Insight Knowledge Base Support - All

b. Send an email

Wed, 09 Feb 2011 00:57:46 +0000

Send an Email

To send an email message using Walled Garden Mail, just click the "Compose" link in the Walled Garden Mail block. The following New Message window will appear.

First: Click "Contacts"

Click the "Contacts" link to open a popup Window box that lists teachers and students in the class so you can choose your addressee. To write to your teacher, choose Teacher in the Current role dropdown list, then click the TO button next to the correct name. Choose Student as the Current role to see students in the class and choose All as the Current role to see students in the class as well as the teacher. If there are many pages of students in your class, you can also click on the initial for first or last name of the person you are seeking.

Once you have selected the recipients of your email, click the "Close this window" button to return to the New Message window.

Next: Add a Subject and type a message

Next you must type in a meaningful Subject for the email. Don't just say "Help", say "Problem submitting sample quiz" or something specific. After your Subject, begin typing your message in the Message box.

Last: Click Send

Lastly, click the "Send" button.

How to set up email forwarding

Tue, 25 Jan 2011 23:54:40 +0000

If you want to forward your CCSFmail email to another email address you check more frequently, these steps will guide you.

Step 1: Login to your CCSFmail Account and navigate to Email (follow the tutorial steps 1-4)

Step 2: From your Email screen, click on "Settings" found at the top right in the header

Step 3: Click on "Forwarding and POP/IMAP" under Settings

Step 4: Under Forwarding, check the "Add a Forwarding Address" button.

Step 5: Type your email address that you want to forward CCSFmail to in the box provided and then click Next.

You will then receive a message stating "A confirmation code has been sent to verify permission." Click OK.

Step 6: Open your forwarding email account, which is the account you entered in step 5. Look for the the confirmation message from the Gmail Team.

Step 7: Click the verification link in that email. As soon as you click on the link, you should see a message confirming your success.
"xxxxxxx@mail.ccsf.edu may now forward mail to xxxxxx@xxxx."

Step 8: Go back into your CCSFmail account. Once again click on "Settings" found at the top right in the header.

Step 9: Click on "Forwarding and POP/IMAP" under Settings. Select "Forward a copy of incoming mail to ....." and verify that "keep Gmail's copy in the Inbox" is showing

Step 10: Click the "Save Changes" button.

How to reset password

Wed, 01 Dec 2010 19:57:33 +0000

If you are unable to remember your CCSFmail password, you can reset your CCSFmail password using Web4. Follow the steps below to reset your password. NOTE: You are changing your CCSFmail password, not your Web4 password.

Go to http://www.ccsf.edu/ using any browser of your choice. Firefox is preferred.
Click the MyCCSF link (top right).
Click Web4 under For Students, which is in the middle column.
Fill in the User ID and PIN, then click Log In button.
Click on Personal Information link.
Scroll down and click on Student CCSFmail link.
Click on CCSFmail info link.
Click on Reset Password button. The new password will display in a few seconds. Use it to log into your CCSFmail account.

Wait List FAQs

Wed, 01 Dec 2010 18:04:11 +0000

For FAQs on wait list when registering for classes on Web4, click on this link: http://www.ccsf.edu/Schedule/Info/waitlistFAQ.htm

b. Edit Icons

Mon, 25 Oct 2010 17:49:02 +0000

Edit Icons

Drag and Drop. Our software uses "Ajax" by default to move objects around on the page when editing. This means that generally, you can simply "drag and drop" the activity/resource to where you want it to go by simply clicking on the "" icon and dragging it to where you want it to appear on the page. (The Ajax setting is found in your user profile. You can turn it off, if you like.) However, sometimes you will need to use one of the icons below to move objects around on your course page:

or Move left/right. Use either of these icons to indent a resource/activity/label. You can use the visual alignment of items to help illustrate the hierarchical organization of your course content. You can also use them to move a block to the left or the right columns of the content area.

Move item up or down. Click this icon to make the item disappear from view and mini rectangles like this, (or ) , appear on the screen as options for where you want to move the item to. The name of the item you're moving (in case you forgot) is at the very top of the screen above the "block 0". Click a rectangle to drop the item you're moving into that position. You can use this to move items (resources or activities or labels) within or between topics/weeks sections.

