IRT Technology Update

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Contents:

01. Important Software Updates
02. Email Message Size Limit Increased to 20MB

Tips & Tricks

News & Notes from the Online Learning Team

07. Reusing a Bb Vista Section in a New Term
08. Copying Content Between Sections in Bb Vista
09. Using the Date Rollover Feature in a Bb Vista Section You Reused
10. Cross-Listing Sections in Bb Vista
11. Student Names Not Appearing in Bb Vista Journal Topics
12. Use a Journal Topic in Bb Vista
13. Save Time in the Bb Vista Grade Book!
14. Adding Polling Questions to Wimba Classroom
15. Adding an Image to the Wimba Classroom "Branding Frame"
16. Managing Your Course List in Bb Vista
17. No Further Support of Internet Explorer 6 and Below for Turnitin
18. Turnitin Services Unavailable on July 11 and August 8

1. Important Software Updates

Changes have recently been made to applications on IRT's software site (https://software.drexel.edu), including changes to license information.

New versions of Matlab (2009a), PASW17 (formerly SPSS 17), and Maple (version 13) were added to the software site on Wednesday, June 10. All three applications are available to faculty, students, and staff. If you use any of these applications, please update them as soon as possible.

New licenses and authorization codes were also added on Wednesday, June 10. For each of the following applications, a new license file or authorization code must be obtained as soon as possible from the software directory at https://software.drexel.edu:

Faculty, Student, and Staff Applications:

• Maple 12 (obtain the new license.dat file from the software directory)
• SPSS 16 or 17 (obtain the new license authorization code)

Faculty and Staff Applications:

• Matlab 2007b, Matlab 2008a (obtain the new license.dat file from the software directory)
  

Student Applications:

• Matlab 2007b for Windows (obtain the new PLP by running the Matlab setup process again)
• Matlab 2007b for Linux/Mac (obtain the new license.dat file from the software directory)
  

2. Email Message Size Limit Increased to 20MB

Drexel's maximum size for email attachments has been increased to 20 MB. Drexel now matches the maximum sizes of Google Mail, Microsoft's Exchange Labs, and Yahoo Mail Plus (Yahoo's regular mail and Hotmail both remain at a 10 MB maximum).

Tips & Tricks are helpful articles that address a variety of Windows and Mac applications. Click on one of the links below to view the full article:

Smarter Navigation in Microsoft Word
Changing Default File Locations in Microsoft Office
Upgrade Old Documents to Office 2007 Versions
Improved Out of Office Assistant in Outlook

The easiest way to build out a new section in Bb Vista is to copy the content of an existing one. If you teach a particular course on an ongoing basis, you can leverage past section build-outs quickly and easily.

8. Copying Content Between Sections in Bb Vista

If instructors wish to copy specific items from one Bb Vista section to another, the copy method will vary according to the type of item:

• Documents, including Word, PowerPoint, graphics, text, and HTML files, can be copied into the File Manager (under Designer Tools in the Build tab) by placing a checkmark in the boxes next to the files, clicking the "Copy" button, and navigating to the target section in the "Class Files" area.
  
  
• Assessments and Learning Modules can be exported by clicking the "Export" button within those respective tool areas, and then imported into the target section by clicking "Import" in the Manage Course area (under Designer Tools in the "Build" tab).
  
  
• Web Links, Assignments, Discussion topics, Turnitin assignments, page headers, and footers cannot be copied automatically, but the text they contain can be copied and pasted manually into Word or another text editor.

For more information on copying course items, or for assistance with copying content between sections in Bb Vista, please email the Online Learning Team at olt@drexel.edu or call 215-895-1224.

9. Using the Date Rollover Feature in a Bb Vista Section You Reused

When you copy the content of a previous Bb Vista section to a new one as described in the article above, the old dates remain associated with certain course elements. However, dates in the Announcements, Assignments, Assessments, and Calendar tools can be changed all at once using the Date Rollover feature. This feature can be a tremendous timesaver, especially if you have a significant number of dated items in your section.

