Bb 8 Tech Tip: Copy Gradecenter Design from Course to Course

Here is a great time saving tip. As a Blackboard instructor, if you've put in much time designing your Gradecenter (columns and grading schema) you will appreciate this tip that shows you to copy the gradecenter from one of your Bb site to another. Will save you time, not having to rebuild the second site's gradecenter. Watch this short video to see how to copy your gradecenter to another of your Bb sites:

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Tech Tip of the Week: Missing Items on Bb Content Tool Bar

On occasion, an instructor will encounter a Blackboard course that somehow has "dropped" some or all of the tools that normally appear when in a content area (tools that would allow you to add an item or test or iTunesU link are gone). Watch this short video to see how to add in missing content tools:

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eLearning Events of Note for Fall Term 2010

Here are some upcoming free webinars pertaining to eLearning that you might find of interest. Webinars are sponsored by the Next Generation Learning Challenges.

Webinar Topics include:

Topic: Benefiting From Scale in Education Innovation
Speaker: Bror Saxberg, Chief Learning Officer, Kaplan
Date: September 10, 2010
Time: 12:00 noon ET (11:00 a.m. CT, 10:00 a.m. MT, 9:00 a.m. PT)

Topic: Scaling Blended Learning
Speakers: Joel Hartman, Vice Provost and CIO, and Charles Dzuiban, Director, Research Initiative for Teaching Effectiveness, University of Central Florida
Date: September 14, 2010
Time: 4:00 p.m. ET (3:00 p.m. CT, 2:00 p.m. MT, 1:00 p.m. PT)

Topic: Deeper Learning and Engagement
Speaker: Bryan Alexander, Director of Research, National Institute for Technology in Liberal Education (NITLE)
Date: September 21, 2010
Time: 2:00 p.m. ET (1:00 p.m. CT, 12:00 noon MT, 11:00 a.m. PT)

Topic: The Future of Assessment and Learning
Speaker: Valerie Shute, Associate Professor, Educational Psychology and Learning Systems, Florida State University
Date: October 1, 2010
Time: 3:00 p.m. ET (2:00 p.m. CT, 1:00 p.m. MT, 12:00 noon PT)

Topic: Open Educational Resources
Speaker: David Wiley, Associate Professor, Instructional Psychology and Technology, Brigham Young University
Date: October 6, 2010
Time: 1:00 p.m. ET (12:00 noon CT, 11:00 a.m. MT, 10:00 a.m. PT)

 

Details can be found at this site: http://nextgenlearning.com/news/upcoming-events

Blackboard Student Test Taking Tips

Below, and at this link, are some helpful Blackboard Test Taking Tips for students, posted by the support people at CSU Stanislaus, in Turlock, California.

Note, the content below has been slightly adapted for EWU Students.

Student Help

Test Taking Tips

Before the Exam

1. Update your computer's operating system, virus protection, and other software in advance.  Review the Software and Hardware Recommendations
2. If you are taking the test from off campus, use a high-speed internet connection; avoid wireless connections for tests (or uploading files).
3. Use Firefox (recommended), Safari, or MS Internet Explorer (set to Compatibility View) to take a test. 
   Do not use a web browser provided by your Internet Service Provider (AOL, Comcast, etc.) for Blackboard.
4. Disable pop-up blockers and third-party browser extensions.
5. If you see a dialog box asking for a digital signature verification or a similar item, click Run. 
   Find and click the Always Trust box so your computer remembers.
6. Dial-up users, disable call waiting.
7. Check your Internet Service Provider's practices and policies. Some log you off the Internet if you are not clicking in their browser*.  Others can have slow connectivity at certain times of the day.
   Test by connecting to Bb, waiting for an hour, then clicking in the Bb page to see if you are still connected. 
   Bb logs you out after three hours of inactivity.  Clicking something is considered an activity. Writing in a text box is not considered an activity.
8. Do not run other applications unless directed by your Instructor.
9. If your Instructor provides a practice exam, take it as soon as possible to verify your Internet connection and browser response.
   Report issues to your instructor immediately.
10. Contact the EWU Student Help Desk, the Techeze Desk, at 509-359-6411, for technical assistance with your setup and preparation.

