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Academic Technology FAQs

Teaching Online ( see also http://www.palomar.edu/atrc/teachingonline.htm )

  • Q. I want to be an online instructor. How do I get started?
  • Q. What is Blackboard?
    • A. Blackboard is the course management system used by Palomar College. It is a password secured, web-based system where a "course shell" for every course it is possible to enroll in is created 90 days prior to the start of each semester. Enrollments and instructor assignments are handled automatically through integration with the PeopleSoft system. 

      Once the student logs in, she sees the Blackboard courses for which she is enrolled, and can enter her class area (if the instructor has made it available) in order to read materials, fulfill assignments, take exams, participate in discussion boards, communicate with the instructor and classmates, follow web links to learning resources, and other learning activities.  For more information on Blackboard, visit our "About Blackboard" page, and see also the information published at the PCOnline web site.  For a brief video introduction to Blackboard, click here (QuickTime required).
       
  • Q.  What is PCOnline?
    • A.  PCOnline is a web site which acts as the login gateway to the Blackboard system and also contains information for online students and instructors.
       
  • Q.  Does every class at Palomar have a Blackboard area associated with it?
    • A.  Yes.
       
  • Q.  Do I have to use Blackboard?
    • A.  No.  Each class in which it is possible for a student to enroll gets a Blackboard "shell" created for it, but students will only see the Blackboard courses that have been made available by instructors.  It is entirely up to the instructor whether he/she makes the Blackboard course available to students.
       
  • Q.  I have no intention of teaching online, or using Blackboard for my class handouts, can I just ignore the whole thing?
    • A.  Yes, but you may be interested in some of the other useful things you can do through Blackboard.  For example, post class announcements.  If you are going to be absent on a certain day when the class is scheduled to meet, you can announce it on Blackboard, and students can check there before driving to campus.  You can also use the email distribution lists within Blackboard to send group emails to any/all of your students.  You might also find the "digital drop-box" or the Blackboard assignment feature a useful way for students to turn in papers electronically.  A feature that students like most about Blackboard is the gradebook, so you might also be interested in this.  There are many more features that you might wish to make use of without actually doing any teaching with Blackboard.  If you would like a demonstration, contact Haydn Davis, hdavis@palomar.edu, phone ext. 2341.
       
  • Q.  When are the Blackboard course shells created for the coming semester?
    • A.  90 days before the beginning of the semester.  In the summer, this is ninety days before the beginning of the 6 and 8 week classes, not 90 days before the beginning of "intersession 4-week classes."
       
  • Q. When are students enrolled in Blackboard courses?
    • A.  Enrollment is automatic and is tied to PeopleSoft.  As soon as a student officially enrolls in a course via student eServices, they are enrolled in the corresponding Blackboard course.  An enrollment report runs each hour on the half hour, so there can be a gap of as much as 59 minutes between official enrollment and Blackboard enrollment.
       
  • Q. What happens if a student drops?  Are they automatically dropped from my Blackboard roster?
    • A.  Yes.
       
  • Q. From the Instructor’s perspective, is Blackboard hard to use?
    • A. No. It was chosen primarily for ease of use.
       
  • Q. I don’t want to teach online, but I do want to place my class handouts and other materials in a secure place on the web. Can I still use Blackboard?
    • A. Yes. The majority of Blackboard courses use Blackboard to enhance in-person instruction, rather than to teach exclusively online. It is up to the instructor how much, or little, of the Blackboard interface to use. Features within Blackboard are easily enabled or disabled, according to the instructor’s needs.
       
  • Q. Can I place copyrighted materials within Blackboard?
    • A. Yes, if you are referring to displayed media (videos, audios, documents read in class) provided you meet the requirements of the TEACH Act of 2002.  For more information on the TEACH Act, read the following resources:

      The TEACH Act (UI Copyright Management Center)
      TEACH Act Toolkit (NCSU)

      Fair use, of course, would also apply.  Academic Techology resources on copyright are available here.
       

