If you have difficulty viewing this e-mail, go to http://itc.utk.edu/newsletter_monthly/ [Forward this email] <https://itc.utk.edu/cgi-bin/pageproc/mailreqJS2.pl?url=http://itc.utk.edu/newsletter_monthly/> [Join the ITC email list] <https://listserv.utk.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=ITC-FORUM> [Request ITC Assistance] <http://itc.utk.edu/request/> [Contact OIT Helpdesk] <http://help.utk.edu> [News from Innovative Technology Consulting] November 2011 In with the New, Out with the Old Online@UT (Blackboard) On November 11, 2011 all Spring 2012 Blackboard course sites will be available to instructors. Remember: Course [http://itc.utk.edu/newsletter_monthly/2011_11/in_out(2).jpg] Activation forms are no longer necessary as course sites are pre-populated with the primary instructor of record as identified in Banner. As the end of the Fall semester quickly approaches, now is a good time to take some important steps to back up your course sites. To assure a smooth transition to the Spring semester, the following tasks are strongly encouraged: * saving a backup of your Grade Center<http://online.utk.edu/howto/semester/gradecenter.shtml> * exporting/archiving<http://online.utk.edu/howto/semester/exportarchive.shtml> your course site * copying course content<http://online.utk.edu/howto/semester/copy.shtml> from a past semester's course site These tasks are particularly significant as we look ahead to January 6, 2012. On this date, in keeping with our retention policy and procedures<http://online.utk.edu/about/course_deletion.shtml>, all Blackboard sites meeting the following criteria will be purged: * Course sites up to and including Fall Semester 2009 * Demo sites with an "ITCDEMOSITE####" CourseID * Custom course sites that have not been accessed since December 2009 * Organization sites that have not been accessed since December 2009 ` * Instructors will be contacted prior to the purge if they have an ITCDEMOSITE, custom or organization site meeting the criteria. * Active Custom Course and Organization sites will not be affected. LiveOnline@UT (Centra) Have you logged on to Centra lately? If not, you may be missing an important update. We encourage all faculty, staff and students to attend their next online session a few minutes early to ensure the Centra client is properly updated. If you have any questions or concerns about your Spring 2012 Blackboard course sites, your semester transition routine, our planned purge, or the Centra update please don't hesitate to contact the OIT HelpDesk at (865) 974-9900 or submit a support ticket at http://help.utk.edu.<http://online.utk.edu/howto/semester/gradecenter.shtml> ________________________________ End-of-Semester Support at the Commons South From Mon, November 28 – Fri, December 9 (excluding weekend), Online@UT consultants will be available at the Commons South from 8am-4:30pm to help you and your students wrap up the semester. If you have questions outside of our scheduled hours about Online@UT, Clickers, Technology Enhanced Classrooms, other instructional technologies, or arranging a consultation, you can reach us via the OIT HelpDesk at http://help.utk.edu or 974-9900. ________________________________ IT Community of Practice Is On The Move October's IT Community of Practice meeting featured rich dialogue on mLearning (mobile learning), and balancing[http://itc.utk.edu/newsletter_monthly/2011_11/calendar(2).jpg] technology implementation. Other conversation included activities and troubleshooting in the online course. Beginning next month we're taking the meeting about campus! Bring your lunch and join us on Mon, November 21, as we visit Estabrook, where technology is being implemented in Engineering Fundamentals. We will also explore mLearning apps with Blackboard. The meeting will be held from 12:30-1:30pm in Estabrook 111. For more information, or to be added to the IT CoP mailing list, contact Christina Goode at 974-6470 or [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> ________________________________ Attend the Clicker Technology Roundtable Veteran and novice clicker instructors, as well as those who are "ready to get started," are invited to [http://itc.utk.edu/newsletter_monthly/2011_11/clickers.jpg] come and express your comments, concerns, or curiosity at an end-of-semester roundtable discussion. There will be Q&A, demos, and new feature highlights. OIT and Turning Technologies will sponsor the event on Tuesday, November 22, from 12:00-1:30pm in the OIT Teaching Lab, 110 Hoskins. Lunch will be provided. For more information and/or to be included in the lunch, please RSVP to Christina Goode by November 18 at 974-6470 or [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> ________________________________ OIT Supports Mic/Nite The inaugural Mic/Night, a 'Pecha-Kucha powered' social gathering designed to enhance the intellectual, [http://itc.utk.edu/newsletter_monthly/2011_11/mic-nite.jpg] interdisciplinary, and cultural life of the faculty and staff at UT Knoxville, was held at the Valarium on Wednesday, Oct. 19. OIT Support staff collaborated with Provost Susan Martin and Beauvais Lyons to facilitate the presentation and preservation of the event. Support staff members also hosted an Information Booth about OIT services to the more than 200 faculty and staff in attendance. For more information about this and future Mic/Nite events, see http://provost.utk.edu/mic-nite/ ________________________________ More Technology Training Workshops for You and Your Students [workshops for students, instructors, and researchers] Offerings in November include: Instructor-Focused * Course Management System: Introduction to Blackboard, Best Practices for Online@UT Assessment Tools, Blogs and Wikis in Online@UT, Using the Assignment Manager and SafeAssign in Online@UT, and Grade Center Best Practices * Synchronous Learning: Engagement in the LiveOnline@UT Classroom: Surveys and Evaluation Researcher-Focused * Access * Internet Search (Google) Student-Focused * Creative Design: Photoshop * Website Design: JavaScript, Dreamweaver * Office: PowerPoint, Electronic Thesis and Dissertations (Word to PDF) SharePoint * Introductory SharePoint * Share Point for Team Site Administrators Registration is required for all workshops. To view descriptions and register for sessions, visit the OIT Training page<http://oit.utk.edu/training.php>. If you have questions or need help with registration for any of the workshops listed above, contact the HelpDesk at help.utk.edu<http://help.utk.edu> or 974-9900. ________________________________ Check Out IT Weekly! If you’d like to receive weekly updates on timely information about IT and reminders of upcoming workshops, you can subscribe to IT Weekly, which is emailed on Fridays. To subscribe, go to the IT Weekly listserv page<http://listserv.utk.edu/archives/itweekly.html> and click on "Join or leave the list (or change settings)". [IT Weekly Logo] ________________________________ Learn more about all of our services and events at our Website, http://itc.utk.edu. [Blackboard scheduled uptime] October 2011 Scheduled: 100% Total: 98% Learn more<http://online.utk.edu/bbstats.shtml> ________________________________ Instructional Technology November Workshops Register for a Workshop<https://itc.utk.edu/workshops/> Grade Center Best Practices Discover new and redesigned tools for managing grades online using the Online@UT Grade Center. • Mon, 11/28, 9-11am SafeAssign in Online@UT SafeAssign is a software resource designed to help students avoid plagiarism and improper citation. • Wed, 11/23, 9-11am Online@UT Assessment Tools Learn to create, manage, deploy, and grade online assessments. Develop question pools, surveys, and more. • Mon, 11/21, 1-3pm Blogs and Wikis in Online@UT Explore Online@UT blogs and wikis, configure these tools for different purposes, and discuss their instructional uses. • Tue, 11/22, 9-11am Register for a Workshop<https://itc.utk.edu/workshops/> [University of Tennessee] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= To view the ITC-FORUM archives or Join/Leave the list go to: http://listserv.utk.edu/archives/itc-forum.html