SCC LMS Blog

Mac Snow Leapord - D2L Issues

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:21:00 +0000

We've had a report that Apple's new operating system, Snow Leopard, is crashing the Respondus Lockdown Browser for D2L quizzes.

If you are using D2L Quizzes, requiring the Respondus Lockdown Browser, and know students are using the Macintosh OS, suggest they plan on taking quizzes from another computer (on campus) or delay their upgrade until the semester is over.

Spring 2010 Course Requests

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:27:00 +0000

The Faculty Request Interface, FRI, has been updated with a link to your Spring 2010 courses. This means you can NOW make your course requests for the spring semester and the new course shells will be created overnight. Go to http://losrios.edu/ess (Employee Self Service).

The official course request is completed when you click the Submit Request button and see the confirmation that the course/s will be created overnight. Student enrollment will not happen until 5 days before the start of classes, or about January 12, 2010.

If you want to see or email enrolled or waitlisted students for spring, use the Online Grading System - http://inside.losrios.edu/.

Students in Safari 4 can't see linked content set to open in a new window

noreply@blogger.com (Jory) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 20:37:00 +0000

Students attempting to view links that are set to open in a new page may experience problems viewing the linked content if they are using the Safari 4 browser with the default security settings. Below is an explanation of the problem and proposed solutions:

When clicking on a content link that is set to open the page in a new window (not inside the D2L frame) the default installation of Safari is set to block pop-up windows. This prevents the links from opening in a new window. The result is that the D2L screen appears to "blink" (as the page refreshes) but there is nothing in the D2L content frame and there is no new window displaying the linked web page.

At this point, we know of two solutions to this problem:

1) Access the Safari preferences, and on the Security tab, un-check the option to "block pop-up windows."

2) If the student does not want to un-check the option to block pop-up windows, they can force D2L to display the external link in a new window by clicking the "un-dock this page" icon located near the top of the empty (blank) D2L content frame after they initially clicked on the content link.

Internet Explorer 7 and the latest versions of Firefox do not appear to have this problem with the default security settings.

FERPA - Student Confidentiality

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 22:26:00 +0000

There have been several instances this semester where student record information was inappropriately released to third parties by email or phone. We have developed the attached FERPA Guidelines for Faculty and Staff that provide specific information regarding the rules that apply to the release of student information. Copies will be distributed to all employees.

I would like to point out three important guidelines.

All requests for the release of student information (enrollment status, transcripts, etc.) should be channeled to my office for processing. This is the central location that houses all student requests to withhold the release of information.
In most cases, information should never be shared by phone – we have no way of identifying who we are speaking with. If you have a business need to release information to a student that is specific to their personal record, please contact me so that we can discuss ways in which we can ensure the security of their records in terms of establishing proper identification before releasing such information (student’s no longer live in the area).
Parents do not automatically have a right to their child’s educational records. Please defer all of these requests to my office for processing. Students must provide their parents with a written release, authorizing them access to their student records. These requests are also centrally located in my office.

Thank you for your cooperation!!

Catherine Fites
Dean, Enrollment and Student Services
Sacramento City College

Enrolling TAs

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 21:53:00 +0000

Instructors can enroll Teaching Assistants (interns, IAs or student help) for Discussions or for Grading. There are two "roles" with different permissions. The TA Discuss is allowed to read and post to the discussion areas, the TA Grader can see the gradebook and not post in other areas of the course.

Enroll a TA using the Course Home Instructor Links Widget > Add Students by IDs which is a short cut to the Edit Course > Self Registration > Add Participant path.

Search for the TA by name, email or employee id number, click the checkbox to the left of the name, (ignore the section list presented) and click the Enroll button.

If your course has several SECTIONS combined into one D2L course, the TA roles will see what they have permission to see. The TA Grader can use the Grades link, then choose View by Sections > click Apply.

Sometimes I have enrolled someone in the class and in haste, enrolled them as "Student" instead of "TA Grader." From the Classlist link, find the name, click the checkbox to the left of the name and roll your mouse over the icons to find the Role Switch icon (looks like a tiny id card). Click and choose another role for this user. Do NOT switch roles for students who are taking your class for a grade!

Update on Turnitin & D2L Issues

noreply@blogger.com (Jory) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 17:47:00 +0000

The TurnItIn hotfix from D2L installed successfully this morning. The update to D2L should prevent new submissions from getting stuck “In-Progress”. There are however, still some existing submissions stuck “In-Progress”. We are waiting for TurnItIn to make an update to their internal system that will resolve these. D2L is helping to coordinate this and they are pushing for this to happen today.

Dropbox - Reading assignments online

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 05:11:00 +0000

Many instructors have asked how to just view student assignments in the dropbox without collecting them and downloading. Dagne Tedla (Political Science) would not take my first answer as "the law of the land." So we experimented, and uploaded versions including a Word document, an RTF, PDF and a Text file. Seems that all these files really download although the TXT and PDF sometimes are viewable in the browser. We also tried using the Dropbox Comment field where students can leave a "note" with their submission. D2L requires a file to be added before the Comment is submitted. We did not test the word count limits for the comment box, but this was our preferred method for online viewing without downloading. Think of a creative way for students to have a small image file to always upload so they can add their assignment just as comments. Maybe a Google Image Search for a cartoon character that gives them confidence. Each time they submit a paper as comment, they will also upload the cartoon image. It will be important that student keep copies of their work as an MS Word document until the end of the semester.

