Turning Point Updates for Instructors – Spring 2019

Welcome back to the snowy start of the Spring 2019 semester!  We have a few updates / reminders to share for Turning Technology users.

  • Turning Point 8.  We will be using Turning Point 8.5.6 for the Spring 2019 semester.  Turning Point has been updated on all classroom machines.  If you need to download it on a laptop or personal device, you can get the latest version by going to: https://instructor.turningtechnologies.com/#/downloads
  • Canvas Integration.  As a reminder, Turning Point 8 must be used with Canvas – and will not work with Desire2Learn.
  • Registration Link. Instructors will need to add a link into their course for the registration.  There is a guide that walks through this process available at: https://spaces.uww.edu/x/VwOv
  • User Guides / Video Tutorials.  Turning Point has resources available that we have posted for you at: https://spaces.uww.edu/x/SIK
  • Vendor Support.  Turning Technologies offers Phone, Chat and Email support for students and instructors Monday – Friday from 7am to 8pm (Central Time).
  • Course Roster Sync.  With Turning Point 8 and Canvas, the course roster sync has been greatly improved – and now happens on a nightly basis!  You will need to Publish your course before you can sync the course roster.  The video below will walk through this in more detail and show some examples.

If you have questions regarding TurningPoint, please contact the UW-W Learning Technology Center.

Poll Everywhere

Poll Everywhere is an interactive tool that is newly adopted on the UW-Whitewater campus this fall. It allows you to create poll questions and prompts, which students can respond to in “real-time” through mobile apps, text messages, or the Poll Everywhere website. You can then display the responses live to the class, and incorporate what you find out into class discussion, group activities, and more.

Poll Everywhere allows you many different options for poll questions, including word clouds. If you are unfamiliar with Poll Everywhere, you might find this introduction video helpful.

This fall the LTC will be offering a few information sessions which can help you get started with using Poll Everywhere. The sign-up links are below (please note you will need to log in with your UWW credentials to register):

Wednesday September 26th, 2018 at 3:00 PM in McGraw 19A

Friday October 5th, 2018 at 10:00 am in McGraw 19A

You do not have to wait until one of these sessions to get started! Feel free to try it out, and let the LTC know if you need any assistance! Poll Everywhere also provides a detailed online instructor guide and a student guide.

If you have questions regarding Poll Everywhere, please contact the UW-W Learning Technology Center.

TED Tips – Issue 4: From D2L to Canvas

The Canvas Migration process is well underway.  We looked last week at some of the details and training opportunities to help understand the migration process.  This week’s TED Tip examines some options to get a course from D2L into Canvas.

While UW-Whitewater strongly encourages freshman-facing courses to be offered in Canvas (specific departments and colleges may have other requirements), from Fall 2018 through Spring 2019, you can choose either D2L or Canvas for your courses.

If you want to offer your course in D2L for students, you will need to complete the normal D2L “Course Request Process”.  You may have used this process before.  In D2L, by default, courses are not created until requested.

Canvas, however, automatically creates courses for you; there will no longer be a separate course request process.   Be advised, while these courses are automatically created (and WINS enrollments and course integrations will take place), these are blank placeholder courses.  You still need to import or create content and set up the course normally.  Additionally, while these blank courses help get you started – they will remain inaccessible until you actually “Publish” them.  You can find the publish command in the “Course Status” area in upper right corner from the Home screen inside each course.  Even though the course creation process and enrollments will happen automatically, you still will have to choose to “Publish” that course to make it available.

How do I get my content into Canvas?

You can create content directly inside of Canvas.  A transition like this a great opportunity to review learning objectives, update learning activities, and evaluate assessment effectiveness.  The move from one platform to another is a great opportunity to start fresh to create the best possible student experience we can. Striving for continuous improvement increases quality.

It is also possible to import existing content from D2L to canvas.  As with all moves, a good tip is to clean up existing files and content before the move.  It is recommended to go into the “Edit Course” section inside of D2L and then purge unneeded materials through the “Manage Files” command.

Once we are ready to migrate, the Course Complexity Application is a great resource.   WINS courses from Winter 2016 through Winter 2018 that are associated with your D2L account will show up with a complexity rating.  This complexity rating provides an estimate of time needed to fix your course inside Canvas.  Not everything transfers easily.  For example, grade categories or weighted grade items do not transfer into Canvas; you will have to spend time setting up new categories or configuring your gradebook in Canvas.  Quizzes and pools of randomized quiz questions are other common items that will require your attention in Canvas.  Every course is different, but the estimates provide a good gauge of time.

How Do I Export and Import Content?

The Course Complexity Application provides an “Export course from desire to learn” command that will start the process.  Alternatively, you could work from inside of D2L directly and from the edit course option, select the “import/export/copy components” command.  This is the same place command you may have used to copy from one section of a course to another.

After you have started to create an export from either place, select the course materials.  This ultimately creates a zip package export of your course.  Save or rename this zip file appropriately.

Next, go to Canvas.  Select your specific course and then choose the “Import Course Content” command from the “Settings” button.  Select the content type select “D2L export .zip format”.   Then choose the zipped file package you created in the last step.  Select all content.  When ready, you can then click import to move content into your course.   The processes of importing from one format to the next may take some time.  A video walkthrough is linked from the resources section if you are looking for a more visual step by step guide to this process.

