Category Archives: For Students

Welcome Back Students! Have Canvas issues?

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Welcome to the Fall 2019 Semester!  Here is what you should know for the Fall Semester.

  • Courses may or may not have a Canvas component. Instructors have the option to use Canvas for their courses, but not all do.  If you aren’t sure if Canvas is utilized for your class, be sure to ask your instructor.  If you are just enrolling in a course now, be aware that it can take 24-48 hours for that enrollment to move from WINS to Canvas.
  • Canvas 24/7/365 support is available for all users.  Most students are already familiar with the D2L Support Form, but what happens when a student needs help with Canvas?  You can contact the Canvas 24/7/365 Support team.  You can find the Chat and E-mail options on both the Canvas Login Page and in the Help button in the lower left hand corner after you are logged in.
  • Self-paced Student Training Course is available. Anyone interested in receiving an introduction to Canvas before the start of the semester can self-enroll in the state provided Canvas Student Training course http://go.uww.edu/canvas-student-training

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

Interested in personalized and adaptive learning?

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Are you looking for ways to increase student engagement in your online course? Are you not sure how to best monitor student progress when you don’t see your students in class? Would you like to be able to have resources that more specifically meet the needs of your students, while allowing them to skip things they have already learned? If so, you might be interested in joining the conversation about personalized and adaptive learning on campus! Adaptive learning platforms incorporate analytics with the aim of helping instructors monitor student progress, and use various methods to cultivate individualized pathways to better meet students’ specific needs.

Adaptive learning pathways can function similarly to nodes in a network.

Over the past year, the Learning Technology Center (LTC) has collaborated with instructors around campus to explore adaptive learning. The LTC would like to invite any UW-Whitewater faculty, staff, or student interested in adaptive and personalized learning to our two meetings discussing the state of adaptive learning on campus this fall:

Friday September 27th from 9:30 to 10:15 am in McGraw 19A
Friday October 25th from 9:30 to 10:15 am in McGraw 19A

No registration is necessary! Just stop in and join the discussion!

You can find out more information on adaptive learning from EDUCAUSE’s “7 Things You Should Know About Adaptive Learning.” If you have any questions about these meetings, or adaptive learning, please contact the UW-W Learning Technology Center.

Welcome Back Students! Have you signed into Canvas yet?

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The University of Wisconsin System is transitioning from Desire2Learn (D2L) to Canvas.  Here is what you should know for the Fall Semester.

  • Courses may be in either Canvas or D2L. During the Fall 2018, Winter 2019 and Spring 2019 semesters instructors have the option to use either Desire2learn or Canvas for their courses.  If you aren’t sure where to find your course, be sure to ask your instructor and they can point you in the right direction.
  • Canvas 24/7/365 support is available for all users.  Most students are already familiar with the D2L Support Form, but what happens when a student needs help with Canvas?  You can contact the Canvas 24/7/365 Support team.  You can find the Chat and E-mail options on both the Canvas Login Page and in the Help button in the lower left hand corner after you are logged in.
  • Self-paced Student Training Course is available. Anyone interested in receiving an introduction to Canvas before the start of the semester can self-enroll in the state provided Canvas Student Training course http://go.uww.edu/canvas-student-training
  • Informational Tables Available 9/4-9/7. During the first week of classes ICIT will bat at various places around campus to chat with students.  See the list below for details, or just keep an eye out for us.
    • Esker Dining Hall: Tuesday Sept 4th from 11:30AM-12:30PM
    • University Center: Wednesday Sept 5th from 11:30PM-12:30PM
    • Drumlin Dining Hall: Thursday Sept 6th from 12:30PM-1:30PM
    • University Center: Friday Sept 7th from 12:30PM-1:30PM

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

Lynda.com – Summer of Learning: Travel plans this summer?

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The Traveling Photographer

Whether you’re visiting the seaside, taking off on a desert road trip or visiting the family cabin, you’ll want to capture your vacation on camera. While you’re out there exploring, don’t forget that as a student, faculty or staff member you have access to Lynda.com’s entire course library for free!

Check out Lynda.com’s The Traveling Photographer series for some tips and tricks for various locations! Some of the courses in the series include:

#SummerOfLearning

Lynda.com Info Sessions – Wednesday, April 25th

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The Learning Technology Center and Lynda.com would like to invite you to signup for some great Lynda events we have planned for Wednesday, April 25th. Our Lynda.com representatives will be on campus and will be offering the following presentations. Registration is required.

Closing the Skills Gap with Lynda.com – Register Now
Time: 10:00AM – 10:45AM
Audience: Instructors and Staff
From Microsoft Office and Adobe Creative Suite applications to time management, leadership fundamentals, and more, our vast online library of instructional videos offers training on hundreds of topics.  In this session, representatives from Lynda.com will go over ways Lynda can help improve softcore skills and build professional relationships.

Informational Table in the University Center – No Registration Required
Time: 11:00AM – 1:00PM
Audience: Everyone
Stop by and ask your questions!

How to Incorporate Lynda.com in the Classroom – Register Now
Time: 2:00PM – 2:45PM
Audience: Instructors
We all know about how Lynda.com has tons of software videos, but as an instructor you may be asking, “What does that matter to me? I already go over that content.” In this Session, we will go over different ways to incorporate Lynda in the classroom in a way that helps reinforce learning for the student and gives you, the instructor, more in-class time.

