TOTAL Online Workshops - Interest Survey

Personnel from a few colleges within the Virginia Community College System have worked to develop a series of workshops on various topics pertinent to online learning. These workshops will be facilitated online through the Blackboard System, approximately 4-weeks long, and free to any VCCS employee (part-time and full-time). These workshops are for those instructors who already have experience with Blackboard, don't have time to take a full course, and are looking for a professional development opportunity that targets a specific area of interest. We will be piloting a few of these workshops this spring and would like to collect some information from you to help guide us in selecting the initial workshops for the pilot. Your participation in this survey would be greatly appreciated.  The survey consists of 5 items, so it should not take up too much or your time.  We will collect survey results over the course of the next week (until Friday, January 18th), so please do not delay in completing this. 

If you have any questions about this, feel free to contact me.  Thank you!

Survey

Start of A New Semester

January 8th begins our Spring semester at Southside. The enrollment process to place students into their Blackboard course areas has begun, so any students displaying on your roster within SIS should display within your course area in Blackboard sometime tomorrow (1/3/13) . This was done for all online, hybrid, AND seated courses. You still control student access to your course area and will need to make your course area available by the start of the session. (If you have an online or hybrid course that begins on January 8th, your course should be available to students no later than 8:00 AM that day.)  Please make sure that your course is ready to roll on time.  We begin getting calls from students bright and early that morning when they can not get into their courses. 

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There are a few things that should be checked as you prepare to start this new session.

1. Minimum Requirements for Distance Learning Courses   --  (Online Course Checklist)


2. Course Copy or Export/Import to Copy Content from One Course Area to Another:  Remember that a course copy can take up to 24 hours or more to complete. DO NOT run a course copy a second time, you could end up with double content...this cannot be undone. Submit an IssueTrak ticket after 24 hours if you still have not received an email stating that the process has been completed. I can submit a request to the VCCS to check their logs.  Course Copy Instructions
   
   Another option when copying content is to export the content out of your original course and import into the new one. By utilizing this option, you will have a back-up of your course on your computer or flash drive, and we have found this process to be more reliable and at times even faster than course copy.  Export Course Content / Import Course Content
   
   Neither process noted here is full-proof, you MUST check all of your content, test links, etc. and make corrections as needed.
   
   
3. Course Check: Did you check all content, assignments, and tests? Make sure to check everything carefully to make sure all content is displaying correctly.  Once you have made your course available, I recommend using your student account to access your course to double check your content . See what your Grade Center looks like for students. (See step 10 below.)   Using Your Student Account


4. Duplicate Menu Buttons or Content: When you copied over course content into your new course, you may have included areas that weren't needed. Delete or hide buttons on your course menu that lead to empty or duplicate content. (For example: You should have a "Student Help" button, not "Help?". Delete "Help?" if you see this in your course menu).   Click into each area on your course menu (other than Student Grades), and check for duplicate content within those areas.  Clean-up your course areas.    Adjusting the Course Menu


5. Copy and Paste from Word Tool:  There is a new copy and paste from word tool that was integrated into our Blackboard system last May.  This allows you to copy content from Word into an area of Blackboard (announcement, item, test question, folder, etc.) without formatting issues or other problems that can arise from pasting from Word.  This tool is easy to use, but would not be easy to locate on your own.  Take a look at the instructional guide linked above. 
   
6. McGraw-Hill Connect and Blackboard Integration Tools:  Those of you who utilize McGraw-Hill Connect will need to check out these tools.  You now have the capability to link your Connect "Course" with your Blackboard course shell.
   
   Getting Started Instructions  (Begin with this)
   McGraw Hill's Connect Tutorials Page - Scroll down to the bottom for video tutorials on integrating your course with Blackboard.  (This is a great follow-up to the getting started document with step-by-step instructions on adding content.)
   Blackboard's Instructional Guide   (Page 15 begins the instructions on adding content)


7. Blackboard Collaborate Web Conferencing, Instant Messenger, and Voice Authoring Tools


8. Blackboard Mash-Ups:  Tools within Blackboard 9.1 to easily add YouTube videos, Slideshare presentations, Flickr Photos, Links to Collaborate session or recordings of sessions, Record Audio, and copy/paste Microsoft Word content.
   
