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By Scott, on September 2nd, 2011, 3:21 pm  Our multimedia production and processing facility is now available to online and hybrid teaching faculty and we welcome you to tour your new eLearning Technologies Center, or the ETC, where we have full service lecture capture capabilities providing everything from recording to cloud.
Lecture capture is very popular with students, who report they can repeat certain sections for improved comprehension and understanding. It has also been shown to increase retention in the online course and we see it as an important aspect of Clark’s online and hybrid offerings.
Cloud delivery is the preferred method, allowing efficient streaming instead of downloads or DVDs, and bandwidth scalability when large numbers of students are viewing all at once. After your recording is processed, we provide you with an access link which you can place directly in your course. This helps to keep your course file size down for backup, copy, and import processes. Streaming is also more accessible for the online student and helps to keep their costs down.
The ETC has many options for a variety of lecture captures from iPods with cameras and mics for eLearning faculty checkout, to a lab with a private recording booth, to a studio with a fully equipped Smart Classroom style podium and wall mounted cameras. For more details, you can visit our ETC page and contact Scott for a tour, iPod checkout, or to discuss your multimedia needs.
By Scott, on June 20th, 2011, 6:10 pm We have two servers at our disposal with our hosting service, Moodlerooms. The Faculty Development Server is for faculty and staff access only and functions as an online workspace for training, course development, and course content storage as well as a testing site for administrative processes, new developments, and joule product enhancements. The Production Server is for teaching or participating in student organizations and activities and allows access for faculty, students, staff, and Quality Matters reviewers.
Each server has its own web address and must be logged into separately with separate accounts. Even though your usernames may be the same, any changes you make to your profile or password will remain with that server. Here are the addresses for the two servers…
Development Server: http://clarkdev.mrooms3.net/
Production Server: https://moodle.clark.edu/
To request shells on these servers, we have a page here on The eLog with two shell request forms, one for each server. The links to this page and the eLearning shell request policy will be found in the sidebar under eLearning and below…
Shell Request Policy
Shell Request Forms
Moving course content from one server to another requires a process called backup and restore where you create a backup of the shell on the Development server, which you download to your computer, and then restore that shell into a live (teaching) shell on the Production server before making it available to your enrolled students. The link to download the document with instructions for the backup and restore process can always be found in the sidebar to the left of this post, or you may prefer to watch the backup and restore video on our Moodle Joule Tutorials page. There are many other videos there as well, including one on importing (copying) a course on the same server.
By Scott, on March 8th, 2011, 11:08 pm Reminder: Blackboard is going away…
The time to migrate to Moodle is now!
We will no longer have access to Blackboard after June 30, 2011:
• No access for grade disputes
• No access for incompletes
• No access to course content (including your gradebook or anything else)
When our contract with Blackboard expires, no one will have access to the Clark College Blackboard system for any reason. Therefore, we strongly recommend that you backup your gradebooks and look through your Blackboard course shells, preshells, and organizations to determine which have content to be migrated to Moodle. Once you’ve identified the shells to keep, either download an archive package of each shell and save the zipped files in a safe place or, if you’ve gone through the Moodle training and have an account established on our Moodle Development Server, visit our Course Migration Project page to learn about your options.
By Scott, on November 28th, 2010, 11:56 pm  Almost everyone at Clark is aware of the LMS migration which is now underway, but few know of another ongoing project here in eLearning… the fulfillment of our grant, funded by the good folks at the Meyer Memorial Trust and other generous donors. Although it hasn’t received much mention lately, it has required a great deal of money, time, and effort to transform our out-of-commission TV studio and its adjoining rooms into a modern digital multimedia production facility. As the last of the new equipment and furnishings have arrived and we connect and test each of these new tools, we continue to expand our ability to produce quality online deliverables.
The MMT Grant specifically involves the creation of online course content for the Healthcare Core Curriculum, which we are now pursuing. It incorporates the technology required for quality lecture captures, audio and video production and editing, streaming and pod/vodcasting capability, as well as screen-casting, tablet productions, and other rich media generation. It also includes virtual meeting or “distance collaboration” capabilities to help increase access.
 This grant is significant for our elearning faculty because multimedia has an important future in the modern online course. Multimedia content has been shown to improve student retention by supporting diverse learning styles, promoting student engagement, and allowing students the repetition of audio-visual content for a deeper understanding of more complex topics. Without a doubt, this grant will help us continue to improve the quality and variety of elearning courses offered by Clark, with the additional “green” benefit of online access that we can all appreciate.
We’re calling this soon to be available facility the eLearning Technologies Center, or ETC. Due to our limited scope during the LMS migration, priority access must be given to the Healthcare Core Curriculum faculty as we fulfill our obligations to the sponsors of the grant. However, use of the ETC and its equipment will later be extended to all faculty teaching online or hybrid courses as staffing, scheduling and construction allows (contact Scott). For more detailed information about the progress on the ETC and what we all have to look forward to, check out our new ETC page here on the eLog.
