Saturday, December 18, 2010

Bb Course Data for Dropped/Withdrawn Students

If a student drops your class, they are removed from your Bb course shell.  This process also removes much of their presence in your class, including assignments submitted to the gradebook.  This information is saved, however.  If you ever need assignments submitted by such students send an email to elearningservices@kctcs.edu and include the course ID number and the student PS number.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Service Pack 3 on it's way...

From Sandy Cook:

The KCTCS Blackboard regularly scheduled maintenance window will be extended to allow installation of Service Pack 3. Blackboard will not be available beginning December 19 at 1:00 a.m. ET through early morning December 20 8:00 a.m. ET.

Here are the details:

Blackboard Learn Service Pack 3 for version 9.1 will be installed December 19 during regular maintenance period and extended through December early morning. This means Blackboard will be offline beginning Sunday morning, December 19 at 1 a.m. ET until Monday morning December 20, 8 a.m. ET. All Blackboard courses will be unavailable during this time. All content and student work on the current system will remain intact when Blackboard is back online early Monday. When KCTCS colleges’ students, faculty, and staff browse to http://elearning.kctcs.edu they will view a message explaining the offline activities.

Winter break is the best opportunity to install the service pack and impacts the fewest number of classes, faculty and students. If you are teaching during this time, please alert your students and remind them to download any materials they may need during this time. If you are a KCTCS Online Learn on Demand instructor, students may need extended time to complete their modules.

The service pack fixes several bugs in the system and provides a few new enhancements including:

Adaptive Release
Instructors can now set Adaptive Release rules using a calculated column. Categories for each item in the Grade Center appear in the Select a Grade Center column drop-down list.

Announcements
New Announcements now appear directly below a repositionable bar. Priority Announcements can be moved above the bar so they always appear first in the list. Students do not see the bar.

Early Warning System
Instructors can now set Early Warning System rules using a calculated column. Categories for each item in the Grade Center appear in the Select a Grade Center column drop-down list.

Assessments
Instructors now have the ability to view question numbers while building and editing assessments. Questions can be referenced by number throughout the assessment and can be used to sequence questions in an assessment.

Grade Center
Several features in the Grade Center have been enhanced to improve communication between the instructor and students and make navigation easier.

Feedback and Comments
To augment the existing ability to download columns from the Grade Center and grade offline, Instructors can now include comments in the download. Comments can be added or edited offline, and are associated with the grade when the column information is uploaded to the Grade Center.

The full features of the Text Editor are now available for Feedback to Users and Grading Notes from the Grade Details page and within the Grade Center grid. The Text Editor can also be used for feedback on Tests, Assignments, Group Assignments, Blogs, Wikis, Journals, and posts to the Discussion Board. Incorporating all the features of the Text Editor allows Instructors to leverage the full range of functions for formatting text and adding external links, attachments, images, Mashups, and multimedia to Feedback and Grading Notes.

Students are able to view the Feedback added using the Text Editor on their My Grades page.

Needs Grading Page
Instructors can access assignment and test attempts that need grading from a new Needs Grading page accessed in the Grade Center section of the Control Panel. On the Needs Grading page, instructors can view how many attempts are ready for grading and sort and filter the items. Attempts are placed in a queue for easy navigation among items when grading or reviewing. Once an attempt is graded, it no longer appears on the Needs Grading page.

Smart Views
Smart Views added as Favorites appear as an indented list in the Grade Center section of the Control Panel.

Column Delete Alert
When groups with graded Blogs, Journals, Wikis, or Discussion Boards are deleted, an alert appears prompting the instructor to save or delete the corresponding Grade Center columns. Managing columns for groups becomes part of the same process as deleting groups.

Text Editor
The symbol font is removed from the Text Editor and a symbol picker has been added.

