IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM THE SGA

Attention all students let your voice be heard!

The SGA is on the brink of decision-making and wants your voice to be heard.

Do you support a one percent increase ($50) in room and board costs next year for Allen Dining Hall hours to be extended to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday each week?

Everyone is invited to the SGA Open Forum tomorrow, March 1 at 6 p.m. in Borden Student Associations Room of the Brandt Student Center to discuss this important matter.

Read More

How to Clear your Cache, Cookies and History

Your web browser “caches” or stores a copy of every file you access so it doesn't have to retrieve the same file and images on the page each time you click the Back or Forward button. It is a good idea to periodically clear this cache. This makes your browser work more efficiently.

If you are using Safari on a Mac select Empty Cache from the Safari menu. If you wish to clear cookies or your history you can do so by selecting Reset Safari. You will be given a list of items you can reset. On Windows select the gear on the upper right and choose Reset Safari from the dropdown.

For Firefox on the Mac go up to Tools on the menu bar and select Clear Recent History. You will see a list of items you may wish to clear including Cache.
 On Windows go up to Tools, Clear Recent History and click the Details button to access the list.

If you are using Chrome select the wrench icon on the upper right then Tools then select Clear Browsing Data.

Read More

About Learning Modules

A Learning Module is basically a shell in which organized content items such as as files, folders and tools are added and presented together. Learning Modules enable you to follow a structured path for progressing through content. The sequential path option may or may not be turned on by your Instructor. If it is turned on you need to progress through the course in order one item at a time. If it’s not enforced you may be allowed to access any item at any time.

Navigating within Learning Modules

To move from page to page within a module, click the right and left arrow buttons on the top right of the content area. Example: The button will appear next to the text, "Page 1 of 3".

Using the Table of Contents

The Table of Contents displays next to the Course Menu on the left-hand side of the page. It can also be moved below the Learning Module content area.

There are three display options available on the header of the Table of Contents:

• Minimize
• Maximize
• Move to the bottom or the left

Positioning the Table of Contents

Click the button with the arrow pointing down to move the Table of Contents to the bottom of the page. To move the Table of Contents back to the left, click the left-facing arrow. The move to the left option will reposition the Table of Contents to the left of the content area. Please note that your instructors can organize the Table of Contents however they see fit. The Table of Contents can be displayed using roman numerals, numbers, letters, or any combination of the three.

Read More

Personalizing Your Blackboard Page

Remember that song we all sang as kids..."If you're happy and you know it change your colors" Ok, that's not exactly how the song went but it does apply here. As a student you can change the look and feel of your Bb to reflect your moods. Simply go up to the right hand corner and click the Personalize Page button. Here you will find an assortment of additional color schemes to select from. Longing for Spring to get here (and STAY here)? Choose pastels by selecting the Spring color palette. Miss the salt air and the surf? Choose Ocean.Want to torture your eyeballs? Choose the Lime palette. But remember: After you make a selection press submit.

Read More

Using the Bb Mobile App - Pt.2 (Navigating)

We are continuing our discussion on the new Bb app available for ipod,iphone and ipad from the apple store. (if you need to catch up see previous post.)
One you log in with your Bb username and password you will see  on the left side a column containing Courses in which you are enrolled. If there are several you can scroll the list up and down by dragging your finger within the list.
At the lower left bottom you can choose whether you want to view your courses or your organizations which you are involved in.
You will see in the middle of the screen a list of menu items you can choose from. Those items with a blue arrow to the right contain a submenu. When these items (with the blue arrows) are clicked the sub menu appears to the right of the main menu.
Your Blackboard Dashboard opens up when the Dashboard tab on the right is clicked. It closes when clicked again.
You can log off with the button on the top.

Read More

Using the Bb Mobile App - Pt.1 (downloading and logging in)

Guess what...you don't need your laptop to access Blackboard. Shenandoah also offers it's students a mobile Bb app usable on your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad.The Blackboard Mobile Learn app is available for download in the App store. Simply search for Blackboard Mobile Learn to locate it.  There are separate versions available for both iPhone/iPod and iPad.  Once you have downloaded and opened Blackboard Mobile Learn: you need to enter Shenandoah in the search bar. After you enter the search name “Learn-Shenandoah University” will appear for you to select.  A log-in box will appear for you to enter your username and password. NOTE: THIS IS THE SAME USERNAME/PASSWORD YOU ENTER TO ACCESS BLACKBOARD . Now look around a bit. It's really neat and we will be continuing our mobile Bb app training for the next few posts!