Move block/section up or down. These icons appear in the blocks (optional blocks you can add to your course) or in the content sections to move whole sections up or down.

or Update (edit) icon. You click this to edit the content of your resource/activity/label.

or Show or hide item. Click these icons to change the view of an item to hidden. Items with the "open eye" are visible to students. Items with a "closed eye" are hidden from students. [The eyes are brown when showing or hiding an optional block.]

or No Groups. This appears when you can sort an activity/resource by groups. In this case, a single person indicates this is NOT a group activity/resource.

or Groups. This appears when you can sort an activity/resource by groups. In this case, two people indicates this IS a group activity/resource. Note: You have to set up groups in the activity/resource itself to make groups work.

orDelete. Deletes the item next to it.

or Expand/Contract Content Sections. If you click the single square icon in a content section, it will contract all of the sections so that only the section you clicked the square in will show. So, say you only want to view Topic 4 or Week 4 - click on the single square in Topic/Week 4 and only that Topic/Week will show. Then, in that section the double square will appear for you to click to expand the view to show all sections (all Topics/Weeks) again.

or Current Topic. Click this icon to make it the current topic you're covering. [Highlights it for viewing.]

i. Constructivism

Wed, 13 Oct 2010 16:44:03 +0000

Constructivism

Constructivist learning is based on students' active participation in problem-solving and critical thinking regarding a learning activity that they find relevant and engaging.

Online learning presents an ideal modality for a student-centered learning environment.

With constructivist learning comes a change in the traditional classroom roles of the students and teacher. The teacher is a facilitator or coach in the constructivist learning approach. The teacher guides the student, stimulating and provoking the student's critical thinking, analysis and synthesis throughout the learning process. The teacher is also a co-learner. In effect, the student becomes a co-teacher, sharing experiences, thoughts, feedback, and possibilities with other students. Learning is often assessed through performance-based projects rather than through traditional paper and pencil testing.

Students need to develop individual competence, but within a context of effective participation within groups and communities. The effective use of the Web for student-centered learning and the constructivist model provides a simple framework by providing access to rich sources of information and meaningful interactions with content. Students are brought together to challenge ideas, support, and respond to each other.

The online environment can take a lot of the time pressures off for both students and faculty. Often instructors worry that spending time on active learning exercises takes away from important lecture time, or that they'll never get through all the content without sticking with lecture notes. With online classes, you can ask probing questions of students, letting them think about them "off-line". They will then come back to your online course in a few days with well-formulated ideas, able to post them to an active discussion board where they receive prompt, effective feedback from other students and the instructor.

Let's take a break for a minute and watch a movie:

Fellow CCSF faculty member - Briahn Kelly-Brennan.Briahn developed her course and then ended up a self-declared "Eyestone-groupie" and took my BCST 119 Digital Media Skills course, followed-up by BCST 135 Podcasting. She's now added a supplemental audio and video component to her Traditional Chinese Medicine course and has gotten completely tech-savvy!

Optional Further Reading:

All external resources open in new browser windows.

What is Constructivism? (http://hagar.up.ac.za/catts/learner/lindavr/lindapg1.htm)
Variou assembled Constructivism links (http://carbon.ucdenver.edu/~mryder/itc_data/constructivism.html)
Cooperative Learning in Technical Courses: Procedures, Pitfalls, and Payoffs
(http://www.ncsu.edu/felder-public/Papers/Coopreport.html)

City College of San Francisco

10D - Sample Student Instructions Based on Activity Type

Mon, 10 May 2010 16:59:41 +0000

I've received lots of questions on these topics so I thought I'd post my suggestions here to help understand "student perspective" - the instructions that would help guide students through participating in your activity(s). - Mary

Suggestions for additional guidance for students when composing lengthy discussion posts, glossary entries, or online text assignment response, and eMail list messages, quiz essay questions... (basically anywhere they interact with that editor):

Warning: If you generally need longer than 5 minutes to compose your response, it is best practice to compose your response in Word/Notepad/TextEdit (or some other text editor) and then copy and paste it into your response here. Why? If you are inactive for longer than 5 minutes (on average) your browser may time you out (and you'll lose your work).