To use the Date Rollover feature, follow these basic steps once you are in the new section:

1. From the Build tab, click on "Manage Course" under the Designer Tools area.
   
   
2. Click on "Date Rollover."
   
   
3. Decide whether or not to Adjust All Dates or Adjust Individual Dates:
   

• The Adjust All Dates feature will display the start date for the "Earliest dated item" from your old section. Enter the corresponding start date in the new term for this item, and click the "Adjust All Dates" button. This will adjust dates for all dated items based on the number of days between the old and new dates.

• The Adjust Individual Dates feature will display all dated items. Review the columns in the table for Start Date, End Date, Assignment Cutoff, and Calendar Entry Repeats Until. Enter the dates for the new term, as needed, and click the "Save" button.

Dates will be adjusted in the new section for the items you changed.

10. Cross-Listing Sections in Bb Vista

Sections offered during the same term can be "cross-listed" to create a single course. This method preserves the section title and membership as virtual links to a single store of course content. The preferred method for cross-listing is to have the department cross-list the sections in Banner. If it is too late to cross-list them in Banner, instructors can request that it be done in Bb Vista by sending an email to olt@drexel.edu with their Bb Vista username, the full names of the sections (e.g. ENG-101-001), and the 5-digit section CRNs. However, because the cross-listing process expunges all student activity to date, a cross-list can only be created before instructors and their students begin using Bb Vista (although we prefer to do it prior to the start of term).

11. Student Names Not Appearing in Bb Vista Journal Topics

Several instructors have reported that some students' names are not appearing in the left-hand pane inside a Journal topic (a type of discussion in Bb Vista). This behavior appears to be occurring for students who have not yet clicked on a Journal topic, either in the Discussions tool or on a content page within the section. Once a student has clicked on the Journal topic (whether or not a new entry is made), his/her name will appear in the left-hand pane.

To set up a Journal topic, refer to the article below.

12. Use a Journal Topic in Bb Vista

A Journal topic is a type of discussion in Bb Vista. Instructors can set journals to be private or public, make authors anonymous, or enable grading or peer review for each journal. To set up a Journal topic:

1. From the "Build" tab, click "Add Content Link."
   
   
2. Click "Discussions."
   
   
3. Click "Create Discussion Topic."
   
   
4. Select "Journal topic," and click "Next."

On the next screen, enter a title for the Journal topic. When you are finished, click "Save."

13. Save Time in the Bb Vista Grade Book!

Tired of entering grades one at a time in the Bb Vista Grade Book? With the Edit Member and Edit Values functions, you don't have to! To enter grades for a particular student or a particular grade column all in one screen, follow these steps:

1. Access the Bb Vista Grade Book under Instructor Tools in the "Teach" tab.
   
2. Enter values for a particular student or grade column:
   
   
   1. To enter values into several grade columns for a particular student, click on the "ActionLinks" menu next to the last name of the student and select "Edit Member."
      
   2. To enter values into a particular grade column for all students, click on the "ActionLinks" menu next to the name of the grade column and select "Edit Values."
      
3. Enter each grade in the appropriate "Change to" box.
   
4. Once you have entered all of the grades, remember to click "Save" at the bottom of the screen.

Note: Remember that the Comments area in the Grade Book is for notes to yourself, not comments (feedback) that the students can see. Furthermore, comments are only saved if a grade is entered for the first time, or if a grade is changed (comments are not saved if no grade change is made). You could use this area to make a note-to-self on why you assigned a particular grade to a student, for instance. These comments remain available to you for later reference by clicking on "View Audit History" in the Grade Book.

If you have any questions, please contact the Online Learning Team at olt@drexel.edu or 215-895-1224.

Wimba Classroom is a robust virtual learning environment that integrates seamlessly with Bb Vista. Once you have created a Wimba classroom in your Bb Vista section, you can easily add multiple-choice or open-ended polling questions. Here's how:

1. From the "Teach" tab, click on the Wimba Classroom in which you want to add the poll.
   
2. Instead of entering the room, click on "Add & Manage Content."
   
3. Click "Add & Manage Room Content."
   
4. Click the "Default Content Folder."
   
5. If content already exists in the folder, enlarge the window so that you can see the buttons to the right of the content list, and click "New Content." If this is the first slide in the folder, skip to the next step.
   