Read More

Your Mac: Something Useful & Something Fun

We realize here at IC that the majority of Shenandoah students grew up on a Windows computer. We are also sure that there are a few of you out there who are still intimidated by your MacBook Pro...that brushed aluminum mystery of a laptop that was handed to you at the beginning of the semester. We will be running Mac hints often on this blog so that you can feel more confident in operating your laptop.

Today we will tell ya something useful and show ya something fun! Let's get the useful part over with first.

Want to find a file, application or folder quickly? 1st press the Start button then go to "search" then go to...wait a minute here, There IS no Start button. There was one on my Windows machine. What the heck. Ok look at the very top right of your Mac screen. You will see an icon of a magnifying glass. This is the Mac Spotlight and works very similar (and a LOT better) then Start>Search. Click the spotlight and type in what you are looking for. It can be a file name, an application, even a sentence you wrote in a Word document! The Mac will find it.

Now the fun part. Do YOU have a boring dock? Do all your icons just sit there motionless? When your friend or roommate hovers over their dock at the bottom of the screen all the icon seem to magnify and it looks a lot cooler. Try this. Click the apple in the upper left corner and select System Preferences. Then in the 1st row click Dock. Here you can set up icon magnification, a couple FX, or autohide your dock. Give it a try!

Read More

It's Cold Out There and I Don't Feel Like Walking Down that Hill Tonight!

Ok, here's the scenario. It's the beginning of March and the snow that that weatherman called for in the beginning of January is starting to fall...HEAVY. You are nice and toasty in your dorm wrapped up in your SU snuggie and fuzzy Hornet slippers. Then you remember... YOU have a meeting this evening at the Student Center.
Shenandoah IC has a solution! Simply suggest to your student group that they implement Blackboard Collaborate into their meetings JUST for those in fuzzy Hornet slippers! Collaborate is the new exciting tool that we are rolling out this month. You can join your meeting right from your laptop and participate via chat, voice, video, share a whiteboard, share an application,plus a thousand other helpful functions.
We will be conducting student training in Collaborate starting this month and throughout the next few months.
If your group wants us to attend your next meeting and demonstrate Collaborate just write us at bbsupport@su.edu. We will try our very best to accommodate!

Read More

Social Learning Survey Opportunity for Students ONLY

Blackboard Inc. needs your help. 

The Blackboard Product Development team is currently investigating social learning ideas with students from a select group of Universities. They have questions that cover ideas related to delivering information and content to students via a single interface (My Blackboard) that provides greater opportunities for user-to-user interactions. They want to understand your motivations for integrating social capabilities into the online learning experience. Please set aside about 15 minutes to tell them about yourself and answer some questions so they can better understand your motivations.


About the Survey - This survey gives you (students)  the opportunity to view design ideas Bb Inc. has and then provide feedback about what you see. There are 15 total questions.


To Participate - Share the link with students who may be interested! This survey will be available to you for the next week. To take the survey, click on the following URL or paste it into your browser:

Survey Link: https://bbuxresearch.wufoo.com/forms/my-bb-design-ideas/

If you have any questions please email bbsupport@su.edu with the subject line "STUDENT: Social Learning Opportunity Question".

Please help SU get their student voices heard by Blackboard Inc.

Read More

Using the "Paste from Word" Mashup

The IC department insists that students NOT copy and paste any word processor documents directly into Blackboard. MS Word throws in extra XML code into your documents that can corrupt your course and cause major problems to the entire Blackboard system.

Shenandoah has a "Paste From Word" mashup loaded so we need all student to use that instead. The "Paste from Word" option preserves the text formatting and tables, but removes the 
incompatible XML code. The instructions for using this simple tool are below;

1) Copy your document from word using either edit>copy or the shortcut Cntl-C

2) From any text box in Bb (assignments, journals, etc) select the last icon (the Mashup Icon) on the bottom row/right side and choose Paste From Word from the dropdown. (See screen capture below).

3) After selecting, a text box page will open for you to paste your document. You can use the CNTL-V shortcut.

4) Click the Submit Button.

