 |
||
|
What's New
Blackboard |
FAQ – Answers to Questions
Web
Pages
Q. My duplication budget has been cut, so I now need to place my handouts on the web. Can you help me? A. Yes. Contact Elaine Armstrong (earmstrong@palomar.edu ext. 2644) for help in placing your handouts on the web. Depending on their nature, they can be placed either in your faculty web space, or on our Blackboard server.
Q.
I want my
own Palomar web site. Can you set one up
for me?
A. Yes. Use our web services form, or contact
Q. I want to
have a web page, but don’t have time to learn how to make one. Will you do it for me? A. Yes. Web pages can be as simple as creating a document in Word or PowerPoint and saving for the web, or they can be more complex and require the use of FrontPage or some other web authoring tool. If you want Academic Technology to design and set up your site, just contact Elaine Armstrong (earmstrong@palomar.edu).
Q. Do you teach
faculty how to set up and maintain their own web sites.
A. Yes. We recommend using Microsoft FrontPage. We teach a 3-part series in using FrontPage,
for which you can receive PD credit.
Only the first part is essential to learn how to set up and maintain
your site. For details go to:
http://www.palomar.edu/at/attraining.htm
or contact Chris Norcross
(cnorcross@palomar.edu
ext. 3225) Q. I don't want to use FrontPage. Can I use Dreamweaver or GoLive to author my web site? A. Yes. Contact Chris Norcross (cnorcross@palomar.edu ext. 3225) for details on using these products with our servers.
Q. Can I work on my web pages from my home computer?
A. Yes, and you do not have to be dialed in to Palomar to do
it. Any Internet Service Provider will
do. You can update your pages either
using MS FrontPage, or with a basic FTP account. Contact Q. Can I create an interactive web form on your servers? A. Yes, using the MS FrontPage server extensions. Q. Can I do my own cgi scripting on your servers? A. We support asp and .NET scripting. Beyond these, no. We do not support faculty PHP or Perl scripting on our public web servers. Q. How do I get an ad for my class up on the college web pages? A. Contact Terry Gray, at ext. 2877. What we need from you is a Word document with a "blurb" about the class. The blurb must include the vitals about the class--class number, name, meeting time and place--your contact info (preferably a web site) and then a brief paragraph promoting the class. If you have any clip art you wish us to use on the ad, you can include that too, but it can't be very large (less than 3K). Q. Where can I get the College logo? A. http://www.palomar.edu/guidelines/logos or right click one of the following, and choose "Save Target As..."
Please address questions about logos and their uses to Creative Services, at ext. 3088. Q. Are templates available, if I want to use the college look for my web site? A. Yes, at http://www.palomar.edu/guidelines/templates Q. Is there a manual that can help me with web design specifics as they relate to the college? A. Yes, at http://www.palomar.edu/guidelines/manual. Q. Will you help design an overall "look" for an entire department's web pages, including all of the faculty pages? A. Yes. This can be very effective. Contact Elaine Armstrong (earmstrong@palomar.edu ext. 2644) for details. Q. Will you help me put sound or video files up on my web site? A. Yes. Contact Terry Gray (tgray@palomar.edu ext. 2877). Q. Will you test my web site for me, to see if it displays properly on multiple browser platforms? A. Yes. Contact Chris Norcross for details. Q. Will you place a web survey on my web site? A. Yes. Contact Chris Norcross.
Q. If I am
interested in teaching online, can you set up a developmental course for me so
that I can play with the software and learn how to use it?
A. Yes. Please contact Mike Arguello
(marguello@palomar.edu). We will set up access to a course for you.
Q. I feel uneasy
about the technology, do you offer training in how to teach online?
A. Yes. We teach a 3-part series titled “Creating an
Online Course.” See our training page (http://www.palomar.edu/at/attraining.htm)
for details. Sign up for the series
through the Professional Development office: http://www.palomar.edu/pd/Registration.htm.
In addition we teach other technology
topics which online instructors will find useful.
