Category Archives: Weekly Bytes

D2L Dropbox: Tips and Tricks

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D2L’s dropbox tool allows for students to easily submit assignments to instructors electronically.  Here are some helpful tips to make uploading files to D2L hassle free!

Make uploading-handwritten-white-chalk-blackboard-drawing-download-bar-43659103sure the correct file is selected:  It sounds simple enough, but the easiest way to cause confusion is to accidentally submit your English paper to your Comm110 dropbox. Always double check that the file you selected is the one you want.

Don’t upload from your phone:  You may not have known this, but you can upload files from your phone to dropbox!  Uploading from your phone may seem convenient, especially when you’re in a rush and on the go, but it can be inconsistent. It’s always best to upload from a desktop or laptop with a stable internet connection. If you, or someone you know, doesn’t have access to one, check out our blog on Andersen Media Lab!

Don’t use special characters:  If you’re submitting a file from a Mac, there are someScreen Shot 2017-09-25 at 1.03.57 PM characters that you can use in filenames that you can’t use on Windows. You’re able to use these characters on a Mac, but if you tried to use them in Windows, you wouldn’t be able to even make the file. These characters are   \ / : * ? ” < > |.  The dropbox will not allow any of these characters to be in a filename. If one or more of them are, you will get an error message, and the file won’t upload. So when working on a Mac, be careful not to use special characters.

Make sure your file was uploaded:  After your file has been successfully uploaded to dropbox, you should immediately get an email receipt in your student email. If you check your email and there’s no receipt in the inbox, make sure to try and upload the file again.

If you run into problems trying to upload a file to a dropbox, please contact D2L Support.

Using LockDown Browser is easier than ever!

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What’s up, Warhawks? We’re already halfway done with the first month of the Fall 2017 semester!

Returning students have probably used LockDown Browser at least once during their college career, but for those of you who haven’t: LockDown Browser is a web browser, like Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox, but it only allows you to access Desire2Learn (D2L).

lockdownThe purpose of LockDown Browser is to block the ability to open new tabs or windows in order to discourage cheating while taking a quiz on D2L. Instructors can mark their quizzes in D2L to require LockDown Browser in order to open them.

Prior to this semester, students had launch LockDown Browser from their computer’s desktop, log into D2L, and then manually navigate to their course in order to open the quiz. This process has been simplified!

Now, all you have to do in order to take your quiz in LockDown Browser is:

  1. Open the quiz in your preferred web browser
  2. Click the blue “Launch LockDown Browser” button. (If the browser is not installed, you will be prompted to install it)
  3. Take the quiz

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The button launches LockDown Browser, logs you in, and automatically navigates to the quiz for you!

For more information on getting started with LockDown Browser, please visit LockDown Browser: Getting Started (Students).

Andersen Media Lab

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Have you heard about the Andersen Media Lab and the great features it has to offer? The Media Lab is located in the lower level of the Andersen library building in room L1008. It offers a large collection of both Mac and PC computers and free black and white printing. You can even send your print job straight from your smart phone or laptop. For more information on how to do that, click here: http://www.uww.edu/icit/services/printing-students

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Here are some of the many useful features you can find there:

Collaboratory Stations: These rooms are great places for group work! They have conference tables, SMART Boards, and projectors.

Color Printing: You can use purple points for color printing, poster printing, and lamination.

A/V Checkouts: Check out from the large collection of equipment including projectors, screens, cameras, microphones, and much more. You can even use the sound booth for audio projects.

Quiet Room: Because sometimes it can be hard to find a good, quiet spot to get your work done.

For more information on the General Access Labs, visit their site at: http://www.uww.edu/icit/services/ga-labs#tab_ServiceRequest

If you have any additional questions, feel free to contact the Media Lab.

FREE Antivirus and Office 365 for UW-Whitewater Students!

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Welcome all new or returning UW-Whitewater Students!

