Turning Technologies (Clicker) Info Sessions – October 20th

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turningtech_logoThe Learning Technology Center and Turning Technologies would like to invite you to join us for two great sessions.  Turning Technologies is our Student Response Systems (Clickers) Partner and will be on campus on Tuesday, October 20th to demonstrate the software and also answer any questions.  Session and signup information is listed below.  We hope to see you there on Tuesday!

Student Response Systems (Clickers) – How do I get started?
Date: Tuesday, October 20th 10:30am – 11:30am
Location: UC 264
Signup: http://my.uww.edu/signup/Registration/Details/14402

This session is geared towards instructors who are new to Student Response Systems (Clickers) and want to get started, or just learn more about them.  Come join us!  Light refreshments will be served.

Getting the Most out of Student Response Systems (Clickers)
Date: Tuesday, October 20th 12:00pm (Noon) – 1:00pm
Location: UC 264
Signup: http://my.uww.edu/signup/Registration/Details/14403

This session is geared towards existing Turning Technology users.  We will demonstrate some of the deeper features of the D2L integration.  Bring any of your questions or concerns along also!  Light refreshments will be served.

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

Snackable Series: D2L ePortfolio Basics

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eportfolioThe innovative use of technology in higher education continues to provide new possibilities for enhancing teaching and learning. The Learning Technology Center (LTC) Fall 2015 “Snackable Series” showcases three current approaches to leveraging technology to promote learning online.

Feel free to bring a lunch, and join us!

As the use of ePortfolios and an emphasis on authentic learning increases, so will the the importance of meaningful student learning artifacts. This workshops will address the basics of what ePortfolios are, assignments where they are particularly meaningful, and ways to showcase them in ePortfolios and capstone projects.

D2L ePortfolio Basics Sessions:
Wednesday, October 14, 2015: Noon to 1 p.m.
Location: iCIT Training Center, McGraw 112

Thursday, October 15, 2015: 11 a.m. to Noon
WebEx Link:  https://uww.webex.com/uww/j.php?MTID=m451860ec8bb0a9b54e36ed46d3aea781

To register for one or all of these “Snackable Series” sessions, please sign up at: http://signup.uww.edu Seating is limited.

Registration Open: 2015 Winter Institute for Online/Blended Teaching

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The Learning Technology Center is pleased to announce that registration is open for the winter session of Institute for Online/Blended Teaching.

If you need to design a new (or refresh an older) online or blended course, please consider participating in this unique opportunity to collaborate with other UW-Whitewater instructors and explore proven course design strategies and best practices.  This highly interactive workshop demonstrates teaching best practices using a variety of teaching methods and technology tools.  The structure of this course not only allows you to explore new teaching and course design methods, but it also enables you to participate in activities that provide you with experience in being an online “student.”

The session will consist of online components, face-to-face meetings on the Whitewater campus, and web conferencing sessions.  An afternoon orientation session will be held on December 4, and the institute will run through March 11, 2016.

All faculty and academic staff who will be teaching at UW-Whitewater during the 2015-2016 academic year are eligible to apply to attend. However, the workshop will be limited to 15 participants. Applications are due Monday, November 9, 2015.

For more details and registration, please visit the Online/Blended workshop blog at:http://blogs.uww.edu/workshops/ 

[RESOLVED] Error Message When Hosting WebEx Meetings in D2L

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RESOLVED: The WebEx integration with Desire2Learn should now be functioning correctly. Users should no longer receive a “Missing blockname parameter” error message when launching a WebEx meeting through D2L. Any questions or concerns should be sent to UW-W Desire2Learn Support.

ORIGINAL MESSAGE: Users have reported issues when trying to access WebEx meetings hosted in D2L. Users are able to schedule meetings, but when hosts click the “Prepare” or “Host” buttons to start a WebEx session, an error message that says “Missing blockname parameter” appears.

This issue has been reported, and technicians are actively working to resolve the situation as soon as possible. The current workaround is to schedule meetings using the web-based Cloud version of WebEx. Meetings can be scheduled by logging into http://uww.webex.com.

We will update this announcement once the issue has been resolved.  If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Learning Technology Center.