Q. I teach
online. If I allow adds
to my class, can I add the student to the Blackboard course roster myself? A. Yes, through a web form. We have a new form at http://www.palomar.edu/pconline/adds. The form will allow you to inform David Gray, the online college technician (dgray@palomar.edu ext. 2862) that you have issued a permission number and a student has added the course. He will then add the student to the Blackboard roster for you. Q. When, each semester, are the class rosters loaded in the Blackboard classes? A. As close to the official start date of classes as possible. If, for example, classes begin on a Saturday, the rosters will be loaded the previous Friday. Any adds to the class after the rosters are loaded must be processed by the instructor using our add form (http://www.palomar.edu/pconline/adds). Q. I don't want to teach online, but would like to use the Blackboard system to enhance my in-person classes with things such as an electronic bulletin board, a place to put electronic versions of my handouts, and so on. Can I do that? A. Yes. Contact Mike Arguello (marguello@palomar.edu ext. 2346). He will discuss it with you, and have a Blackboard class set up for you--or one for each section you teach, depending on your plans. Q. I just want to put my tests up on Blackboard, so that the system will grade them for me and place the grades in an electronic gradebook. Can I do that, without bothering with the rest of the system? A. Yes. Contact David Gray (dgray@palomar.edu ext. 2862). Q. My students are having trouble logging in to Blackboard. Who should they call? A. David Gray (dgray@palomar.edu ext. 2862). Q. Does Blackboard support the new Apple "Safari" browser? A. No. Q. Do students have to have a computer and access to Internet to take an online class? A. We strongly recommend that they have these things, but strictly speaking, it is possible to use the public computers in the Academic Technology labs, or other public computers, to take an online course without personally owning a computer. It would be very difficult, however, to always insure timely access to these reosurces.
New Software Office XP will
be available in the Academic Technology Public and Classroom
labs. XP is available
at very low cost to faculty through the Foundation for California Community Colleges
(http://www.foundationccc.org/). Q. How do I order the low cost software? A.
Use the order form at the following URL:
http://collegebuys.org/msca/order1.asp.
Fill out the form and mail it to the address
indicated. Fulfillment takes about 2
weeks. Q. Is FrontPage still part of Office XP, and can I buy it in the same package from the Foundation? A. Yes. It is called FrontPage 2002. You can order it from the Foundation using the same order form. It costs around $50.00.
Q. Do I really
need the new software? A. That depends. The file formats and general look and feel of the programs are the same. The emphasis in Office XP is on usability enhancements that make the software easy to configure and control, and web integration for things like clip art and templates. If Office 2000 meets your needs, you do not need to upgrade. Q. Can students get a reduced price on Office? A. Yes. Here is the URL: http://elms06.e-academy.com/CollegeSoftware/index.cfm
Q. Do you have any other new developmental software
that faculty can use in your labs?
A. Yes. We have
in the classroom lab, Photoshop ver. 7, Acrobat ver. 5, Real
Producer, MS Producer, MusicMatch, a new version of Hot Potatoes, SPSS ver.
11.0, Illustrator ver. 10, and Avid
DV Express. Web Services Academic
Technology offers a large number of web services. You can request our services using the
web. See our page http://www.palomar.edu/at/atwebservices.htm for details.
Q. I want my
students to post their projects to the web, will you
set up accounts for them? A. Yes. We will create ftp accounts for entire classes, use the web form at the URL indicated above and send us the section number. We will create the accounts and email you the access details. Students can update these pages by using an ftp program, or by using Microsoft FrontPage.
Q. I want to use an online bulletin board for my class
to carry on asynchronous discussions and keep them informed. Can you set one up for me?
A. Yes. We use
a product called WebBoard. Use our web
form at http://www.palomar.edu/at/atwebservices.htm to ask for one, or contact
Q. I would like
to put some audio or video on my web site, but don’t know how. Can you help?
