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IRT Technology Update

Tuesday, February 09, 2010

Contents:
01. 8th Annual E-Learning 2.0 Conference
02. ListServ Upgraded to Version 15.5
03. Torpig: A New Viral Threat to PCs
04. Call for Proposals for E-Learning 2.0 Conference: Spread the Word!
05. Changes Made to the Drexel Daily Digest
06. Tip of the Month: Mass Email Etiquette #3

News & Notes from the Online Learning Team
07. Using Grading Forms in Bb Vista – Rubrics Made Easy!
08. Copy a Bb Vista Assessment from One Section to Another
09. Export Your Bb Vista Grade Book to a Spreadsheet
10. Are You Ready For Wimba Classroom?
11. Magna Publications Now Available in ITC
12. Send Us Your Mac OS Workshop Suggestions!
13. Tips for Camtasia Recordings
14. Schedule for Upcoming IRT Workshops

1. 8th Annual E-Learning 2.0 Conference

Presentation proposals are currently being accepted for the 8th annual e-Learning 2.0 Conference to be held on Thursday, March 25 in Behrakis Grand Hall at the Creese Center. The conference brings together more than 175 participants from Drexel and over 50 regional institutions to share best practices and creative approaches for learning enrichment and student engagement in an e-learning 2.0 environment.

For more information about the conference, to register, or submit a proposal, please visit the conference Web site at http://www.drexel.edu/irt/news/events/eLearningConf.

This year's keynote address, "Next Frontier: Innovation, Trends & Realities of Online and Blended Education," will be delivered by Dr. Kristen Betts, associate clinical professor in the School of Education's Higher Education Program. A $20 registration fee for Drexel participants will cover welcome materials, access to the presentations and keynote speaker sessions, a continental breakfast, lunch, afternoon refreshments, and a door prize drawing at the conclusion of the event.

If you are interested in presenting at the conference, please visit the proposal submission form on the conference Web site. Presentations should be approximately 50 minutes in length, and the deadline for proposal submission is February 26, 2010. Any questions or concerns can be directed to el2n@drexel.edu. We look forward to your participation in this year's conference!

2. ListServ Upgraded to Version 15.5

On February 2, ListServ was upgraded from version 14.3 to 15.5. With this upgrade, the ListServ Web Interface is now available from off-campus. Message and email commands can now be confirmed by clicking a link from any location, on- or off-campus, with Internet access.

The Web Interface also makes managing ListServ lists easier. If you were discouraged from using ListServ in the past because it seemed too complex, you should take another look at the new interface and the visual and organizational improvements it offers.

For more information about ListServ 15.5, see http://www.drexel.edu/irt/email/mailinglists/about/upgrade.

For more information about list management, visit http://www.drexel.edu/irt/email/mailinglists/listservmanagersguide.

3. Torpig: A New Viral Threat to PCs

Several reports have come in recently about Torpig, a new virus infecting many Windows computers. Also known as Sinowal or Anserin (mainly spread as part of the Mebroot rootkit), Torpig is a type of botnet malware spread by a variety of trojan horses. It takes control of computers by altering the Master Boot Record. It can:

  • Circumvent anti-virus applications by remaining undetected at boot up;
  • Data mine the infected system for credentials, accounts, and passwords; and
  • Potentially allow attackers full access to the computer and, purportedly, modify computer data.
Computers infected with Torpig might need to be reformatted. If you think your computer is infected, bring your laptop to the Korman Front Desk or contact the IRT Help Desk at 215-895-2020 or consult@drexel.edu.

Torpig has stolen data from hundreds of thousands of online bank and credit/debit card accounts. Keep your computer secure: Ensure that your anti-virus software is up-to-date, perform regular virus and malware scans, and do not download files from untrustworthy sources!

4. Call for Proposals for E-Learning 2.0 Conference: Spread the Word!

Do you have colleagues at other schools? Would they like to present at the e-Learning 2.0 Conference on March 25? If so, please refer them to the proposal submission form on the conference Web site at http://www.drexel.edu/irt/news/events/eLearningConf. Help us spread the word and make this year’s event the best yet!

