Streaming.uww.edu (VBrick Rev) Scheduled Maintenance 5/24

On Wednesday, May 24th between 5am and 11am VBrick Rev (http://streaming.uww.edu) will be intermittently unavailable for scheduled maintenance.

During this outage, we will be changing the authentication process to use the same unified shibboleth login process as Desire2Learn.  Doing so will allow us to streamline access and offer a better user experience inside of Desire2Learn.

As a reminder, Desire2Learn will also be unavailable between 5am and 7am during this maintenance.

If you have any questions or concerns about this outage, please contact the Learning Technology Center (ltc@uww.edu).

Desire2Learn 10.7 Upgrade – June 14th/15th

There is an upgrade to Desire2Learn scheduled to start at 9:30pm on Wednesday, June 14th and be completed by 10:30am on Thursday, June 15th.  During this time, you will not be able to access Desire2Learn.  Please plan your summer course work accordingly.  We are in the process of creating a “What’s New?“ document and will make it available in the coming weeks.  We do not foresee any more changes with this update.

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

Free Conference – May 18th – Register Now!

Do you want to learn what your colleagues are doing across campus?  Do you want to be “in the know” on what great teaching and learning initiatives are already happening around you everyday?  Then we have the event that is just for you!  Sign up now for our Celebrating Teaching and Learning event on May 18th!  This is a FREE event, that’s right – FREE!  The event also includes breakfast, lunch and snacks.

Register today!

If you have any questions, please reach out to the Learning Technology Center – otherwise, we’ll see you on May 18th!

SparkBoard – Emerging Technology Exploration Project (Fall 2017)

sparkboardsparkspaceAbout Spark

Cisco SparkBoard simplifies collaboration by incorporating three common instructor-student interaction tools into one:

  • Wireless Presentation (i.e., enabling the ability for instructors and students to share content and collaborative work)
  • Electronic Whiteboard (i.e., allowing instructors and students to illustrate course concepts, with whiteboards automatically archived in “Spark Space,” and instructors and students can return to the whiteboard for review, further writing, and conversations).
  • Cisco Web Conferencing System (e.g., allowing 4K video call with intelligent tracking views and whiteboard with anyone)

Exploration Purpose

The purpose of this project is to explore the use of the SparkBoard functionalities listed above to aid UWW instructors, students, and staff in collaborations that deepen student learning experiences and support here at UWW. Initial guiding questions for this exploration are:

  1. How can the SparkBoard assist instructors in their teaching?
  2. How can the SparkBoard assist students in their learning?

Participation Expectations

By taking part in this exploration, instructors are agreeing to participate in faculty development opportunities during Summer 2017. These faculty development opportunities will assist instructors in planning use of the SparkBoard, and SparkSpace, in at least one of their Fall 2017 courses. Instructors have flexibility in determining the best use of this tool in their course. Thus, instructors will be able to use it every class session, or a few class sessions depending on what works best for their learning goals. Currently, the SparkBoard is available for use in a room that, at most, supports 30 students. Participating instructors will be required to reflect on their experience throughout the scope of the project, and support their students in reflecting too. The following breakdown reflects what is expected of participating instructors semester by semester:

Summer 2017

  • Attend up to four faculty development one-hour sessions with LTC staff (TBD);
  • Develop a plan for use; specifically determining how and when the SparkBoard and SparkSpace will be used by at least one of your Fall 2017 courses;
  • Complete focus group, interview session, or survey from LTC staff that will gather data from instructors about the Spark preparation process (note: this will take place near the conclusion of the summer or during the early part of the fall semester, depending on instructor and staff availability).

Upon completing the faculty development sessions, developing a plan for use, and completing a focus group/interview session/survey with LTC staff, instructors will receive $750.

Fall 2017

  • Conduct at least one Fall 2017 course using Spark as documented in your plan for use;
  • Complete reflections during the semester after using Spark (determined by your plan for use);
  • Complete an end of the semester UWW IRB approved instructor survey circulated by LTC staff; and
  • Support students in taking an end of the semester UWW IRB approved survey about their impressions of Spark.

Upon completion of the fall semester, semester reflections, and the required surveys, instructors will receive $500.

Winterim/Spring 2018

  • Participate in a final video reflection on your exploration of Spark. This video reflection will be scheduled at your convenience. The purpose of the video is to share what you learned with other instructors who may be interested in using the tool in their teaching in the future.

Upon completion of the final video reflection, instructors will receive $250.

If all components are completed, instructors can expect to receive $1500 for their participation in total (i.e., $750 for Summer 2017, $500 for Fall 2017, and $250 for Winterim/Spring 2018 work).  Up to ten instructors will be selected for participation in this project.

Interested?

If you are interested in participating, please complete the following form in Qualtrics by Friday, April 28: http://uwwhitewater.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1L07XLyMdUI2861

Important Respondus LockDown Browser Update – June 1st

CaptureStarting June 1st, students will no longer be able to directly open and login to the Respondus LockDown Browser.  Instead, they will need to visit the quiz page in any other browser and press the “Launch LockDown Browser” button. When they click the button, the LockDown Browser will launch, and students will automatically be logged in and taken directly to the quiz in D2L.  This helps improve the user experience for the student.  If LockDown Browser is not installed, a message will be displayed telling them to download it from the above link.