Read More

Quick Ipad Tips

Close Apps Running in the Background
For those of you with Ipads here is a quick tip to close out all those apps you have running in the background (that you may have not even know were still running). Double-click your Home button. All the open apps will be shown across the bottom of the screen. Pick an icon and hold your finger down until the little minus signs in the red circles appear. Then simply click the red circles to close out all the open apps you don't want running in the background.
Create Folders
To create folders simply click and drag one app on top of another and let go. You can give the folder a name by clicking in the title bar. To close out the folder just click and drag the icon(s) back out.

Read More

Collaborate Training Sessions to Start Feb 22nd!

Shenandoah University's exciting new Bb tool, Collaborate is up and running. This tool is an interactive online classroom environment which allows you and your instructor to share a whiteboard, chat, share files etc. In short Collaborate is a wonderful new virtual classroom!  We will be offering student training at our IC Learning center beginning Feb 22nd and throughout the months. Be one of the first to learn all about this invaluable tool. Please note that not all faculty will be using this tool.  
If you wish to learn more about Collaborate at Shenandoah please visit thebBb support site (www.su.edu/bb) and look under the Related Technologies link.


ALSO AN IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT FOR GRADUATING STUDENTS

As stated in yesterday's Sun-E...The deadline to apply for graduation is March 1. All students planning to graduate in May MUST submit a graduation application by the deadline. Log in to your Web Advisor account and look for "Application for Graduation." Students are strongly encouraged to meet with their advisor before applying to ensure eligibility for graduation. Please direct questions to Valerie Taylor in the Registrar's Office at 540/665-4537 or reggrad@su.edu.

Read More

How to Set Your Privacy Options

Since we've focused on "My Places" for the last two days, let's continue with how to set your privacy options. What this means is choosing what personal information you wish to make public. Note that your  name will be listed in the Roster and Group pages (if applicable) in any courses or organizations in which you are enrolled.
To set your privacy options follow the steps below;
1) Click "My Places" at the top of your Bb page.
2) Select Personal Information
3) Select Privacy Options
4) Edit what personal information you wish to make available by checking the selections in section 1.
5) In section 2 check whether you want your information listed in the directory. (by default your information is NOT included)
6) Choose the classes if any that you do not want receiving emails from. NOTE: You will always receive emails from your instruction no matter if the class selection is turned on or off.

Read More

Add a Picture!

Friday I walked you through managing your notification settings by going to the My Places link at the top of your Bb page. I also mentioned that you can also add your picture (called an avatar) from My Places as well. Many instructors like to see a picture of their students in the Bb Roster . It makes it easier for them to quickly match names to faces. Here's how to add your photo to your Bb profile. Note that the recommended pixel size for an avatar is 150 by 150. Larger images will be clipped. If you have any questions about cropping or reducing larger photos to fix you can contact us at bbsupport@su.edu and we will be glad to help you.

1. At the very top of your Bb page click the link that says "My Places".
2. Click "Personal Information"
3. Click "Personalize my Places"
4. Click the Browse My Computer button to find and upload a picture of yourself
5. Click Submit

Read More

How to Manage the way you Receive Notifications

Today we got an email from a student stating that she used to receive email notifications from her instructor but isn't any longer.
Students actually have the ability to manage how and which courses they receive email or mobile notifications from. Simply follow the steps below.
1) Click the My Places icon at the top center of your Bb Page

2) Click Edit Notifications Settings under My Preferences.
3) Select whether you want to edit the settings for an individual course or bulk edit (several or all courses at once)
4) Then simply click the selection boxes next to the particular items you wish to receive notifications for. Click the top boxes to select all.

And don't forget from the My Places page you can also add a picture of yourself, edit personal information and who can view this information!

Read More

Finger Gestures

Ok MacPro Users...you already KNOW that to move your cursor around the screen you simply have to move one finger on the Multitouch Trackpad and you already KNOW that to "Click" you take one finger and push down. But God in his wisdom gave us several fingers to work with so here is a little review of what gestures you can use with your Trackpad.

One finger on Trackpad-
move cursor, click (like left-clicking your mouse in Windows.