Do you have colleagues at other schools? Would they like to present at the e-Learning 2.0 Conference on March 25? If so, please refer them to the proposal submission form on the conference Web site at . Help us spread the word and make this year’s event the best yet!

5. Changes Made to the Drexel Daily Digest

You might have noticed that some changes were made to the way the Drexel Daily Digest is delivered. The Digest is now sent from drexnews@drexel.edu, so if you have suddenly stopped receiving the Digest, be sure to check your Junk Mail folder and add drexnews@drexel.edu to your safe sender list. The location of the safe sender list depends on your email client.

Also, a plain text version of the Digest is no longer sent with the graphical version. If your email client is set to receive only plain text messages, change this setting to allow for the receipt of HTML messages.

6. Tip of the Month: Mass Email Etiquette #3

Due to Drexel’s traffic restrictions on the network, individuals can only send a message to 200 email addresses at a time. This rule applies to users of both the main mail server and the Exchange server.

However, although it is technically possible to have dozens of email addresses in the "To:" field, it is rarely advisable. Everyone can see everyone else’s email addresses in the “To:” field, which might open up your recipients to privacy issues as well as spammers.

If the message has fewer than 200 recipients, one solution is to put the addresses in the “Bcc:” field instead. Another more hassle-free solution is to use a ListServ list.

With a ListServ list, there is no limit to the number of addresses that can be added to the list, so you can send to as many recipients as you would like. ListServ lists are easy and convenient to use because they allow you to send messages to only one address instead of hundreds. Additionally, each recipient's privacy is respected—he or she see only the email address of the list, and not the addresses of the other recipients.

Due to Drexel’s traffic restrictions on the network, individuals can only send a message to 200 email addresses at a time. This rule applies to users of both the main mail server and the Exchange server.However, although it is technically possible to have dozens of email addresses in the "To:" field, it is rarely advisable. Everyone can see everyone else’s email addresses in the “To:” field, which might open up your recipients to privacy issues as well as spammers.If the message has fewer than 200 recipients, one solution is to put the addresses in the “Bcc:” field instead. Another more hassle-free solution is to use a ListServ list.With a ListServ list, there is no limit to the number of addresses that can be added to the list, so you can send to as many recipients as you would like. ListServ lists are easy and convenient to use because they allow you to send messages to only one address instead of hundreds. Additionally, each recipient's privacy is respected—he or she see only the email address of the list, and not the addresses of the other recipients.

For more information about using ListServ lists, including how to qualify for and request the creation of a list, visit our Mass Mailing pages on the IRT Web site at http://www.drexel.edu/irt/email/mailinglists.

News & Notes from the Online Learning Team

7. Using Grading Forms in Bb Vista – Rubrics Made Easy!

This article is the first in a three-part series about Grading Forms in Bb Vista. Next month’s article will focus on associating Grading Forms with assignments, discussion topics, and Grade Book columns, and filling out Grading Forms to evaluate student work. Stay tuned!

Evaluation rubrics help students understand assignment requirements and help instructors objectively grade larger assignments. Rubrics are implemented in Bb Vista as Grading Forms, and can be associated with assignments, discussion topics, and Grade Book columns. Each form is a matrix of rows (Objectives/Criteria) and columns (Performance Indicators), with a description and point value assigned to each intersection.

Using a Grading Form in Bb Vista is a two-step process. First, you must create a Grading Form within the “Grading Forms” tool. Then, the Grading Form must be associated with a particular assignment, discussion topic, or Grade Book column in the Assignments, Discussions, or Grade Book tool, respectively.

Creating a Grading Form

To create a Grading Form, click on the “Grading Forms” tool under Designer or Instructor Tools in the lower-left hand pane of the “Build” or “Teach” tab. On the next screen, click the “Create Grading Form” button. The default Bb Vista Grading Form contains three rows and three columns:


Objective/Criteria

Performance Indicators

Need Improvement

Meet Expectations

Exceptional

Spelling

Description/Points

Description/Points

Description/Points

Grammar

Description/Points

Description/Points

Description/Points

Style

Description/Points

Description/Points

Description/Points

If you want to change the default Grading Form, you can add, modify, or delete rows and columns:

