Category Archives: Announcements & News

Announcements and news on technologies

Desire2Learn Service Update (3/27)

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On Thursday, March 27th, Desire2Learn Inc. deployed Service Pack 15 to our D2L learning environment. The following fixes were included in the service pack:

Dropbox: If a Dropbox folder is linked to Content, users can no longer submit a file to the Dropbox folder by remaining on the Content topic past the Dropbox folder end date when submissions are no longer allowed.

Import/Copy Course Components: Content in an HTML Content topic is no longer lost during import when the file contains embedded Quicklinks.

User Progress: Performance was improved for viewing the Dropbox tab for a user in User Progress.

If you have any questions or concerns about the service pack updates, please contact UW-W D2L Support.

Desire2Learn Service Update (2/27)

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Desire2Learn logoOn Thursday, February 27th, Desire2Learn Inc. deployed Service Pack 14 to our D2L learning environment.

In addition to the fixed issues listed below, this update includes a hotfix for several performance fixes including quiz query performance and delayed or problematic launching of external learning tools.

Content:

  • External links now open correctly in a new tab or window when they are accessed from the Content Browser widget.
  • When inserting a URL Quicklink into a Content item, insecure content links (http) now automatically convert to secure links (https) or are set to open as external links in a new window to help mitigate blocked content errors caused by browser security changes.
  • Adobe Presenter package in Content Viewer now maintains the viewing window size and no longer increases unnecessarily.
  • When using a larger font size, user-generated content now renders correctly without text overlap.
  • Frames now size correctly within Learning Environment webpages.

HTML Editor: When using Internet Explorer 9, the browser no longer crashes when users use the HTML Editor.

Dropbox: An error message no longer displays to users when they view Dropbox due date notifications in the Minibar.

ePortfolio: Changing item sharing visibility now works correctly at the org level.

Course Package Converter:

  • Content files no longer contain broken links when using the course conversion service for Blackboard 9.1 packages.
  • Descriptions for Content objects (i.e., modules and topics) now convert correctly for Blackboard 9.1 course packages.
  • Support was added for converting Significant Figures question types in WebCT packages.

If you have any questions or concerns about the service pack updates, please contact UW-W D2L Support.

2014 UW System Survey of Online Teaching, Learning and Services

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Question Mark IconDear Faculty and Instructional Academic Staff Members,

The UW System Learn@UW Executive Committee is currently conducting a survey about teaching and learning technologies. The survey is one of the most effective channels to provide feedback on your needs regarding our Learning Management System (D2L), related instructional technologies, and the services that support your use of the technologies.

This survey is open through March 7, 2014 and will take approximately 15 minutes to complete. Your responses are anonymous.

Many of you completed a similar survey in 2005, 2007 and 2010.  The results from the previous surveys have been extremely helpful to the Learn@UW Executive Committee and UW System in the budget and support planning for the Learning Management Service and future instructional technology needs. Survey results also help to identify potential issues with current technologies and assess the quality of support provided. Results are also shared with individual campuses.

To access the survey, please use the following link: http://tinyurl.com/mjvpkwn

Thank you in advance for your feedback.  Your time and effort in completing this survey is much appreciated.

UW System Learn@UW Exec Committee

New Clicker (SRS) Receivers

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In preparation for the upcoming upgrade to TurningPoint 5 during the Summer 2014 semester, the Learning Technology Center has received replacement kits from Turning Technologies that include an updated receiver and a clicker keypad.

Instructors and staff who have been using the TurningPoint Student Response System (SRS) in past years will need to exchange their current hardware (receivers, clicker keypads, etc.) for the new kits. The updated hardware in the kit is compatible with the current versions of TurningPoint and TurningPoint Anywhere that we are using on campus, so there shouldn’t be any issues after switching.

For reference, here is a comparison of the old clicker receiver versus the new receiver:

Old vs New ReceiverPlease drop by the Learning Technology Center (McGraw, room 120) to swap out your old clicker hardware for a new kit as soon as possible. We have plenty of kits for the current user group and for several new users if there is interest. Any questions or concerns can be directed to the Learning Technology Center via email.

What’s New in D2L Version 10.1

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Desire2Learn is scheduled for an upgrade to version 10.1. The upgrade outage will start on January 8th, 2014 at 9:30 PM and end on January 9th, 2014 at 10:30 AM (all times CT).

During this upgrade, D2L will NOT be available. This outage and upgrade will greatly affect Winterim courses, so please plan your course work accordingly. It is also suggested that you end any dropboxes, quizzes, or other deadlines a half hour before the outage’s start time (i.e., 9:00 PM CT) if there are items due on that day.

We have a “What’s New” video for instructors that highlights some of the changes that are coming with the upgrade.

Since the Content tool interface has undergone a significant change, we also have a overview video for instructors that covers the changes and how to accomplish most common Content tool tasks.

A “What’s New” wiki page is also available that covers version 10.1 tool changes in more detail, and you can visit that page here: http://geturl.uww.edu/1od

If you have any questions about the D2L upgrade or the updated Content tool, please Contact UW-W D2L Support.