Get the “Scoop” on Learning with Lynda.com – Ice Cream Social – Register Now
Time: 3:00PM – 3:45PM
Audiences: Everyone
 Trying to learn a new skill? Lynda can help! In this afternoon session, students, faculty and staff are welcome to stop by and learn all about what Lynda has to offer. Spoiler Alert, it’s not just for class. Lynda can teach you about different skills for your small business. It can also help you become the EDM Producer that you day dream about in your 8:00am Marketing Class. Come for the Ice Cream, stay to start learning online, on your time!

If you have any questions or concerns regarding this event, please contact the Learning Technology Center.

Kaltura “My Media” Update in Desire2Learn

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The “My Media” Kaltura integration with Desire2Learn has received an update!  The new update offers an updated file upload tool, and also a direct link to CaptureSpace Lite.  The overall process has not changed – it is still accessed via the “Insert Stuff” tool.

Kaltura My Media – Old Interface

Kaltura My Media – New Interface

Note: If the videos need to be viewed full screen, please follow these steps: https://kb.wisc.edu/kaltura/page.php?id=78509

If you have any questions regarding this update – please contact UW-W Desire2Learn Support.

VBrick Rev Service Update (1/3)

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On Wednesday, January 3, ICIT deployed the VBrick Rev 7.18 update to our environment. In this latest update, the following fixes and enhancements will be included:

  • (New) Email Notifications.  Rev will now send you an automatic email once a video has been processed and uploaded.  The email will contain the title of the video and a link to access it.  Remember to check the video access settings before distributing the link to others.
  • (New) Online Video Editing.  Rev now includes the ability to edit video clips you have uploaded.  The editor requires no browser plug-ins, Flash or Java to use in supported browsers.
    • It contains the ability to cut multiple segments from the front, middle or end of the video.
    • Video Chapters enable you to set and jump to specific locations.  Additionally, you may define chapters by name or by slide title with a PowerPoint upload.
  • (New) Embedded Playlists.  Playlists may now be embedded in a similar fashion to an individual video asset.
  • (New) Video Filter Enhancements.  A new video filter interface has been implemented that includes multiple attributes that you may now search on to filter video searches.
  • (New) Podcast Support.  VBrick Rev now features podcast support through .mp3 file uploads.
  • (New) Teams Update and Enhancements.  Rev now has a new way to create better content organization using Teams.  This feature will allow you to organize content by functional area giving users a simpler method to ensure videos are seen by the right users.
  • (New) Content Expiration Rules.  Expiration rules may now be set on different content types.
  • (New) Media Menu Update.  The Media menu has been enhanced and divided into two sub-menu drop-downs Videos and My Teams.  Each of these options provide quick access to several video and team features.
  • (Updates) Bulk Edit.  Bulk editing in Rev has been updated to add the ability to bulk edit Teams video access features and expiration dates and rules.
  • (Updates) .mts file support.  Files created in the .mts format can now be uploaded to Rev.
  • (Fixed) Default Search Criteria.  Corrected minor problem where the default search for a video was by Title and not by Relevance.
  • (Fixed) Tool Tip on Hover for List View and Grid Button.  Provided an improvement on the videos page when hovering on the view icons to show a tool tip as to which view – list view or grid view – is being displayed.

What’s VBrick Rev?
Rev is a Media Management System that we have available for use by all Instructors and Students at UW-Whitewater.  You can access Rev by going to: http://streaming.uww.edu

If you have any questions or concerns about this update, please contact the Learning Technology Center.

Streaming.uww.edu (VBrick Rev) Scheduled Maintenance 1/3

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On Wednesday, January 3rd between 5am and 8am VBrick Rev (http://streaming.uww.edu) will be unavailable for scheduled maintenance.  During this outage, we will be deploying the latest version of VBrick Rev.

Videos hosted on Rev will be unavailable during this outage.

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

Streaming.uww.edu (VBrick Rev) Scheduled Maintenance 12/27

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On Wednesday, December 27th between 5am and 8am VBrick Rev (http://streaming.uww.edu) will be unavailable for scheduled maintenance.  During this outage, we will be deploying the latest version of VBrick Rev.

Videos hosted on Rev will be unavailable during this outage.

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

Canvas Course Design Feedback – Version 2

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As part of the Canvas transition, there has been a UW-System team working on developing different course template options.  The team recently surveyed faculty, staff and students from all UW-System campuses for their feedback on Version 1 of the Canvas course template. This feedback informed the development of Version 2 of the Canvas course template. They would like your input on Version 2.

Step 1: Watch the 8 minute video below.  It provides background on the project and a demonstration of the Canvas environment and template.  There is also a handout for the version 2 template available at: http://bit.ly/uwtemplatev2guide

Step 2: Test out Version 2 of the template.  Use the following login information to try it out.  Note: this is a “Student” role account.

Login with your Net-ID to get the access credentials

Step 3: Complete the survey by Friday, January 5th, 2018.  The survey link is available inside of the Canvas course accessed above.  Please allow for 10 – 20 minutes to complete the survey.

If you have any questions please contact the UW-W Learning Technology Center.

What is Canvas?

The UW-System Board of Regents has signed a contract with Instructure for their Canvas product.  Canvas will be replacing Desire2Learn as our next Learning Management System.  The earliest opportunity to migrate courses to Canvas is expected to be Fall 2018.  For more information about the overall project, go to http://go.uww.edu/canvas-transition