Starting June 1st, any student attempting to access a Quiz with Respondus enabled should receive an error message that states “LockDown Browser shouldn’t be started manually. Use a standard browser (eg. Chrome, IE, Firefox, etc) to navigate to the exam and LockDown Browser will launch automatically when it’s required“.

Student facing documentation has been updated to reflect the change.  These documents can be found at: LockDown Browser: Getting Started (Students).

If you have any questions about this change, please contact UW-W Desire2Learn Support.

Registration Open: Celebrating Teaching and Learning May 18th

Faculty and Staff: You are invited to register for the Celebrating Teaching and Learning Conference on May 18th, right here on campus in the University Center.  There are a number of interesting teaching and learning initiatives active on campus at any given time and this event will give you a chance to learn more about them. The event is FREE, and includes breakfast, lunch and snacks.  Register Now!

Don’t delay, register today! Event Registration

ePortfolio Meeting – April 7th, 10:00am

AC7O6330Are you interested in learning more about ePortfolio use on campus? If so, please join us from 10:00–11:00am on Friday, April 7 in McGraw 19A to hear updates on the exploration and discuss benefits, challenges, and aspirations for ePortfolio use on campus.  Faculty, staff, and students are all welcome!

Background
A student’s time at UWW is much more than just grades–it’s about experiences. During their time at UWW, students participate in general education, educational experiences specific to their major (culminating signature work), honors, co-curriculars, extracurriculars, aspects related to LEAP, 21st century skills, and engage with the real world (e.g, practicums, internships, etc.) that aim to make them educated citizens and market-ready for their chosen career path. How can we enable them to capture and document their experiences in a variety of meaningful ways (e.g., papers, images, multimedia projects, blogs, etc.), reflect on them thoughtfully tracking their growth over time, and have them assessed by the institution as a way of showing evidence of meeting core learning objectives?

Why ePortfolio?
In Summer 2016, AAC&U officially endorsed ePortfolio as the 11th High Impact Practice (HIP). According to George Kuh (2016), “With the assistance of prods and comments from faculty, staff, and peers, the ePortfolio helps make learning visible to students themselves, to their peers and faculty, and to external audiences. As a result, the process induces students to develop deeper, more meaningful understandings of how and why their learning has changed how they think and how they can transfer what they have learned to different settings and circumstances.” Further, ePortfolio has been described as the “meta-HIP” as it allows for the collecting, reflecting, and showcasing the HIPs that impact student learning (e.g., writing-intensive courses, collaborative assignments and projects, global learning, community-based learning, undergraduate research, internships, etc.).

Therefore, an integrative ePortfolio approach may help students “to integrate their learning–across general education, majors, and the co-curriculum, as well as prior professional, academic, and life experiences inside and outside of the classroom” (AAC&U, 2017, para. 1). Further, ePortfolio can be a wonderful way for students to showcase their experiences to the institution, future employers, and others who support them.

Want More Information?
Contact Kelly Delaney-Klinger (delaneyk@uww.edu)  or Nicole Weber (webern@uww.edu)

UW-System Virtual Showcase: Humanizing Learning

showcaseMake plans now to attend the 2017 University of Wisconsin Learning Technology Development Council Virtual Showcase, held April 4-5, 2017.  Attendance is free. Register today:  https://uwex.co1.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_3a34oy0JwrAShaB 

What is the 2017 UW LTDC Virtual Conference?

The Virtual Conference is a two day event with educational sessions from instructors and professional staff from across the University of Wisconsin System. This year’s theme is Humanizing Learning.  Session tracks are Technology, Faculty Development, Hot Topics, How-to & Resources, and Student Engagement.

 Why you should attend the LTDC 2017 Virtual Showcase?

This is a two day event with 2 keynote speakers and 27 session options without any travel or lodging expenses and very little time away from your campus.  Attend right from your office or home, all you need is a computer and an internet connection.

The keynote on Tuesday is Give Every Student 20 More Minutes for Studying Every Day: Personalizing Mobile Learning with Dr. Thomas J. Tobin. The session will introduce you to Universal Design for Learning. You will discover how to implement UDL in the design of your online course environment so that it creates places for best teaching practices to take place in the classroom and beyond.

Wednesday’s keynote is [de-]Humanizing Learning with Dr. John Martin, UW-Madison. Put your kumbaya songs aside and engage in a brutally-honest session about humanizing learning. What are humans actually good at? Do we really want them poisoning learners’ minds? This session will challenge some assumptions humans tend to make about how adequate (and inadequate) they really are when it comes to teaching. Let’s look at better options.

Following the keynote each day there will be three session choices for each of the time-slots on both days. Presenters of the educational sessions are culled from instructors and professional staff from across the University of Wisconsin system representing 25 of the 26 campuses and the University of Wisconsin Extension.

Learn more about the Virtual Conference (https://www.wisconsin.edu/learning-tech/events-conf/ltdc-virtual-showcase-2017-2/) including which sessions are available on Tuesday’s Schedule and Wednesday’s Schedule.

If you have questions about the conference, please contact the UW-W Learning Technology Center.