Succeed Upgrade

Succeed

We plan to upgrade Succeed to the latest release (October 2014) on August 1st. There are two reasons that we wish to upgrade:

(i) The underlying Oracle database needs upgrading and only the October 2014 release supports the appropriate release of Oracle

(ii) In the short-term, Blackboard have changed their release process away from two major releases a year (April/October) to one of smaller incremental upgrades and only the October 2014 release gets these, as say are called, cumulative updates. Thus we’ll be in a position to install security fixes, if needed, and add new functionality, if required.

Blackboard intend to return to their bi-annual release policy in April 2016.

The good news about October 2014 is that it is primarily a bug fix release and does not introduce a host of new features or modified workflows. Thus both staff and students should find that nothing or very little changes with the upgrade.

As we are upgrading both Succeed and the underlying database we expect Succeed to be down for the majority of 1st August (9am – 5pm). Obviously let us know if this date causes issues with planned activities.

Re-enabling a Plugin for Succeed File Upload in Chrome

Succeed

If you use the Google Chrome browser and have recently experienced some features stopping working properly then this posting may be relevant to you. From Chrome version 42 onwards Google have stopped supporting a plugin protocol called NPAPI (Netscape Plugin Application Programming Interface). This plugin is used to make the following items launch or work from within Chrome:

  • Authored contents that require Java; for example, some older SCORM packages or publisher content
  • The Blackboard Virtual Classroom and Chat Tool (not much used in Succeed)
  • Multi-File Drag-and-Drop in the Content Collection or Course Files area

It’s the last one of these which could prove most problematic, the file drag and drop into Succeed.

You can temporarily turn the NPAPI plugin back on, but by the time Chrome has received version 45 (September 2015) this option will itself be disabled. We were hoping by then that Blackboard would have handled this issue with an alternative solution so files may be dragged and dropped into the file store in Succeed, but this is only being indicated as being fixed in a ‘Future Release’ of the VLE.

To turn the NPAPI plug in back on temporarily until September 2015, open a Chrome session and input in to the address bar:

chrome://flags/#enable-npapi

This will open a page showing the NPAPI plugin option. Click Enable under the NPAPI option, then restart Chrome to allow this plugin to work for another couple of months.

NPAPI enable screen shot

After September 2015, if there’s no solution in place from Blackboard all we can recommend for the dragging and dropping of multiple files to upload into Succeed is to use another browser (preferably Internet Explorer 11, as Firefox will also be subject to the NPAPI plugin being turned off in the future, though not as soon as September 2015) .

Chrome Red Lines and Yellow Triangles

Security, Succeed

You may have noticed that Chrome is showing either a strike-through (red) or a yellow warning triangle against the https part of the web address:

red

 

 

or

yellow

 

 

both indicate that the certificate being used to make the connection to Succeed secure is using a form of encryption that Google (and Microsoft) wish to stop using. See Google’s statement here:

http://googleonlinesecurity.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/gradually-sunsetting-sha-1.html

At the moment these warnings can be ignored against Succeed as they telling us to upgrade our certificates in the near future and this is already in hand. Clicking on the lock icon will provide the precise details of why the particular icon is showing. In Succeed you should only see up to three issues:

  • That website does not have a public record
  • The site contains insecure links (these start ‘http’ not ‘https’)
  • Connection encrypted using RC4_128 with SHA1

The first and last will always appear (both should be resolved with the new certificates).

New Microsoft Lync guide

Lync

A further guide on using Microsoft Lync is now available on the Lync page on the IS web site. The new guide is entitled, ‘Presenting and Sharing Content in Microsoft Lync ‘ and covers the presentation and content sharing aspects of Lync, including how to present programs (application sharing), how to upload and deliver a PowerPoint presentation through Lync, using the Whiteboard, creating a Poll, running a Q&A session and how to send Attachments to other users.

