Bb SP 10 Updates

From Sandy Cook. . .

Greetings DL Peer Team:  We’ve had a few discussions among the DL Peer Team this week, and I wanted to provide information and an update.  Thanks so much for your  continued efforts and support for your faculty and students.  Please keep me posted if you need help

1.       Blackboard Learn SP 10:   KCTCS Technology Solutions/Distance Learning, CRD, and Blackboard Support staff members have met this week to discuss the application server/database issues in preparation for first day of class January 14.  Blackboard Support has their top team working through the weekend to identify and resolve two major issues:

a.       Application Servers where a server suddenly becomes inactive.  That’s why some faculty report “no response” while others will have “response” when in Blackboard.

b.      Database where spikes in activity cause slow performance for Blackboard Learn.  This also impacts the course copy progress/queue.

2.       Proctored Exam Journal Process to Delivering Colleges for Financial Implication to Home Colleges Assessment/Proctor Center:  This issue is a broad one to include Business Directors, Chief Academic Officers, Assessment Centers, and DL Peer Teem.   As the DL Peer Team members have discussed for a number of months, the increasing numbers of courses that require proctored exams has impacted the staffing needs of Assessment/Proctor Centers at some colleges.  While faculty members directly oversee assessments with face-to-face classes, increasingly the assessment oversight for online exams has been shifted to Assessment/Proctor Centers.  Fall 2011, DL Peer Team, Business Directors, and Assessment/Proctor Center staff members were invited to a systemwide meeting at Elizabethtown CTC to discuss the increasing demand on Assessment/Proctor Centers for online classes.  That meeting resulted in a number of recommendations to the guidelines that would help to alleviate the impact on Assessment/Proctoring Centers.  These guidelines and meeting notes have been communicated (see attached and posted here, http://kctcs.edu/en/Students/LearnByTerm/Proctor_Exams.aspx..  Colleges do have the approved option to charge back for the costs of administrating an assessment for another college -- see approved KCTCS charge below.   We’ll be involved in future discussions.

Proctored Tests: KCTCS classes If a student takes a proctored test required by a KCTCS course at a KCTCS Assessment center, and if the test is taken during the normal operating hours (as posted) for that Assessment Center, the student may not be charged for that test. However, the Assessment Center may charge the Academic department requiring the proctored test through a journal process. 3.        KCTCS Blackboard Technical Help Desk:  Please use the KCTCS Blackboard Technical Help Desk for issues to be reported and investigated.  Issues reported via emails can be lost among all of our increasing email traffic.  While email may be the easier method to talk about an issue, it’s not the effective method to use to report a serious Blackboard issue. Feel free to email the issues to everyone; however, please also submit a ticket or report to the Help Desk.  Let me know if you or your faculty/students have not received good service from the Help Desk. KCTCS Blackboard Technical Help Desk link is here:   http://elearning.kctcs.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_16_1

December Ad Hoc Technology Plan Team Meeting

The KCTCS Technology Plan Ad Hoc Team met Thursday, December 13.  The agenda, which also contains some of Ben's notes, is linked below.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/6f7rxom5ob8v7kt/Technology%20Plan%20Ad%20Hoc%20Team%20Agenda%20December%202012.docx

December Peer Team Meeting

The KCTCS Distance Learning Peer Team met on Tuesday, December 11.  The agenda is linked below.  Key talking points were the Bb SP 10 roll out, which is proceeding as planned.  More info in the agenda.  Ask Ben if you have questions.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/taj3ya7prv9k8xe/DL%20Peer%20Team%20December%2012%202012%20Topics.docx

Incomplete Grades

Issuing an incomplete grade for online students does present a few challenges.  Key points about are listed in this link:

http://elearning.kctcs.edu/bbcswebdav/institution/Blackboard/Blackboard%20Manual%20of%20Procedures.pdf

BB ACCESS

After the end of each term, all official student enrollments for that term will be made unavailable. This will make the courses disappear from the students’ course list. If there is a student with an incomplete grade in a class after the end of the term, you will need to make that student’s enrollment available again to continue to allow them access to the Blackboard course (Control Panel> Users and Groups >Users. Click the “Properties” button next to the student who needs access to the course and set the availability to “Yes”). 

COLLEGE POLICIES

The incomplete grade should only be given if. . . 

• There is a reasonable expectation that the student can complete the missing assignments.
• The student has completed at least 50% of the coursework (preferably more).
• The instructor, student and an academic dean sign a form lists the assignments the student must complete and the due dates for those assignments.

For example, an incomplete might be given to a student who, because of hospitalization is unable to complete a final course assignment.  

Instructors should check that the student has all the resources available to him or her in order to complete the remaining assignment(s) and that the student fully understands what work is due and when.  E.g. you might require that a student submit a document via KCTCS email on a certain date.  If an exam is involved, you could contact the Distance Learning Office to schedule that exam.

Master Course Shells

Bluegrass is starting an initiative to place commonly used courseshells in Blackboard such that can be shared with instructors who wish to use them.  Some of the details of this initiative:

• Courses will be placed in Bb as development courses.
• Common naming template:  bl_8888_dev_eng_101_master
• Distance Learning will keep an inventory of these courseshells
• Connie R. and my office will assist with course copy into instructors' shells
• There is potential for on ground use as well.  E.g. An area might want to have commonly used links, files, and other information uploaded into all shells for a specific area.

Popcorn

It's not just a movie snack . . .

When you’ve got 5 minutes, take a look at this Ted Talks presenting a linkfree web tool (Popcorn Maker) that allows you to add dynamic and interactive web content directly to your video…giving you a dynamic interactive video.

Troubleshooting Access to Student Evaluation of Instruction

Some students have reported problems accessing the student evaluations of instruction.  The likely cause is on the of the following:

• Students are not using their UserName; this is the most common problem.  E.g. a UserName is jdoe0012; this is different from the 9 digit student ID number.
• Students are entering their UserName and pressing the Enter Key.  They need to click the Continue Key after entering their UserName.
• The course is not being evaluated.  Not all courses are being evaluated and this is confusing to students and some faculty.  Examples include Fall I classes.
• URL students are using to access the evaluation is corrupt so they need to use this one:  http://kctcs.css-evaluation.com