Monday, December 13, 2010

Bb Connection Problems Identified

This in from Sandy Cook:
The cause of last week’s Blackboard connection reset issue has been diagnosed.  The performance bottleneck experienced by some users has been found to be SQL Server (disk subsystem) related and is responsible for the intermittent connection errors these users encountered.  CRD Network Operation Center is in process to upgrade the disk subsystem.
Hmmm. . . I may need to call one of my IT friends to have that description deciphered in a way that I can really follow it.  Well. . . at least we have diagosis and a plan for action.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Forced Completion

There continue to be reports of problems with the Forced Completion feature in Blackboard tests.  This features automatically submits a test after a period of time.  Unfortunately this feature causes students to get kicked out of their test.  Paige Brooks Jeffiers in the systems office offers this solution: "You can use the timer on the test so you can see when the student started the test and when they submitted the test (even if they leave and come back) to ensure they aren’t in for too long allowing them to look up answers and such. Plus if you do this and the students save their answers and get kicked out, they can go back in to the test and pick up where they were when being kicked out."

KCTCS Peer Team Notes

The KCTCS Distance Learning Peer Team met via LiveMeeting today. Here's some of what we talked about . . .

There was lots of talk about problems with Bb connectivity and how to troubleshoot this. All kinds of tech folk are looking into why it's not working as well as it should. Short of it. . . no one really knows the cause of the problem….

Looks Like installation of Bb SP3 is a go. Expect more updates about this soon.

Lots of discussion about the proposed common template for BW classes. Should the default setting be announcements (my vote) or the home page (which I don't use)? I emphasized the need for flexibility. . . so that instructors can add additional buttons or change the default page from announcements to home page. There was general agreement about that principle.

There was talk about supplemental Bb content provided by commercial companies like Pearson (their MyLab suite of programs) and Cengage.  These products become very popular at many colleges around the system.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Open Textbooks

Open Textbooks are educational content distributed free with a few restrictions: typically, the material cannot be sold for profit and the authors must be credited.  There is increasingly more and more academically sound course content available free on the Web.  With the price of textbooks increasingly astronomically, it can't hurt to look at some less expensive alternatives. Here is a list of some sources that you might find useful for your classes:

Open Textbook Roster

www.merlot.org
www.wikibooks.org
http://cnx.org
http://collegeopentextbooks.org
www.oercommons.org
www.theorangegrove.org
http://kylearningdepot.org

Open courseware
• annenberg media (lots of online video instruction - composition includes interviews with some great writers!)
• MIT opencourse ware
http://ocw.nd.edu/courselist. (Notre Dame) with open course ware (syllabi, lectures, online readings etc).
http://www.hippocampus.org/myHippo/?user=myKCTCS KCTCS owns a license to this database of materials.

HippoCampus

I recently blogged about  open textbooks.  HippoCampus is another source for online course content.  Read more, courtesy of Sandy Cook:

HippoCampus is a great way for KCTCS colleges to get the media-rich NROC content into the hands of all faculty to support instruction. Faculty may search across disciplines, link to the NROC-hosted media from within Blackboard, or simply use the tools at the site to further customize a version for their students. Unique log-ins are NOT required to access these resources; however, the HippoCampus website can be customized to make it better suited to meet the needs of an individual instructor or a group of students.

The KCTCS URL is: http://www.hippocampus.org/myHippo/?user=myKCTCS.  This is KCTCS’s institutional site provided as part of the KCTCS/Kentucky-wide NROC (National Repository of Online Courses) membership.  NROC will maintain, update, correct, and add content at the site as it becomes available.
To use the customization features, faculty will create an account. Creating an account is quick and easy - just click on Create Account at the HippoCampus KCTCS URL and fill out a simple form: http://www.hippocampus.org/myHippo/create-account;jsessionid=19695EE0BC9EA9D170ED097A3F64269C .  Once faculty have an account, they can create announcements, hide unwanted subjects and courses, remove unused textbooks, and bookmark specific multimedia topics.

Additionally, faculty will have access to view the Standards tab.  The Standards tab shows the course topics that are correlated to a particular state or national learning standard – for KCTCS the standards align with the Kentucky Department of Education standards.  This can be an excellent resource as a tool to align competencies and standards for successful transitioning high school students to KCTCS.

Monday, December 6, 2010

Blackboard Exemplary Course Program

KCTCS eLearning Services is looking to recognize great courses our faculty have developed at each college. If you have developed new and innovative content in an online class, please submit your course to elearningservices@kctcs.edu. Sara Porter and Paige Brooks-Jeffiers will review the course based on Blackboard’s Exemplary Course rubric, provide feedback to the instructor and help submit courses to the program.

End of Semester Announcements

Listed below is the text of an email I sent out on Monday, 12/6. . . 

