Are you ready for the start of a new semester? Below are a couple key updates you will want to read concerning Learning Technology Services and Blackboard.
Please Note: Several bugs and issues in Blackboard have been corrected over the last few weeks; including the problem with the My Grades view for students and the Video Everywhere tool in discussions and assignment submissions by students. Visit our Blackboard Issues list to keep updated with the latest major bugs or fixes.
What is Instructional Design all about?
- Are your students lost in the land of Blackboard?
- Could your course use a facelift?
- Do you want to do more online and don’t know where to start?
- Are you interested in incorporating a new educational tool in your course and not sure which one is most appropriate?
- Do you want to integrate active learning strategies to your online course and need some pointers?
- Are you interested in designing or re-working your Blackboard course and don’t know where to start?
Find answers to these questions and more by setting up a one-on-one consultation with your campus’s Instructional Designer. Keep an eye out for a couple new instructional designers joining our team in the next few months too.
Don’t know who the instructional designer is on your campus? CLICK HERE
Learning Technology Services Website Changes
Over the summer semester the Learning Technology Services website was redesigned and revamped to improve usability, including a brand new blog. Make sure to update any of your bookmarks and links within your courses to these new sites. Any hyperlinks directing to http://valenciacollege.edu/oit/lts will temporarily redirect to our new site but it’s important to make sure to cleanup and update old misdirected links.
New LTS Site: http://valenciacollege.edu/oit/learning-technology-services/
New Faculty Resources Site: http://valenciacollege.edu/oit/learning-technology-services/faculty-resources/
New Faculty Blackboard Resources Site: http://valenciacollege.edu/oit/learning-technology-services/faculty-resources/blackboard/blackboard-resources.cfm
New Student Resources Site: http://valenciacollege.edu/oit/learning-technology-services/student-resources/
New LTS Blog: http://wp.valenciacollege.edu/lts-blog/
Upcoming Training
Coming in September are several workshops and courses with Learning Technology Services to help you learn a new tool, enhance your course, and receive a few faculty development credits.
Blackboard Essentials LTAD3283 CRN 2198 (9/9/13 – 10/7/13)
In this project-based course, participants will learn how to prepare their courses for delivery using the blackboard learning management system (LMS). Successful completion of this course is demonstrated by completing a learning module containing certain required elements to demonstrate your ability to use the tools. This course requires weekly synchronous virtual meetings in addition to online coursework. Class meetings: 9/12, 9/19, 9/26, and 10/03 from 6-7pm. (10 Credit Hours)
Mobile Learning LTAD 3284 CRN 2609 (9/16/13 – 10/7/13)
This introductory course on mobile learning will provide participants with an overview of mobile learning activities, including formative assessments, single topic lessons, and collaborative projects. Participants will also review mobile applications compatible with learning management systems, with an emphasis on maximizing integration of iPads, iPhones and other mobile devices for teaching and learning. NOTE: This course is optional for Digital Professor Certification. This is a hybrid course that requires three face-to-face meetings in addition to online coursework. Class meetings: 9/19, 9/26, and 10/03 from 1-2pm. West Campus Bldg. 6, Room 326A. (6 Credit Hours)
Multimedia Tools for All Courses LTAD 3240 CRN 2364 (9/24/13 – 1-3pm)
This course will assist participants in identifying and incorporating multimedia and instructional tools to accommodate students’ diverse learning styles. Note: This course is optional for the Digital Professor Certification This course is an online synchronous, interactive webinar. Join the webinar on 9/24/2013 from 1-3pm. (2 Credit Hours)
Click here to learn how to register for courses.
Course Copy Settings
It’s important to think about completing the course copy process early, because as the semester is about to start many faculty are submitting their course copies into the queue. Large courses can be one of the factors that stall the course copy queue for others. It’s key to calculate the size of your course before submitting a course copy. This can be done in the course copy process with step 3 (File Attachments). Click on the button “Calculate Size”.
If the content in your course is over 1 GB, please contact onlinehelp for assistance in reducing the file size of your course.
Video: How to Perform a Blackboard Learn 9.1 Course Copy
Blackboard Learn 9.1 Service Pack 11 (SP11)
Before the summer semester started, we upgraded Blackboard Learn 9.1 to Service Pack 11 (SP11). There are several new features that are list on a previous blog. Also, here is a link to our blog with the webinar recording from May 2013 covering the SP11 updates in Blackboard Learn. http://bit.ly/105Pbd9
Leave a Reply