We also tested the idea of using a Moderated Discussion Forum to collect assignments In this tool they will have the WYSIWYG editor for formatted text. But, students do not see their submission after the initial post to a moderated forum. So there is no confirmation of submitting the assignment as there is with the Dropbox. This technique will create more questions from students.

Breaking News from Folsom Lake College Web 2.0 workshop: Paula Haug (Communication, FLC) uses the Long Answer question type in Quizzes for students to submit assignments. They can type and format responses using the WYSIWYG editor or copy text from Word document to the answer box. Student work is always available online without downloading and instructor comments are left for individual students with a grade.

Hotfix to resolve some Turnitin issues as of 10/1

noreply@blogger.com (Jory) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 21:36:00 +0000

D2L has notified Los Rios IT staff that they have a "hotfix" ready that should resolve a number of the bugs users have been experiencing with Turnitin plagiarism detection in D2L. This hotfix code will be loaded into the D2L server at 7:00 a.m. tomorrow, 10/1/09. This will not require system downtime. Users who continue to experience problems with Turnitin after this hotfix is implemented should contact the Los Rios District Help Desk at (916)568-3012 or lrohelp@losrios.edu.

Disaster Preparedness

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 21:23:00 +0000

Profhacker's blog offered tips for "What to Do When Your Course Management System Goes Down" -- No, don't panic, I'm not predicting anything here. But the tips are worth considering for any problem ranging from local laptop issue to complete system failure. Other blog posts here are organized into categories marked in the Tag Cloud: collaboration, learning goals, mindfulness, paperless, pedagogy, time ... and more. Thanks to Jeff Karlsen (Library) for this URL.

"No College" list on My Home Page

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 23:47:00 +0000

Faculty are reporting some of their classes are listed under No College - Fall 2009 instead of Sacramento City College - Fall 2009.

We were told this is a glitch in the nightly enrollment update process that causes a class to be temporarily listed under No College. This will not affect your students ability to access your ACTIVE course, even while it is listed under No College. The problem should resolve itself within 24-48 hours.

NavBars - How to add links to Classlist or Dropbox

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 21:11:00 +0000

This post is a tip on how to add links or how to remove links to resources you are not using in your D2L courses. The SCC template was adjusted to provide links to major areas. Many faculty are building course content with links to specific discussion boards, quizzes or dropbox folders. However, in developing a course, faculty need access to these links to create forums, folders and quizzes.

Goto Edit Course > NavBars > SCC brand NavShell link opens the Edit Navigation Bar page. The tabs and graphic reflect the 4 areas of the top of the screen. Your course NavBar is the BOTTOM LEFT and BOTTOM RIGHT.

Click the Bottom Left tab label to see the list of Inactive Links and the list of Current Active Links. Inbetween these boxes are two move buttons, move from inactive to active or move from active to inactive. The list of active links can be modified with the UP and DOWN buttons.

There is a Preview button to confirm your changes. Use the SAVE button once you are happy with the order of links.

If you are NOT using D2L tools, remove the links from your course NavBars to minimize student confusion.

Flex Workshops - Fall 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 23:12:00 +0000

Distance Education and Instructional Development will be presenting the following workshops:
Wednesday, August 19th

Desire2Learn Early Adopters Drop-In
10:30 am to 12 noon - LR 141
Adobe Acrobat
1:00 pm to 2:30 pm - LR 141
Get Ready, Get Set, Get D2L! Newbies Welcome!
3:00 pm - 4:30 pm - LR 105

Thursday, August 20th

Desire2Learn Roundtable — Learn from the Pros!
10:30 am - 12 noon - RS 269

D2L System Offline

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 22:37:00 +0000

Planned system maintenance is scheduled for Wednesday, August 12th, from 7:30 am to 11 am. Minor updates with details to follow.

Textbook Rep Is Your Friend

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 21:41:00 +0000

Recently we've been troubleshooting a textbook testbank problem for one of our instructors. Lo and behold, calling textbook Faculty Tech Support line was incredibly helpful. When all else fails or the struggle drones on and on ...

Suggestion #1) Call your textbook rep and ask for the tests to be converted to D2L format. They will process and give you the .ZIP files for uploading into D2L.

Suggestion #2) Go online to the pubisher site with the ISBN number for your textbook and download the Bb course file with the tests included. This file would be like the Bb Archive files imported into D2L, and you can choose to just use the test items.

Suggestion #3) Use the online site to create tests and download as Bb v6 or WebCT. These >ZIP files might import into D2L or import into Respondus. (Except that our publisher's export is currently broken and the package is not including all the required files so importing to D2L or Respondus will fail. This tidbit is only available if you call the tech support team, no notice was posted on the website.)

Keep the textbook Tech Support number handy – and call them ASAP when you have problems with their content and materials or web site. They have resources, staff and time to do the conversions for you.