  • Q. Do I have to use Blackboard just to present some basic materials to my students on the web?
    • A. No. See the section titled “Web Authoring” below. We will set up your own public web space outside of Blackboard. The reason people use Blackboard is 1) they need a secure web space; and 2) they wish to take advantage of the tools available in Blackboard, such as the class discussion board, the assessment tools, the digital drop box, and so on. A “best practice” is to use both open, public web space to communicate general information about yourself and the courses you teach, and to use the “private” web space of Blackboard to present detailed course materials.
       
  • Q. Is it easier or harder to teach online?
    • A. Yes. Both. It is different. You will spend far more time preparing materials for online instruction, and a great deal more time in communication with your students. The good news is, you can pretty much schedule that time whenever you want.  Haydn Davis has compiled a suggested checklist of what goes into making up an exemplary online class.  Click here to view it [PDF].  He also maintains a web page title "Teaching Online," which you might find useful.
       
  • Q. Is there a mentor within my department who can help me get started with Blackboard?
    • A. Perhaps. Contact Haydn Davis, hdavis@palomar.edu, phone ext. 2341, to find out. If not, Haydn is available to help you.
       
  • Q. Who does the technical support for Blackboard?
  • 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?
  • Q. My students are having trouble logging in to Blackboard. Who should they call?
    • A.  The online help desk, at phone ext. 2862, or email onlineclasses@palomar.edu.  Blackboard uses Active Directory authentication, which means that a student must set a password in eServices BEFORE logging in to Blackboard.  Most student login problems are solved by the student going to student eServices and setting or re-setting their password.
       
  • Q. Does Blackboard support the Apple "Safari" browser?
    • A. YesClick here for a list of browsers supported by Blackboard.
       
  • 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 resources. 

      We have devleoped a web site titled "Are you ready to be an online student?" which details the equipment, and skills that make for a successful online student.  Consider directing your students there as a "reality check" near the beginning of an online course.
       
  • Q. What sort of training do you provide for teaching online?
    • A. We offer several different workshops in the use of Blackboard. Depending on what you want to do. You may want to enroll in only the “Blackboard Essentials” class, or take all of them. Click here for our training schedule.  Contact Haydn Davis, hdavis@palomar.edu, phone ext. 2341 for details.
       
  • Q.  Are there FAQs just for students using Blackboard?
  • Q.  How long do Blackboard courses remain on the system?
    • A.  We keep the previous three semesters, the current semester, and one future semester (as sonn as its courses are created) on the system.  We prune courses from the Blackboard system on a rolling year basis.  For example, at the end of the fall semester, we remove the previous fall semester's classes.
       
  • Q.  How long do students have access to a Blackboard class after a semester ends?
    • A.  Two weeks.
       
  • Q.  Can I audio record my lectures and place them in my Blackboard class?
    • A.  Yes.  As a matter of fact, Academic Technology will check out a digital voice recorder to you to make the recordings.  Adding the recordings to Blackboard is very simple.
       
  • Q.  What about plagiarism.  Does Blackboard have any originality checking features?
    • A.  Yes.  We subscribe to the TurnItIn service, and you can create any assignment as a TurnItIn assignment in Blackboard.  Click here for a brief tutorial on using TurnItIn with Blackboard.

      As of fall 2007, we have also implemented Blackboard SafeAssign, another plagiarism prevention tool built-in to Blackboard.
       
  • Q.  How do I get my Blackboard course contents copied from one semester to the next?
    • A.  Faculty members are responsible for doing this for themselves using the Blackboard course copy feature.  Remember that your new semester courses will not be available to students until you make them available.
       
  • Q.  My text book publisher has a Blackboard course cartridge.  Will you load it for me?
    • A.  We will be glad to assist you, but the process is so simple we encourage you to do it yourself.  We have an instructional screen video on how to do it among all of our Teaching with Blackboard tutorials.
       
  • Q.  Can I meet synchronously with my class online?
    • A.  Yes.  We have deployed a product through Blackboard called Elluminate that permits online synchronous (with the ability to archive for later viewing) meetings.  Elluminate has great whiteboard and chat features, supports voice-over-IP audio and streamed video, has built-in student polling, and permits desktop and application sharing.  Click here to find out more.
       
