In a recent article on Respondus 4.0 for Exams, it showed how easy it was to insert and add media files and attachments to an exam. Take a read to see the steps to do this.
As stated in the article, use the Media Wizard in Respondus 4.0 to insert your media. It’s easy to use, and the possibilities are limited only by your creativity.
In a 2011 national study, the EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research (ECAR), analysed the relationship between students and technology and how the university institution,improved the availability and effectiveness of technology on campus.
See the 2011 ECAR National Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology (pdf document)
This infographic provides a pictorial view of the data of student perspective on technology usage in higher education.
The university’s license of the Respondus LockDown Browser allows faculty to offer another method for secure online testing for students. This secure online testing means that students will not be able to print, copy and paste information, access another web sites unless it is part of a quiz question, or access other applications on their computers.
When an assessment is started, students are locked into it until they submit it for grading. For faculty and students who need to access a test/quiz using the LockDown Browser while using a screen reader such as JAWS, all function F keys and tab keys will be locked.
Instructions for Faculty:
Once in the test/quiz page, students using screen readers must be made aware of the following:
To provide an easy method of taking the test, faculty should do the following:
Instructions for Students:
Once in the test/quiz page, students using screen readers should be aware of the following:
To read the page students will need to use:
Features of the Respondus LockDown Browser:
We encourage faculty and students who will need assistive technology support with the Respondus LockDown Browser to contact:
| Megan O’Rourke M.A., M.S., COMS Coordinator – Assistive Technology Services |
Instructional Designers Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning |
| Phone: 417-836-8813 | Phone: 417-836-3059 |
| mailto:meganorourke@missouristate.edu | mailto: instructionaldesign@missouristate.edu |
| http://www.missouristate.edu/equity/ats/ | http://www.missouristate.edu/fctl/instructionaldesign.htm |
This is an important announcement that we ask all Missouri State University faculty who have course content still on Blackboard 8.0 to play close attention.
Important Information about Blackboard Learn 9.1:
Missouri State University upgraded to Blackboard Learn 9.1 on Saturday, May 21, 2011. Faculty members can log in to Blackboard 8.0 to access previous course content until January 31, 2012. If you desire to retain content from Blackboard 8.0 courses you taught previously, you must migrate content from your Blackboard 8.0 courses to Blackboard Learn 9.1. Instructions for completing this process can be found on the page ”migrating your course content from Blackboard 8.0 to Blackboard Learn 9.1“.
To make this transition as seamless as possible, Computer Services offers one-on-one assistance during “Build Your Course” workshops scheduled every Friday from 1:30 – 5:00 pm in Library 205. No registration is necessary for these workshops; simply attend when convenient.
Information on migrating your course content from Blackboard 8.0 to Blackboard Learn 9.1.
If you need any support on migrating your content, contact us at InstructionalDesign@missouristate.edu or Computer Services Helpdesk.
Here at Missouri State University, Adobe Connect is the preferred tool for web conferencing. Adobe Connect can be used for multiple situations such as:
As with all web-based presentations, there are preliminary arrangements that presenters and host of these meetings must put in place towards having a successful and meaningful meeting. Here are some ideas and guidelines that I believe will help faculty and staff as they develop their own web conferences and webinars.
Guidelines:
As with all presentations, practice, practice, and practice. By using the above suggestions and guidelines, this will afford you the opportunity to making your presentation real for your participants as if it were a face-to-face meeting.
Happy web-conferencing!
With the billions and billions of pages of information on the Internet and millions more added each year, it’s hard to keep up with this information overload. Sometimes when I am trying to find information on a particular topic, I spend hours drifting from one site to the next. I enjoy this on occasion, when I have time to just bounce from one great resource to the next, however, many times I don’t have the luxury of time on my side. I want to find the information in a timely manner. A social bookmarking service is a great way to save links, add a description, organize them with key words or ‘tags’ and then share them with students, colleagues, or anyone in the world with the same interest.
There are several great reasons for using an online (social) bookmarking service. One, it doesn’t matter what computer or browser you are using, your bookmarks are always with you. Before online bookmarking, I had many different lists of favorites or bookmarks. I never knew which computer or browser had the website I needed. With online bookmarking, it’s easy to find my resources.