Our University offers many various tools, deals and offers to assist Students with their work through 4U! The 4U Program provides deals on Dell & Lenovo Hardware, Discounted Software (Windows 10, Adobe Creative Cloud, etc.), and more! Included in the program is FREE Symantec Antivirus for your Personal Computer, as well as FREE Microsoft Office 365 for up to 5 DEVICES (PC, Mac, IOS, & Android)!

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To Download Office 365, go to:

http://www.uww.edu/icit/4u/proplus

1. Click “Download Office 365 here“.

2. Log in with your NetID and Password.

3. Follow the on-screen installation.

(The link above provides Information, Guides and FAQ’s as well!)

Symantec_logo

To Download Symantec Antivirus, go to:

https://www.uww.edu/icit/4u/free-antivirus
1. Under “Download Symantec Antivirus“, Click either Windows 32 bit, Windows 64 bit, or Mac OS X, depending on your Computer.

2. Follow the on-screen installation.

(IF you already have Antivirus Software installed (including free trials), you will NEED to uninstall that software before installing the UW-Whitewater Symantec Software.)

If you have any questions or concerns regarding this, please contact the UW-W Helpdesk.

 

Stay Organized and Keep your important Documents in one place with Google Drive

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Welcome back to a new semester here at UW-Whitewater. As a student, you have access to a number of great resources to help you be a successful student here at UWW. One such resource is unlimited cloud storage with Google Drive. All you have to go is log-in using your NetID and password, and you will have access to all of the tools Google has to offer. Google Drive can be accessed via computer, tablet or smartphone, so you have access to your files wherever you are. Curious about what kind of tools are at your disposal? Here is a list of just a few applications that are at your finger tips:

Google Docs is a great way to collaborate with team members when working on notes, or papers.

Google Slides lets your ideas shine with a variety of presentation themes, hundreds of fonts, embedded video, animations and more.

Google Sheets lets you choose from a wide variety of budgets, schedules, and other pre-made spreadsheets.

Google Forms lets you run a survey or quickly create a team roster with a simple online form. Then check out the results, neatly organized in a spreadsheet.

For more information on other Google tools and applications please visit http://www.uww.edu/icit/services/google#tab_TrainingDocumentation

 

 

Final Post: Grades

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Hi Everyone!

The semester is coming to an end and Summer is right around the corner!

Before I leave you all I want to talk about Grades in D2L. It’s important to check your grades before the semester is over to make sure everything looks correct before professors submit your final grades. Once professors submit your grades they are final, and they cannot be adjusted.

Professors who post final grades to D2L can be found at the top of the Grades page in D2L, as shown below. CaptureNot all professors will use to D2L to post final grades. If you do not see your final grades in D2L they will be posted in WINS.

Also, be aware of a visual change in D2L. This will include icons and font. Nothing too major!

I hope you all have an easy finals week as well as an amazing Summer!

Thanks for your time!

MyDesire2Learn

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Hey everyone!

The end of the semester is coming to an end and many of us are scrambling to collect all the work that we have done over the course of the semester! If you are graduating or leaving the University, and have an ePortfolio, then it’s important to know about myDesire2Learn.

myDesire2Learn is a cloud-hosted ePortfolio that lets you import all your information from your ePortfolio in D2L.

To access myDesire2Learn log into D2L and click on the Export myDesire2Learn button on the right side of your D2L homepage.Capture

Next, a screen will appear that gives instructions on how Export your ePortfolio. You will first need to create a EduDentity account. When you have created your account and have returned to the D2L homepage, click on the Export to MyDesire2Learn button.capture 2

On the next page, click on the Add Items box. You can then select all the items you would like to export. After you have selected all the items you want, click Add. capture 4

Login to your EduDentity account on the pop-up screen. After you login the following screen will appear letting you know the status of your ePortfolio.

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After your ePortfolio has a status of complete you can login to your EduDentity account at https://www.mydesire2learn.com/d2l/login and your ePortfolio will be waiting for you, and you never have to worry about it going away!

If you have any questions regarding your ePortfolio please contact UW-W Desire2Learn Support.

Thanks for your time!

Did you know you have an ePortfolio?

