing a students grade or adding a column.

When you first go to the Grade Book (under the Teach Tab) you will see 5 button at the top these are Create Column, Enroll Members, Import from Spreadsheet, Reorder Columns and at the far right Grade Book Options. There is also a Export to Spreadsheet button at the bottom.

To view a document on The Grade Book click here (this contains more detailed information)

To view a document on Tips and Tricks of the Grade Book click here.

There are a few features I would like to spotlight:

Create Column: There are many column types from text (simple text to be entered like yes or no), Numeric (10 of 10, for example), to Calculated (formulas, you can create solutions for percentages or total scores, etc).
Reorder Columns: the grade book is made up of columns and unfortunately the columns are not always created in the order they should be organized (if you use assignment/assessment tool they appear as they are created, which isn't always the order you may want). To have your columns in the order you want then click reorder columns, then check mark the box next to the item you want to move and hit the button next to the check mark box next to where you want the item to be moved. This sounds a little funny, but that's how it works.
Grade Book Options:

Column Settings: This is where you can rename columns, delete columns, release scores to students, change the value of a column, change decimal point, change the alignment, etc.
Unfreeze Columns: Columns are either frozen or unfrozen. When they are "frozen" it creates a split screen for the grade book which makes it easier to view students scores. This is the default.
Find Members: Search for particular people in the course.
Show All Members: Show everyone in the course (will show 'dropped' students)
Show Unenrolled Member Data/Hide Unenrolled Member Data: Hide or show unenrolled member's data.
View Audit History: View changes made in the grade book (this includes creation of columns to changing of students scores)

Like was said at the beginning, there is a lot of information in the Grade Book and it can feel complicated or overwhelming but this information is more supplementary to its basic use.

Why Can’t I Organize My Course?

2009-06-11T08:52:00.002-06:00

There is an anomaly in eLearning which sometimes stops the organization of certain aspects of the course such as the Learning Modules. We understand that is can be aggravating, it is for us as well. We hope this will be fixed with the next application patch.

Set Release Criteria - who? when? How does this work?

2009-06-08T15:50:00.004-06:00

What is Release Criteria?

Release Criteria is how you can restrict students ability to access an item in the course.

The option to “Set Release Criteria” is available in most aspects of the course as you can set release criteria for files, folders, assessments, assignments, discussions, etc.

The type of criteria that can be added is Date (actual time restriction), Member (restriction set by name, so only certain people can view an item), Group (only certain groups can view an item) and Grade Book (item can be viewed after another item is satisfied). To view a document about this Click Here.

If you use Set Release criteria you must update your criteria each semester. For example, if the date criteria is set for one week, then once that week is past no one can view that item anymore. This can work well but once the new semester has started, students still won’t be available to view it until that date is updated for the current semester. It is the same issue with any criteria. If you use Set Release Criteria, once a semester is over update or remove the criteria, unless it is set up where this wouldn’t be necessary (meaning no dates or individual people listed in criteria).

As always, if you have any comments or questions about the Set Release Criteria (or any post). Feel free to ask. Thanks.

A Guide to Announcements

2009-06-05T10:30:00.019-06:00

Announcements is a great tool. To view a PDF document about the Announcements Click here.

What do I do if I need to update my footer/header on eLearning?

2009-06-04T11:04:00.019-06:00

We have found issues with the Headers/Footers on some eLearning course homepages where updates change the formatting. This happens when the HTML creator is used in the Header/Footer editing function. Once the WYSWYG editor is selected the CSS code [that is used for homepage layout styles] is automatically deleted. This creates the display problem that we find.

We understand that changes and updates can occur, and so the best way to handle them if to send to us the updated information with a list of your active courses. We don't mind if this happens every semester, it is easier for us to make the updates from our end than it is to fix the alterations created. It also helps us retain the latest version of the faculty information footer in our files so we have it when a new section is created.

May Workshops

2009-05-28T14:47:00.005-06:00

Thank you to all who attended our May Workshops.

Our workshop topics included:

• The Grade Book: A short overview and basic information. Topics will be how to set columns up, organize the columns, importing and export the Grade Book, Adding TAs, releasing the columns to students, etc.

• Adobe Presenter: Learn how to take your PPT and elevate it with video, audio, or embed a interactive flash object that will make your presentation an excellent SWF learning object.

• Tying it Together: Overview of the Learning Modules and the Welcome Start Here: Section Information areas. Focus on making the Learning Modules work for individual teaching styles and pedagogy. Topics will include adding content links and files to these areas.

• Adobe Connect Pro: IP Video online meeting software. It is used to communicate with students over the internet. It has many capabilities such as document sharing, giving presentations, whiteboard, polls, desktop sharing, video and audio capabilities, and much more. Workshop will cover its use and integration.

• The Assessment Tool: eLearning’s online quiz and exam distribution tool. Topics on how to create questions directly into eLearning, a quick tie-in to Respondus, and how to get questions from course to another, publishers test bank integration, and tips to reduce cheating on online quizzes and exams.

• Respondus: Walkthrough on installation, assessment creation, importing exams in word document format, exportation into an eLearning course. We will discuss its capabilities and usefulness.

• The Assignment Tool: This tool is where a student submits their document assignments into eLearning. Topics are - how to create assignments, attaching files to an assignment, different ways to format the assignment, how to set it up, and how to reduce cheating.

• Enhancing My Course: Discussions on a variety of topics that related to enhancing a course with various technologies and formats. There will be a quick overview of the Media Library Tool which is less commonly used tool, but has unique capabilities in storing media files, etc.

We plan to do these again in August, in addition to a few new ones. We hope to see you there!