By Scott, on February 11th, 2010, 5:27 pm eLearning has a new resource available on Smart Penguin for students, faculty, and staff. Although Smart Penguin provides the solutions to, or the prevention of, most technical issues that Clark College Blackboard and Moodle Joule users may experience, things may still go awry. To help students and faculty get back to their online coursework more quickly, the tech support team in the eLearning Department now provides a system called Tech Ticket, which can be used to submit the details of a technical issue. In a series of short questions about their computing environment, online users can quickly convey some of the important keys needed for an accurate diagnosis. Tech Ticket then allows direct communication with eLearning tech support for improved collaboration and information exchange to aid a swift resolution. You and your students can find the link to file a Tech Ticket in the sidebar on the Smart Penguin main post page, among our links at the bottom of that page, or in the following post on Smart Penguin:
That’s the Ticket!
By Scott, on January 24th, 2010, 9:26 pm Course Export and Import Tools
The best tools for saving a personal copy of a course are Export and Import. Keep in mind that these tools will not store or restore the students and their work, only the course content and structure. The following are important points to consider:
- Exporting a course creates a downloadable package of the course content (compressed .zip file) that can later be imported into a Blackboard shell
- Because the exported file can be imported as the whole course or as selected parts of the course through Import Package, it’s recommended that you select all areas when exporting a course
- The saved file can only be viewed by being imported into Blackboard
- Importing does not overwrite any existing information in the destination course in the following areas: Content, Discussion Boards, Gradebook Items, Groups, Tests, Surveys, and Pools. Imported information in these areas is added to existing information in the destination course.
- Importing does overwrite Course Settings (if selected) in the destination course (other than the Course ID and Menu Settings).
Course Copy Tool
Although the Course Copy tool doesn’t provide a personal copy of each course, which could later be moved to another Blackboard installation or reimported, it is the most common method for transferring courses from quarter to quarter or section to section. This wizard based tool won’t overwrite any existing content, so it’s easy to unintentionally duplicate items, unless copying into an empty shell. Use of the Recycle tool can help clean out excess content when necessary. To help with this process, here is a short video about how to use the Course Copy tool:
Course Copy Process
Download Gradebook Tool
There is an important distinction to make regarding the separate nature of student enrollments and Blackboard course content. It’s easy to assume that copying a course also copies the enrolled students and their coursework, however that is not the case. If the students are no longer registered at Clark, they will fail to reappear when the course is restored, no matter how you save the course. This is because the enrollment database is in a constant state of flux, with only currently registered students accessible each quarter, while the Blackboard content database is more constant, only changing when faculty make adjustments to their courses. You could think of course shells as virtual classrooms which you can build, maintain, or change as you see fit. The students, however, will come and go – just as they do in the face-to-face environment… Your only record of them is what you store or have recorded in IBC. This is why it’s important to save your Gradebooks from Blackboard using the Download Gradebook tool at the end of each quarter, before I run our snapshot process and the student enrollment files change. The date that this will occur is posted in our Faculty Blackboard Planner page, as well as my end of term email announcement.
I hope that explains the options available for saving courses… Please feel free to comment or contact me in eLearning for more information.
By Scott, on January 3rd, 2010, 5:14 pm  Faculty, please note that Clark College is making the switch from sending paper mail to students to sending college business correspondence to their Clark Gmail accounts instead. Since this includes important college information for students (registration notices, wait list information, financial aid notifications, etc.) it’s important to let them know. You can help spread the word to students and be sure they understand that these accounts must be activated to work.
You should also know that Blackboard has these Gmail addresses entered by default (appearing with the suffix @students.clark.edu, not @gmail.com) and Gmail will not send bounce receipts from inactivated accounts back to the sender. You may get bounce receipts back for student email accounts that have not yet been created. I’ve recently posted about this to students on Smart Penguin, including the option to set up forwarding in the Clark Gmail account to their preferred email address.
To help make your students aware, you may refer them to the specific Gmail post on Smart Penguin, the Student Services Gmail website, or just send them directly to the Clark Gmail sign up page. Clark Gmail support for students can be reached at 922-2010 or gmailhelp @ students.clark.edu. If you have any general questions about the Clark Gmail accounts, please contact IT Services.
By Scott, on December 8th, 2009, 5:46 pm We now have a new page on The eLog called, “Faculty Blackboard Planner.” …You’ll find it in the page links above. It’s a Blackboard activities calendar where you can see what dates we have planned for various events such as quarter shell availability, when to use the Blackboard Gradebook tool to safely store your grades before the snapshot process removes that information, and many other timely events, most of which I will also make reference to in the usual email notifications. I will be posting dates in this planner as soon as they become known to us here in eLearning and I hope you find it useful. As always, be sure to let me know if you have any ideas or suggestions.
