Minutes from today’s DLAC Support Group Meeting

Image via CrunchBase

Hello, all.

Today we talked mostly about Twitter and Tweetdeck and their potential for shallow-web research and student teacher interactions, but also about the issues of texting in the classroom, and how we can might this activity from a nuisance and distraction into a way of interacting with the class visio-textually, and giving instant feedback in the classroom, be it virtual or physical.

I forgot to mention that we talked also last week about the idea of Netflix’s instant streaming service, and the possibilities of the impact on learning of a $5 a month account on Netflix instead of one or all of your textbooks. Movies and documentaries are a great starting point for deep learning and discussion, and $15 a semester to get access to thousands of original sources is a small price to pay, especially compared to a $100 textbook.

Image via CrunchBase

We had a very fun and informative gathering last Friday, and I’m reminding you about today’s meeting at 3 to 5 p.m..

Last week in our gathering and in other individual DLAC sessions recently, we all talked about:

Discussion boards vs. other kinds of discussions
Getting to a trusting state on discussion boards
Blogging as a teaching and learning vehicle
Using Scribd.com as a document repository
What is MoodleRooms?
What is ShareStream?
What is Wimba?
Pedagogical approaches for these technologies
Student privacy concerns
The Teach Act and Ferpa
Some differences between Blackboard and blogging.
Using YouTube as a seed article for discussion
Embedding YouTube in Blackboard discussions.
What is Twitter?
Using Audacity
Using SlideShare

I hope to see you in future sessions, but keep in mind that next week on Friday, we have off, and so in case you were wondering, we won’t be meeting.

Hope to see you all the following Friday for DLAC tech support group!

John.

How to Use the Course Copy Tool in Blackboard v. 7: Brief Screencast

This screencast will demonstrate how to use the Course Copy Tool in Blackboard. The Course Copy tool lets an instructor copy course material to one course on the server to a new or existing course on the server. The one thing this tool does not do is save a copy of the course materials to a file. This does not back up the material, it simply copies the material. Just like the export/import and archive course tools in Blackboard, you will receive an email once the process has finished. To view the screencast, please click on the link below:

Course Copy Screencast

-Angel Brady

How To View Features Like Timer for Blackboard Test in Gradebook: Brief Screencast

This screencast will demonstrate how to view features you applied to tests like timers, feedback, and how to download all the answers to an exam for all the students in one spreadsheet.

To view this tutorial, please click on the link below:
Gradebook: How to View Test Feature

-Angel Brady

How to Manage Your Blackboard Course Menu in Blackboard (v. 7): Brief Screencast

Image via Wikipedia

This screencast will demonstrate how to edit your course menu in Blackboard. You can add content areas (or delete the content area). You can also add course tools to your menu or course or external links. You can also change the order an item appears in your course menu. To see how to manage your course menu, click on the link below.

Manage Course Menu in Blackboard (screencast)

-Angel Brady

How to Edit Your My Courses List in Blackboard: Brief Screencast

This screencast will demonstrate how to edit your My Courses list in Blackboard. it will go over how to hide old courses from your list and how to turn on course ID’s for your list. Turning on course ID’s is super helpful for faculty members that teach the same course over a few semesters that have the same name, but you’re not sure which semester or year that class was taught. Watch this brief screencast to help you edit your My Courses list on the Welcome Page in Blackboard!

How to Edit the My Courses List on the Welcome Page in Blackboard

-Angel Brady

My WebEQ Equation Editor Does not show up in Blackboard 7: Brief Solution

When the WebEQ Equation edtor does not work or appear properly there are a few things you can do.

1. Make sure your Java is at 1.5 (not Java 1.6).

2. You can turn off the visual textbox editor in your Welcome page. Here’s how you can do this:
1. Log into Bb
2. On the Welcome page, click on the Personal Information Link (at the top left of your screen)
3. Click on Set Visual Text Box Editor Options.
4. Choose Unavailable
5. Click on Submit

These solutions may only work for Safari and Internet Explorer and not Firefox. We found that downgrading your Java version to 1.5 works. This site is a great resource on how to safely downgrade your Java and check for which version you have running on your machine:

http://info.uwe.ac.uk/online/blackboard/technical/knownissues71.asp

-Angel Brady

Can I Export A Test in Blackboard and Send to Another Instructor on Blackboard?: Brief Tutorial

Sure! You can export a test, send the zip file to that instructor, and they can in turn import it into their Bb course. Here’s how you can export the exam:

1. Go to the Control Panel.
2. Click on Test Manager under Assessments
3. Click on the Export button across from the test.
4. Click on Save in the pop up window (it will save as as zip file, do not open the zip file, it could corrupt it)
5. Email it to the faculty member.

All you would need to do is attach the file to an email and then click on send!

-Angel Brady

How to Use the Digital Dropbox in Blackboard: Brief Screencast

This tutorial demonstrates how to upload files to the Digital Dropbox in Blackboard. When sending a file, users usually use the Add File button. This will not send it to your instructor. You will always want to choose the Send File button. To view the how to add files using the Digital DropBox, click on the link below:
Digital Dropbox in Blackboard

-Angel Brady

How to Use the Print Screen Function on a MacBook Pro Booted Into Windows: Brief Tutorial

I recently wanted to capture the images on my screen for a slideshow presentation. I had to be booted into Windows to demonstrate the actions, but I was on a MacBook Pro. MacBook Pros do not have a Print Screen button, nor does the Apple command, Apple+Shift+3 (or 4) work. What to do? Use the On-Screen Keyboard that comes with your Windows system. It has a print screen button and it works! I pasted my images from the clipboard into the GIMP and it worked out great. I will walk you through the steps to get to the On-Screen keyboard. I would like to thank the author Half-Brain in this forum for coming up with his solution: http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=236049

1. Go to Start

3. Go to Accessories

4. Go to Acessibility

5. Click on On-Screen Keyboard

Now you have the Print Screen key to use.

On-Screen Keyboard

-Angel Brady

I Have Two Assignment Sections in My Blackboard Menu, Help!: Brief Tutorial

So you imported information from an old course, twice, and accidentally imported your Assignments section twice. You now have two and you only want one. How do you delete that extra menu item? Here’s a quick step by step to show you how:

1. Click on the Control Panel
2. Under Course Options, click Manage Course Menu
3. This list will be the same list you see in your menu on the left side of you course page. For the Assignments section at the bottom, click Remove.
4. Bb will ask you if you are sure you want to remove the assignments section, click OK.
5. It is now removed from your Content Area in the Control Panel and from the menu in Bb.

You can also use the same section to add Content Areas and Tool, Course, and External Links to your Blackboard course menu. If you want a section in your Content Area named Videos, you can click on the Add Content Area button, name the area, and it will appear in your Control Panel.

-Angel Brady