Forums: Each person posts once type of forum

How To...

Compose and post your response: Click on the Add a new discussion topic button below, compose your message, and submit message.
View other student's responses: Click on the SUBJECT of their post (not their name)
Reply to another student: Click on the Reply link at the bottom right of his/her post.

Warning: If you generally need longer than 5 minutes to compose your response, it is best practice to compose your response in Word/Notepad/TextEdit (or some other text editor) and then copy and paste it into your response here. Why? If you are inactive for longer than 5 minutes (on average) your browser may time you out (and you'll lose your work).

Forums: Standard Forum For General Use

To post your question, click on the add a new discussion topic button. Please be specific in the subject line - state your question so that others can find and respond to you.
To read a question, click on the subject of the post.
To reply to a question, then click on reply at the lower right of the post.

[Instructors: You can always change the word "question" to "topic" or whatever else suits the situation.]

Forums: Single Simple Discussion

To reply to this discussion, click on reply at the lower right of the post.

Online Text Assignment Type Instructions for how to:

How to submit your report:

Click on Edit my submission to type your report and submit it.

Note: It may be easier to type your response in MS Word and copy and paste it into the "Edit my submission" box. Why? If you take longer than 5 minutes to compose your response in the submission box and don't submit, you may lose your work. Also, this way you have a "copy" of your work on your own computer.

Advanced Uploading of Files Assignment Type: [Don't use the regular Upload a file Type - because you can't resubmit a document to students with that type]

Example:

Please use this naming convention for your file:

FirstInitialLastNameFinal.doc
For example: MParkeFinal.doc

How to submit your file:

Click on Browse to search for the file you saved on your local computer, select it, click OK or Continue and click on Upload this file to submit.

>Instructors: If you enable the "send for marking feature" in the settings for this assignment, then add these instructions to the above (and know that once it has been sent for marking, students can no longer resubmit):

When you are finished with your document and ready to submit it for grading, please click on the send for marking button.

>Instructors: If you enable the "notes" section, just explain how you want them to use it (for example, list areas they want support on for rough draft)

Click on the edit button to compose a brief note to the instructor on target areas you want assistance on...

QUIZ
Depending on how you set your quiz settings, this is an example "instructional" message that you add in the quiz update settings box [example below]:

This quiz covers assignments for Weeks 1 - 4. There are 50 questions. You have 50 minutes to take the quiz. The quiz will open in a pop-out window so set your browser to allow pop-ups.*

To save your work as you progress, click on "save without submitting".
To go to another page of questions, click on "Next".
If you click on "submit" at the end of a question, you will have submitted the question for grading and cannot change that question's answer.
To submit your quiz when finished, click on "save and submit".
The quiz close date and time is when the quiz ends. Meaning, if the quiz closes at midnight and you login at 11:55pm, your quiz will auto-submit your responses for grading at midnight (so then you only have 5 minutes to take the quiz). So don't procrastinate.

If you run out of time, your responses will be saved and submitted for grading up to the point you are at when time runs out.

*If you need assistance configuring your browser, please read the Insight System Requirements and Browser Check for help.

c7. Respondus to Moodle

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 15:49:56 +0000

RESPONDUS TO MOODLE

Respondus is a powerful program that can convert questions to a format compatible with Moodle. If your publisher does not work with Moodle or doesn't meet the criteria for the other import formats, try using a Respondus format to import your questions to Moodle. Respondus is a licensed program. The faculty lab in Batmale (3rd floor) has a few stations licensed for Respondus. Otherwise, you can download a trial version off the Internet. Instructions are within this tutorial.

A. First setup the Categories for the questions (Question banks) in your course:

Go to the Administration menu and click on Questions
Click on the Categories tab
At the bottom of the window, create the new "categories" (a category is a question bank - the folder holding your questions). In Moodle, try to not put spaces in the category names and keep them short
I recommend always adding them to the "Top" parent. The "Name" is the name of your bank. I've setup the first 15 banks for you.