* AOL does not consider activity in another browser to be online use and may terminate your connection.  You may need to return to your AOL browser to keep your active status alive, but you may jeopardize your Bb connection.

Alternately, find a computer using a different provider to avoid this issue.

Taking the Exam

1. Quit all other applications (e.g., Word, iTunes, games, IM tools) unless otherwise directed by your Instructor.  Rebooting your computer may free resources and avoid interference from applications running in the background.
2. Resize your browser window before you start and keep it at that size for the entire exam. 
   Open only one browser window. 
3. Click the link once to enter the test. Wait for the page to load completely.
4. Read your Instructor's policies and the test instructions carefully. 
5. For one-at-a-time question presentation, click the forward arrow once to move to the next question.
6. Click a Save button often while you are taking the exam.
7. Avoid the browser Back or Forward buttons. Use only the links and buttons on the test page.  Do not Refresh the page nor use keyboard shortcuts (e.g., Alt-Tab-Command, Command-Tab, arrows). 
   Avoid the scroll wheel on the mouse.
8. At the end of the exam, check your answers and click the Submit button once. Do not press the Enter key.  Wait until you see a confirmation. 
         No confirmation? Go to the page where you started the test and click the link again.   Bb should say the exam is completed.  If not, contact your Instructor ASAP.
9. OOPS!  If you lose power, your browser quits, you lose Internet connectivity, or have any other technical issue, contact your Instructor immediately and explain in detail what happened.  The Instructor will decide how to handle your issues. Taking the test early in the allowed time block may allow for better resolution to such an issue. 

After the Exam

Check My Grades
An exclamation point (!) means the test is submitted and waiting for the instructor to complete the grading.
A score means Blackboard graded your objective test or your Instructor completed the grading subjective assessment. 

A lock icon indicates a problem.  Return to your test and, if possible, click the Submit button.  If Bb says the test has been completed, contact your Instructor immediately. Tell your Instructor exactly what you did, what you clicked in the test, what you saw, what any warnings stated, and when you did everything.

Reminder - EWU eLearning Systems Maintenance Schedule

All - just a reminder, as we start a new school year, that during the upcoming year there are planned times for both scheduled maintenance and scheduled downtimes for both Blackboard and the RealNetworks Helix streaming media server.

The Blackboard service is the sum of 10 different computers working together (application servers, database servers, load balancers, etc.). For the most part we are able to tune and update the Blackboard service without impacting service.

Here is the Blackboard schedule for maintenance and downtime. Note: The RealNetworks 

Helix streaming media server follows the same maintenance and downtime schedule as adopted for Blackboard.

Scheduled Maintenance We work on the Blackboard servers on the First, Third, and Fifth Thursday afternoon of each month. We perform scheduled maintenance which typically will not cause a service interruption. However, of any time period during the week, these periods of scheduled maintenance are most likely to exhibit service disruptions or intermittent response time.

Scheduled Downtime The first Thursday of each quarterly academic break is reserved for scheduled downtime. Plan for the Blackboard service to be unavailable from 5:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. on these days. Note that scheduled downtimes follow the quarterly academic schedule (not a semester schedule or extended schedule used by some EWU courses).

Our top priority is to provide a reliable, responsive and secure set of services. In concept we have the option to decide when the Blackboard service will be down or to wait for the service to unexpectedly go down. The servers can pick a date and time to go down or we can proactively pick a date and time to perform maintenance. To prevent unscheduled downtimes, we opt to have regularly scheduled downtimes where necessary maintenance can be performed.

We provide the Blackboard service for the benefit of Eastern's Faculty and Students. As always, we want to hear from you. If a specific scheduled downtime will have a significant negative impact on your instruction please let us know (rescheduling is a possibility but we have limited time windows for necessary scheduled down times).