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Archive for category Curricular Technology

DLC Academic Technology Working Sessions Scheduled

Aug 14

Posted by Bob Cole in Curricular Technology, Workshops | No Comments

The Digital Learning Commons is hosting a series of open technology learning and working sessions on managing online instructional materials in the MIIS iLearn platform (Moodle) and Sites dot MIIS the campus website and blogging network (WordPress) this week and next.  The Course Hub will also be briefly covered in each of these sessions.

iLearn (Moodle 2.4) Basics *
Review Moodle course set up basics, file uploading, discussion forum, assignment types, and general site management. Please be sure to bring electronic resources you plan to provide your students (e.g. course syllabus, files, E-reserve access details).

  • Friday, August 16 2:00-3:00pm
  • Tuesday, August 20 1:00-2:00pm
  • Wednesday, August 21, 10:00-11:00am

Sites dot MIIS WordPress Website Creation Basics *
Review website creation and site management basics (navigation, posts, pages, themes, adding users).

  • Friday, August 16 3:00-4:00pm
  • Tuesday, August 20, 2:00-3:00pm
  • Wednesday, August 21, 11:00am-12:00pm

Complete the RSVP form to attend a session on either or both topics.  If you cannot attend a session, please let us know so we can try to schedule an alternate time.

Sessions will be held in the the Design Space at the Digital Learning Commons; McGowan 001, 420 Calle Principal.

E-mail Bob Cole with questions: bcole at miis.edu

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Blogs@MIIS domain name to change August 11, 2013

Aug 3

Posted by Bob Cole in Communications, Curricular Technology, Information Technology, News, Uncategorized | No Comments

blogs_miis_logoThis summer marks four years for the Monterey Institute’s “Blogs@MIIS” blogging network, supported and maintained by the Digital Learning Commons and Middlebury’s Library & Information Services teams!  The MIIS WordPress community has been a dynamic engine for networked communications, reflection, and collaboration; hosting hundreds of individual, departmental, and course websites and thousands of posts.

Middlebury’s Vermont campus changed the domain name (website address) for their WordPress blogging platform from blogs.middlebury.edu to sites.middlebury.edu earlier this year.

Scheduled Domain Name Change & Redirects

The DLC Web & Social Media Team has been in conversation with Middlebury Library & Information Services (LIS) this summer about making a similar change for the MIIS Blogging Network.

PLEASE NOTE:  This change is now scheduled to occur Sunday, August 11, 2013 beginning at 7:00am Pacific time.
The entire Blogs@MIIS network will be placed in maintenance mode for approximately two hours while the database and blogging network are updated with our new domain name.  Access to blogs will not be available during this time.

Sites vs Blogs

The underlying purpose for the domain change to sites.middlebury.edu is that the term “site” better reflects the multiple ways that the WordPress platform can be used.  The blogging function is only one element of the platform, and the term “blog” comes with a perception of informal, social, and for some less-than-professional types of communication.  Wordpress developers now refer to individual blogs as sites.  A domain name change is a more accurate reflection of how the platform can be used for course and content management, e-portfolios, conference proceedings, and personal websites.

Midd LIS conducted a survey of their blogging community earlier this year and posted the results here: http://sites.middlebury.edu/lis/2013/02/01/a-web-site-by-any-other-name/  As you will see, the overwhelming response was in favor of making the change which was implemented this Spring.  The Monterey Institute’s Web & Social Media Team participated in this survey and supported this shift.

Technical Concerns Addressed

The domain change will include the implementation of URL redirects from all links from the sites.middlebury.edu domain to the sites.middlebury.edu domain.  Thus, all current links between miis.edu content and the sites.middlebury.edu platform will maintain their integrity.

If you have any questions or concerns about the impact of this change, please comment on this blog post or contact Bob Cole in the Digital Learning Commons at bcole at miis.edu.

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Blogs@MIIS improvements scheduled

Jul 16

Posted by Bob Cole in Blog, Communications, Curricular Technology, Featured | No Comments

The Digital Learning Commons staff have been coordinating with Middlebury Library & Information Services (LIS) to bring some overdue improvements to the Monterey Institute’s internal website and blogging platform: Blogs@MIIS.