   
9. Course Availability: You will need to modify the availability of your course for students to have access.   Modifying Course Availability
   
   
10. Grade Center: Remember that your grade center area will need to be either set-up or cleaned-up. If you course copy or utilize export/import to copy content, you will need to go through your grade center and clean it up. Check your categories (they duplicate every time you course copy) and remove categories that you aren't using other than the default categories that can't be removed. (Click on Manage and then Categories within the Grade Center.) Double check assigned column categories and points possible by going to Manage and then Column Organization. Remove columns that you are not using. Use your student account, and click on the Student Grades button on the course menu to find out what students are seeing.    Basic Set-Up and Clean-Up Instructions


11. URLs to Remember

• Technology Training Site (This link will take you directly to BB handouts page.)
• SVCC Technology Page :  This has links to information on Blackboard, Using Blackboard Collaborate Web Conferencing, Using Panopto, etc.   There could be information here that you could link within your course to provide students with information on how to use these tools.

Fall 2011 Course Deletion

It is time for some housekeeping in Blackboard. Fall 2011 (FA11) course areas in Blackboard have been identified and marked for removal on November 9th.  Although the VCCS does maintain an archive of your courses, it is recommended that you maintain a copy of your course by exporting the course content. All archived courses will be available through the VCCS for about 2 years after they are removed from Blackboard. You should also download a copy of your grade center from Blackboard for each course as back-up as well, if you have not done so already. (Downloading and Uploading from the Grade Center--Video Tutorial)

If you have taught online, login to your "MySVCC" page and click on "Blackboard" to see which courses you are enrolled in as an instructor. From your SVCC tab or Teach tab, you will need to click on the circular icon (looks similar to a gear) found on the upper right corner of your "My Blackboard Courses" module. This will allow you to see all courses that you have taught that are currently in Blackboard, even if you have chosen to not have them display in your "My Blackboard Courses" module.  The criteria for removal at this stage is:

1. Course ID's ending in "FA11"
2. Or created before August 1, 2011

You should export content from any courses planned for removal AND save the zipped files on your computer for future use. (These file are not stored in Blackboard.)

Click on the link below and scroll down to the section called "Course Management and Navigation". From there you will find instructions on exporting course content. You can either view the instructions or download to save or print.

Blackboard Instructional Handouts

Upcoming Blackboard Upgrade

On the weekend of November 16th our current Blackboard system will be updated from Blackboard version 9.1 service pack 7 to 9.1 service pack 9.  This is not considered a major upgrade, but it will take approximately 24 hours to complete the process, and there are a few new features to be aware of.  (The upgrade will not take all weekend, but at this time we do not have a confirmed time frame.)

Information on new features and tools have been added to our technology training site.  Here is a direct link.

Blackboard Update - What to Expect

August 21st begins our Fall semester at Southside. The enrollment process to place students into their Blackboard course areas began on August 10th, so any students displaying on your roster within SIS should be displaying within your course. This was done for all online, hybrid, and seated courses. You still control student access to your course area and will need to make your course area available by the start of the session. (If you have an online or hybrid course that begins on August 21st, your course should be available to students no later than 8:00 AM that day.)

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There are a few things that should be checked as you prepare to start this new session.

1. Minimum Requirements for Distance Learning Courses   --  (Online Course Checklist)


2. Course Copy or Export/Import: Remember that a course copy can take up to 24 hours or more to complete. DO NOT run a course copy a second time, you could end up with double content...this cannot be undone. Submit an IssueTrak ticket after 24 hours if you still have not received an email stating that the process has been completed. I can submit a request to the VCCS to check their logs.  Course Copy Instructions
   
   Another option when copying content is to export the content out of your original course and import into the new one. By utilizing this option, you will have a back-up of your course on your computer or flash drive, and we have found this process to be more reliable and at times even faster than course copy.  Export Course Content / Import Course Content
   
   Neither process noted here is full-proof, you MUST check all of your content, test links, etc. and make corrections as needed.
   
