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).

e-Textbook reader for iPad - Check it out

An EWU Faculty member pointed out this new company that has developed a very slick free textbook reader for the iPad. Students with an iPad can buy individual chapters of a book. The reader allows many book-like features (bookmarking, etc.). Check it out:

This is the company website: http://www.inkling.com/

Here is a video interview regarding the product: http://money.cnn.com/video/technology/2010/08/20/tts_inkling_ipad_textbook.fortune/

Helix Streaming Media Service Upgraded 8-19-2010

TO: EWU Instructors using video or audio in their Blackboard classes
WHAT: New possibilities with our Helix version 14 media server


Last week Thursday saw a significant increase in EWU's ability to provide media in our Blackboard course pages.  It is now possible to stream Flash or Silverlight video and audio content embedded into your course pages, assignments and even exams.  

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Contact Grant Ramsay, gramsay@ewu.edu, for more information.  

OIT Sponsors EDUCAUSE Workshop: Blended Learning: The 21st-Century Learning Environment,

TO: EWU instructors, instructional staff and others interested in “eLearning”
WHAT: Two-day workshop focusing on BLENDED LEARNING
WHEN: September 15 & 16, 2010
WHERE: EWU Cheney Campus

If you are involved in instruction at Eastern – as a faculty member, instructional designer, instructional support provider or are someone interested in learning more about Blended / Hybrid Learning, then please consider attending the following workshop. We will participate via webcast and on-site focus group discussions. Registration costs have been paid by the EWU Office of Information Technology.
 

EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI) presents:

Join your peers on September 15–16 for "Blended Learning: The 21st-Century Learning Environment," the ELI 2010 Online Fall Focus Session. ELI hosts two thematic online focus sessions each year. Join us for this online fall focus session on blended learning to exchange ideas and collaborate interactively with the ELI community--all without leaving your campus. You'll have access to resources and guided activities to help you organize a local team event or participate as an individual. Full program details are now available.

Highlights include:

• Teaching Presence: Creating and Sustaining Communities of Inquiry in Blended Learning Environments"--Donn Randy Garrison, Director, Professor, University of Calgary, and Norman Vaughn, Assistant Professor, Mount Royal University
  
• "Research and Quality Assurance in Blended Learning"--Charles D. Dziuban, Director, and Patsy D. Moskal, Associate Director, Research Initiative for Teaching Effectiveness, University of Central Florida
  
• "Prepared for Success"--Lawrence C. Ragan, Director, Faculty Development, The Pennsylvania State University
  
• "Connecting Online and On-Ground Learners with HyFlex Courses"--Brian Beatty, Professor, Instructional Technology, San Francisco State University

EWU Event HOSTING Details:

• Event will be hosted (via web conference) on the EWU Cheney Campus.
• Instructors, instructional staff and others involved in “eLearning” are encouraged to attend.
• Registration cost has been sponsored by the Office of Information Technology.

How to Register:

Please visit the event registration web page: http://ewu-elearn-2010-09-15.eventbrite.com select a Date to Attend via the drop down menu, click the "Register" link.

Questions?Contact Dave Dean (ddean@ewu.edu, 509-359-2256); Grant Ramsay (gramsay@ewu.edu, 509-359-6694); or Jeff Healy (jhealy@ewu.edu, 509-359-6776) in the eLearning Services group at EWU.

Elluminate! Integrated with Blackboard

During Summer 2010 the Elluminate web conferencing system was licensed and then integrated with the EWU Blackboard server via a "Building Block."

Blackboard Instructors will find within each of their Bb sites, they can add one or more Elluminate Live! Sessions (virtual meeting rooms).

Elluminate Live! is a web conferencing system that allows groups to meet, present, and collaborate.

Elluminate Live! is a web conferencing system that allows groups to meet, present, and collaborate. Blackboard users with Instructor or TA role in Blackboard sites can set up Elluminate sessions within their Blackboard sites.

Participants in an Elluminate session can

• have discussions using voice or text chat
• write, draw, and paste images on a shared whiteboard
• present materials imported from PowerPoint
• conduct polls and give quizzes
• simultaneously view web pages, video, and other multimedia
• use breakout rooms to work in smaller groups
• view or share documents or software running on any participant's computer
• record sessions for later viewing or review

The only equipment required to participate in an Elluminate session is a computer with a connection to the Internet. For audio discussions, those speaking will need a microphone, preferably a USB headset with noise cancellation.

Instructors can set up Elluminate sessions for

• hosting guest speakers
• holding virtual office hours
• leading test review sessions
• teaching class sessions online

Instructors can also create Elluminate sessions for students to

• work in study groups
• complete peer review activities
• collaborate on group projects

 For more information check this link: http://www2.ewu.edu/x70031.xml