  • Q.  Can I hold "virtual office hours?"
    • A.  Yes, using the Elluminate product mentioned above.  Elluminate permits creating an online meeting space that combines the students from all of your classes.  It also permits scheduling the online, synchronous meeting on a repetitive basis and and notifies you when a student enters the meeting room.

Academic Technology Communications

  • Q.  How can I keep up with technology news at the college?
    • A. Subscribe to the Academic Technology podcast series.  It is a weekly podcast that includes segments on technology and download news, the Blackboard Feature of the Week, Teaching with Technology, Tech Talk Topics, Gizmo of the Week, and more.  You do not need any special hardware to listen to podcasts other than a sound card and speakers on a computer.  We recommend iTunes as the best "podcatching" software.  Click here for more information on podcasts and how to subscribe.

      Subscribe also to the Academic Technology RSS feed to receive up-to-the-minute notification of technology news and events at the college.  To subscribe to an RSS feed you will need an RSS aggregator program (also called "news aggregators."  Click here for more information.

      Finally, subscribe to the Academic Technology electronic newsletter, which is issued each Friday.  You will find the subscription box on the main ATRC web site.
       
  • Q.  Do you maintain blogs on using technology in teaching and learning at the college
  • Q. How can I keep up to date with what's going on in the broader world of technology?
    • A. On our What's New page, we not only feature the things that are new at Palomar College, we maintain a set of "World Technology Headlines" links, updated daily, that attempt to capture the most interesting current tech stories as they relate to education, in particular.  A few of these headlines are also published on our main web page.

Web Authoring

  • Q. I want my own Palomar web site. Can you set one up for me?
  • 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 complex sites. If you want Academic Technology to design and set up your site, contact Chris Norcross at ext. 3225, cnorcross@palomar.edu.
       
  • Q. Do you teach faculty how to set up and maintain their own web sites.
  • Q. Can I work on my web pages from my home computer?
    • A. Yes, absolutely.  All you need is a working Internet connection. You can update your pages either using MS FrontPage, or another authoring tool  of your choice (like Dreamweaver or GoLive). Contact Chris Norcross (cnorcross@palomar.edu ext. 3225 ) for details.
       
  • Q. If I want to promote an upcoming class on the main college web page, how do I get an ad placed there?
    • A. Contact Elaine Armstrong (earmstrong@palomar.edu).   Basically, what we need from you is the section number, class title, and some copy to which we can link. 
       
  • 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. Are templates available if I want my web site to look like the main college web site?
    • A. Yes, contact Chris Norcross to receive the template.
       
  • Q. Can I create an interactive web form on your servers?
    • A. Yes, using the MS FrontPage server extensions.
       
  • Q.  If I want to do my own scripting, do you support Perl or php scripting on your servers?
    • No.  We support asp or MS .NET scripts.
       

Software

  • Q.  Can I purchase Microsoft Office from Palomar?
    • A. No, but you can purchase it at very low cost through the Foundation for California Community Colleges (FCCC).  For more information, go to:
      http://www.foundationccc.org
       
  • Q. Is FrontPage still part of Office 2003, and can I buy it in the same package from the FCCC?
    • A. You can buy it from the same site, but it is sold as a separate package. It costs around $52.00, and comes bundled with Publisher.
  • Q. Do you have any new software that faculty can use in your labs?
    • A. Yes.  We have the CS2 and Pro versions of all the Adobe products, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, GoLive.  We also have Premiere Pro 2.0, AfterEffects 6.5, and Acrobat Pro ver. 7.  We have the latest Macromedia  (now Adobe also) products (Flash MX, etc), the latest encoders for Windows and Real, the latest Players for Windows, Real and QuickTime, SPSS 14, PhotoStory 3, Producer 2003, Hot Potatoes 6.4, Respondus and StudyMate, the Horizon Wimba voice tools, Audacity, and many others.
       