Whew!  We’ve made it (almost) through another semester.  Congratulations to us all.  
This email contains some updates and goings on in the world of distance learning.  Since increasingly Blackboard and online learning pertains to us all, I’m sending this message out on the bctc_faculty@kctcs.edu  distribution list.  Just prior to this email going out, I sent an email to the members of the bl_onlineinstructors@kctcs.edu list with the word *membership* in the subject heading; if you didn’t get that email and want on that list, please send your name and email address to Bill Davis.
Distance Learning Blog
I am using a blog, BCTC Distance Learning, to share information about goings on in the world of online learning.  I encourage you to subscribe.  For those who don’t subscribe, I will periodically make reminders about  the blog on the bl_onlineinstructors distribution list.  I think this makes a good way for me to share information without unnecessarily cluttering inboxes.  I’m also using the blog, which is fully searchable, to archive important information such as this email.
Instructor Presence in Bb Classes
With all the improvements to Blackboard and the low price of webcams, there’s a lot that instructors can do to make themselves seen and heard at a distance.  Read this post about how you can easily add audio and video to your Blackboard class.  The Distance Learning Office has recently purchased high definition cameras to help instructors who want to put better looking videos online.  Contact us if you’re interested in using this.  Remember that adding audio and video to Blackboard classes holds potential for face-to-face instructors as well.  Why not make a lecture that your students listen to prior to class and then use your class time to discuss it?
Course Overviews
I encourage you to provide students with an overview to your Blackboard course shells.  Whether the shell is used to support a face-to-face or an online class, students benefit from having instructions on what content has been placed inside Blackboard and how to use it.  Read here about how you can create short videos that capture what’s happening on your computer screen while recording your voice.  This is a great way to make an overview to your class.
Distance Learning Advisory Committee
The DLAC is charged with representing faculty concerns about the direction of online learning.  The committee has representation from each division.  If you have concerns about anything pertaining to distance learning, share them with your DLAC rep.  Of course, you can always direct those concerns to me.
On-Line Support Group
Let me take a moment to congratulate Cindy Baker and Cindy Tucker for their continued leadership of the On-Line Support Group.  They meet monthly with online faculty members to discuss and troubleshoot any and everything related to online instruction.  They also have an excellent Bb eCommunity.  Send Cindy an email if you would like access to their eCommunity.
Getting Help
I want to highlight our eMentor program.  The college eMentors provide assistance to new online instructors—and anyone else in the BCTC community who has questions about best practices in online learning.  Their email address is bl_ementors@kctcs.edu.
Save Bb Gradebooks
If you are keeping your gradebook on Blackboard, I strongly recommend that you download a copy of it after turning in your grades.  This is easy to do.  From the control panel, click Grade Center/Full Grade Center.  Then Work Offline/Download.  Click Submit then Download.  Then Save.  <shhhh!  Did anyone say Bb gets a bit clicky at times?>
Get Your Online Course Ready for Spring 2011
KYVCIf you are teaching classes in a BW mode (meaning your class is available to all students across KCTCS), be sure to update KYVC with your course information.  Click here for directions on how to do this.  *Tip* this is a great way to inform potential students about your textbook requirements, use of proctored exams and any special software needs.  
PeopleSoft.  Double check that your Spring 2011 classes appear on in PeopleSoft in the Faculty “My Schedule” area; if not, check with your AD or Office Manager.
Bb Availability.  When you are ready to make your class available to your students, remember to change the Blackboard settings.  From the Bb Control Panel, click customization/properties.  Under “Set Availability” have “Make Course Available” read “yes”.
Weather Language
New syllabi checklists call for language about weather closings.  Since online classes don’t close during weather events, it it might not be a bad idea to state this explicitly on your syllabus.
Adjunct Survey
An adjunct instructor survey is ongoing through the end of the semester.  Online adjunct faculty—please complete this.  I am particularly interested in seeing your feedback.  Please use the link sent to you.  If you have lost that link email me or ask your program/area coordinator.
Happy Holidays
Thank you for time.  I wish each of you a safe and relaxing holiday and prosperous new year.  And if you’re on the move, safe travels.
Ben.

Jing, Camtasia, and Course Overviews

Consider putting a course overview in your Blackboard classes.  An overview can explain to your students what content has been placed inside your courseshell and recommend how best to interact with that content.