Secondly, the ‘social’ part of these online bookmarking services promotes collaboration among other professionals, your community or students. This tool makes it easy to post research resources and information your gather for others to explore. For example, I did a search on Diigo on ‘social bookmarking’. It showed my favorites that were tagged social bookmarking. Then I clicked on the popular link and it showed the top bookmarked sites for social bookmarking that others have saved to their favorites (totaling 3042). Many times people will include a short description. This helps me sift through all of them and look at the resources that fit my needs. Delicious has similar features.
Another great feature of online social bookmarking is the ease of saving a particular site to your account. When you sign up for one of the services, you can download an icon to your browser’s toolbar.
To Save the Website to your Diigo Bookmarks: Choose Bookmark this Page
When you save a particular site to your favorites, you use the TAG button to organize it within your account. TAGS are a means for individuals to organize and describe resources. (See Wikipedia on Folksonomy) They are one word descriptors or keywords that you can assign to your bookmarks to help you organize them. You also can add a short description about the site so that you can quickly look at your favorites (or anyone else’s favorites) to narrow down your search.
Let’s say I am visiting the MSU Instructional Design Website and I want to include this resource to my Diigo account, I simply click on the Diigo icon and a little window appears.
Here is where I can enter a description, notes and the tags I want to use to organize this page.
Visit our Instructional Design Diigo Library to see what favorites we have saved!
http://www.diigo.com/user/msu-id
Social Bookmarking Applications
Two Top Social Bookmarking Applications:
Diigohttp://www.diigo.com
Delicious http://www.delicious.com/
Diigo has another great feature! You can add sticky note or highlight websites! Stay tuned to the next Tech Talk Blog Entry to see how these tools can be used with your students and colleagues.
Blackboard announced today (7/1/2011) that they would be acquired by Providence Equity Partners.
Providence Equity is the part owner of Education Management Corporation, a for-profit college company that runs Argosy University and the Art Institutes, and it owns Edline, which offers course-management software for elementary and secondary schools.
The acquisition marks Providence’s third education deal in recent years. The private equity firm acquired educational services provider Study Group Pty Ltd. last year. It joined with Goldman Sachs Capital Partners and Leeds Equity Partners to acquire for-profit college operator Education Management Corp., which sold shares to the public in 2009.
Over last month various reports from the Chronicle and other news media have indicated that Providence and another equity financial form where interested in acquiring Blackboard. With Blackboard World (Blackboard’s User Conference) coming in July, this news will undoubtably be a leading news on Blackboard.
Read other these interesting news items leading up to the acquisition.
http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2011/06/15/report-providence-leads-blackboard-bids.html
The next question is what does this hold for the future of Blackboard and its likely impact on educational institutions.
We stay tuned.
As Instructional Designers working with faculty from a wide cross-section of disciplines, we find ourselves constantly discovering new methods and techniques using technology in teaching and learning, as well as dealing with a huge data of technology information that we know can be helpful for face-to-face, blended, and online teaching modalities.
We are going to use this medium and article to present some of the information we think will be helpful and supportive within teaching with technology. Let’s begin!
RESOURCES:
Experts Wiki:
The Computer Services department has created and expanded their Experts Wiki site to include a wide-ranging amount of information on Blackboard Learn 9.1 on documentation for faculty and students. Found at http://experts.missouristate.edu/display/bb9/Home, the Wiki site provides step-by-step details on using many of the feautures within Blackboard 9.1 that is very helpful for faculty and students as they navigate Blackboard based on their roles. As the Instructional Designers meet with faculty, we encourage them to use this as a strong resource tool as they build out their course in Blackboard.
Respondus 4.0 Test Tool:
Respondus is a Windows-based software tool used for creating exams for several different online educational systems, including Blackboard. By utilizing test questions or test pools from book publishers, as well as your own test from a Word document, faculty will be able to easily format their test questions in their Word document, export it into Respondus to further publish it directly to your Blackboard course for student’s assessment.
Within the Wiki site, detailed explanations are providing showing how to use Respondus for exams. Because the university has a campus site license for the software, it is freely available for all faculty to download to their office computer to begin creating and editing exams and surveys. Details on installing and configuring the software is provided as well as a great quick start and user guide.