  • Q.  How do I find out about the latest plugins and browser versions that are available?
    • A. We conduct a weekly podcast that details all of this.  Each podcast has a very detailed program notes page associated with it that gives download links for the latest software.  We also maintain a software download page, where we recommend certain packages, most of them freeware.
       
  • Q. Does Palomar subscribe to web-based anti-plagiarism software, like TurnItIn?
    • A. Yes.  We have purchased an annual license effective January 2007.

Hardware

  • Q.  Can I check out a digital voice recorder from you in order to podcast my lectures or make audio files for my students?
    • A. Yes.  We check out the Olympus WS-100 digital audio recorder and Olympus ME15 tie clip microphone for semester length classes or one-time events.  Click here for the checkout request form.
       
  • Q.  I want better quality sound than I can get with a little digital voice recorder.  What can I do?
    • A. We have a Shure, wireless microphone that can be used in conjunction with a laptop computer to get better quality sound in the classroom environment.  In the studio, we have a soundproof audio recording booth with a high quality condenser microphone and a Euro audio mixer.  The audio recording booth is located in the faculty technology center.  Contact Terry Gray, ext. 2877, tgray@palomar.edu for details.
       
  • Q. Can I check out a laptop computer from you?
    • A. No.  The AV department is responsible for faculty laptop checkout.  However, we do  have two tablet PCs that we check out to faculty for limited times (no longer than 2 weeks at a time).  Contact Terry Gray, ext. 2877, tgray@palomar.edu for details.
       
  • Q.  Do you have radio frequency polling devices (clickers) that I can use in the classroom?
    • A. Yes.  We have 64-each RF Polling Devices, in two suitcases, with two base-stations which can be checked out.  We have also site licensed the software for synchronizing your questions or powerpoint presentations with polls you may wish to use.  Click here for the checkout request form.
       
  • Q.  Do you recommend certain hardware?
  • Q.  Can I bring my home computer in to have you work on it?
    • A.  No.
       
  • Q.  Can I call for help with my home computer?
    • A.  You can call ext. 2862 to report problems you are having connecting to Palomar College web resources.  Our technicians will try to determine if the problem has anything to do with Palomar College servers or systems.  If they discover that it is a home computer configuration problem, they may, depending on the problem, advise you, but they cannot help you with home networking, cable modem configuration, ISP related issues, or home hardware failures.

Web Services

  • Q.  Academic Technology offers a large number of web services.  How do I find out more about them, and how do I request them?
    • A.  Go to our Services web page.  Click the links on that page for a specific service.
       
  • Q. I want my students to post their projects to the web, will you set up secure accounts for them?
    • A. Yes. We will create ftp/web authoring 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 a standard ftp program, like SmartFTP.
       
  • 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.  We recommend you use the Discussion Board built into Blackboard.  For more information about Blackboard, contact David Gray ( dgray@palomar.edu  ext. 2862).
       
  • 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 Terry Gray ( tgray@palomar.edu  ext. 2877 ) for details.
       
  • Q.  I do not own Adobe Acrobat.  How can I convert my word processing and other documents to PDF format?
    • A. We maintain a service called "PCPDF."  Submit your document via a web form at the PCPDF site.  It will convert it to PDF format and email it back to you as an email attachment.  It supports over 180 file formats, and usually processes a document in seconds.  A Palomar College email address and email password are required to login to the site.

Media Services

  • 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.  The TEACH Act of 2002 gives us fairly wide latitude in placing audio and video materials in a secure web space, but its provisions do not extend to printed materials, except where those materials would typically be displayed or performed in a live class.  Therefore any printed materials placed in your Blackboard site must pass a fair use test.  More information on copyright laws and fair use can be found at: http://www.palomar.edu/atrc/atpolicies.htm
       
  • 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 the CDs 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.  We now encode for Windows media only, and have discontinued our support for Real media except by special request.
       
  • Q. Can you teach me how to capture audio and video to be placed on the web?
    • A. Yes. Contact Terry Gray ( tgray@palomar.edu  ext. 2877 ).  We offer TBA training on this topic for which you can get Professional Development credit.
       