The Lync page is here:

http://www.stir.ac.uk/is/staff/it/software/microsoftlync/

…and a direct link to the guide, in PDF form, is here:

http://www.stir.ac.uk/media/schools/is/documents/succeeddocuments/presenting_in_lync.pdf

 

Microsoft Lync – Guides Available

Camtasia Relay, Camtasia Studio, Collaborate, Documentation, Listen Again, Lync, Succeed, , , , , ,

Staff at the University of Stirling can install and make use of the peer-to-peer communication tool Microsoft Lync. Lync allows communication by audio, video and instant messaging, as well as the recording of sessions and distribution and sharing of content such as PowerPoint presentations. Users familiar with Skype or Blackboard Collaborate may wish to try out Lync to test how it compares for meetings and teaching and learning purposes. Lync is also fully integrated with Outlook, allowing meetings to be scheduled and placed in your work calendar, with invitations sent out by email.

A couple of guides to using this software have recently been created and are housed on a new Microsoft Lync page on the Information Services (IS) web site:

http://www.stir.ac.uk/is/staff/it/software/microsoftlync/

The guides are:

  • Using Microsoft Lync – An Introductory Guide
    This guide is aimed at staff wishing to run basic Microsoft Lync sessions, dealing with installing and setting up the software and how to connect to other staff and communicate with them.
  • Recording in Microsoft Lync
    This guide explains how to record sessions in Microsoft Lync, where the recordings are stored, how to change the location of stored recordings and how to process them through Camtasia Studio and Camtasia Relay in order to add them to a Listen Again page.

Further guides on using Lync are in the pipeline, including a guide on how to make use of the presentation features within the product. Watch this space.

Turnitin Spring Webcast – What’s the OSI (Overall Similarity Index) got to do with it?

Copyright, Plagiarism, Turnitin, ,

The Turnitin Professional Development team have created a pre-recorded session which you can watch at your leisure, the first in a series of three new recordings this Spring. The title of this one is, ‘What’s the OSI (Overall Similarity Index) got to do with it?’ the blurb says, “Join us for an engaging session on best practices and strategies for teaching students how to best use their Originality Reports.”

http://go.turnitin.com/whats-the-OSI-got-to-do-with-it

MyProgress

Assessment, e-Learning Forum, Mobile, Succeed

A demonstration of  MyProgress has been arranged for Tuesday 17th March at 13.00 in the Enterprise Zone.

What is Myprogress?
Myprogress is a mobile assessment product for recording skills and managing structured examinations. It enables authoring and delivery of rich observational competency assessments on iOS and Android devices, online and offline. Its offline app means that students and assessors can capture evidence, even in challenging environments with no connectivity.

Myprogress gives you all of the tools you need to manage skills assessment effectively

  • Enables students to respond to assessments at any time through a customisable free App, even offline
  • Enables tutors and mentors to manage assessments and engage with students through personal feedback at the moment of need without having to leave the campus and visit widely dispersed students on placement
  • External assessors can complete observations in real time using the student’s device or their own (we include a reviewer role for remedial escalation)
  • A progress file enables students to collect a record of achievement
  • Assessments can be mapped to professional competency frameworks, including learning outcomes
  • Advanced reporting tools for reviewing individual and group activity and scoring

For further information go to https://www.myknowledgemap.com/products/myprogress/features.aspx

So if your division has students on placements come along as this software could be very useful.

Teaching Bites

Teaching Bites

To sign-up for any of the talks below simply go to Succeed -> Learning and Development – My Learning -> Teaching Bites and then select the talks you wish to attend.

Wednesday 11th March 2015, 1-2pm, S10
Professor Kirstie Blair, English Studies, University of Stirling
Using Podcasts in Student Learning
This session reflects on a SELF-funded project designed to engage students in English literature with the study of poetry, and to provide a resource for Highers/A-level students that would introduce them to university-level critical practice. The project involved creating podcasts that modelled collaborative readings of literary text through conversation between two staff members.