Two fingers on Trackpad-
Press down gives you your additional menu selections (like right-clicking your mouse in windows)
Hold down and move up and down on Trackpad scrolls the screen up and down.
'Pinching' in and out zooms.
Rotating two fingers rotates pictures

Three fingers on Trackpad -
Swipe left or right works like the forward/back buttons in your internet browser
Three fingers in a photo directory progresses through your pictures

Four fingers on Trackpad -
Swipe up shows desktop
Swipe down minimizes all your open 'windows'
Swipe right shows all your open programs

Eight fingers on Trackpad -
Does absolutely nothing...but give Apple time...they'll figure SOMETHING out.

Read More

Restoring the course menu

WHAT DO I DO IF MY COURSE MENU DISAPPEARS?

You enter your course and discover that the menu has disappeared. The only area of the course that you can access is the Announcements section. This has a very easy fix!

There is a button in your Blackboard course that allows you to hid the menu so that you have more room to explore the content area. To restore the menu, click the arrow pictured to the right. It will open your menu so that you once again have access to the other areas of your course.

If you have any further questions, please email bbsupport@su.edu.

Read More

Drop On In!!

Did you know that the IC Department schedules several blocks of time each month JUST for students to drop in and ask questions on Blackboard issues, using your Mac, Google, email and practically anything else you need technical support on. We also schedule drop in student time at NVA Campus and MPB. You can sign up for one of these sessions by registering here or, as the name implies...just "Drop In'.

---

Are there ANY subjects you would like for us to cover in this blog? We created this for the students to assist with technical matters so if there is something you wish for us to cover let me know. You can email us at bbsupport@su.edu.

Read More

Can I run Windows on my Mac?

Last week IC received an email asking if Windows could be run on the Mac so I thought I'd address that in today's blog.
I had been a Windows person for about as many years as there has BEEN Windows and last year I graduated to the Mac. At first I felt very overwhelmed...until I gave it a little bit of time. I love my Mac and find myself asking why anyone would WANT to run Windows on a Mac. But my opinion aside the answer is yes you can run Windows on your Mac. If you find you absolutely can't work in the Mac environment simply bring your laptop to the helpdesk and they will install Virtual Box.
OR
You can attend one of our Student Drop In sessions (you can register here) and we can go over any problems you are having trying to work your Mac!

---

A Little Mac Trivia
As a student, Steve Jobs worked at an orchard picking ...yes you guessed it...Apples! 'Mac' is short for McIntosh (the type of apple he picked).

Read More

Copy and Paste from Word Ain't Cool, Dude.

Just a reminder.
You could experience multiple problems viewing text that has been pasted directly from a MS Word into Blackboard. Doing so can result in text not bring viewable,  strangely formatted text/unusual characters and worst of all...corruption of entire courses!

The cause of this issue is the accompanying word processor formatting code that is included when using the copy/paste feature. This bad HTML/XML code MUST be removed prior to pasting into Blackboard.

Use the Mashup
Bb provides users with a 'mashup' in every text area that strips away all the bad code automatically. The icon for the mashup is illustrated below.

Simply

• Copy from Word
• Click the Mashup icon
• Select 'Paste from Word'
• Paste into the provide text box using CNRL V or COMMAND V
• Then click submit

It's as easy as that and can save you and everyone else a lot of frustration! (Plus you would never again have to hear me say 'Ain't Cool, Dude')

Read More

Did you Know you can Organize Your my Course List Module?

Do you have old courses still showing up in your “Course List” module that you would rather not see every time you log into Bb.? You can easily remove these by following the steps below.

At the upper right corner of the “Course List” module you will see a gear icon as illustrated below.

Click this gear icon to open the “Personalize: Course List page. Here you can select the attributes to be displayed for each Course. Selecting Select All will display all attributes for the Course. If none of the columns are selected, the Course will not appear in the module.

You can also reorder your classes by clicking and dragging the two directional arrows to the left of the course.

Read More

Shortcuts Review

Many of the keyboard shortcut you are used to using in windows work the same on your Mac. Save yourself a few mouse clicks by reviewing the following list.

CMD or CTRL C – Copy

CMD or CTRL  X (think scissors) – Cut

CMD or CTRL V- Paste

CMD or CTRL A – Select All

CMD or CTRL P- Print

CMD or CTRL F- Find

CMD or CTRL  S – Save

CMD or CTRL B- Bold

CMD or CTRL U- Underline

CMD or CTRL Z - Undo

Read More