  • To add a row, click the “Add Criterion” button and then click the “Edit” (pencil) icon that appears in the bottom row to enter a name for the row. To add a column, click the “Add Performance Indicator” button, and then click the “Edit” (pencil) icon that appears in the rightmost column to enter a name for the column.
  • To modify a row or column name, click the “Edit” (pencil) icon next to the row or column name and enter your changes.
  • To delete a row or column, click the “Remove this criterion” or “Remove this performance indicator” icon (looks like a piece of paper with a right-facing red arrow) next to the row or column you would like to delete, and then click “OK.”
At the intersection of each Criteria and Performance Indicator, enter a point value and an optional description. The total point value for the Grading Form will be calculated automatically in the lower right-hand corner of the form. When you are finished, click “Save” at the bottom of the screen.

8. Copy a Bb Vista Assessment from One Section to Another

You can easily copy an assessment to a section you are teaching from a previous section or another current-term section. First, you must export the assessment from the originating course:

  1. Click on the name of the originating course in your Bb Vista course list.
  2. From the “Build” tab, click on the “Assessments” tool in the left-hand pane.
  3. Click on the “ActionLinks” menu next to the name of the Assessment you would like to export, and select “Export.”
  4. In the “Browse for Location” screen that appears, click on the name of the destination course in the left-hand pane.
  5. In the “Save as” box, enter a title for the assessment, and click “OK” to save the assessment as a .zip file.
  6. If any errors occur during the export, they will be noted on the next screen. Click “Return” to return to the home page.

Next, you must import the .zip file for the assessment to the destination course:

  1. Return to the Bb Vista course list by clicking “Bb Vista Home” in the upper right-hand corner of the screen.
  2. Click on the name of the destination course in your Bb Vista course list.
  3. From the “Build” or “Teach” tab, click on “Manage Course” in the lower part of the left-hand pane.
  4. Click the “Import” link.
  5. In the “Get Files” screen that appears, click the radio button next to the name of the assessment you just exported, and click “OK” at the bottom of the screen.
  6. If any errors occur during the import, they will be noted on the next screen. Click “Return” to return to the home page.

Now, when you click on the “Assessments” tool in the destination course, you will see the assessment. To edit the settings for the assessment, including availability dates, duration, and results properties, click on the “ActionLinks” menu next to the name of the assessment and select “Edit Properties.”

If you receive any errors or warnings during the export/import processes, or encounter any problems, please contact the Online Learning Team at olt@drexel.edu or 215-895-1224 for assistance.

9. Export Your Bb Vista Grade Book to a Spreadsheet

Have you ever wanted to work on your students’ grades outside of the Bb Vista Grade Book? Perhaps you’d like to do this in a spreadsheet program, such as Microsoft Excel. You can export your Grade Book by following these steps:

  1. From the “Teach” tab, click on the Grade Book in the lower left-hand pane.
  2. Click on the “Export to Spreadsheet” button at the bottom of the screen.
  3. If you have any hidden columns that you would like to export, select “All columns” under “Columns to Export.”
  4. Click “Export” at the bottom of the screen.
  5. Click “Open” to view the resulting .csv file in Microsoft Excel.

Note: The “Export to Spreadsheet” button is not available to Teaching Assistants. If you would like your TA(s) to have this capability, the Online Learning Team can grant instructor privileges. To authorize the role change, email olt@drexel.edu with the section name and TA username(s).

Stay tuned for next month’s article on how to import grades to your Bb Vista Grade Book from a spreadsheet!

10. Are You Ready For Wimba Classroom?

Are you an instructor interested in using Wimba (Live) Classroom for the first time? Are you a student and need to make sure that your computer can successfully run Wimba Classroom? Good news: You are just a click away from ensuring success. Just run the Setup Wizard for Wimba Classroom by clicking on the "setup wizard" link in Bb Vista, or by going to http://67.202.210.67/wizard. If you have any problems, contact the Online Learning Team at olt@drexel.edu.

For additional insights, sign up for the next Wimba Classroom training session scheduled for February 26 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. in Korman 116 by emailing olt@drexel.edu.