D2L eGrading Process Now Open

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The D2L eGrading process allows instructors to transfer final grades from their D2L Gradebook to their WINS Grade Roster in a few simple steps. This process is currently open and available for instructors to transfer their semester grades from D2L to WINS.

For more information on how to use this process, please see the following Instructional Resources wiki pages:

We also have a video available to guide you through the first two steps:

If you need additional assistance with your Gradebook or if you have eGrading questions, please contact UW-W D2L Support.

Desire2Learn Upgrade to Version 10.1

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Desire2Learn logoWe’ve received a notice from Learn@UW, and they have confirmed the dates for the upcoming version 10.1 D2L upgrade. The upgrade is scheduled from January 8th, 2014 at 9:30 PM to January 9th, 2014 at 10:30 AM (all times CT). During this upgrade, D2L will NOT be available.

This outage and upgrade will greatly affect Winterim courses, so please plan your course work accordingly. It is also suggested that you end any dropboxes, quizzes, or other deadlines a half hour before the outage’s start time (i.e., 9:00 PM CT) if there are items due on that day.

The major change with this upgrade will be to the Content tool and its interface. We will be posting “What’s New” documents and videos with more details once we get closer to the upgrade window. If you have questions or concerns, please contact UW-W D2L Support.

Desire2Learn Service Update (11/21)

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Desire2Learn logoThis morning, Thursday, November 21st, Desire2Learn Inc. deployed Service Pack 15 and Service Pack 16 to our D2L learning environment.

In addition to the fixed issues listed below, this update includes a hotfix for the intermittent issues we’ve been having with accessing Quizzes. Users should no longer receive Internal Errors when trying to access the Quizzes tool in a D2L course.

ePortfolio: eP items submitted to Dropbox now display correctly when reviewed in Dropbox for org units that have names containing an ampersand “&” character.

Discussions: When a Discussion post contains a quicklink and a notification email is sent for that post, the quicklink now correctly navigates to the linked item.

Quizzes:

  • Export to CSV now correctly exports unanswered questions.
  • Students now have a drop-down list for ordering questions instead of manually entering entries into a text box.

Web Framework and HTML Editor:

  • Embedded Flash content now displays correctly in Chrome and Safari even when the right-click options menu is disabled.
  • Users can now enter HTML5 elements into the HTML Editor.
  • YouTube videos embedded through Insert Stuff now use a secure protocol to allow them to work regardless of web server security.
  • You can now also insert YouTube videos through Insert Stuff using a secure protocol, which allows them to work whether the web server is secure or not.
  • Users can now refresh a quiz page in any supported browser without causing main action buttons to disappear.
  • iPad users are now able to submit quizzes if dialogs are set to open as pop-ups.

If you have any questions or concerns about the service pack updates, please contact UW-W D2L Support.

UW System Learning Technology Development Council Showcase 2014

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Call for Proposals Now Open! 

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Date: April 10-11, 2014
Location: Virtual Conference, no travel required

The UW System Learning Technology Development Council (LTDC) Showcase 2014 will be held virtually April 10-11, 2014. Faculty, teaching staff and learning technology support staff – please share your innovations!

This virtual conference offers an opportunity for sharing your successes and challenges in teaching with technology – in your face-to-face, online, blended/hybrid, flex, flipped or MOOC. This conference will provide you with the opportunity to virtually connect with other practitioners and requires neither travel expense nor a significant time commitment. Please join us and submit a proposal to present or facilitate!

All presentations will be conducted virtually with technology training and orientation available prior to the conference. The presentations will be approximately 30 minutes in length with 15 min Q&A following. Proposals are sought in the following six general categories:

  • Innovative Approaches (Hot Topics) – Tell us about how you’re working and teaching. Are mobile applications a part of your learning and knowledge portfolio? How have you taken traditional teaching and enhanced it through an innovative approach? Can you share a successful case study?
  • Engagement of Students – How are your students connecting with each other and you? What works now or what do you expect might be a future method of engaging students? Can you share a successful case study?
  • Faculty Development – How are you supporting your faculty? Are you facilitating learning communities? How are you engaging faculty to try new approaches to teaching and learning? Do you have a successful case study to share?
  • “How To” and Resources – Do you have a skill to share? Have you created a wonderful set of resources for faculty and students? We’re interested in successful case studies; what can you share?
  • Best Practices – Are you using a particular learning technology (or set of technologies) and know through evaluation that it definitively engages students and promotes learning?
  • Emerging Topics – Do you have a proposal that doesn’t quite fit into the other topics?

Proposals are due December 31, 2013. Successful proposals will be notified by February 10, 2014. Please visit the following website to submit proposals: http://goo.gl/NaWyWY

Winterim and Spring 2014 D2L Course Requests Now Open

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Desire2Learn @ UW-WWinterim and Spring 2014 D2L course requests are available now through the D2L Course Request application.

As a reminder, course requests for a semester become available on the first day of priority registration for students, and course shells for D2L need to be requested for every semester you plan on using D2L.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact UW-W D2L Support.