6. At the bottom of the window, choose the type of polling question you want (Multiple Choice, Open Ended, Questionnaire, or Bullet List) and click "Create."
   
7. Enter text in the appropriate fields and choose the color combination you want (yellow text on a blue background is very readable, as are many other combinations).
   
8. Click the "Save Changes" button.

15. Adding an Image to the Wimba Classroom "Branding Frame"

Wimba Classroom is a robust virtual learning environment that integrates seamlessly with Bb Vista. The box in the lower right-hand corner of the Wimba Classroom screen, known as the "Branding Frame," displays the Wimba logo by default. However, you can replace the Wimba logo with your picture to personalize your presentation or virtual office hours. Here's how:

1. Prepare a photograph or graphic that is 145 pixels high and 135 pixels wide. These dimensions are not absolutely required, but an image that is exactly 145 pixels high and no more than 135 pixels wide will not need to be resized by the browser and will display more quickly.
   
2. From the "Teach" tab, click on the Wimba Classroom for which you want to change the branding frame.
   
3. Instead of entering the room, click on "Add & Manage Content."
   
4. Click "Add & Manage Room Content."
   
5. Click the "Default Content Folder."
   
6. If content already exists in the folder, enlarge the window so that you can see the buttons to the right of the content list, and click "New Content." If this is the first slide in the folder, skip to the next step.
   
7. Next to "Upload New Content," click the Browse button to browse to the photograph. Then, click the "Add" button.
   
8. In the "Target" drop-down menu corresponding to the file you just uploaded, select "Branding Frame."
   
9. Click "Save Changes" at the bottom of the window.
   
10. To enter the classroom, click the "Enter Room" button to the right of the content list (note that you may have to enlarge the window to see this button).
    
11. Click on the name of the photograph in the right-hand pane. It will be sent to the "Branding Frame.

16. Managing Your Course List in Bb Vista

Do you have a long list of courses in your Bb Vista Course List? Use the Edit Course List function, to customize the list so that only relevant courses appear. Once you have logged into Bb Vista, click on the pencil icon in the upper right-hand corner of the Course List channel. The Edit Course List screen will appear.

You can hide links to classes one at a time by clicking on the "Hide Link" button next to the class you want to hide, or you can hide multiple classes at once by clicking on the checkboxes next to the course names and then clicking on the "Hide" button at the bottom of the screen. Once you hide a course, "(Hidden)" will appear next to the name of the course in the Edit Course List screen. Note that when you hide a course, you are not removing yourself from the course; you are simply hiding it on your Bb Vista Course List.

You can also move one or more courses to a different position in the list by checking the box(es) next to the course(s) and then clicking on the "Move Selected Above" or "Move Selected Below" button (on the far left, in the "Move" column) next to where you want it to go.

As of August 1, Turnitin will no longer support versions of Internet Explorer earlier than 7.0.

Users of earlier versions of Internet Explorer are encouraged to upgrade to version 7.0 (or higher) or access Turnitin using another supported browser. For more information about system requirements, see http://www.turnitin.com/static/system_requirements.html.

Please note that while users might be able to access Turnitin using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer (or another unsupported browser), Turnitin will not provide support for resolving issues that occur for these users.

We have been notified by Turnitin that all Turnitin services (Originality Checking, GradeMark, and Peer Review) will be unavailable during the following maintenance windows:

• Saturday, July 11 from 11:00 a.m. until 11:00 p.m. EDT, and
• Saturday, August 8 from 11:00 a.m. until 3:00 a.m. EDT on Sunday, August 9.

As of May 26, 2009, the system prevents instructors from setting new assignment due dates during either of these two windows. However, assignments set up before this date might need to have their due dates adjusted to accommodate the downtimes. For instructions on how to change assignment dates, go to http://www.turnitin.com/static/knowledge_base/modifying_assignment_dates_newtii.html.