Improvements to look forward to:

  1. Logins will be managed by Middlebury’s centralized authentication system otherwise known as “CAS.”  This update is scheduled for the early morning of July 18, 2013.
    Current users with miis.edu credentials should not experience any major changes other than being re-directed to Middlebury’s login page and then back to “Blogs@MIIS” after a successful login.  MIIS WordPress users with non miis.edu accounts who are not able to login should review the Alumni & Guest Accounts information page and complete the “reconnect” form to let the staff of the DLC know which sites you are trying to access.
  2. With CAS comes additional tie-ins with the web groups and information systems features in Outlook.  This plug-in update will be deployed along with the CAS update.
    Site administrators will be able to add individuals and entire groups of additional subscribers and authors to their blog sites on their own – a service that the Digital Learning Commons had previously handled manually and upon request.
  3. An improved “Private Blogs” plug-in allowing users to generate RSS feeds from sites and into web reader services.  This plug-in update will be deployed along with the CAS update.
    This plug-in should offer additional flexibility for faculty or campus groups wishing to keep their blog sites out of the public eye, while at the same time offering convenient feeds to newsreader services and aggregators.

If you have any questions or concerns about Blogs@MIIS access or functionality, please e-mail the Digital Learning Commons at miisdlc at gmail.com.

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Spring iLearn Course Spaces Available for Access & Roll-Over Requests

Nov 19

Posted by Bob Cole in Curricular Technology | No Comments

Before everyone dashes off for the holidays we wanted to tell you about developments for managing your Spring 2013 courses in iLearn.

Spring 2013 Courses

All Spring 2013 semester courses listed in the course catalog (as of this week) are now available online at: http://ilearn.miis.edu.

 

Request Editing Access to your Course Shell

To request editing privileges for a Spring 2013 course shell please e-mail Help Desk at helpdesk@miis.edu with corresponding course numbers and title.

 

Spring 2013 Default Enrollment Key

All course shells have been given a default password.

You should change your enrollment key and inform your students at the beginning of your course.  Your students will not be able to access your course materials without this password. To change your key follow these Knowledge Base instructions: http://go.miis.edu/ilearnkey

 

iLearn RolloverSpring 2013 Course Roll-over Requests

If you have course content from a previous semester that you want to import into a Spring 2013 course shell, you need to request a course “roll-over.”

To request a course roll-over from a previous semester follow the Knowledge Base instructions here http://go.miis.edu/rollover.

Your request will be sent to ITS Help Desk for processing.  Please allow 3-5 working days for your request to be completed.

 

Messaging your Students

You may want to message your students on or before the first day of class about how to access course content in iLearn.  Here’s a helpful Knowledge Base article to help you with this: http://go.miis.edu/ilearnmsg

You can send this message to students registered for your course through the Bannerweb system.  Learn how with this Knowledge Base article: http://go.miis.edu/bannermsg

 

Thanks!

IT Help Desk & DLC

ILearn Updates & Reminders

Aug 30

Posted by Bob Cole in Curricular Technology, Information Technology | No Comments

We’re happy to report that iLearn, our course management system hosted by CSUMB, underwent a successful upgrade to a new common codebase developed at SFSU. While the system looks more or less the same on the surface, you may notice a few changes including:

  • cross-browser access to the web editor now allows for rich editing in Mozilla Firefox, Safari, Google Chrome, and Internet Explorer
  • improved file management allows instructors to access files for all courses and improves server performances by preventing file duplication
  • course archives for previous academic years are now hosted on a separate server

Some Helpful Reminders

Logging In

iLearn is available at: http://ilearn.miis.edu.

  • iLearn user accounts are activated by logging in. Use your current Middlebury email account username (everything before @miis.edu) and password to log in.
  • If you are having trouble logging in, re-activate your account by visiting http://go.miis.edu/activate

Course Archives Policy

  • Spring and Summer 2011 courses are archived at ay1011.ilearn.miis.edu, where “ay” stands for academic year.
  • Pre-Spring 2011 Courses continue to be archived at eLearning.miis.edu
  • Moodle course sites are backed up and archived for two years beyond the semester of instruction.

Course Rollover Requests

  • Faculty who wish to import an archived course from an archive of a previous academic term should complete the Course Rollover Request Form.

