Septemeber 30

Contents:
01. Internet Explorer 8 Incompatible with Some Administrative Systems
02. Update: Drexel Email Migration
03. Formatted Mass Email Service
04. ArcGIS Software Now Available for Faculty and Staff
05. Upcoming Mac Workshops
06. Secure Software Server Update

Tips & Tricks

News & Notes from the Online Learning Team
11. iWebfolio Training for English 101 Students
12. Adding TAs or Designers to Your Bb Vista Section
13. Date Rollover in Bb Vista
14. New Support Hours at Turnitin
15. Mail Forwarding in Bb Vista
16. Walk-Through Sessions on Turnitin2
17. PowerLinks Will Not Transfer to New Sections
18. Copying Content from a Previous Bb Vista Section
19. Engage Your Students with StudyMate Author!
20. Sign Up for OLT Workshops

1. Internet Explorer 8 Incompatible with Some Administrative Systems

A few administrative systems in use at Drexel are still not certified as compatible with Windows 7 and Internet Explorer 8. Two widely utilized systems are Nolij and Hyperion. Administrative staff members should not upgrade to IE8 or Windows 7, which uses IE8 by default and cannot be downgraded to run IE7 or lower.

If you are using Windows 7/IE8 and need to access Nolij or Hyperion, use XP Mode available in Windows 7, where you can use IE7. For more information about XP mode, visit http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtual-pc.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the IRT Help Desk at consult@drexel.edu or 215-895-2020.

2. Update: Drexel Email Migration

IRT is in the process of upgrading basic email services in DrexelOne and WebMail to a new system. The upgraded services will provide new capabilities and features, a vastly improved user interface, new hardware and software, and better integration with DrexelOne. A few thousand mailboxes have already been migrated.

Exchange mail service and ExchangeWeb will remain unchanged. Also, users who access email via an email client application such as Outlook, Entourage, or Thunderbird will not be affected.

WebMail users should bookmark the new URL for WebMail: https://mail.drexel.edu. If you are unable to log in to the old WebMail service (http://webmail.drexel.edu), your account has been migrated to the new WebMail service at https://mail.drexel.edu. Continue to use the old URL until it stops working for you.

Users of DrexelOne’s email service will notice an improved interface, but no changes in functionality. During the upgrade, DrexelOne accounts will automatically be linked to the new https://mail.drexel.edu service.

If you have any questions, contact the IRT Help Desk at consult@drexel.edu, 215-895-2020, or via online chat at http://www.drexel.edu/irt.

3. Formatted Mass Email Service

IRT’s Mass Mailing Team now offers formatted (HTML) mass email service, a change from our current service (plain text). Testing of the new service took place in conjunction with other offices at Drexel over the past few months. After a successful pilot phase, IRT developed a set of HTML templates for use with all mass email requests that do not include prior formatting.

In order to standardize the look of Drexel’s University-wide mass email communication, all of our HTML mass mailing templates include a banner graphic, the Drexel logo, and formatted text.

For more information about this change, please see http://www.drexel.edu/irt/email/mailinglists/submissions. For examples of the templates we will be using, please see http://www.drexel.edu/irt/email/mailinglists/submissions/htmlTemplates. You can also contact the Mass Mailing Team at mailreq@drexel.edu.

4. ArcGIS Software Now Available for Faculty and Staff

ArcGIS, a software system for creating geographic data, maps, globes, and models, is now available to Drexel faculty and staff. ArcGIS can help with asset/data management, planning, business operations, and situational awareness. Under the license agreement, this software may be used for teaching, research, and administrative uses. It cannot be used for non-academic, non-administrative, commercial, or for-profit activities. Therefore, teaching and research staff may only install ArcGIS software on a personal computer for academic purposes.

Drexel’s license covers, but is not limited to, the following ArcGIS applications:

• ArcEditor
• ArcGIS 3D Analyst
• ArcGIS Publisher
• ArcGIS Schematics
• ArcGIS Geostatistical Analyst

To obtain a copy of ArcGIS software, contact the IRT Help Desk at consult@drexel.edu or 215-895-2020 and IRT will send you instructions.

If a faculty member authorizes students to utilize ArcGIS for instructional purposes, he or she must request that access be granted to these students via the Web form at http://www.esri.com/industries/apps/education/offers/promo/index.cfm. Requests must indicate the number of students enrolled in the course.

For more information about ArcGIS software, visit http://www.esri.com/software/arcgis.

5. Upcoming Mac Workshops

Calling all Mac users! A Mac workshop, led by Apple Senior Systems Engineer Michael Wolk, will be offered in November. It is:

• Getting Started with iPhoto '09
  Wednesday, November 3, 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
  Korman 116

For workshop descriptions, please visit our website at http://www.drexel.edu/irt/help/workshops.

