Category: Online Learning

Connectivity problems @ Home?

This can occur for a variety of reasons such as a server, system or ISP being overwhelmed, or your home network dropping momentarily. If this happens, try to reconnect.

Some things to look out for on your home network:

1) Are you too far from your wifi router? Make sure the signal is strong. If not, consider moving closer to the wifi router. Also, consider plugging directly into your router with a network cable if that is at all possible. A wired network is more stable than a wireless one.

2) Is anybody else in your house streaming (such as YouTube, Netflix, etc.)? If so, might have to ask them to stop. Depending on your home network, steaming an HD movie, for example, can overwhelm a slower home internet connection.

It is possible that your home Internet connection can be experiencing problems, especially if many people in the area / neighborhood / city are using it heavily. This may not be noticeable when browsing the web, or streaming video/audio in a one-way download; however it will be noticeable when doing live two-way video or audio. You may want to contact your ISP to ask if loads are high in your area. You can also try power cycling your cable modem and wireless router. If a video+audio call is choppy, try turning off video and see if audio improves.

How To Collaborate Online

  1. Email – official Purdue communication
    1. Continue to monitor and respond to emails
  2. Remote desktop – databases and U: drive      
    1. Access your personalized environment and secure resources as usual on your office computer
    1. Access restricted databases with your office computer (e.g. ACAD MS Access databases).
  3. Teams –real-time office chat, video, file sharing (not for classes)
    1. Monitor Teams throughout the day and share internal communications with your office
    2. See: https://edit.education.purdue.edu/download2/Tips-For-Teams.pdf
  4. WebEx – video with people outside of your office
    1. Faculty and staff – 1000 connections
    1. Students – 8 connections
  5. OneDrive (or Box)
    1. share documents with staff and students outside of your office
  6. LMS – Brightspace or Blackboard
    1. Use internal messaging tools to communicate with students

For information about How to Teach Remotely, see:

Teaching Remotely Overview – from Purdue Innovative Learning
https://www.purdue.edu/innovativelearning/teaching-remotely/

See:
https://edit.education.purdue.edu/download2/How-To-Collaborate.pdf

Blackboard Learn 9 Resources

The Purdue ITaP Academic Technologies Group has created a web page with Blackboard Learn resources.  if you’re just getting started or if you need help with advanced fetures, please see this page:

Faculty Resources for Blackboard Learn
http://www.itap.purdue.edu/learning/tools/blackboard/learn_res/faculty.cfm

ITaP Academic Technologies Consulting:

Phone: 49-63257
Email: tlt-consulting@purdue.edu
Request a consultation:
http://www.itap.purdue.edu/learning/staff/resform.cfm

The Purdue Instructional Development Center has also posted Blackboard videos on YouTube here:

Blacboard YouTube Videos
http://www.youtube.com/user/purdueidc

For example, here is a video showing how you can easily upload a video into the new Purdue Kaltura streaming video system via Blackboard Learn:

Uploading Media through Kaltura
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ag0zT9ldn5s

If you need a personal consultation regarding Blackboard, you can contact Blackboard support staff using this contact info:

Email: tlt-consulting@purdue.edu
Phone: 49-63257
Web: http://www.itap.purdue.edu/learning/staff/resform.cfm

Ongoing Blackboard training sessions can be located here:

Blackboard Learn Training
http://www.itap.purdue.edu/training/courselisting.cfm?ID=78

The main Purdue Blackboard login page can be found here:

Log into Blacboard…
http://www.itap.purdue.edu/learning/tools/blackboard

Thank you and happy semester!  🙂

–Education IT

Blackboard Learn 9 – Migrate by the end of 2012

Purdue is implementing a new version of Blackboard.  The hope is to have most courses up and running in the new system for the fall 2012 semester, and to have all courses migrated for the spring 2013 semester.  This means that all faculty and instructors have some work to do migrating to, and learning, the new system.  For project details, a video, and training information see:

Video Training – Understanding & Building Your Course
http://ondemand.blackboard.com/understand.htm

ITaP Overview Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=B_0W1CVdEV4

Project Overview & Training
http://www.itap.purdue.edu/learning/tools/blackboard/bb9implementation.cfm

Wiki
https://wiki.itap.purdue.edu/display/bb9/Home

Thank you.

–Education IT