A. Yes. We maintain Real media and Windows media
servers. We can help with any or all of
the process, including original production of the audios or videos. Contact
Media Services
Q. I have 35mm
slides I would like scanned and saved for the web. Will you do this? A. This is now done by the Audio Visual department. Contact Lee Hoffmann (lhoffmann@palomar.edu) at ext. 2640.
Q. I would like
a CD duplicated for my class. Can you do
this for me? A. In reasonable numbers (under 100 copies), yes. You must supply the blank CD-R media. We can master the CD for either/both Windows and Macintosh. Q. Will you also print labels for me? A. Yes, if you supply the paper stock.
Q. Will you digitize audio or video files for me? A. Yes. If it is a large project (multiple hours/tapes) it may take some time. We will do it as quickly as possible. A. Yes. Contact Terry Gray (tgray@palomar.edu) ext. 2877. To see our training schedule for Fall 2003, please visit: http://www.palomar.edu/at/attrainingschedulefall03.htm. We offer training for teaching online, web technologies, Office productivity, as they relate to the classroom experience, graphics, and streaming media. We recently added a new series of help videos on Using FrontPage. We have also recently added a web course on adding audio (or video) to your web site.
Q. How do I sign up for your technology training classes.
A. We work closely with the
Professional Development department (http://www.palomar.edu/pd). Use their registration form to sign up:
http://www.palomar.edu/pd/Registration.htm.
Q. Do you have any help online for
Office programs?
A.
Yes. We have a series of Office help videos at:
http://www.palomar.edu/at/office.htm
Q. Are there
other training materials available A. Yes. You can purchase a set of Office training materials from SmartForce at a 95% discount through the FCCC:
http://facultybuys.org/vendor-detail.asp?iKey=69.
Q. Will you do custom training for a department or
small group? A. Yes. Contact Terry Gray (tgray@palomar.edu ext. 2877). Q. What other training opportunities are available for Palomar staff? A. You can find out about them at this URL: http://www.palomar.edu/training.
Labs Academic Technology maintains two labs, a 44-computer open access computer lab, known as the “public lab,” and a 30-computer classroom lab. The public lab’s web pages are at: http://www.palomar.edu/at/lab/. Our labs have Office XP (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access) FrontPage 2002, Internet Explorer, Photoshop, Acrobat, Illustrator, SPSS, all the essential web plugins and media players, and over 300 academic tutorials available in both labs.
Q. How do I reserve time to bring my class into the
classroom lab?
A. Use our web reservation form (http://www.palomar.edu/at/lab/reservation.htm)
or contact
Q. How do I find out about using the classroom lab to
teach a semester length course? A. Contact Terry Gray (tgray@palomar.edu ext. 2877).
Q. Do you charge for printing in your labs? A. Yes. Lab users can print to one of two printers: a 600-dpi black and white laser printer, at 10-cents per page; a 600-dpi color laser printer, at 30-cents per page. Students/staff must use either their PIC card or a debit card which they can purchase from a vending machine in the lab in order to print.
Q. What is the general information number for your
computer labs?
A. 760-744-1150 ext. 2657.
Q. Can students save their projects to Palomar web
servers in your labs?
A. Yes, if we
have created web accounts for your class.
We do not create individual web accounts for students, but will create
them at the instructor’s request for an entire class. Use our web form at
http://www.palomar.edu/at/atwebservices.htm
or contact David Gray (dgray@palomar.edu ext. 2862) if you wish to have web
space created for your students.
Q. A CD comes
with my textbook. Can students use them
in the AT labs? A. Generally speaking, yes. If the CD does not require a software installation, or if it requires one but does not require a reboot, then they can. Any software installed will automatically be removed after the computer is rebooted. A. On floppy disks, CDs (we have writeable CD drives) or zip disks. Q. Can students play DVDs in your labs? A. Yes. We have DVD drives and a DVD client in the public lab, but not the classroom lab. Q. Do you filter Internet content any way in your labs? A. No.
Q. Will you
install software in your lab for my class next semester?
|
|
|
|
||