6. Secure Software Server Update

To keep the secure software server up to date, IRT will be removing the following older software versions from the http://software.drexel.edu server since newer versions have replaced them. IRT retains the original software media for these versions below:

For more information, contact the IRT Help Desk at consult@drexel.edu or 215-895-2020.

Tips & Tricks

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:

Turn Off Email Notifications in Outlook 2007
Enter PowerPoint Slide Show Mode from Any Slide
Performing a Word Count in a Word 2007 Document
Excel Time-Savers

News & Notes from the Online Learning Team

11. iWebfolio Training for English 101 Students

For the second year in a row, iWebfolio licenses will be available for all incoming freshmen and transfer students who enroll in classes that will be using this electronic portfolio application.

To support this significant level of iWebfolio use, the Online Learning Team (OLT) will once again offer training sessions early in the term for ENGL 101 sections upon request by the instructors. OLT members can also visit classrooms and offer short tutorials and demonstrations of iWebfolio.

To request in-class assistance, or to receive additional help or information about iWebfolio, contact the OLT at olt@drexel.edu or 215-895-1224, or stop by the Instructional Technology Center in Korman 109 between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.

12. Adding TAs or Designers to Your Bb Vista Section

As the instructor of a section in Bb Vista, you can add Teaching Assistants or Designers all on your own.

From the “Teach” tab, navigate to the Grade Book. Next, click on the “Enroll Members” button and enter the user name of the person you want to enroll (i.e., abc123). Select the role(s) you want the person to have, and click “Enroll.” After reviewing the enrollment and ensuring that it is correct, click on the “Save” button.

You can view a quick video tutorial at http://www.drexel.edu/irt/coursetools/toolList/bbvista/help/faculty/howToAddTAs.

To unenroll a Designer or a TA, select the check box next to the individual’s name in the Grade Book, click the “Unenroll” button, and then click “OK.”

13. Date Rollover in Bb Vista

Date Rollover is an indispensable tool for instructors who want to reuse an old course or check due dates in a current course. With one click, dates and times are displayed for all dated Bb Vista objects, including announcements, assignments, quizzes, calendar entries, and items with selective release date criteria.

The Date Rollover tool is accessible through the “Manage Course” menu from either the “Build” or the “Teach” tab. Two rollover methods are available:

1. Adjust Individual Dates shows all of the dated objects in the course and adjusts only the dates you specify. This method provides an easy way to review all of your dated objects. You can then delete or change the oldest objects, and you can always use the “Adjust All Dates” method described below if needed. To adjust individual dates:
   
   
1. Click the “Adjust Individual Dates” button on the “Date Rollover” screen.
   
   
2. Click on the “Dates and Times” tab to view dates and times for each dated item in the course. Individual dates and times can be changed by simply typing in new dates and times. To avoid problems with entering dates/times in the proper format, use the date and time pickers (calendar and clock icons).
   
   
3. After changing dates and times, click “Save.”

The Adjust Individual Dates tool can also be useful for changing a due date or cutoff date. Note, however, that the tool will not display a notification if it cannot change a date. For example, in some cases Bb Vista will not allow you to change the date of a group assignment, but no error message is displayed by the Date Rollover tool.

2. The second method, Adjust All Dates, changes all of the course’s due dates and calendar entries in one step. To adjust all dates:
   
1. Click on the “Adjust All Dates” button on the “Date Rollover” screen.
   
   
2. The tool will display the earliest dated item in the course. Determine what the date should be for this item, and enter it in the “New start date” box.
   
   
3. Click on the “Adjust All Dates” button. All dated items in the course will be adjusted by the number of days between the earliest dated item and the date you entered in step (a) above. For example, if the date you select is 90 days after the date of the earliest dated item, all dated items in the course will be moved forward by 90 days.
   
   NOTE: Be aware of any materials you have not used recently. For instance, if the earliest dated item is a quiz that you have not used in three years, three years will be added to all of your dates, making your assignments from last year due two years in the future.

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

14. New Support Hours at Turnitin

Turnitin has modified their hours of support. Their hours are now as follows:

• 6:00 a.m. – 11:00 p.m. PDT, Monday through Friday
• 2:30 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. PDT, Saturday and Sunday

Since Turnitin is located on the Pacific Coast, users on the East Coast should add three hours to the times listed above.

For phone support, call 866-816-5046 x241. For email support, contact tiisupport@turnitin.com.

You can also contact the Online Learning Team with questions about Turnitin by emailing olt@drexel.edu or calling 215-895-1224.

