Welcome to the Instructional Technology Center Blog!

Our vision and mission statements













Submitted by:  Janet Wortman

The Instructional Technology Center at COM (distance education and instructional technology) will be piloting a blog for the next two years. The purpose of this blog is to provide faculty and staff with up to date information in the rapidly changing area of technology as it relates to instruction.

You will find information on new technology available for your classrooms, hints, tips and tutorials, known issues and other important information.

This will be a living document and you will have the opportunity to comment and communicate your experiences with your peers. Please join us and experiment with this previously unused technology.

To begin click your area of interest in the Categories column on the right.

Summer 2011 Training Opportunities for Faculty

Submitted by:  Margaret Cussen

Additional classes may be offered if a demand exists.  To request additional training, e-mail your request to Margaret Cussen at mcussen@com.edu with specifics about your training needs.
Register for a workshop at http://www.com.edu/de/faculty-training.cfm

New To Online Teaching Minimum training required for faculty who wish to offer a web enhanced course is Fundamentals Bb Training. For faculty who wish to teach hybrid or Internet courses, the three workshops listed below are required.
Title	Venue		Day	Date & Time	Room
Fundamentals Bb Training	Face to face	Thursday		14 July 6 – 9 pm		T-1412
	Online- this option will be available 1 August 2011.
Communication & Design	Face to face	Thursday		21 July 6–9 pm		T1412
Managing Assignments & Tests	Face to face	Thursday		28 July 6–9 pm		T-1412
Experienced Online Instructors Minimum training required for faculty who wish to offer a web enhanced course is level I. For faculty who wish to teach hybrid or Internet courses, level I & II workshops are required.
Title	Venue		Day	Date & Time	Room
Level I: Fundamentals	Face to face	Thursday		2 June 10 –1 pm		T-1412
	Online- on demand training available anytime/anywhere.
Level II: Advanced	Face to face	Wednesday		1 June 10 –1 pm		T-1476
	Face to face	Thursday		9 June 6-9 pm		T-1412
	Online- on demand training available anytime/anywhere.
Grade Center Workshop Learn how to create and manage columns, customize interface, override grades, and download to a spreadsheet.
Title	Venue		Day	Date & Time	Room
Grade Center Management	Face to face	Tuesday		5 July 2-4 pm		T-1412
	Face to face	Thursday		4 August 6–8 pm		T-1412

Sitting on the Fence

Submitted by:  Martha Willis

I write to you – those who are sitting on the fence - about the ease and power of Blackboard.

For my first blog, I ask you to consider PLAGIARISM! When reading through dozens of papers at a time, with minutes clicking down to a deadline – how do YOU account for student’s original work? Perhaps, over the years you have created your own ‘way’ of doing things but it is an ‘iffy’ or perhaps convoluted process at best.

SafeAssign, a product of Blackboard, first checks the submitted papers against four databases as described by the website:

•Internet - comprehensive index of documents available for public access on the Internet

•ProQuest ABI/Inform database with over 1,100 publication titles and about 2.6 million articles from '90s to present time, updated weekly (exclusive access)

•Institutional document archives containing all papers submitted to SafeAssign by users in their respective institutions

•Global Reference Database containing papers that were volunteered by students from Blackboard client institutions to help prevent cross-institutional plagiarism.

SafeAssign then generates an Originality Report with results meant to create an ‘awareness’ and ‘educate’ students on proper citations.

Click here to learn more – it is FREE to LOOK and USE!

http://www.safeassign.com/

What's New in Classroom Technology?

Submitted by:  Chris Boyd
Hello and welcome to the very first installment of "What's New in Classroom Technology?" In this section we will discuss new additions and/or changes to the Instructional Technology Department and the services it provides.

Today's article will be about the new Lumens DC265 document camera, also called the "Ladibug." Sporting features like 6x optical zoom/8x digital zoom, one touch audio/video recording, a built-in microphone, an SD card slot to save your images as well as internal memory, and much more, this device is a versatile tool that will empower our faculty to provide an even better classroom experience.