An excellent way to provide an overview is through a video that captures screen content in real time and provides your voice explaining that content.  Two software programs, which are both easy to use, can do that: Jing and Camtasia.  

Jing has the advantage of offering a free version.  Yes, it limits videos to 5 minutes or less, but for many occassions, 5 minutes is sufficient.  In fact, many online instuction guidelines recommend organizing  captured lectures in segments of no more than 15 minutes.

Camtasia is a powerful commercial software program that also supports screen captures with voice over.  Camtasia is available to faculty in the Leestown A-136 Distance Learning Office (contact: Karen Dearborn) and ITS's Cooper MB 130B training center (contact: Connie Rine).

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Blackboard and iPads

More instructors (and students) are using iPads to access Blackboard. Unfortunately, Safari, the iPad's default browser, interacts poorly with Bb; text windows found in Announcements and discussion boards are often inaccessible. There is a fix--Safari isn't the only Web browser avaialable. iLunascape is a free one. Read here and here for descriptions of others like Atomic and Grazing which offer features like tabs, VGA out and full screen viewing.

iLunascape is the only one that I have tested and it does appear to provide a better experience in Blackboard.

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Learn by Term Template

I just got an update on the proposed Learn by Term Template.  Read the document here. This gives you a good idea of the overall feel of what the uniform look of Learn by Term might be.

Update KYVC

KYVC. If you are teaching classes in a BW mode (meaning your classes is available to all students across KCTCS), be sure to update KYVC with your course information. Click here for directions on how to do this. *Tip* this is a great to let potential students know about your textbook requirements, need for proctored exams and special software needs.

Bb Service Pack 3 Updates

Over the break, KCTCS testers--which means folk who work in distance learning who have agreed to spend some time helping troubleshoot--will be examing new features in Blackboard Service Pack 3 (SP3).  Those features are described below.  The KCTCS Distance Learning Peer Team will be meeting on December 8 to talk about about whether or not to upgrade to SP3.  What do you think?

See my earlier post on this here.

Adaptive Release
Instructors can now set Adaptive Release rules using a calculated column. Categories for each item in the Grade Center appear in the Select a Grade Center column drop-down list.

Announcements

New Announcements now appear directly below a repositionable bar. Priority Announcements can be moved above the bar so they always appear first in the list. Students do not see the bar.

Early Warning System
Instructors can now set Early Warning System rules using a calculated column. Categories for each item in the Grade Center appear in the Select a Grade Center column drop-down list.

Assessments

Instructors now have the ability to view question numbers while building and editing assessments. Questions can be referenced by number throughout the assessment and can be used to sequence questions in an assessment.

Grade Center
Several features in the Grade Center have been enhanced to improve communication between the instructor and students and make navigation easier.

Feedback and Comments
To augment the existing ability to download columns from the Grade Center and grade offline, Instructors can now include comments in the download. Comments can be added or edited offline, and are associated with the grade when the column information is uploaded to the Grade Center.

The full features of the Text Editor are now available for Feedback to Users and Grading Notes from the Grade Details page and within the Grade Center grid. The Text Editor can also be used for feedback on Tests, Assignments, Group Assignments, Blogs, Wikis, Journals, and posts to the Discussion Board. Incorporating all the features of the Text Editor allows Instructors to leverage the full range of functions for formatting text and adding external links, attachments, images, Mashups, and multimedia to Feedback and Grading Notes.

Students are able to view the Feedback added using the Text Editor on their My Grades page.

Needs Grading Page
Instructors can access assignment and test attempts that need grading from a new Needs Grading page accessed in the Grade Center section of the Control Panel. On the Needs Grading page, instructors can view how many attempts are ready for grading and sort and filter the items. Attempts are placed in a queue for easy navigation among items when grading or reviewing. Once an attempt is graded, it no longer appears on the Needs Grading page.

Smart Views
Smart Views added as Favorites appear as an indented list in the Grade Center section of the Control Panel.

Column Delete Alert
When groups with graded Blogs, Journals, Wikis, or Discussion Boards are deleted, an alert appears prompting the instructor to save or delete the corresponding Grade Center columns. Managing columns for groups becomes part of the same process as deleting groups.

Text Editor
The symbol font is removed from the Text Editor and a symbol picker has been added.