Upcoming Streaming Video Changes

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We are currently in the process of deploying a new video solution, VBrick Rev.  This solution will replace our existing streaming video solution, which is currently located in Madison.  Starting in October, we will be contacting individual users to start migrating content to the new platform.  Some of the key features of this new solution:

  • Self Service Videos.  As an instructor, you will be able to upload videos directly to the system.  The system will then automatically convert the videos into the correct streaming formats for the best viewing experience by your students.
  • Support for Student Videos.  Students in your courses will be able to upload pre-recorded videos for easy viewing by other classmates.  Webcam recording is not included in this solution.
  • Restricted Videos.  This system will allow you to restrict videos only to students enrolled in your course.  Students will need to authenticate with their Net-ID in order to view the videos.
  • Video Portal.  Instructors will be able to login to a portal and at a quick glance see all of the videos produced and associated with your account.

We do understand that some of our users have a large video collection.  We will be working with you to make this migration as seamless and painless as possible.  If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Learning Technology Center.

TurningPoint 5 – Bad Gateway Error

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TurningPoint 5 instructors that are utilizing ResponseWare may get a “502 Bad Gateway” error message at random.  This is a known issue that TurningPoint is working rapidly to repair.  The issue appears to happen the most for Mac users, but may also impact PC users.

Screen Shot 2015-09-15 at 2.00.18 PM

Unfortunately, there is no work around for this issue.  In the interim, we would suggest that you set a “Reserved Session ID” for each class.  This will allow you to rapidly reconnect using the same session ID.

We will update this announcement once the issue has been resolved.  In the mean time if you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Learning Technology Center.

 

Welcome to the Fall 2015 Semester!

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Welcome back to the Fall 2015 Semester!  While there was not a big Desire2Learn (D2L) upgrade this summer, we were busy with a number of changes.

Amy Williams is now the new Desire2Learn Site Administrator.  She will be available to help answer any questions and support issues.  Please continue to use the D2L Support Form to report your problems.

There were also a few significant fixes for D2L:

  • Content items made in files such as Articulate, Adobe Captivate, iSpring, and Adobe Presenter now display correctly. Service Pack 20 corrected an issue where these files displayed very small.
  • Images saved to discussion posts no longer appear as broken links.
  • YouTube videos are now able to be embedded into HTML Content pages using the Insert Stuff tool.

For a full list of fixes from the summer, see: D2L Service Update (6/25).

The following new service offerings and enhancements are also available:

  • Cisco WebEx: D2L Integration
  • Important/Exporting Calendars.  Documentation on both importing and exporting on our Instructional Resources wiki.
  • A detailed explanation of what integrations with D2L are available, and how to request new integrations can be found at: D2L Integrations.
  • The D2L homepage now contains an “Instructor Tutorials” widget underneath the “Instructor Resources” widget. Here you can find links to new and updated tutorials found on our Instructional Resources wiki.

We have numerous resources available if you need assistance with D2L.

If you have not already done so, don’t forget to request for your Fall 2015 Courses!  Courses requested by 3pm on business days will be available the following morning.

Good luck with the beginning of the semester! If you have any questions or concerns regarding any of these points, please do not hesitate to contact UW-W Desire2Learn Support.

Recent Browser Changes Regarding Java

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Version 45 and newer of the Google Chrome browser, and all versions of the new Microsoft Edge browser (included in Windows 10) no longer support java plugins.  If you have activities and material in your course that utilizes java, please tell your students that they should use an alternative browser, such as Firefox, Internet Explorer or Safari.

The Kaltura Screen Recorder will not be supported in the latest versions of Google Chrome and Edge.  Kaltura is working towards a future solution for these browsers.

We would suggest that you investigate moving away from any material that does require java to avoid issues in the future.  It’s only a matter of time before the other browsers follow the trend and drop support for java.  If you have further questions regarding this, please contact UW-W D2L Support.

WebEx Service Changes for Students

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UB6_QcbN_400x400This Fall, the UW-Whitewater campus will be using a new, cloud-based version of WebEx. With the new WebEx Meeting center, students can have small group meetings of up to 8 participants with other students and external guests. You have the ability to use computer/VoIP (voice over IP) audio when you are connecting. To get started using WebEx go to the new cloud-hosted WebEx site https://uwwstudents.webex.com.

If you would like more information on the new cloud-based WebEx solution, go to http://www.uww.edu/icit/services/webex.