B. Download the trial version of Respondus from the Respondus website and install on your local computer

Instructions are on this webpage: http://www.respondus.com/download/respondus.shtml

Step 1 - Download the Installation Program

The installation program for Respondus can be downloaded from this url: http://www.respondus4.com/downloads/Respondus35.exe

Step 2 - Install and Start Respondus 3.5

Use Windows' My Computer or Explorer to locate the Respondus35.exe file downloaded in Step 1. Double-click the file to start the Respondus installation program. Several screens will guide you through the installation program. Once Respondus is installed, start the program by double-clicking the Respondus icon that is now located on the Windows desktop. Or follow these steps to start the software.

Click [Start] from the Windows desktop
Click [Programs]
Click [Respondus]
Click [Respondus 3.5]

The first time you start Respondus (and each time thereafter until the program is registered), you will be presented with a screen that provides the "Product ID#." The Product ID# is used in Step 3 to obtain the password required to activate the software.

Step 3 - Register Your Copy of Respondus

Go to http://www.respondus.com/register/regtrial.shtml. You are required to fill out a form and enter the Product ID# (see Step 2) and a valid e-mail address. Once the registration information is submitted, the password is immediately sent to the e-mail address you provided.

Step 4 - Enter the Activation Password

Once you receive the password by e-mail, it must be entered into the Respondus program. If you haven't done so already, start Respondus (see Step 2). Enter your password when prompted (you may want to "copy and paste" the password from the e-mail message in order to prevent typing mistakes). Click [OK] to continue. The Respondus software is now activated. You will not need to repeat Steps 1-4 in the future, except when upgrading to the latest version of the software. Note that online help is available within the Respondus program. A user guide may also be downloaded.

C. Download your TESTBANK for your book. The instructions are usually in a file/email sent by the publisher:

To download the Respondus-formatted test bank:

Start your Respondus software
Select the "Open" task and click the "Download Test Bank" button
Enter the following information:

File Code: [insert]
File Password: [insert]
Server User: - leave blank -
Server Password: - leave blank -
Your Name: [insert]
Institution: [San Francisco Community College District]
Email Address:

4. Click the "Download" button (you need to have a live Internet connection at this point). If you are using StudyMate author, an additional screen will appear with conversion options.

Once the download is complete, the test bank will be located in your "Projects" folder.

To view a step-by-step movie that shows how to download a Respondus-formatted test bank using Respondus, go to:

http://www.respondus.com/products/demos.shtml

If you are having problems downloading this particular test bank, please send the complete contents of this email message
to publishers@respondus.com. Be sure to describe the exact problem you are encountering and any error messages that may appear.

D. Create your testbanks in RESPONDUS

In Respondus, go to the Start Menu.

From the Start menu, click the Open button. The following window will appear:

The [Download Test Bank] button is used to download test banks that are distributed by textbook publishers. To download a test bank, enter the File Code and password that is supplied by the publisher. Respondus will automatically locate, download, and restore the test bank file and place it in the Respondus Projects folder.

Highlight the name of the downloaded testbank project folder and click to open it, then select the chapter/exam you wish to begin with from the “selected file” area and click on the “Open” button.

Once a file is opened, the screen automatically changes to the Edit menu.

Exam Wizard

The Exam Wizard helps familiarize new users with the basic functions of Respondus. In addition, the Exam Wizard is the best way to create an exam using questions contained in one or more Respondus files, such as a publisher test bank. The Exam Wizard allows questions to be randomly selected from other files and point values to be assigned across an entire question type.

To begin, select the Exam Wizard button from the Start menu. The first page of the wizard offers three choices. Select the top choice that states “Create a new exam and then copy questions to it from a question bank or Respondus file” and click [Next]. The next page of the wizard requires you to provide a name and description for the exam being created. Click [Next] once this information has been entered. The next page of the wizard prompts you to select the Respondus files from which the questions will be copied. Highlight a file and click the [Select] button. Repeat this process until all files from which you want to select questions are selected. Click [Next] to continue.

The next page of the wizard prompts you to select one of the source files chosen in the previous step. You then have the choice of using Automatic Selection or Manual Selection. When Automatic Selection is chosen, the current number of questions for each question type is displayed in the “Available to Select” column. In the next column, enter the number of questions you want selected for each question type. Then enter the point values to be assigned to each question type (this step is optional--if you leave the “points per question” field blank, the point values from the original file will be used). When all entries are finished, click either the [Add to End of List] button or the [Insert Into List] button. Repeat this process for each source file.

