Technology Update - January 13, 2011
Contents:
01.
DrexelOne Mobile: 1,500 Downloads from Six Smartphone Platforms
02.
9th Annual eLearning Conference: March 24, 2011
03.
Cessation of Virus Definition Updates for Symantec 9
04.
iLife '11 Available in the ITC
05.
Windows 7 Accessibility Series: Magnifier
Tips & Tricks
News & Notes from the Online Learning Team
11. Now Open: The 2011 Blackboard Exemplary Course Program
12. Searching in SharePoint Portal
13. Copying Content from a Previous Bb Vista Section
14. Adding TAs (or Designers) to Your Bb Vista Section
15. Certain PowerLinks Will Not Copy to New Section(s)
16. Sign Up for OLT Workshops
1. DrexelOne Mobile: 1,500 Downloads from Six Smartphone Platforms
Drexel has released the DrexelOne Mobile app for Android, BlackBerry, iPhone, Palm webOS, Windows Mobile 6 and the new Windows Phone 7 smartphones. The app is free and provides Drexel students, faculty, and professional staff with quick access to important University information from any location at any time. It is the first and only university mobile portal application that is compatible with a variety of smartphone platforms.
DrexelOne Mobile has already been downloaded over 1,500 times. That number is surprising, considering that the first 1,000 downloads preceded the official announcement made this past Tuesday. IRT is also gratified to see positive comments and ratings in the app stores. We are quickly addressing any issues or bugs that are causing users grief. And because of users' comments, the Android app has already been updated to version 1.1.
We're looking to add many more features for our spring release. Therefore, we need your help in identifying features that you would most like to see in a DrexelOne Mobile app. The best place to suggest new features is in the suggestions area at http://drexel.edu/IRT/D1M. We have already started some discussions there, but the best ideas will come from the users themselves, so be sure to visit the suggestions area and share your best ideas with us.
2. 9th Annual eLearning Conference: March 24, 2011
Presentation proposals are currently being accepted for the 9th annual e-Learning 2.0 Conference, hosted by Drexel's Office of Information Resources & Technology. The conference will be held on Thursday, March 24, 2011 in Behrakis Grand Hall at the Creese Center. Past conferences have included presentations on leveraging existing and emerging technologies to augment face-to-face classes, teach hybrid Web-enhanced classes, and facilitate completely online, Web-delivered courses. To submit a proposal, please complete the proposal submission form at http://www.drexel.edu/irt/news/events/eLearningConf on the conference Web site.
Last year's conference was a huge success, with more than 200 participants from 35 institutions all around the region! This is a tremendous opportunity for presenters to share their knowledge and expertise with an academic technology-focused regional community. It promises to be a fantastic learning and networking event as well. A registration fee 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.
Presentations should be approximately 50 minutes in length, and the deadline for proposal submission is February 25, 2011. Any questions or concerns can be directed to el2n@drexel.edu. We look forward to your participation in this year's event!
3. Cessation of Virus Definition Updates for Symantec 9
Support for Symantec AntiVirus (SAV) 9 officially ended on March 31, 2009. However, a small number of users who purchased content extensions were given a grace period to access updated virus definitions as they became available. On April 30, 2011, that grace period will end and the software will no longer work on Windows 9.X or NT machines. Users of SAV 9 are therefore encouraged to migrate to SAV 10 or Symantec Endpoint Protection (SEP) 11.
SAV 10 and SEP 11 can be downloaded from Drexel's software server at https://software.drexel.edu. Simply log in with your DrexelOne credentials to access the software. Please be sure to read the text (.txt) file included in the download area for SEP 11 if you are downloading that version.
For questions or concerns, contact the IRT Help Desk at consult@drexel.edu or 215-895-2020.