   
3. Course Check: Did you check all content, assignments, and tests? Make sure to check everything carefully to make sure all content is displaying correctly.  Once you have made your course available, I recommend using your student account to access your course to double check your content . See what your Grade Center looks like for students. (See step 10 below.)   Using Your Student Account


4. Duplicate Menu Buttons or Content: When you copied over course content into your new course, you may have included areas that weren't needed. Delete or hide buttons on your course menu that lead to empty or duplicate content. (For example: You should have a "Student Help" button, not "Help?". Delete "Help?" if you see this in your course menu).   Click into each area on your course menu (other than Student Grades), and check for duplicate content within those areas.  Clean-up your course areas.    Adjusting the Course Menu


5. Copy and Paste from Word Tool:  There is a new copy and paste from word tool that was integrated into our Blackboard system in May.  This allows you to copy content from Word into an area of Blackboard (announcement, item, test question, folder, etc.) without formatting issues or other problems that can arise from pasting from Word.  This tool is easy to use, but would not be easy to locate on your own.  Take a look at the instructional guide linked above. 


6. New McGraw-Hill Connect and Blackboard Integration Tools:  Those of you who utilize McGraw-Hill Connect will need to check out these tools.  You now have the capability to link your Connect "Course" with your Blackboard course shell.
   
   Getting Started Instructions  (Begin with this)
   McGraw Hill's Connect Tutorials Page - Scroll down to the bottom for video tutorials on integrating your course with Blackboard.  (This is a great follow-up to the getting started document with step-by-step instructions on adding content.)
   Blackboard's Instructional Guide   (Page 15 begins the instructions on adding content)


7. Blackboard Collaborate Web Conferencing and Voice Authoring Tools


8. Blackboard Mash-Ups:  New tools with Blackboard 9.1 to easily add YouTube videos, Slideshare presentations, Flickr Photos, Links to Collaborate session or recordings of sessions, Record Audio, and copy/paste Microsoft Word content.
   
   
9. Course Availability: You will need to modify the availability of your course for students to have access.   Modifying Course Availability
   
   
10. Grade Center: Remember that your grade center area will need to be either set-up or cleaned-up. If you course copy or utilize export/import to copy content, you will need to go through your grade center and clean it up. Check your categories (they duplicate every time you course copy) and remove categories that you aren't using other than the default categories that can't be removed. (Click on Manage and then Categories within the Grade Center.) Double check assigned column categories and points possible by going to Manage and then Column Organization. Remove columns that you are not using. Use your student account, and click on the Student Grades button on the course menu to find out what students are seeing.    Basic Set-Up and Clean-Up Instructions


11. URLs to Remember

• Technology Training Site (This link will take you directly to BB handouts page.)
• SVCC Technology Page :  This has links to information on Blackboard, Using Blackboard Collaborate Web Conferencing, Using Panopto, etc.   There could be information here that you could link within your course to provide students with information on how to use these tools.

Summer Session Reminders

I hope everyone is ready to roll for the start of the summer session.   Here are a few reminders as you put the finishing touches on your courses.

1. Course Availability:  Don't forget to make course areas available to students by 8:00 AM at the start of your session.  (For example, if you have a 10 week session online or hybrid course, your course area should be made available no later than 8:00 AM on May 23rd.)    Modifying Course Availability Video 


2. Upgrade Checklist:  If you had content set-up before the upgrade or you ran any sort of course copy or export/import to reuse content from previous semesters, you should go through your courses very carefully to look for areas that may need to be fixed.  Use this course checklist as a guideline. 
   
   
3. Copy and Paste from Word:  As you continue to work on your courses or add content throughout the semester, remember that we have a new Copy and Paste from Word tool  If you are copying content form Microsoft Word to then paste into Blackboard, you need to utilize this tool.   In the past, instructors have been encouraged to not copy and paste from Word into Blackboard because of the number of issues that could result…text formatting problems, students unable to see text at all, corruption of tests, discussion board errors, and the list goes on….  This is due to hidden formatting code that is included when copying and pasting from Word.   We now have a tool in Blackboard that can remove that code which should address these issues and allow you to copy text from Word and paste directly into Blackboard.  It will preserve your tables and formatting from Word, but will remove any problematic coding.    Copy and Paste from Word Mash-Up
    
4. Instructor Student Accounts:  Do not forget that you will no longer have the capability to enroll or remove students within your course areas.  In the past, you had to enroll your own student account in your course(s), but you will not need to do this now.  I do encourage you to utilize your student account when checking your courses before the start of the semester and during the semester.  (Using Instructor Student Accounts)


5. The Blackboard Upgrade:   Blackboard 9.1 Information  (This is a link to the last blog post concerning the Blackboard upgrade.)


