MCCC e-Learning Brown Bag Workshop Schedule

Please mark your calendars for the following MCCC e-Learning Brown Bag Workshops. These workshops are designed to be informal discussions and demonstrations about Blackboard and other instructional tech topics, so please feel free to bring your lunch and any questions you might have. If possible, please let me know if you plan to attend so that I can ensure I have enough chairs, handouts, etc. I hope to see you at one or all of the sessions listed below – Jeff.

e-Learning Brown Bag Workshop Schedule

·        Basic Blackboard tools (beginners and non-Blackboard users only) - During this session we will discuss the basic tools in Blackboard that allow you to post documents, link to external websites and post student grades.

Dates: Thursday, January 26^th and Monday, January 30^th

Time: 12:30 – 1:45 PM

Location: C10

·        Using iPads and tablets in instruction - During this session we will discuss the strengths and weakness of using iPads and tablets in teaching. Feel free to bring your own iPad or tablet to discuss how you have incorporated it into your classroom or online teaching.

Dates: Thursday, February 9^th and Wednesday, February 15^th

Time: 12:30 – 1:45 PM

Location: C10

·        Blackboard online discussions– During this session we will discuss the basics of conducting Blackboard discussion; specifically, we will discuss grading discussions, using a rubric, and discussion moderation.

Dates: Thursday, February 23^rd  and Wednesday, February 29^th

Time: 12:30 – 1:45 PM
Location: C10

·        Student classroom polling (clickers) – During this session we will discuss TurningPoint student polling systems; specifically, we will discuss how to incorporate student polling questions into PowerPoint and how responses are collected from students in class.  Also, we will discuss how you can poll students without using PowerPoint or a computer.

Dates: Thursday, March 15^th and Wednesday, March 21^st

Time: 12:30 – 1:45 PM
Location: C10

·        Blackboard Assignments – During this session we will discuss how to create an assignment and download all student assignment submissions at once. Finally, we will discuss the grading options for the Assignments tool.

Dates: Thursday, March 29^th and Wednesday, April 4^th
Time: 12:30 – 1:45 PM
Location: C10

·        Using Blackboard SafeAssign to detect student plagiarism – During this session we will discuss how SafeAssign works and how to interpret the plagiarism reports.

Dates: Thursday, April 12^th  and Wednesday, April 18^th
Time: 12:30 – 1:45 PM
Location: C10

Enhancing Classroom Instruction

Here is a link to a PDF that contains information related to enhancing classroom instruction: http://www.monroeccc.edu/distancelearning/files/ClassroomBestPractices.pdf

The topics that are covered in the PDF provided above are:

• Lecture organization
• Capturing and maintaining student attention
• Classroom interactivity
• Cognitive load
• Creating effective PowerPoint slides
• Effective use of classroom document camera
• Instructions for using the following MCCC classroom technologies: Crestron controller, document camera, VHS/DVD, Starboard annotation monitors

I hope you find this information helpful. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions regarding this email or the PDF.

New features in Blackboard 9.1 (service pack 6)

New features in Blackboard 9.1 (service pack 6)

As many of you are aware, we recently upgraded our Blackboard system to service pack 6. Although there aren’t any significant differences between service pack 6 and the previous service pack used last semester, there are a few enhancements that I wanted to call to your attention.

1. Communications Tools (i.e. Blog, Discussion Board, Journals, Wiki) feature enhancements:

a.      If you are using the grading feature with any communication tool you can select how many student blogs, discussion postings or journals before the “Needs Grading” symbol appears in the Grade Center (see below)

b.      Also, you can now create and attach a rubric to any Assignment, Blog, Journal, Discussion forum or Wiki

You can create a rubric by defining what a novice, competent or proficient performance is on the assignment, blog, discussion or journal within your criteria and then apply the appropriate grading weight.

2.  Testing feature enhancements

a.       There is now an option in the “Test Options” area where you can choose to have your test or exam automatically submit when the time expires.

**If you choose to utilize this feature, I would be sure to inform your students that their tests or exams will be automatically submitted when their time expires.

b.      Student test answers are now automatically submitted 

If you have any questions regarding any of the features listed above or need assistance in any way, please don't hesitate to contact me in e-Learning.