Adobe Presenter 7:
The Adobe Presenter software is used to create flash-enabled presentations from Microsoft PowerPoint. It allows for audio narrations, animations, video, and quizzes to be added into PowerPoint, and then published as a flash or PDf file for easy access to your content by the students. We are experiencing some challenges with installing the software on new computers that have been formatted as a 64bit computer, because Adobe Presenter only supports 32bit technology. However, the software should install on 64bit computers that have 32bit supported Microsoft Office. You can find information on downloading and installing the Adobe Presenter 7 sofwtare on the Experts Wiki site to address those problems.
ePortfolio:
In a recent conversation the Instructional Designers had, we discussed ways we could support students developing an ePortfolio of their work as they progressed through a particular course. As we looked at various technology that could be easily incorporated by both faculty and students in creating the resources necessary for this ePortfolio, we itemized the items that the ePortfolio should support. These were:
We have identified at least two tools that we will be testing in the coming weeks and will let you know of our progress on this project.
Software Tools:
To say which software tool is perfect for faculty and students to use in the development of multimedia is a daunting task because of the multtplicity of tools in the market place, the cost associated with acquiring them, and the various learning that needs to take place in using them. The Instructional Designers have identified some tools with help from colleges that we have started to research and test. As we go through the list we need to keep in mind the support and training needs that must take place with whichever tools are chosen. Over the next month, the Instructional Designers will be hosting some virtual training events via Adobe Connect on some of these tools that are already being used on campus. We will be advertising these events, as well as recording them for archival purposed. Stay tuned to the dates and times for the training.
Using Clickers:
As you may have heard the university has implemented a new Clicker technology from a company called TurningTechnolgoies. More will be said as we get closer to Fall semester on training, implementation and student usage. The clicker works seemlessly with PowerPoint as you integrate responses abd interactie questions as part of experiential learning in the classroom.
Other News:
Problem with pedagogy in Web 2.0: (from Campus Technology)
In a time of knowledge stability, teach; in a time of rapid change in knowledge, learn… Clearly, we have left the time of knowledge stability and entered a time of incredibly rapid change. Web 2.0, a term coined in 2004, is a description of the new Web architecture, but is also a historical marker between the era of comfortable stability and the era of unsettling change. Many in higher education say we have accordingly turned to learning and away from teaching, but in fact we haven’t.
Is the iPad ready to Replace the printed Textbooks? (from Campus Technology)
Students would be ready to buy their own iPads for use on campus if more of the electronic textbooks they needed were available, according to surveys out of Abilene Christian University.
Making Education Accessible: (from Campus Technology)
Accessibility for all students is a key concern in IT in higher education, one tied to the core mission of education and underscored by recent federal activity reinforcing the need for compliance in all aspects of technology implementations. Yet institutions are scratching their collective heads over how to make digital information accessible to students with visual and auditory impairments while keeping technology at the cutting edge.
Wrapping Up
Well, that’s it. Moving forward we will occassionally use this method to present news on various technology and resources that hopefully will be of help as you use technology in teaching and learning. Let us know in your comments the kind of information you would like us to post. Thanks for reading!!
You may not be an advanced Adobe Acrobat Professional user, but you want to be able to create an interactive PDF document for your class. Adobe Acrobat Professional Versions 9 & 10 has lots of options that can help you create the type of document you want. All of the tips listed below are designed specifically for beginners. If that’s you, give them a try.
To purchase the software for work, see Helpdesk for more information.
Videos: Review Adobe Acrobat Professional 9 and X
Notes:
Save PDF files as Word documents with improved preservation of formatting and layouts. Relative positioning of tables, images, and even multicolumn text is preserved, as well as page, paragraph, and font attributes.
Tip #2: – Save PDF to Table to Excel
Notes:
Expedite reuse of content by converting PDF document data to Excel file formats. Even select a portion of a PDF page and export it to an editable format.
Tip #3: – Create your own Portfolio
Notes:
Quickly assemble a wide range of file types — including audio, video, and rich media content — into a polished, organized PDF Portfolio using the new PDF Portfolio Wizard.
Tip #4: – Merge Multiple PDF Documents
Notes:
Converted documents flow into a single PDF as sequential pages
Tip #5: – Insert Multimedia in PDF Documents
Notes:
Quickly bring ideas to life through rich, interactive documents. Insert audio, Flash Player compatible video, and interactive media into PDF files, for seamless playback in Adobe Reader X or Reader 9.
