Tech Ticket is moving to a new site with more services and coverage! Since our migration to Moodle Joule, eLearning technical support issues have decreased substantially by the percentage of users. However, since Moodle is so popular here at Clark, we have significantly increased the number of courses in the LMS and now serve approximately 10,000 active users. Although Tech Ticket has served us efficiently and well with its simplicity and freely available WordPress, it is time for us to move to a new service for Tier 1 support for students.
The new Tech Ticket is accessible by clicking on the link on our Clark Moodle or eLearning front pages, from the sidebar link here on Smart Penguin, or via Moodle Help which you will see when you first login on Moodle. Tech Ticket still has our same Smart Penguin alerts and feeds, but it also includes a searchable knowledge base, a diagnostic systems test for required components, and a Smart Form to submit tickets and attach any necessary files. The online course support is handled in partnership with AeLearn Solutions of Tampa Bay, Florida and will include escalation to Clark eLearning staff for issues higher than basic Tier 1 support. Students can create tickets and receive Moodle support via email, 7 days/week, from 5 AM to 9 PM Pacific. Since weekend coverage was being handled with volunteered staff hours when available, the increased coverage should help our online learners tremendously. Faculty may click here to read more about their options.
We look forward to hearing any feedback you may have as we test out this new system… Click the image to check it out!
Clark’s online math courses have upgraded to the WIRIS Equation Editor for your use in forums in our Moodle joule. You’ll notice a yellow button in the forums text editor toolbar with a square root symbol on it. Clicking that button will bring up the WIRIS editor window where you can use the symbol and operator palettes to automatically create nice looking math expressions in your forum discussions. This makes taking an online math course at Clark much easier and more enjoyable. In fact, WIRIS is pretty fun to use, so play around with it if you like, and check out our 
One of the keys to success with Moodle is being aware of your server activity and session timeout. Whenever you log in, Moodle starts a session for you and tracks your time. After three hours of no server activity, Moodle will automatically logout for you and close the idle session. Server activity would consist of making requests of Moodle, such as clicking on an assignment or forum thread and saving or submitting your response in a forum or test, but not reading or typing. So even if you have been typing a long forum reply or essay, you could click to save and receive the dreaded sesskey (timeout) error and lose your work if you’re not careful.
Today’s learning is different from traditional face-to-face learning in many respects. Some individuals feel more comfortable learning in an online or web-enhanced environment than others. Are you a good fit for online or web-enhanced learning? Find out by completing the SmarterMeasure assessment. It will take you about 35 minutes from start to finish, but you can log out and complete it later if necessary. After you login, you will receive an email from SmarterMeasure with a PIN number that will allow you to log back in later or review your results.
If you’ve recently registered for classes and are trying to