So what's better about this model than previous versions of document cameras we've used? I'm glad you asked. For one, this machine is HD. That's right, the power of High-Definition is now at your fingertips. With output resolutions up to 1080p or 1600 x 1200, this is the most powerful document camera College of the Mainland has fielded to date.   Read more...

Clean Up Your Course View

submitted by:  Janet Wortman

The new Blackboard system does not remove old courses from view like our older CE 8 system.  You can access all of your courses for up to two years but you don't have to look at them everyday.  You have total control of which sections you see and which sections send you a daily email notification about activity in that section.

Watch this brief video to learn how to control your course list and notification settings.

http://screencast.com/t/0IXZcNWr8fr

New Test Timer enforcement tool available for use

Submitted by:  Brett Stephens

As many of you have noticed, the new Blackboard Learn system does not have a way to enforce the assessment time limit. Thanks to the Educational Technology Center at Princeton University, we now have a script which fills that gap. When properly used, this script runs when a student starts taking a test and when the time is ten seconds short of expiring, it initiates a Save and Submit action for the student.  For information on how to use this script, please see the Timed Test entry in the Learning Modules section of the Blackboard Learn 9.1 Faculty Resources Bb_9.1_Resources  course on the Blackboard server.

Check It Out!

Submitted by:  Kathie Goldfarb


Available for you in the College of the Mainland Library:

The Online Learning Idea Book: 95 Proven Ways to enhance Technology-Based and Blended Learning, edited by Patti Shank. San Francisco: Pfeiffer, 2007.

Need some new ideas? Want to learn more about Virtual Office Hours, Discussion suggestions, and Creative Media? These and many more topics are covered in this resource. It includes many examples, illustrations and why to's and how to'.

Late Breaking News!

Just received:

Hybrid Learning: The Perils and Promise of Blending Online and Face-to-Face Instruction in Higher Education, by Jason Allen Snart. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger, 2010 (LB 2395.7 S55 2010)

Remember, if you find new books you would like the library to purchase, go to: http://libguides.com.edu/newbooks and Suggest a Book

Students Getting Bumped from Exams

Submitted by:  Chandra Iwasaki

Computer systems, software, web servers, ISP providers, browsers & plug-ins, etc. are always in a state of change, and are susceptible to interference (wireless, browser refresh, network issues, etc.) so, it can be expected to have technical difficulties from time to time. Unfortunately, with so many factors it can be impossible for DE or Blackboard support to determine the root cause of an issue. So here are some suggestions that might reduce test issues:

Instructor Test settings

Although it makes sense to expect a student to complete an exam in one attempt, using the Force Completion setting will block reacessing the exam (for any remaining alotted time) should they get disconnected from the server.

The Prohibit Backtracking setting can also be a potential problem if the student does not read the instructions and/or by habit uses the browser back button. This will cause a browser page refresh which can submit the exam or log the user off.  This setting coupled with Force Completion can render "Game Over" for the student. Ouch! 

Additional Advise

This is straight out of the new Online Learner Workshop, but you may want to provide this information in your course as a reminder or for those who did not complete the Learn version workshop.

General Test Taking Recommendations

1.  Your computer maintenance should be up to date: Anti-Virus and Anti-Spyware applications installed and updated, OS Service Packs & updates, etc.

2.  It is best to use a computer with a wired connection to the Internet. Wireless connections can be unreliable due to interference.

3.  Maximize or resize your browser window before you begin a test. Resizing your browser causes a screen refresh and can lock you out of an exam.

4.  Do not open any other browser windows, programs or applications.

5.  Do not use your browser Forward and Back buttons or Refresh while in a Blackboard assessment.

6.  Always single-click test link buttons and all buttons in the assessment (Begin, Save, Next Question, Save All Answers (if available) and Save and Submit).

7.  Periodically save your exam if the test questions display all at once (Save All Answers).

8.  After you have checked all answers, single-click Save and Submit on the test. Click this button one time only.

9. Always use the Logout button to conclude your sessions in Blackboard