4. iLife '11 Available in the ITC
Apple's iLife '11, a suite of software comprised of iPhoto '11, iMovie '11, and GarageBand '11, is now available for faculty and staff use in the Instructional Technology Center in Korman 109! iPhoto '11 now supports full-screen views, Facebook enhancements, and the ability to email photos. With iMovie '11, you can create movie trailers, use new audio editing tools, and add one-step effects. GarageBand '11 includes a number of new tools such as Flex Time, which allows you to change the timing of your recording; Groove Matching, which brings all of your tracks together; and new Guitar Amps and Stompbox effects.
5. Windows 7 Accessibility Series: Magnifier
This third article of the Accessibility Series introduces the Magnifier tool, a built-in magnification program in Windows 7's Ease of Access Center. The Magnifier tool allows users to increase the size of text and certain on-screen objects by 2 to 16 times their original size. Users can set the Magnifier window to follow the mouse pointer, the text insertion point, or the keyboard focus (i.e., the mouse pointer combined with keyboard presses of the Tab or arrow keys).
To enable the Magnifier tool:
- Open the Ease of Access Center by pressing the Windows key + U or by going to Start (Office Button) > Control Panel > Ease of Access > Ease of Access Center.
- Under "Quick access to common tools," select "Start Magnifier."
You can also set the Magnifier tool to start automatically every time you log into your computer. For more information, go to Microsoft's support page at http://www.microsoft.com/enable/training/windowsvista/magnifier.aspx.
For more information about this feature and others available in Windows 7's Ease of Access Center, visit http://www.microsoft.com/enable/products/windows7/default.aspx.
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:
Insert Captions in a Word 2007 Document
When you insert tables, pictures, and other objects in your Word 2007 document, you can easily add a caption to them. The caption will also help you refer to the object within the document.
To insert a caption for your table or picture, just follow these steps:
- Select the object.
- On the "References" tab, in the "Captions" group, click "Insert Caption."
- In the "Label" box, select the object type (Equation, Figure, or Table).
- In the "Position" box, specify the placement of the label (above or below the selected item).
- In the "Caption" box at the top of the screen, enter any additional information, then click "OK."
If you insert a new caption, Word will automatically update the caption numbers. However, if you delete or move a caption, you must manually update the caption numbers. To do this, select a specific caption or the entire document, and then press the "F9" key.
When you enter data into a cell in Excel, it is handled differently depending on what type of formatting is assigned to the cell. For example, if "Currency" formatting is selected, Excel will automatically convert "3" into "$3.00" if "Date" formatting is selected, Excel will change "1/1" into "1/1/2011" and if "Percentage" formatting is selected, Excel will convert "0.3" into "30.00%."
To change the formatting of a cell, highlight the cell(s) you want to format, then right-click and select "Format Cells." Under the "Number" tab, choose a different format from the "Category" listing and then select a layout from the "Type" listing. To input data containing zip codes or phone numbers, choose "Special" from the "Category" menu.
Instead of converting existing data to a new format, you can also pre-apply formatting to a range of cells. To do this, simply highlight a range of cells, apply the formatting you would like, and then input the data.z
Let's say you would like to enter some numbers beginning with a zero in an Excel spreadsheet. By default, Excel will remove the leading zero. To force Excel to display the zero, you can use "Custom" formatting:
1. Type the number "0123" into an empty cell and press "Enter." Next, right-click on that cell and select "Format Cells."
2. Under the "Number" tab, select "Custom" from the "Category" listing.
3. In the "Type" listing on the right, delete the word "General," type four zeroes (0000), and then click "OK." The number will now display as "0123."
Note: If you type the number "12" into the cell and press "Enter," it will display as "0012." Type "1" and it will display as "0001." This is because you have set the cell to contain at least four digits. If the cell contains less than four digits, Excel will make it four digits long by adding one or more leading zeroes. If you type a number longer than four digits, such as "12345," no leading zeros will be added.
- Click the "Slide Show" tab on the Ribbon.
- Press the "Ctrl" key and click the "From Beginning" or "From Current Slide" icons in the "Start Slide Show" group. PowerPoint will display your slide show in a small window rather than in full-screen mode.