11. Magna Publications Now Available in ITC

The Instructional Technology Center (ITC) in Korman 109 now has 24 different presentations in both print and digital format available for review by faculty and staff. Prepared by Magna Publications (http://www.magnapubs.com), a communications company known for its newsletters about teaching and administration in higher education, the presentations focus on a number of important topics in assessment and online learning, including:

  • Principles and Profiles of Good Practice in Assessment
  • Online Instructor Success: What’s It Take?
  • Managing Expectations and Handling Difficult Students Online
  • 10 Ways to Improve Blended Learning Course Design
  • Getting Started with Student Learning Assessment
  • Using Collaborative Teams In and Out of Class
  • Survival Strategies for Teaching Large Classes
The full list of topics is available at http://www.drexel.edu/irt/facilities/itc#resources.

12. Send Us Your Mac OS Workshop Suggestions!

Want to learn more about your Mac? Is there a particular Mac software program that you would like to know more about? Do you want to create podcasts or movies on your Mac, but don't know how to get started? We would love to hear from you. Send us your suggestions for the next Mac OS workshop by doing one of the following:

  • Text NEWAPPLE followed by your suggestion to 99503
  • Tweet @poll NEWAPPLE followed by your suggestion
  • Go to http://poll4.com and send NEWAPPLE followed by your suggestion
Or, you can send an old-fashioned email to olt@drexel.edu.

13. Tips for Camtasia Recordings

Products such as Camtasia Relay, Camtasia Studio, and Camtasia for Mac allow you to capture your desktop (not just PowerPoint presentations) while recording audio. They also allow you to produce your video in a variety of formats. Here are some tips for recording video and audio:

  1. Pay attention to your mouse pointer. If your recording does not involve page navigation (i.e., on a Web site), the mouse pointer should not be visible on the screen. If your recording does involve page navigation, slow and gentle movements will yield an output file of much better quality and improve the ease with which your viewers can follow along.
  2. Remember that you don't need to complete a recording from start to finish in one take; pausing, as well as editing (except in Relay), can make the recording process go much more smoothly.
  3. BusinessWeek’s Carmine Gallo offers some good tips to keep in mind when recording audio, such as: Smile, punch key words, keep a moderate pace, and practice!
If you have any questions about the recording process, or about using any of the Camtasia products, please contact the Online Learning Team at 215-895-1224 or olt@drexel.edu. You can also contact us to sign up for any of our monthly training sessions on Camtasia (see full workshop listing below).

14. Schedule for Upcoming IRT Workshops

Unless otherwise noted, all sessions will be held in Korman 116. To sign up for any of these workshops, please email olt@drexel.edu.

Audacity

  • Recording and Editing Audio with Audacity
    Thursday, February 25, 9:00 a.m. -- 10:00 a.m.
    Audacity is a cross-platform, open-source application for audio recording and editing. In this session, we will show you how to use Audacity to record and edit lecture or presentation materials and distribute them via DragonDrop.

Bb Vista

  • Bb Vista Full Day Workshop
    Thursday, April 1, 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
    Tuesday, May 11, 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
    Aimed at instructors and administrators who are new to Bb Vista or who have not worked in Bb Vista for a while. Lunch will be provided.
  • Bb Vista: Using the Teach Tab and More
    Thursday, February 18, 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
    Friday, April 23, 9:00 a.m. – noon
    This workshop is geared towards individuals who are familiar with Bb Vista and want to learn more about using the system from a teaching perspective (managing assignments, creating assessments, using the Grade Book, etc.). Come with questions!

Brown Bag Lunch

  • Bb Vista’s Grade Book: Secrets Revealed and Best Practices
    Friday, March 19, noon – 1:00 p.m.
    This session will demonstrate how to make Bb Vista’s Grade Book work for you. Some of the highlights include: setting up your Grade Book to correspond with your syllabus, taking attendance, and creating columns to automatically calculate students’ final grades.

  • Editing Images for Your Course: The Basics of GIMP
    Wednesday, February 17, noon – 1:00 p.m.
    Learn about how GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program), a freely-available software package, can be used to fix and edit images for use in your course or personal collections. Basic functionality and techniques will be demonstrated.