Workshop, 18th March 2015. 12-2pm,  S10
Dr Michael McEwan, Learning and Teaching Centre, University of Glasgow
International Students in UK HE: supporting inclusive learning, teaching and assessment.
In this workshop participants will explore some of the challenges faced when teaching in a multicultural, international classroom. Key to improving student outcomes in a multicultural classroom is the development of a mutual understanding of different cultural expectations (McEwan, 2013) and how those differences can impact on the teaching, learning and assessment activities for students and staff. Participants will begin by looking at what diversity and the individuality of learners means on a personal level and for their current teaching, learning and assessment practice. Participants will further explore the different challenges faced by teachers and learners in any multicultural classrooms and discuss strategies to manage such challenges within small groups. We will examine some issues of cultural diversity through the lens of Hofstede’s (1986) cultural dimensions and will relate these to the dimensions of culture in order to provide a framework to interpret cultural differences.
Accordingly, participants will develop an understanding of how different challenges within an international classroom may be perceived by all stakeholders. The workshop will close with the application of this understanding to generate strategies which enable more effective learning environments for diverse, multicultural, international groups.

Thursday 26th March 2015, 1-2pm, S10
Dr Amanda Sykes, Learning and Teaching Centre, University of Glasgow
PeerWise: more new-fangled technology or a useful tool?
The website says that PeerWise supports students to create, share, evaluate and discuss MCQs. This sounds great, but what is PeerWise, does it really do what they say it does, is it as simple to set up as they suggest and what do staff and students think about using it?’

Amanda will show you PeerWise, consider the results of studies around its use and what we might learn from them, and will share her experiences of using this software with students in life sciences.

Bring along a wifi connected device, and you can try it for yourself.

Tuesday 31st March 1-2pm, S10
Mark Charters, Glasgow School of Art
Supporting Student Learning: Collecting and Using Feedback from Students
Student feedback is an important and influential part of how we evaluate and enhance our teaching as well as improving student learning. There are many approaches, methods and tools we can use to gather student feedback and to analyse it to get the best results from the information. This workshop will allow colleagues to explore opportunities for gathering student feedback throughout the learning process and how best to utilise this information to enhance our teaching practice and improve our student learning.

Thursday 16th April 1-2pm, S10
Dr Joe Gray, Life Sciences, University of Glasgow,
Dealing with all the emails, what happens when you decide to communicate with students through the VLE?
How can a traditional, lecture-driven undergraduate course taken by a large number of students be delivered effectively and efficiently? In particular, how can a few staff encourage active engagement and provide effective feedback to a wide range of learners that differ in their academic interest, academic ability, learning style and cultural background?
Successfully addressing this question is important for the higher education sector not least because it will improve performance, satisfaction and retention of the increasingly diverse student body. Here, we will report a cost-benefit analysis of the use of an asynchronous online forum in providing feedback to and supporting a large Level 2 Genetics class at the University of Glasgow. The course is taken by 300-400 students from diverse backgrounds and with a wide range of intended degrees as the outcome. This course is taught by only two staff members. We make substantial, though measured, use of an asynchronous Moodle forum. Student traffic on this forum is significant.
This presentation will explore the following: How much time and effort do we spend on the forum? Why do students engage so actively with the forum? What benefits, if any, do staff and students gain from the forum? What lessons have we learned? Should other courses consider adopting such a forum?

Listen Again Upgraded

Listen Again

In a previous posting we noted that Listen Again server should be upgraded. The upgrade has been in place since the start of semester and has led to huge improvement in processing for recordings. It still takes the same time to process each recording but as three can be processed in parallel the overall time between submission and receiving the email that the job has been completed has returned to the previous time of less then 24 hours (and usually considerably less than this).

Course Representatives

Succeed

Most Succeed spaces will have a link to the Course Representatives tool (usually in Module Administration). As a student you can use this link to put yourself forward as a course representative and your fellow students can contact you via the same link.