The Online Course Student Feedback Survey is now ready for your students to take. As per the new faculty evaluation guidelines, the survey is formative in nature--like the revised IDEA form--and designed to provide the instructor with positive feedback to improve course design and delivery. The survey is optional for non-probationary faculty and those not in their three-year continuing contract cycle. Faculty can choose to evaluate their online course as their once-a-semester course evaluation. Probationary faculty, and faculty in their three-year continuing contact cycle, will use the Online Course Student Feedback Survey to evaluate all their online courses.

The Online Course Student Feedback Survey can be found at http://jcccsurvey.jccc.edu/TakeSurvey.asp?SurveyID=3M0l53L12595K. There are several ways of delivering the survey. One is to create a Calendar entry by cutting-and-pasting the URL above after selecting the Add Entry button. Click the More Options link to display the Internet URL field. The instructor can set the Calendar dates that the Survey will be available. The instructor can also create an Announcement alerting the students that the Survey is available.

Another mode of delivery is to create an entry in the Web Links. This method allows the instructor to create an icon linked to the Survey on the Course Content Home page and set Release Criteria.

The link to the survey can also be embedded in an email--whether WebCT or stumail. If using the latter be sure to provide the student with the CRN since the student has to enter the CRN on the first page of the survey.

Lastly one can create a Learning Module page and launch the Survey from it. To do so, first upload the Online_Survey form. Then in Build select Learning Modules. Then select the Action Link for the last learning module and select ‘Go to Learning Module.’ Using the Add File button select the .htm file from the File Manager and click OK. Move the Online Survey Learning Module to follow after the Final Exam. Using Selective Release make it so the Online Survey becomes available to the student after the student completes the Final Exam AND the score is NOT Equal to Zero. This blocks all those students who’ve dropped out of active participation long ago (and who probably won’t take the final exam) from completing the survey.

The survey should be completed by the end of the semester. Ralph Juhnke is in the process of developing a query form so that the instructor can make use of the survey results once the data is collected and returned to the faculty member the following semester.

If you have any questions about the survey or how best to implement it in your course shell, please contact me at ext. 4191, or email at michaelr@jccc.edu. I hope to create a Captivate tutorial and make that available soon.

Online Course Information Guide

Blackboard Learning System Campus Edition (aka WebCT 6.1.1)

The latest version of Blackboard / WebCT has been installed on the test server. Jonathan Bacon will send out an email soon asking for volunteers to start testing. Preliminary results show it to be stable and working efficiently. Also many of the known problems are resolved in this release. The purpose of the testing is to identify which bugs are indeed fixed, which are not, and which may need to be revisited.

An upgrade to Banner is also expected soon. If all goes well Jonathan hopes to have the current release of Blackboard LS 6.1 in production sometime between Christmas and the New Year. This should give faculty ample time to copy course content into Spring 2007 course shells and make them ready for the beginning of the semester.

Java Update 9 / Internet Explorer 7.0

Many of you may have received a notice that a new update is available for Java. You may have also received notification that the newest version of Internet Explorer is available for download. Because JCCC is currently running WebCT 6.0, which is not the most current release, IE 6 and Java Update 7 are the current authenticated browser settings for our version. Therefore the DLCC recommends that you not upgrade at this time. However, IE 7 is authenticated for the current release of Blackboard Learning System CE which we will begin testing soon.

That said, many users have already upgraded both IE and Java with no problems. When testing of Blackboard 6.1.1 begins Jonathan and the Ed Tech staff--and those who have already made the upgrade to IE 7 / Java Upgrade 9--will test the product with the newest browser configurations to verify the authentication of these settings. Those comfortable with technology and who wish to participate in the testing of 6.1.1 using the most recent browser can upgrade if they wish. However, if you are the least bit hesitant then you should wait until after the testing is over. Once we get the green light on 6.1.1 the DLCC will make an announcement when it's OK to upgrade to Internet Explorer 7.0 and Java Update 9.

WebCeTera

Due to technical difficulties, the both sections of WebCeTera were cancelled this semester. We hope to have the course operational again for Spring 2007 once we get Blackboard Learning System CE 6.1.1 up and running. Jonathan will send information on the dates for the two sessions once that becomes available. I suppose we'll need to come up with a new name as well. Any suggestions?

For those new to Distance Learning, 'WebCeTera' is a 5-week course that introduces the instructor to Blackboard Campus Edition 6.1--both as designer and as a student. WebCeTera includes tutorial movies, directed online discussions, optional live chat sessions, a Horizon Wimba Live Classroom demo, specific learning activities (assignments), and quizzes. WebCeTera is not a self-paced course but rather an interactive class that gives faculty a chance to experience being an online student. You'll use all the major Blackboard / WebCT tools and receive a free textbook 147 Practical Tips for Teaching Online Groups, plus a WebCeTera t-shirt after successful completion of the course. For more information and registration instructions go to http://web.jccc.net/edtech/training/Schedule.htm.

A reminder for those graduates of 4.1 or 6.0 WebCeTera, or those who have gone through 6.0 transition training and need refreshers, that all the training materials and Captivate videos are available online at TechNotes on the WebCT Resources page (Ed Tech Center). You can use the search engine to find information about a specific tool, or click on the WebCeTera link under Channels to display an alphabetical list of all WebCT training documents and videos.