The Manual Selection option allows the questions for each file to be viewed before making a selection. In fact, you can preview individual questions by clicking the title of a question, or by searching the entire list of questions by clicking the [Keyword Search] button at the top right. To select questions from this list, simply click in the column furthest to the left--a checkmark will appear next to the question. When you are finished with your selections, click either the [Add to End of List] button or the [Insert Into List] button. Repeat this process for each source file.

The Automatic Selection and Manual Selection options may be combined. You may also reselect a file from the pull-down list and choose additional questions from it. However, Respondus will prevent you from selecting a question more than once.

Once questions have been added to the list at the bottom of the screen, you may edit the point values manually. To delete a question from the bottom list, or to move it to a different location in the list, click the blue title and select the desired option. Finally, notice that a tally of the total number of questions and point values appears at the top right corner of the lower grid.

The next and final page of the wizard is self-explanatory. It provides a variety of options as to what can occur next. For example, to edit questions in the file, you would select the option to go to the Edit menu. To preview the exam, you would select that option, and so on.

Click [Finish] to complete the wizard.

Changing the CMS “Personality” and Converting Files

Changing the Personality

To switch to a different personality in Respondus, go to the Start menu and choose the IMS QTI Personality from the list that appears at the top of the screen. If the currently open file was created (or imported) using a different Respondus personality, a message will warn you of this and indicate that the file will be converted to the new personality if you continue. Click [OK] to continue and you will see one or more warnings of what will be modified when the file is converted. In some situations, you will be given a choice of how certain items will be converted. For instance, if you are converting a file from the WebCT 3.x personality to the Blackboard 5.x personality, you may encounter a message asking how “feedback” for answers should be handled.

After the file is converted, a screen will detail every modification or change that occurred to the file during the conversion process. You must then determine whether to “replace the current file” with the newly converted file, or to “save as a new file”.

If you plan to convert a large number of files and you want to use the same conversion settings, it is recommended that you go to the File>Preferences>Conversion screen and set your conversion settings accordingly. In this way you won’t have to specify your conversion preferences each time you convert a file.

E. EXPORT QUESTIONS FROM RESPONDUS

To export questions from Respondus so that they can be used with a Moodle server, follow these steps:

From the Start menu in Respondus, select the "IMS QTI 1.1+" personality from the pull-down list at the top of the screen
Open the Respondus file to be exported
Go to the "Preview & Publish" menu and select the tab "Save QTI XML File"
For the preference settings in Step 1, select “Points as decimal numbers” and “QTI XML zip file using IMS Content Packaging 1.1.3”
Save the file and make a note of its location on your hard drive

F. IMPORT QUESTIONS TO MOODLE

To import questions into Moodle follow these steps:

Login to your course and select the "Questions" administration feature
Select the "Import" tab
Select the desired category to import the questions to
Un-check "from file:"
Select "Respondus QTI format"
Select "Browse..." and choose the zip package of the Respondus question bank to import
Select "Upload this file"
Follow the on-screen instructions and click on “continue” when necessary.

G. LASTLY, you need to create the quiz and add questions from the bank to the quiz.

Wimba Voice Tools Support

Mon, 19 Apr 2010 15:39:43 +0000

Wimba Voice Tools Support

Within Insight there is a suite of tools known as "Wimba Voice Tools". These tools are frequently used within our foreign language classes online as they allow students to submit audio recordings for sharing with the instructor and/or class. These tools are not supported by the Insight help desk, but rather, are directly supported by the Wimba vendor. This is true for both faculty and students - the vendor provides direct support. Please consult below for the ways to access these wonderful support materials.

Wimba Support Information

Handouts and/or Tutorials:

Students: http://www.wimba.com/services/students/voice/

Faculty: http://www.wimba.com/services/instructor/voice/ (Moodle)

Contact Support

http://www.wimba.com/services/support
Wimba Collaboration Suite Technical Support via phone:
US & Canada: 866.350.4978
UK: 0800.007.6788
Rest of World: +1 703.956.3816

Technical Support via Email

technicalsupport@wimba.com