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Hey everyone!

The end of the semester is coming to an end and many of us are scrambling to collect all the work that we have done over the course of the semester! The D2L ePortfolio is a tool which allows you to collect a number of artifacts and resources into one spot where you can easily view and manage them all.

To access your ePortfolio, go to the right hand side of your D2L homepage and clicks on Tools and then select ePortfolio. From there, you’ll be brought to your ePortfolio home page.tools

On your home page, you have a number of different resources, including a feed which shows you the resources that you’ve updated, worked on, or have been shared with you from other people. You can also Add files and Add links from this page.eportfoilio page

Under My Items, you see a list of the objects you’ve created within your ePortfolio. To view them, simply click on the desired artifact, or you can click on the drop down arrow at the end of their name where you can view them, edit them, copy them, share them, delete them, and add them to presentations or collections.

my items

Under the Explore tab, we can see the artifacts that have been shared with us from other people.

Lastly, under the Sharing Groups tab, you can create a sharing group which allows you to easily share things with multiple people without having to individually add each one. This allows sharing to be much more easy, quick and convenient .

If you have any questions regarding your ePortfolio please contact UW-W Desire2Learn Support.

Thanks for your time!

 

General Access Labs

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Hey Everyone!

This is about the time of the year when people really start to get stressed. Classes are starting to wind down and exams will be here before you know it. With all of this panic and confusion, it’s easy to forget the essentials like, what the school offers to help you in this time of need.

MG_7492 A popular example of forgotten luxuries is the General Access Labs! The general access labs are located in the basement of Andersen, or Andersen 1008 and McGraw room 19. They offer free black and white printing, for all of your end of year assignments. They have a mix of computers with all different types of programs and software to help you with your classroom assignments.

Did you know you can print from your personal computer or mobile device? UW-Whitewater students have the ability to print documents and files from personal computers and mobile devices in general access computer labs, simply use one of the following methods. (NOTE: Files larger than 25 MB cannot be printed using this method)

  1. Smartphone Method: Using your UWW.edu email account, attach your document(s) or file(s) to an email and send it to print@uww.edu. Once complete, you will receive an email with instructions on how to print. Use this method when printing from iOS or Android smartphone or tablet.
  2. PC/Mac Method: Connect the device to the campus network. Using your device’s web browser, go to https://labprint.uww.edu/MyPrintCenter. Login using your Net-ID, then upload your document(s) or file(s). This method allows you to adjust your printing options. Use this this method when printing from a Mac computer, or a Windowstablet or computer.

If you need help with this software or if you would like to print something in color or get it things laminated, the General Access Labs also contain the Media Lab.

This is where you can print in color and get things laminated, this also includes poster printing for anyone who wants to make their presentations as professional as can be. The Media Lab also offers A/V Checkouts where you can check out, projectors, screens, tablets, headphones, microphones and all sorts of other different audio and visual recording equipment.MG_7633

To check out this equipment go to av-checkouts.uww.edu and fill out the online request form. You can pick your equipment up in the Media Lab.

The general access labs also have Collab rooms for all of your group work needs. Rooms can be reserved for a maximum of three hours per use. Time may be extended if there are no other groups waiting to use the room. You can reserve a room by going to: http://www.uww.edu/reserve. See lab attendant upon arrival.

Their hours of operation are as follows:

hours

For more information about the general access labs/media lab please visit their website!

Thanks for your time!

D2L Account Settings and Profile

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Hey Everyone!

Did you know you can create a personal profile through the Profile tool in D2L? This feature is a great way to get to know other students that are in your class.

To access your profile click on your name in the top right corner and then click on Profile
“Profile”. Here you can enter information about your social networks, contact information, education and work, and personal details such as your birth date, hobbies, favorite things, and download a profile picture.

You can also edit your account settings. To access your account settings click on your name in the top right corner then click “Account Settings“. Here you can change account settings, Discussion settings and Emails settings.

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For more information or if you have any questions, contact UW-W Desire2Learn Support.

Thanks for your time!