6. Tools:  If you utilize a link to "Tools" on your course menu, do not "Hide Links" to any tools that you utilize in your course from that screen.  You can make this button unavailable and make direct links to tools either on your course menu or within content areas of your course.  In Blackboard 9.1, if you hide the links on this "Tools" page, it hides those areas from students EVERYWHERE in your course.  This is not how Blackboard functioned in the previous versions.  


7. Web Browsers and Blackboard:  There continues to be issues with using Internet Explorer and Blackboard.  In the past, if you or a student HAD to use Internet Explorer, we recommended that you utilize Internet Explorer in Compatibility Mode.  We are beginning to now find issues with compatibility mode.  We recommend that you use either Firefox or Google Chrome when accessing Blackboard.  We are still testing Google Chrome, but it is now identified as a supported browser, and so far it looks positive.


8. Duplicate Menu Buttons:  When you copied over course content into your new course, you may have copied buttons that you didn't need. You need to either delete or hide those to clean up your course menu. For example: You should have a "Student Help" button, not "Help?".  Delete "Help?" if you see this in your course menu. Click here for Organizing the Course Menu Instructions (Warning if you course copied Instructor Resources or Student Help, you probably duplicated the content within those areas. Those areas are automatically created for all courses in the template. You don't need to include them in the course copy. Check the Student help button. You should see 4 folders. If you see duplicate folders, please get rid of them.) If your course is either an online or hybrid course, DO NOT remove the course evaluation button on the course menu.


9. Technology Training Site (This link will take you directly to BB handouts and tutorials.)    We will continue to update this with new Blackboard 9.1 Tutorials.  Also remember that you have access to software tutorials through Atomic Learning.  You can utilize these tutorials with students and/or view them yourself.  There are tutorials for Blackboard 9.1 (and many, many other software programs and tools) through this site, and several of those Blackboard tutorials are linked in the Student Help section of each summer and fall course shell.    There is information on Atomic Learning, including a link to the site, within Blackboard on the SVCC tab.
   
   
10. SVCC Distance Ed Page (Go to this website and scroll down to "Important Links". There you will find links to a Blackboard FAQ page, BB test taking tips page, Computer Maintenance Tips, etc. You might find useful information here that you direct your students to, such as how to submit an assignment into Blackboard or how to post to the discussion board.)

One Final Blackboard Upgrade Update and Summer Session Reminders

It is just about that time!!  The Blackboard upgrade to version 9.1 is upon us.  Blackboard will be unavailable from 8:00 AM Friday, May 11th until 11:30 PM Sunday, May 13th.   Here are some last minute reminders and additional notes for you, and links to training materials for the major areas impacted by the upgrade and/or new tools available to you.

Reminders and Notes:

1. Before the upgrade - Export your course content and save to your computer (It never hurts to back-up.  This is a good rule of thumb as part of your wrap-up at the end of each semester.  Export your content - This creates a zip file that you can save to your computer or flash drive.  Just remember where you saved it!)  : )   For instructions on how to do this, go this site and scroll down to 'Course Management and Navigation'.  There is an 'Export Course' handout linked there.    Blackboard 9.0 Handouts
    
2. After the Upgrade - Check your course(s) after the upgrade.  Those of you who are teaching summer courses, need to go through your courses very carefully to look for areas that may need to be fixed.  Use this course checklist as a guideline.  Be ready to make corrections.
    
3. Change/Note Concerning File Management within Blackboard 9.1  -- Please review notation below within the training materials section.
   
   
4. Two Additional New Tools:  There is a 'Manage Users' tool and 'Copy and Paste From Word' option that will also be added to Blackboard at the time of the upgrade.  These are not new 9.1 features, but are tools that have been approved to be integrated into our system and the upgrade seems like a good time to do it.  : )  Although these are very minor additions, I believe they will prove to be extremely useful.  Here are some guides to these tools for your review. 
   
