Readspeaker Added to Blackboard

We have just finished our testing of a new feature within Blackboard which will allow all users to highlight sections of text on their screen and then click a “Listen” or “Play” button to have their computer read the text aloud.  This feature is called ReadSpeaker and you will now see a couple of new options appear on your screen while logged into Blackboard at Wayland.

You will find the ReadSpeaker Icon and control panel in the upper right area of the classroom near the edit button (as an instructor) when you first open your classroom. There is also a small activate/deactivate button in the top center of the page (it is an on or off button).

Activate/deactivate button:

ReadSpeaker Control Panel:
 

The Listen Icon/button is on the small control panel that can be customized by the learner using it. It can also be moved to a different location on the page.

Students wanting text read should highlight the text and click “Listen.”  That’s it. That’s all it takes to use the features.  Students not wanting ReadSpeaker can choose to deactivate it using the toggle switch at the top of the screen.  Turning it off will cause the ReadSpeaker control panel to disappear.

For more details read our ReadSpeaker Faculty Support article.

Intermittent Issues with Grading Assignments and Accessing Blogs/Journals and Wikis (RESOLVED)

Beginning on Friday afternoon (Dec. 13, 2013), we began experiencing intermittent issues with instructors not being able to access the grading area for assignments. Additionally, blogs, journals, and wikis have been reported as being inaccessible for many users.

When attempting to grade or access these areas, an error of the following form is returned:
An error occurred. Contact the System Administrator.
For reference, the Error ID is 06992393-ec4a-4c2b-b52f-f89a528e50a2.
Friday, December 13, 2013 5:32:20 PM CST

We were able to recreate the issue in the VC but verified that it was intermittent. In other words, it would return an error for several minutes and then begin working correctly again.  Eventually the error would begin recurring.  The issue has been reported to Blackboard and they are working to resolve it as quickly as possible.

UPDATE: This issue has been fully resolved. Grading and blogs/journal/wikis are fully functional. (10:00am 12/14/13)

Internet Explorer 11 and Blogs/Journals

We have received some reports of errors occurring with the Blogs and Journals tool in Blackboard when accessed through Internet Explorer 11.  Since many of our faculty were recently update to IE11, this may be affecting some of our online instructors.  This affects not only instructors but also students in the course.

If you use Journals in your course, you will be unable to access them through IE11.  The following error will pop-up and your browser will automatically reload the course in Blackboard, taking you back to the Announcements page.

If you or a student encounter this issue, we are recommending at this time that you use an alternate browser, such as Firefox or Chrome.  

A similar problem has been reported with the Discussion Board, but at this time we have not been able to reproduce the issue within the Virtual Campus.

Contact with the Virtual Campus if you have any additional questions or issues.

Blackboard Update Scheduled (SP13)

On Saturday, August 17, 2013,  will be conducting an update to our Blackboard Learn 9.1 system (https://wbu.blackboard.com).  We are upgrading to Service Pack 13.

The update is currently scheduled to begin at 8:30 am (CDT) on Saturday, August 17, 2013.  The system will be unavailable for approximately 15 hours during the update.  The system is expected to be fully up and running by 11:30 pm (CDT) on Saturday, August 17.

You will not see any noticeable changes to the Blackboard system and all of your course materials will remain intact through this update.  There are new features available with this service pack but we will be rolling those changes out over the fall term with training.  Additionally, there are some bug fixes that will aid in resolving some ongoing issues.

If you have any questions or issues, contact the Virtual Campus at vcsupport@wbu.edu.

Blackboard Spring Training (Updated)

Tuesdays 4-5pm (CST)
February 26 – April 9

In preparation for the start of the summer term Dr. Trifilo is offering players (instructors) the opportunity to try out new tools and improve their skills with familiar ones. While we can’t offer travel to warmer climes we will offer weekly sessions ‘live’ or recorded to fit your schedule and view at your leisure.

Blackboard Tutorial for Students

We’ve updated our Blackboard Tutorial with a new video and a series of helpful links to help students learn how to do basic tasks within Blackboard.  You can view the video below or check out our Blackboard Tutorial page.

eLearning Quote of the Day

“Online you get to know your students’ minds not just their faces.”

Elliott Masie, Masie Center

Upgrade to Blackboard 9.1 SP 7 Finished

Beginning on Friday, May 18 at 12:30, we started our update from Service Pack 3 to Service Pack 7.  As of 7:30 am on Saturday, May 19, the upgrade was completed.

So far, we have only seen a small set of issues arise from the upgrade and we are dealing with them.  If you are one of our instructors and you find something to be broken or acting quirky in Blackboard, please feel free to drop us a line at vcsupport@wbu.edu

Below are some of the new features that accompany this upgrade:

Seven Principles of Effective Online Teaching

by Scott R. Franklin, Ph.D.
Director of the Virtual Campus

Our online instructors are passionate.  They’re passionate about our students and they’re passionate about their discipline.  One of the ultimate goals of our programs within the Virtual Campus at Wayland is to combine those passions and produce an exciting and effective online learning experience for all of our students.

The challenge that online instructors face is to overcome the distance aspect of the online learning and make their students feel connected to the content of the course, the instructor and the other students.  Couple that with the requirement of maintaining high expectations and rigorous course work, instructors face an uphill climb when trying to motivate students in their courses.

Old Dominion University provides their faculty with a self guided tutorial for developing an online course.  Their training includes a list of Seven Principles of Effective Online Teaching.  Many of their principles overlap Wayland’s Effective Design Initiative.  If instructors are looking for ways to  make their course more effective, these seven principles are an excellent place to start.  The following is adapted from these training materials at Old Dominion University:

Principle 1: Student-Faculty Contact

Kindle Fire or the New iPad?

by Scott R. Franklin, Ph.D.
Director of the Virtual Campus

One of our instructors sent us an email yesterday asking our take on whether a Kindle Fire or the new iPad might be the best investment at this point.

Here’s the question:

I am thinking of purchasing an Ipad 3 or maybe the Kindle Fire (much cheaper!).  I have an iPhone which I love and use it for everything including reading books on the Kindle app.  The idea here is that mostly I want a “tablet” to get on the Internet when traveling to check classes on Blackboard and work in BB (grading, resetting quizzes, answering e-mail, etc.), text, and check e-mail.  I do NOT use a wireless connection at home … so if I get the Ipad, I would have to pay the extra $50.00/mo for a sim card and service while the Kindle Fire, if I understand correctly, offers free Internet.
…
However, does either work very well with BB?
…
The only other thing I see using a tablet for is our observatory/astronomy and I realize you probably cannot tell me how those would work for that.  I thought I’d seek someone’s opinion who worked with an Ipad and maybe knew about these products more than I.  Any thoughts would be appreciated.

We’re beginning to acquire some mobile devices within the VC in order to fully test how they would work for our students and faculty.  I have had a personal iPad (first generation) for about a year and a half now and just recently started using one of the new iPads.  While we don’t yet have a Kindle Fire, I have done quite a bit of research on them and we’ll probably be testing one soon.

Kindle Fire or iPad?