By Scott, on December 2nd, 2009, 11:09 am I often get questions from faculty about the various user roles available in Blackboard. The differences among them are mainly in the Course Control Panel accessibility. Privileges range from that of Instructor with full access, to that of Student with no Control Panel at all. Instructors have the unique ability to make courses available to students, whereas students can only participate in courses that have been made available to them and that they are enrolled in. Besides that of Instructor and Student, there are other useful roles such as Mock Student, Temporary Student, Teacher’s Assistant, Course Builder, and various organization roles.
A Mock Student is a fictitious user with a student role whose login credentials are assigned to an instructor. This can be useful for an instructor who wants to see exactly what the student sees and experiences. Once the Mock Student role is in place, it will remain throughout the course.
A Temporary or Generic Student is a temporary account I can set up for wait-listed students, by faculty request. In this role, students must be instructed by faculty to observe only and not participate, much like a wait-listed student in a face-to-face class. Several potential students may use this same account to access the course syllabus and view the assignments. After the wait-listed students have been officially added to the course, with their own accounts and associated ID’s, their class participation may begin and I will then automatically remove these temporary accounts.
The Teacher’s Assistant role has access to many of the same areas as the Instructor role… Both have full access to the Control Panel, however only the Instructor will be shown under the students’ Courses tab or through Course Search. Teacher’s Assistants also cannot change the course settings, do a course copy, or modify a course name and description. If the course is unavailable to students, they may still access the course, just as the Instructor role can.
The Course Builder role has access to most areas of the Course Control Panel, except for student grades and outcomes. It is intended for those faculty who wish to share course content with each other or for providing cohesion within departments. Course Builders can copy course content, modify settings, or change the course name and description. If the course is unavailable to students, they may still access the course.
In Blackboard Organization shells there are corresponding roles available such as Leader (which has similar privileges to the Instructor role), Organization Builder (which is comparable to the Course Builder), and Participant (which is equivalent to the Student role).
Faculty may contact me directly to request specific roles; however, to enter a class taught by someone else, you must have permission from the Course Instructor before I can proceed. The instructor can provide me with the specific information and permission by email or by phone.
By Scott, on October 26th, 2009, 6:11 pm  Here in eLearning, we often consider the possible effects any disaster could have on regularly held classes and the demands it could put on Blackboard and the other software systems we maintain. As Clark’s eLearning Systems Administrator, I have seen the use of Blackboard increase dramatically, as our faculty discover its potential. However, Elluminate has not seen the increase in usage which would reflect its capability.
Our version, called “Elluminate Live” and provided free through the State of Washington, includes an audio component, a typed chat area, and an interactive whiteboard for drawing, showing images or displaying PowerPoint presentations. You can share your desktop or demonstrate something in a software application, use breakout rooms for collaborative learning, or take advantage of the quiz manager or polling feature. You can also do synchronized web browsing, transfer files, and (for math and science) there’s a graphing calculator and a math symbol library.
Although Elluminate has been well established as a virtual meeting and collaboration tool, some of Clark’s own faculty, such as Willy Cushwa, have been experimenting with its use as an online classroom as well. It seems to be a hit with his students. Sally Keely has also remarked on the useful features of this specialty software and her ideas for increasing its usage beyond online office hours. Although the video feature isn’t always recommended for bandwidth reasons, many of the other features seem to captivate and engage most users. Generally, the moderator uses a mic or headset and the whiteboard area while the participants listen, observe, and use the chat area, responding to the moderator by typing or raising their “hands” to ask questions. Though these sessions are conducted synchronously, Elluminate sessions can also be recorded and made available later. For those students or participants with less technical experience, there is a five minute orientation available on the Elluminate website.
Elluminate is sophisticated, yet straightforward to use. I encourage all faculty and administrators at Clark to go through the online moderator training and discover this new tool. As a moderator with audio capabilities, a headset may be required, unless your computer is already equipped with a built-in mic and speakers – contact ITS (x2425) to purchase any necessary equipment. The links below should help get you going… After you complete the training, just contact me (scoffie at clark.edu) and I will set you up with your own meeting space or classroom where you may join the ranks of the Elluminati!
Check your computer for technical requirements
Five minute orientation for student participants or meeting attendees
For meeting or classroom moderator training, sign up for the two live training sessions using the link below. The sessions are:
- “Getting Started with Elluminate Live for Moderators”
- “Next Steps with Elluminate Live for Moderators”
Sign up for free training and select a time you would like to attend
Once you are comfortable with the basics, you may be interested in some of the more robust features:
Additional documents and recordings for advanced training of moderators
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