A Smart Idea

Submitted by:  Janet Wortman

It is now easier for students to access free online tutoring then ever before.  COM has provided student's access to the Smarthinking service since the fall semester of 2009. 

A Blackboard building block has been installed that provides direct, single sign-on access to all students through our course management system.  This eliminates the need for students to go to a different web site which uses different log on credentials.  Effective immediately students will see the Smarthinking link in the Tools module on the COM Online page when they log on to Blackboard. 

All credit courses are on Blackboard so all students can access this service through Blackboard.  You do not have to put anything in your course or even use Blackboard to give your students access.  If you want to place a link to Smarthinking in your class follow these simple steps.

Enter your course and go to Control Panel -> Customization -> Tool Availability

Scroll down until you see Smarthinking and place a check in the box.  If there is already a check in the box,  remove it, replace it and click Submit.

This makes the tool available for use in your course.

Once you have made the Smarthinking tool available you can add a link to your course menu or place it under another appropriate link on your menu. (See the OCR Tip - Reduce Menu Size post this month about the importance of keeping the number of links on your course menu to a minimum.)

As many of you know Smarthinking provides tutoring in the following disciplines:

Math • Bilingual Math • Introductory Anatomy and Physiology Biology • Chemistry • Organic Chemistry • Physics • Economics Finance • Accounting •Statistics • Spanish • Writing • Computers and Technology

For questions about Smarthinking or how to create a link to the Smarthinking site please contact the distance education department.

Keeping track of hyperlinks: Or where did my files go?

Submitted by:  Brad Denison

Do you need to add hyperlinks to a presentation that will be shared on a USB flash drive?  The key is organization.

1.  Create a file folder for the Microsoft office document that will include hyperlinks.  This folder can be created on your desktop, in “My Documents” or on a flash drive.  The example folder is labeled “Presentation.”

2.  Create sub file folders in the main file folder.  You will want to create a folder for each file type you will be using.  The example has folders for videos, music, pictures and PDFs.  You are able to add sub folders as you go as well.

3.  Create and save your file type for the presentation.  The example will use PowerPoint and the file is labeled “Hyperlink Presentation Example.”

4.  Add files to these folders before putting them in your presentation.  Again, files can be added to the folders as you progress in building your presentation, but you will need to add them to their related source folder before adding the hyperlink.

5.  The problem with copying your presentation from drive to drive and running it on different PCs is the creation of “absolute links” which require the various drive letters to stray the same.   

6.  Now when you “Insert Hyperlink” the address for the file location will be a “relative link” which is based on the location of the files relative to where the presentation file is.

7.  The example is using an MP3 file located in the “Music” sub file folder.  Notice that there is no C:\\, E:\\, or even C:\Documents and Settings\User\Desktop\Presentation\Music\COM - 04 - Track 4.mp3 in the address.

8.  Click "OK" to create the hyperlink in your presentation.

You now have a digital presentation “package.”  In this example the PowerPoint and all related files would be transferred to a USB flash drive and will open on any PC with Microsoft PowerPoint.

Folder Fiasco!

Submitted by:  Margaret Cussen

Recently, while consulting a faculty member about using Blackboard, I discovered linked folders instead of the recommended linked files in Content Areas.

So What? Well, if the folder or folders are located within the File tool, then any or all of the students enrolled in the course can download course content from within the File tool!  To prove it, I logged in as stu_mcussen and the following video shows what I can see and do!

Alternate Approaches:

• Use an item and attach a zipped downloadable file for the students to extract.
• Create a folder and within the folder create individual files for each student example

OCR Tip - Reduce Menu Size

Submitted by:  Chandra Iwasaki

A recurring issue in the current Online Course Reviews are course menus with a large (and growing) number of links. One way to improve Web Organization is to create a Content Area and group like items in separate folders. The many support links required in a course are a good candidate for this fix.

For example, one Resources & Support menu link opens to a Content Area with three distinct Support folders (click image for detail):

 

In the  example above, the Resources & Support folder contains:

  Course Resources - for course specific links, such as FAQs

  Technical Support - for everything Blackboard 

  COM Resources - from Advising to tutoring, etc.

Note the use of the bulleted lists to describe folder content. This is created in the folder  Description box using the Edit menu option. Also, be sure to set links to open in a new window under Options.

If you would like any of these support folders placed in your course, please contact Chandra Iwasaki.