Web Browser Display - Blackboard Issue Resolved

The web browser display issue in Blackboard that I emailed you about on November 1 has been resolved. If you are still experiencing this issue (see attached) you need to clear the cache in the browser you are using. Below are instructions for clearing your cache in both Internet Explorer and Firefox:

·        Internet Explorer (version 9):

1.      In the browser menu bar click Tools

2.      Click Internet Options

3.      Click the Delete button under the Browsing History section. Be sure that Temporary Internet Files is checked.

4.      Click Delete.

5.      Finally, refresh (F5) your browser and all the images in Blackboard should appear correctly.

·        Firefox (version 6):

1.      In the browser menu bar click Tools.

2.      Click Clear Recent History. Be sure that Cache is checked.

3.      Click Clear Now.

4.      Finally, refresh (F5 / Ctrl + R) your browser and all the images in Blackboard should appear correctly.

If you need any further assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact me. 

MCCC e-Learning and Instructional Support

New Browser Display Issues in Blackboard

Recently, there was an update to both Internet Explorer and Firefox browsers that affected the instructor’s view in Blackboard. This issue seems to be most prevalent in Internet Explorer 9 and Firefox 7. Specifically, there are a number of images that aren’t displaying correctly throughout Blackboard, from the instructor’s view, when using one of the affected browser versions (see red arrows below for examples). 

For the most part, this issue isn’t serious and only affects the instructor’s view. However, instructors using browsers affected by this issue will notice that when they attempt to “Edit” an item in Blackboard the “Edit” area isn’t visible. You can overcome this issue by clicking directly above “Adaptive Release” in the area above the dotted line (see red arrows below indicating where to click to Edit).

I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact the e-Learning department at (734) 384-4129.

Below are several links that may be helpful as you conduct your fall 2011 Blackboard courses:

• Instructions for utilizing the basic Blackboard tools: http://www.monroeccc.edu/distancelearning/files/Blackboard_9.1_Introduction_fall2011.pdf
• Blackboard 9.1 supported browsers and operating systems: http://kb.blackboard.com/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=55574750
• Key suggestions for utilizing Blackboard (as well as Blackboard system issues of which to be aware): http://www.monroeccc.edu/distancelearning/files/KeysToSuccessfulBlackboardCourse2011.pdf
• Modifying Blackboard Course Menu: http://www.monroeccc.edu/distancelearning/tutorials/BbCourseMenu_demo/BbCourseMenu_demo.htm
• Blackboard Assignments tool: http://www.monroeccc.edu/distancelearning/tutorials/BbAssignment_Tool_Faculty_demo/BbAssignment_Tool_Faculty_demo.htm
• Internet Explorer and Blackboard External Links: http://www.monroeccc.edu/distancelearning/tutorials/IE_BbExternal_Links_demo/IE_BbExternal_Links_demo.htm

In addition, here are several links to other resources that also may be helpful to you as you teach this semester:

• Students With Disabilities at Monroe County Community College: http://www.monroeccc.edu/lal/students_disabilities.htm
• How to Make Presentations Accessible to All: http://www.w3.org/WAI/training/accessible
• MCCC Copyright Procedures: http://www.monroeccc.edu/policies/pdfs/600%20Business%20Policies/643a%20copyright%20proc.pdf
• TEACH Act (copyright) Checklist: https://www.cu.edu/ip/copyright/downloads/TeachActChecklist.pdf

  The e-Learning and Instructional Support department hopes you have a wonderful fall 2011 semester. If you need any assistance with your Blackboard course(s), please don't hesitate to contact us at jdpeters@monroeccc.edu or (734) 384-4129.

Mozilla Firefox - Blackboard Course Menu Issue

As some of you may have noticed, with the newer versions of Mozilla Firefox, the Blackboard left Course Menu has become quite tricky to use because of the misaligned gray editing drop-down arrows (see image below). Below are the instructions for 2 options to overcome this issue. 

Option 1

Step 1: In the upper menu of your Blackboard Course Menu, there are several options for how to view your Course Menu. If you click fourth icon from the left on your upper menu you can “Display Course Menu in Window” (see orange arrow below).

 

Step 2: Once you’ve clicked the “Display Course Menu in a Window” icon the entire Course Menu will appear in a new browser window on your monitor screen (see below).

Option 2
 
If you attempted Option 1, you may have noticed that you cannot access links on your Course Menu that are hidden. To overcome this issue you can adjust your Firefox settings my clicking: “View” (Firefox Menu bar at top), then “Zoom”, then “Zoom Text Only” (see below).

Note: If you don’t see a Menu Bar at the top of your Firefox page it may be hidden. To make the Firefox Menu Bar available, right click on the top portion of your Firefox page (above the URL web address) and choose Menu Bar (see below).