Camtasia

  • Desktop & Presentation Recording: Camtasia Relay
    Friday, March 12, 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
    Wednesday, April 14, 11:00 a.m. -- noon
    Wednesday, May 12, 10:30 a.m. -- 11:30 a.m.
    Learn about the basics of screencasting, how to prepare yourself for the recording process, and how to use Camtasia Relay to record your desktop for publication on the Web.
  • Recording and Editing with Camtasia for Mac
    Tuesday, March 16, 10:00 a.m. – noon
    Thursday, May 13, 10:00 a.m. – noon
    Learn how to use Camtasia for Mac to record your desktop and presentations, edit your work, and produce media files. Prerequisite: Desktop and Presentation Recording: Camtasia Relay. Recommended: Bring your Intel-powered Mac laptop (MacBook, Pro, or Air).
  • Recording and Editing with Camtasia Studio for Windows
    Tuesday, February 23, 10:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
    Thursday, March 18, 10:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
    Tuesday, April 20, 10:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
    Thursday, May 20, 10:00 a.m. -- 12:30 p.m.
    Learn how to use Camtasia Studio for Windows to record your desktop and presentations, edit your work, and produce media files. Prerequisite: Desktop and Presentation Recording: Camtasia Relay.

DragonDrop

  • DragonDrop Basic Training
    Thursday, February 25, 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
    Monday, March 29, 2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
    Monday, April 19, 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
    Friday, May 28, 10:00 a.m. -- 11:30 a.m.
    This workshop will introduce you to the basics of working with DragonDrop, a Web-based application for capturing, encoding, and publishing rich media for Web access.

Dreamweaver

  • Dreamweaver Basic
    Thursday, February 11, 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
    Thursday, March 11, 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
    Friday, April 9, 2:00 p.m. -- 4:00 p.m.
    Thursday, May 13, 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
    In the Basic course, we create simple pages using Dreamweaver CS4, including headings, lists, images, and links.

  • Dreamweaver Intermediate
    Thursday, February 25, 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
    Wednesday, March 24, 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
    Thursday, April 22, 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
    Thursday, May 27, 2:00 p.m. -- 4:00 p.m.
    In the Intermediate course, we create and modify stylesheets and apply styles including fonts, float positioning, and colors.

Respondus

  • Respondus
    Tuesday, April 27, 1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
    Respondus products help us to easily import quiz questions/answers into Bb Vista, secure the online testing environment, and create interesting (and entertaining) learning objects.

SharePoint

  • SharePoint Basic
    Thursday, February 11, 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. – FULL
    Wednesday, March 10, 9:00 a.m. -- 10:30 a.m.
    Monday, March 22, 10:00 a.m. -- 11:30 a.m.
    Tuesday, April 6, 1:30 p.m. -- 3:00 p.m.
    Thursday, April 22, 10:00 a.m. -- 11:30 a.m.
    Friday, May 7, 1:00 p.m. -- 2:30 p.m.
    Tuesday, May 25, 1:30 p.m. -- 3:00 p.m.
    SharePoint is a powerful tool for document collaboration. This session provides step-by-step directions and an overview of SharePoint's key functions.

Snap

  • Snap Basic
    Wednesday, March 10, 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
    Wednesday, May 12, 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
    The Basic course is geared towards new users of Snap, Drexel's survey software. A demonstration of the entire survey setup process will be presented.
  • Snap Advanced
    Tuesday, February 16, 2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
    Wednesday, April 7, 2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
    In the Advanced course, users of Snap will learn how to create a survey, set up routing rules, and send automated survey invitation and reminder messages through Snap. Password-protected surveys and iterative surveys will also be discussed.

Wimba Live Classroom

  • Wimba Classroom and Other Wimba Tools
    Friday, February 26, 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
    Wednesday, April 21, 1:00 p.m. -- 3:00 p.m.
    Wimba Classroom is a synchronous, virtual classroom. Its features include multi-way audio and video, easy upload of PowerPoint presentations, application sharing, polling, and more—all designed to create a robust online classroom experience.

To read previous issues of the IRT Technology Update, visit http://www.drexel.edu/irt/news/publications/techUpdate/techArchive.

To manage your subscription options to the IRT Technology Update and other Drexel Announcements, go to http://deptapp.drexel.edu/drexelsubs. If you prefer to receive a plain text version, please email your request to mailreq@drexel.edu.