After import, Canvas will provide an Issue List.  Canvas flags content that did not import easily as an issue.  You may need to rebuild some content.  You may need to reconfigure some tests.  You may need to double check the gradebook.  Another tool to review is the “Validate Links” command from setting option in canvas.  Like Issues, this will generate a list of broken links inside your Canvas course that you can use to update and review.

Whether you have created the content in Canvas for the first time or imported it from D2L – it is a good practice to review and proofread your new course before your publish it.

What other help is available?

The Learning Technology Center (LTC) continues to provide workshops.  Look for “Canvas Hands-On Introduction” for beginners, “Canvas Construction Zones” for hands on step by step migration, and “Canvas Deep Dives” for more in depth looks at specific tools and concepts.  Canvas also has a 24 / 7 toll free technical support service line including phone, chat, and email options Canvas 24/7/365 Support.

Next week I want to welcome you a bit more to the LTC and introduce you to some of the services and people that can help you explore ways to enhance student learning.

– Ted Witt
Teaching, Learning, and Technology Consultant

RESOURCES:

Video:  Moving a Course from D2L to Canvas

Canvas Migration Website:  http://www.uww.edu/icit/ltc/canvas-portal

Course Complexity App: http://dl.uwsa.edu

Link Validator reference: https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-12770-4152476605

Detailed Course Content Migration documentation: UW System Course Content Migration Documentation

D2L course request site:   http://my.uww.edu/d2lrequest

D2L eGrading Process Available for Fall 2016

The D2L eGrading process is now available for the Fall 2016 semester. This process allows instructors to transfer final grades from their Desire2Learn Gradebook directly to their WINS Grade Roster.

If you prefer step by step documentation, that can be found at: WINS eGrading Overview.

If you have any questions or concerns with the eGrading process, please contact UW-W Desire2Learn Support.

D2L eGrading Process Available for Spring 2015

The D2L eGrading process is now available for the Spring 2015 semester.  This process allows instructors to transfer final grades from their Desire2Learn Gradebook directly to their WINS Grade Roster.

If you prefer step by step documentation, that can be found at: WINS eGrading Overview.

If you have any questions or concerns with the eGrading process, please contact UW-W Desire2Learn Support.

Respondus Webinars and Product Training – February 2015

respondus-R-m4CRespondus has a number of 45-minute sessions scheduled for February to provide live demonstrations of their software applications, as well as tips for getting started.

LockDown Browser & Respondus Monitor: Prevent Cheating During Exams*
This comprehensive training webinar is intended for instructors who plan to use LockDown Browser and/or Respondus Monitor with online exams. The session is 45 minutes, plus a Q&A period at the end.

*Note: If you are interested in using Respondus Monitor, please contact the Learning Technology Center.

Respondus 4.0: Create & Manage Exam Content
Learn how to save time by creating and managing your online exams with Respondus 4, including importing test questions from Word files, using official publisher test banks, and more. The session is 45 minutes, plus a Q&A period at the end.

StudyMate: Engage Students with Learning Activities and Games
Learn how to engage students with course content by quickly and easily creating learning activities and self-assessments. This session will include both StudyMate Author and StudyMate Class. The session is 45 minutes, plus a Q&A period at the end.

If you have any questions regarding the Respondus Webinars, please contact the UW-W Learning Technology Center.

 

 

D2L eGrading Process Available for Fall 2014

The D2L eGrading process is now available for the Fall 2014 semester.  This process allows instructors to transfer final grades from their Desire2Learn Gradebook directly to their WINS Grade Roster.

If you prefer step by step documentation, that can be found at: WINS eGrading Overview.

If you have any questions or concerns with the eGrading process, please contact UW-W Desire2Learn Support.

WebEx Upgrade Tonight: September 3, 2014

Cisco has scheduled an upgrade to WebEx, our web conferencing service, tonight, Wednesday, September 3, 2014. The upgrade will take place between 9:00 p.m. September 3 and 2:00 a.m. September 4 (Central Standard Time).

Upon entering a WebEx session after the upgrade, all meeting hosts and attendees will be asked to download a new version of the WebEx Meeting Center software. Users should follow the prompts to download and install the software on their computer. Once the software has been installed, the user will be required to restart their web browser.

Here are several of the new WebEx features users will enjoy:

  • New user interface with modern look and feel.
  • New “WebEx ball” icon.
  • New icons and panels with consolidated controls and “Quick Start” tabs.
  • Users can now resize the video pane.
  • Introduction of “Collaboration Meeting Rooms.”
  • Ability to allow a host to leave a meeting without being required to end the meeting.
  • The host role can be automatic transferred.

Please see Cisco’s “What’s new on WebEx Meetings?” video and “What’s New Cheat Sheet” to learn more about the new WebEx Web Conferencing service.

We recommend that users allow extra time to become familiar with the new interface before entering into a WebEx meeting.

The ICIT Technology Training team is in the process of updating UW-Whitewater documentation to reflect the changes. Revised information will be posted to our campus WebEx service web page as soon as possible.

D2L v10.3 Discussion Tool Changes

The latest upgrade in D2L to version 10.3 included a complete interface overhaul of the Discussions tool. This new interface includes a change to the structure of Discussions and some new features, which are outlined in the video below.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the Discussions tool or the changes, please contact UW-W D2L Support.

D2L eGrading Process Now Open for Spring 2014

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.