15. Mail Forwarding in Bb Vista

Would you like to receive a copy of Bb Vista-generated email in your regular email account? If so, do the following:

1. After logging in to Bb Vista, select "My Settings" in the upper right-hand corner of the Bb Vista Home page.
   
   
2. Click the "Edit Profile" button in the lower left-hand corner of the screen.
   
   
3. In the “E-mail” field, enter the email address that you check most frequently. To make this email address visible to other Bb Vista users, check the “Public” box.
   
   
4. Click the “Save” button at the bottom of the screen.
   
   
5. Click the “My Tool Options” tab and scroll down to the Mail settings.
   
   
6. Look for the subheading "Mail forwarding," and place a checkmark in the box next to "Forward all mail messages to the e-mail address in my profile."
   
   
7. Click the "Save" button at the bottom of the screen.

The next message you receive in Bb Vista will automatically be forwarded to the email address you specified in step 3 above.

NOTE: Messages forwarded to your external e-mail account are only copies of the original messages (i.e., notifications of new mail) and cannot be replied to. To reply to a Bb Vista message, log in to Bb Vista, open the original message, and click “Reply."

16. Walk-Through Sessions on Turnitin2

The newest version of Turnitin, Turnitin2, has been released! Turnitin2 integrates OriginalityCheck plagiarism prevention, GradeMark paperless grading, and PeerMark peer reviewing. Walk-through sessions on Turnitin2 are now being offered six times per week, and there is no need to register in advance. You can view the full walk-through schedule by clicking here.

17. PowerLinks Will Not Transfer to New Sections

If you copied content from a previous section to your fall term section, certain PowerLinks (including Turnitin assignments and Blackboard Scholar instances) will not transfer to your new section successfully. After deleting the old links, recreate them by going to the “Build” tab, clicking on “Add Content Link,” and selecting the item(s) you want to add. Note that Wimba instances, including Classrooms and Voice tools, do not have to be recreated.

18. Copying Content from a Previous Bb Vista Section

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.

At the start of a new term, you will see your upcoming section(s) appearing on your Course List in Bb Vista, which you can access directly at http://learning.drexel.edu. The first time you click on your new section(s), you can choose to make any of your past sections the basis for the new one(s) by selecting “Copy content from another course” from the four choices displayed on the “Assign Course Content” screen. Everything is copied over except for enrollments, student contributions, and certain PowerLinked items, such as Turnitin assignments (see the article directly above).

To view a brief slideshow on how to copy content from a previous section, click here.

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

19. Engage Your Students with StudyMate Author!

Are you looking for a way to add high-quality, interactive activities to your online course? StudyMate Author makes it easy to create Flash-based activities without having to know anything about Flash programming, graphic design, or HTML.

Here's how it works: The StudyMate editor provides three basic templates for entering questions or text that will be used in the activities. Each template can generate a variety of activities based on the data you enter. For example, the "One Answer" template is used to create Flash Cards, Pick-a-Letter, Fill in the Blank, Matching, and Glossary activities. During the publishing step, you can indicate which activities to include in the Flash (.swf) file and then let StudyMate upload the materials to your online course (or you can choose to upload the files manually).

If you have content that is already in electronic format, such as exam questions or glossaries, it takes even less time to create activities. StudyMate will import materials in MS Word, Rich Text, IMS QTI, and Respondus formats. Additionally, StudyMate can download and import publisher test banks via the Respondus Test Bank Network for leading textbooks in higher education.

StudyMate Author is a downloadable PowerLink tool available to faculty in the Designer 101 (DES 101) course section of Bb Vista. For more information, contact the Online Learning Team at olt@drexel.edu or 215-895-1224.

20. Sign Up for OLT Workshops

The Online Learning Team conducts training sessions on Blackboard (Bb) Vista, Camtasia, DragonDrop, Dreamweaver, Mac OS X, Respondus, SharePoint, Snap, and Wimba Classroom. In addition, several brown bag lunches and workshops on technology products of interest (Microsoft Windows 7, Office 2010, PowerPoint, GIMP, Audacity, etc.) are held each month. These training sessions are open to members of Drexel’s community as well as the general public.

To reserve a spot at any of these workshops, email us at olt@drexel.edu with your name, institution (if other than Drexel), contact information, and the name of the workshop(s) you would like to attend.

Below is a sampling of workshops taking place in October:

Bb Vista Full Day Workshop
Friday, October 1, 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

What’s New in Office 2010
Monday, October 18, 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

Recording and Editing: Camtasia Studio for Windows
Friday, October 22, 10:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

DragonDrop Basic Training
Tuesday, October 19, 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

Dreamweaver Basic
Thursday, October 7, 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Visit our Web site at http://www.drexel.edu/IRT/help/workshops for our complete training schedule and workshop descriptions. Unless otherwise noted, all training sessions will be held in room 116 of the Korman Center (off the Quad on Drexel’s Main Campus, 33rd Street between Market and Chestnut Streets).