   Manage User Tool    Copy and Paste from Word Mash-Up
    
5. Do not forget that you will no longer have the capability to enroll or remove students within your course areas.  In the past, you had to enroll your own student account in your course(s), but you will not need to do this now.  I do encourage you to utilize your student account when checking your courses before the start of the semester...especially after this upgrade.  (Using Instructor Student Accounts)
    
6. Course Copies - Feel free to run your course copy or export/import of your content into your new summer course areas before the upgrade.  Please DO NOT wait until the day before classes begin to do this.  It can take up to 24 hours for a course copy to process, so you may have to wait awhile, especially right before the beginning of a session. If the copy does not process in 24 hours, please email me at kelly.goscinski@southside.edu.  I can submit a ticket with the VCCS to check their logs.  You don't want to run a copy twice and end up with duplicate content.  (The link above to our Blackboard 9.0 handouts has one on course copies and another on exporting/importing content depending on which method you use.) 

You can find information below on the primary new features and tools available within Blackboard 9.1.  I have included links to the recordings of our online sessions (There are some areas that do not have recordings posted at this time.), and our instructional guides that we shared during the sessions are all linked below as well.

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File Management within Blackboard 9.1: "Course files eliminate redundancy and simplify the management of content updates. An in-course file storage structure makes it easier to keep track of documents used in courses, similar to the type of file and folder structure that is used on your PC. A new thumb nail view and drag and drop upload applet make it quick and easy to get files into Blackboard and to view the image files." 

UPDATE:  The drag and drop capability to upload multiple files at once into the "My Files" area within Blackboard 9.1 will not be functional as of the May upgrade.  Although this is a feature of 9.1, there is a modification that must be made to the Blackboard server before this will be functional.  That will hopefully be coming soon, so I will keep you updated.  On another note, you can still upload multiple files at once, but you will first need to organize those files into a zipped file (compressed file).  You can then import them as a package into the My Files area.    Multiple File Upload Instructions

Instructional Handout/Guide to File Management within Blackboard 9.1 

• Course Files Tour
• Adding Course Files to Content Items
• Recording of Online Session (Recorded 4/2/12)

Adding Content - Creating Blank Pages, Learning Modules w/Table of Contents, Mash-Ups, Adding Textbook Information ( Getting started with Course Content )

Instructional Handout/Guide to Adding Content within Blackboard 9.1 (Extended Version)
Quick Guide to New Content Types in Blackboard 9.1 

• Creating Blank Pages
• Learning Modules w/Table of Contents
• Creating a Mash-Up
• Adding Textbook Information

Interactive Rubrics: Creating a Grading Rubric, Associating a Rubric with a Gradable Item, Grading with a Rubric


Instructional Handout/Guide to the New Interactive Rubrics Tool

• Creating a Grading Rubric
• Associating a Rubric with a Gradable Item
• Grading with a Rubric
• Recording of Online Session (Recorded 4/9/12)
  
  

Discussion Boards, Journals, Blogs, and Wikis - Special focus on Wikis since this a new option: "Wikis enable active collaboration around course content and group projects. Users collaborate on a document using only a web browser. Educators can see the process and evolution of the work and even participate. Furthermore, educators can see each participant’s contributions and grade accordingly."



Instructional Handout/Guide to Discussion Boards, Wikis, Journals, and Blogs in 9.1 (Extended instructions)

Quick Guide to these Communication Tools

• Creating a Wiki
• Editing a Wiki Page
• Linking Wiki Pages
• Viewing a Wiki Page History
• Grading Wikis
• Grading Discussion Board Threads 
• Communication (Recording  -- Recorded 5/12)

New Options and Features within the Grade Center: Needs Grading View, Anonymous Grading, Grading By Question Attempt, Color Coding

Instructional Handout/Guide to the new Grade Center Features  

• Anonymous Grading
• Grading Assessments Question by Question
• Color Code the Grade Center
• Needs Grading View (This document outlines this view with Blackboard 9.1 service pack 8. We are going to 9.1 service pack 7, but this component is very similar in these versions. This would introduce you to this capability.)

New Options and Features in Blackboard Testing: Setting Test Options, Question Finder, Linking to Questions, Question Sets, Copying Tests

Instructional Handout/Guide to Testing in Blackboard 9.1 
Guide to Using the Question Finder and Question Sets Options 

• Setting Test Options
• Question Finder Feature
• New Testing Features (Recording - Recorded 5/12)
   

Blackboard Collaborate: Integrated within Blackboard -- Provides instructors with a tool to set-up and utilize online meeting rooms.

Blackboard Collaborate Web Conferencing Tool

Instructional Handout/Guide to using Collaborate in Blackboard 9.1
How to Utilize Collaborate (Recording- Recorded 5/12