Add Email Link, Subject and Body

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 17:52:00 +0000

This is an HTML code snipet that you can copy and paste into any D2L content item or news item. You will need to be in the CODE view to paste and then edit to personalize for your course and use. Change the email address to be your email (campus or other account), then edit the text for the subjectline and body. Students need to be using their home/work computer where an email client (Outlook, Mail, Eudora) will open automatically filling in these fields. If students are using campus computers, give them details on how to address the message to you - they will use copy and paste into the appropriate fields.

<a title="" href="mailto:YOUREMAIL@scc.losrios.edu?subject=Email is --so 1990's&body=Grandma still does email :-)">Send me message now</a>
Send email to YOUREMAIL@scc.losrios.edu
Subject: Email is --so 1990's
Message begins: Grandma still does email :-)

Email Fall Students ??

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 20:06:00 +0000

Enrollment for fall classes is a month away. If you want to reachout now and contact your future students by email, remember that the Online Grading System (Socrates) has a Contact Students tab for each roster. You can send email to enrolled students or students on a waitlist.

Enrollment is automated and students will appear in D2L 5 days before classes begin. (5 days before the full semester, 5 days before the second 8 weeks, 5 days before the third 6 weeks ...)

Faculty will need to make their classes Active so students will see a link.

Los Rios Blackboard goes offline tonight 6/30

noreply@blogger.com (Jory) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 23:23:00 +0000

Tonight the Blackboard servers go dark for good. If you have not already downloaded your Bb course materials, you have only a few hours left to do so. As they say, parting is such sweet sorrow...

User Progress - What are students viewing

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 17:42:00 +0000

Instructors can view activity within their course using Edit Course > View User Progress > Choose User > Print > select areas for review (Content, Discussion, Dropbox, Quizzes) and click the Next button. Then collapse areas in content then use the Print button at the bottom of the window. View or Print or PDF this page in Landscape mode.

Branding Course Colors on June 24

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 22:30:00 +0000

Maybe you have noticed that the generic heading was on the summer courses, not the SCC red and gold. The course look will be updated on Wednesday, June 24th. Do no be alarmed.

If you want the Los Rios look, use the Edit Course > NavBars. In this list changing the active navigation bar is not intuitive - The Red X and the Green Check show the current status - and are BUTTONS so you can click the X for a different navbar to make it the active one.

Unintended consequences of disabling PAGER ACCESS during a quiz - 6/22

noreply@blogger.com (Jory) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 20:51:00 +0000

Today we learned that if an instructor has set up a D2L quiz and checked the box to "disable pager access" during the quiz, students who end up with a quiz "attempt in progress" (e.g., they did not click "submit" before closing the quiz, or clicked "save" but never "submit") will be unable to use the pager in any of their other classes until their quiz attempt is either submitted (which faculty can do on behalf of a student) or deleted (which faculty can also do). Please be aware of this as you set up your quiz settings and also if you allow "attempts in progress" to linger in your class! -JH

More issues with importing tests - 6/18

noreply@blogger.com (Jory) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 02:04:00 +0000

There are still instances of test not converting properly from Blackboard since our 6/3 D2L upgrade. There are reports of some T/F answers having this: {term not found: QuestionCollection.Shared.lbl}. D2L has identified this as a bug, and we are working to test the fix and get it into production as soon as possible.

Publisher Test Banks

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 17:03:00 +0000

Norman Lorenz (Early Childhood Education) was working with publisher provided test banks in .ZIP format based on Blackoard. Uploading the full .zip file generated errors. Norman unpacked the zip file to find each chapter test bank in another zip file. Uploading the individual chapter zip files into new sections worked fine.

Corrupted Submissions

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 15:39:00 +0000

Where there is a will, there is an entrepreneur. Here is a web site offering students corrupted files for a fee. This is promoted as a way to "buy time" to finish an assignment using Word, Powerpoint and Excel.

MP3 Audio Files - Not playing

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 21:59:00 +0000

We brought over an mp3 audio file, 50 seconds long, from Bb to D2L and the file is there, but only 4 of the 50 seconds play when the audio is a topic link. A workaround suggested by D2L was to create an HTML page and add a Quicklink to the audio file for playback. This also does not work. This might also prevent WAV, WMF and MOV file from playing properly.

Solution was to have the audio file on a web server and link to it from inside d2l.

Problem has been reported to D2L.

Bb Exports & Bb Tests

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 20:05:00 +0000

If you have a Bb archive (.zip file) or your textbook publisher gives you a test file as a Blackboard .zip file, you can import these files directly into D2L. Use the Edit Course > Import / Export / Copy Components > from a file > browse to the file on your computer > click the Open button to begin the upload process.

Your textbook publisher might also supply test questions in Word or CSV (comma separated values) formats. These file types must be converted to a format D2L recognizes before uploading. Deep inside D2L's Question Library is a link to a sample CSV quiz file. Download and open this file in Excel. Use this as a guide to creating your own quizzes. Be sure to save the file as CSV in Excel before uploading to D2L. The Instructor Guide for Quizzes had information on uploading a file http://scc.losrios.edu/~instrdev/d2l/Quizzes.pdf#page=26.