Editing Your Fall 2011 Courses

To gain editing privileges:

  1. Login to iLearn and update your profile before requesting editing privileges for your course.
  2. Email the Help Desk with the course name and names of any other instructors who need access. They also must log into iLearn before we can assign them privileges.

iLearn Help

  • Refresher: If you are new to campus or are feeling a little rusty with iLearn, contact Bob Cole [bob dot cole at miis.edu] at the Digital Learning Commons to schedule a one-on-one or small group session.
  • Help Forum: Have a quick question? Post it in the iLearn User-to-User Forum on iLearn. Your questions make the community smarter!
  • Just in Time Video Training: We have access to a great new resource called Lynda.com which includes video-based tutorials for software ranging from iMovie to Excel to Moodle. Login with your Middlebury webmail credentials here to explore further: http://go.middlebury.edu/lynda

We will continue to announce updates as they develop.

Regards,

The Digital Learning Commons & Information Technology Services

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Social Network Safety

Jul 5

Posted by Greg Harris in Curricular Technology, Information Technology | No Comments

Social networks like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter are increasingly popular methods of communications both personally and in business. They are great ways to connect with friends, family, customers and people in your industry. By following a few simple safety tips you can take advantage of these opportunities without someone taking advantage of you.

Be Alert

  • Treat links with caution, even those that appear to be sent by a friend, customer or trusted company.
  • If a message from a trusted source is suspicious (e.g. asking for personal information or a friend for financial help) find another method to contact the sender to verify its authenticity.
  • Beware of “add-ons” and only download from sites the social site recommends or are reputable.

Protect Yourself

  • Do not share information online that you would not want publicly available permanently.
  • Do a social audit on yourself or your company. Conduct searches in major search engines to see what is being said and take action if needed to correct errors.
  • Businesses should have a social media policy in place for employees and limit those that can post on the company’s behalf.
  • Social sites should be selected carefully ensuring an acceptable level of protection and privacy.
  • Use anti-virus and anti-malware software and regularly install security updates for your browser and operating security system.
  • Educate children about how to protect themselves online as well as monitoring, setting rules and using filters where possible.
  • Use strong passwords and don’t share them with anyone.

Reporting

If you suspect your social network account has been compromised immediately change your passwords and any accounts that share the e-mail address associated with the account or its password. Report it to the social site and check for any additional information about what to do to regain control of your account.

If you believe your computer has been infected make sure all your anti-virus and anti-malware software is up to date and run a scan. Be sure to check any accounts you access online regularly for signs of fraud and report it immediately should you notice anything suspicious.

Please contact the MIIS Help Desk with any questions or concerns on these practices.

helpdesk@miis.edu (831) 647-6656

Summer and Fall iLearn courses available

May 31

Posted by Bob Cole in Curricular Technology | No Comments

Dear Faculty & Staff,

Please note that iLearn.miis.edu (aka. Moodle) is now ready for Summer and Fall 2011 course requests.

Course access and rollover request procedures remain the same as this Spring, when we first started using the iLearn platform.

Here are refreshed guidelines to keep handy for when you need to access your course space, or to roll-over previous materials:

Course Archives
Spring 2011 courses will be archived and accessible for future use for 2 years on the iLearn site.
The eLearning.miis.edu (former Moodle) site will continue to be available throughout 2011 as an archive of courses from the past.

Editing Your Summer and Fall 2011 iLearn Courses
All Summer and Fall courses have been created in iLearn. To gain editing privileges for your Summer or Fall 2011 course:

  • Email the Help Desk (helpdesk@miis.edu) with the course number and course title (e.g. IPOL 8501) as well as names of any other people who need access.

Request a Course Roll-over from a previous semester
If you have a course that you want imported from a previous semester, please request a course roll-over:

  • Login to iLearn
  • Complete the rollover request form by clicking on Rollover Request Button on the left-hand side of the home page.
  • Complete the form for each course you would like to have rolled over.
  • Your request will be automatically sent to ITS Help Desk for processing. Allow 3-5 working days for your requests to be completed.

Please feel free to contact the Help Desk with any questions.

ITS Department
Monterey Institute of International Studies
a Graduate School of Middlebury College
Phone: 831 647-6656
Fax: 831 647-6695
Technical Q&A
http://sites.middlebury.edu/kb/