Tip #6 – Add Native files to your PDF document
Notes:
Make sure source files are simple to locate, access, and archive. Attach them to any PDF document in their original, native formats, ensuring a more complete document of record.
Tip #7 – Form Wizard
Notes:
Easily create dynamic, fillable Interactive PDF forms from paper or existing electronic files. Automatically convert static fields to fillable ones with the Form Wizard.
Distribute forms, track status, and compile results to expedite more accurate information collection.
Streamline data reporting and analysis. Automatically compile form data in a single document or view.
Tip #8 – Protect PDF files and documents
Notes:
Use passwords to help control access to your PDF documents. Apply permissions to restrict printing, copying, or altering.
Use redaction tools to permanently delete sensitive information, including specific text and illustrations.
Tip # 9 – Set Accessibility
1. Use Adobe Acrobat Professional to open an existing PDF document.
2. Select Advanced > Accessibility > Accessibility Full Check
3. Select Start Checking
Notes:
The Accessibility Checker can help you identify areas of your documents that may be in conflict with Adobe’s interpretations of the referenced guidelines. However, the Accessibility Checker does not check all accessibility guidelines and criteria, including those in such referenced guidelines, and Adobe does not warrant that your documents will comply with any specific guidelines or regulations.
Tip #10 – Add Bookmarks and Set Optimal Viewing Mode
For Initial Screen View:
Notes:
Maximize your screen for optimal reading and presentation of PDF files with the new Reading Mode. Menus and panels disappear, and a transparent floating toolbar appears, to help you navigate PDF files more easily.
Tip #11 – PDF Document Reviews and Commenting
1. Use Adobe Acrobat Professional to open an existing PDF document.
2. Click Comments > Add Sticky Notes, Highlighter tools, lines and stamps
3. Save and send to colleagues for review
Notes:
Review and mark up PDF files using a complete set of familiar commenting tools, including sticky note and highlighter tools, lines, and stamps.
In the final Provost Communiqué for Spring 2011 academic year, a faculty was featured in the provost chat section. This faculty will be teaching a business course, on negotiation, mediation and arbitration in fall 2011. The faculty stated that one of the main goals for the course is to maintain the active learning nature of the course. By incorporating negotiation role plays, students would be able to practice their skills via Adobe Connect and then uploading the archive of their discussion to Blackboard.
How can Adobe Connect support this type of event? Adobe Connect is a collaborative tool that is able to provide support for synchronous and asynchronus meetings using two-way communication between participants on both VoIP and telephone audio over the internet. Think Skype. But because the university has a site license, faculty and students are not constrained by cost, or number of participants, and have the ability to share documents, video, audio, desktop, and a interactive whiteboard to conduct virtual classes and create meetings. By creating a meeting room, the faculty is able to provide a meeting space where both students and faculty can “meet” to conduct class meetings, discussions, chats, notes, Q&A, class tutorials, interactive presentations with polls and tests, plus have the ability to record and archive their “meeting” to be later uploaded to Blackboard.
Many faculty at Missouri State University are already utilizing this collaborative tool for class tutorials, problem-solving sessions, discussions and Q&A, and for viewing archived presentations. The above faculty featured in the provost chat will be able to enhance the online experience for his students by creating distinct breakout rooms where students will be able to meet at a time convenient to them and hone their negotiation skills while recording. Once the negotioation has been archived, the faculty will be able to insert a link within Blackboard so that other students can listen to the negotiation and then provide their feedback via the discussion boards.
In the last post (April 26th, 2011) on this blog, we talked about Adobe Presenter that is presentation tool that works seemlessly with PowerPoint. Adobe Presenter allows for your PowerPoint presentation to be saved as a Flash file or PDF file, that is easily inserted into Adobe Connect for your document presentation. With Adobe Presenter, Adobe Connect is able to handle various media types and as well as screen and file sharing so that students are able to present their own findings to the virtual classroom, and be a part of an engaged learning community.
If you are interested in finding out how this technology could support your teaching and provide opportunities for your students to showcase their learning, contact us at the Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning (FCTL).