- If further edits are needed, click back into the main PowerPoint window and make the necessary changes.
- In the floating toolbar that appears, click the "Resume Slide Show" button to resume the mini-show with your most recent changes.
Aero Features in Windows 7: Aero Snap
An easy way to get the most out of your Windows 7 experience is to take advantage of Windows 7’s Aero features. Aero is a collection of visual enhancements designed to make the Windows 7 interface simpler and more efficient.
One of these enhancements is Aero Snap, which allows you to enlarge or resize windows by dragging them to the edge of the screen. To manipulate a window, just click at the very top of the window and hold down the left mouse button. For a side-by-side view of windows or documents, you can drag them to the right or left side of the screen and they will "snap" into place to fill half of the screen. Dragging a window to the top of the screen will maximize the window to fill the entire screen. Giving a window a quick shake will minimize all other open windows to the taskbar.
News & Notes from the Online Learning Team
11. Now Open: The 2011 Blackboard Exemplary Course Program
Since its launch in 2000, the Blackboard Exemplary Course Program (ECP) has improved online course delivery by helping faculty members use course design principles and e-learning technology more effectively. Using a rubric, instructors and course designers can evaluate how well their own course conforms to best practices for Course Design, Interaction & Collaboration, Assessment, and Learner Support.
Please consider participating in the 2011 Exemplary Course Program by submitting your course, volunteering to be a reviewer, or both! The deadline for nominating your course for review is January 18, 2011. More information can be found on the Blackboard ECP site at http://www.blackboard.com/ecp.
12. Searching in SharePoint Portal
If you are having difficulty finding an item in SharePoint, you can simply search for it! From the SharePoint Portal, you can search across all SharePoint sites , lists, and documents to which you have access. Here's how:
- Navigate to the SharePoint Portal page at http://sharepoint.moss.drexel.edu and locate the "Search" box in the middle of the page.
- Ensure that "All Sites" is selected in the "Search Scope" drop-down box.
- Enter a keyword or collection of keywords in the search box, and then click the magnifying glass icon.
Search results will include sites, pages, lists, items, and documents that match your search term(s). The more specific your search, the more precise the results will be. If you are looking for a specific type of document, such as a PowerPoint presentation, you can add the file extension (i.e., ".ppt" or ".pptx") to your search to find all documents of that type that match your search term(s).
13. 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 reuse past section build-outs quickly and easily.
At the start of a new term, your upcoming section(s) will appear 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.
To view a brief slideshow on how to copy content from a previous section, go to http://www.drexel.edu/irt/coursetools/toolList/bbvista/help/faculty/copyContent.
If you have any questions, contact the Online Learning Team at olt@drexel.edu or 215-895-1224.
14. Adding TAs (or Designers) to Your Bb Vista Section
As the instructor of a section in Bb Vista, you can add your Teaching Assistants, or Designers, all on your own.
From the "Teach" tab, navigate to the Grade Book. From there, click on the "Enroll Members" button. Now, enter the username of the person you want to enroll (i.e., abc123), select the role(s) you want the person to have, and then click "Enroll." Once you have determined that the enrollment is correct, click the "Save" button.
You can view a quick video of this process at http://rmcp.dcollege.net/playlists/18142/203989.swf.
15. Certain PowerLinks Will Not Copy to New Section(s)
If you are copying content from a previous section to your Winter term section, certain PowerLinks (including Turnitin assignments and Blackboard Scholar instances) will not transfer successfully to your new section. After deleting the old links, recreate them by going to the "Build" tab, clicking on "Add Content Link," and selecting the item(s) you would like to add. Note that Wimba instances, including Classrooms and Voice tools, do not have to be recreated.
16. 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, Turnitin, 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 January and February:
Recording and Editing with Camtasia Studio for Windows
Tuesday, February 15, 10:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Bb Vista Full Day Workshop
Tuesday, February 8, 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Editing Images for Your Course
Wednesday, February 9, 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
DragonDrop Basic Training
Tuesday, January 18, 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.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).