  • Q. Can you place video clips on a DVD for me?
    • A. Yes, as long as the disk is used according to US copyright laws.
       
  • Q. Can you help me make my own video?
    • A. Yes. PCTV and Academic Technology are working together to produce faculty videos and then placing them on the web. Contact Terry Gray, ext. 2877 for details.
       
  • Q.  Can I podcast my lectures?
    • A. Yes.  We have two podcast solutions in place.  Click here for details if you wish to conduct a public podcast outside Blackboard.  Click here if you wish to podcast to your class within Blackboard.
       

Training

  • Q.  What kind of technology training do you offer?
    • A.  To find out about our training, visit http://www.palomar.edu/atrc/attraining.htm.  To see our current training schedule, visit http://www.palomar.edu/atrc/attrainingschedule.htm.   We offer training for teaching online, web technologies, Office productivity, as they relate to the classroom experience, graphics, and streaming media.

      In addition to Academic Technology training, Palomar faculty and staff can take advantage of a number of free training opportunities available through the FCCC, the State of California, or free vendor training.  These are described in more detail on our training web page.
       

  • Q. How do I sign up for your technology training workshops?
    • A. We work closely with the Professional Development department ( http://www.palomar.edu/pd ). Use their online registration form to sign up.
       
  • Q. Will you do custom training for a department or small group?

Labs

  • Q.  Do you maintain computer classroom labs?
    • A.  Academic Technology maintains two classroom labs (LL-104 and LL-109  see map).  Each classroom lab is equipped with 30 student workstations and an instructor workstation.  We also maintain a large public lab (72 workstations) a faculty technology lab (5 workstations) and 2 wireless mobile labs.  We check out laptop computers to students for use within the San Marcos campus library building.  For more details on the labs, click here.
       
  • Q. How do I reserve time to bring my class into the classroom lab?
  • Q. How do I schedule one of the classroom labs to teach a semester length course?
  • Q. Do you charge for printing in your labs?
    • A. Yes. Lab users can print to the black & white printer for 10-cents per page, or the color printer for 30-cents per page.  To do so they must make a one time purchase of a print card for 50 cents (non-refundable) and then add value to the card on the card vending machine on the ground floor of the San Marcos campus library.
       
  • Q. What is the general information number for your computer labs?
    • A. 760-744-1150 ext. 2657.
       
  • Q.  How can students save their work in your labs?
    • A.  Generally speaking, they can always save to a CD (all our computers have CD-RW drives) or a Flash drive (all also have USB ports accessible to students).  If we have created FTP/Web folders for the student's class, they can save to that folder too.  Finally, if a student is using Blackboard, they can save work on the Blackboard server in the digital drop box.  Students can always email work to their home computers for storage, or use a Yahoo or other web-based storage system.
       
  • Q. A CD comes with my textbook. Can students use them in the AT labs?
    • A. Almost always the answer is yes. If the CD does not require a software installation, or if it requires one but does not require a reboot after installation, they can. Any software installed will automatically be removed after the computer is rebooted.
       
  • Q. Will you install special software in your lab for my class for the coming semester?
    • A. Yes. If you get it to us by the appropriate deadline: the preceding April 30 for the summer semester, June 30 for the Fall semester, November 30 for the Spring semester.

Wireless Labs

  • Q. How do I reserve the mobile wireless lab for my class?
    • A. Fill out and submit the Faculty Reservation Form at the mobile wireless lab web site: http://www.palomar.edu/at/mobilelabs. You will receive a confirmation email from Academic Technology within 1 business day.  If you have questions, phone Myrna at ext. 2657.
       
  • Q. How far in advance do I have to reserve the mobile lab?
    • A. We require 1-week's prior notice.
       
  • Q. Do I have to have special technical knowledge to use the lab?
    • A. No. Just basic computer skills. The ATRC technician who delivers the mobile lab to your classroom will hook up the wireless access point(s) to the network port(s) in your classroom and verify that network connectivity works.
       
  • Q. What do I do if one or more of the laptops do not function correctly in my classroom?
    • A. Included with the mobile wireless lab will be an error log for you to fill out so that the problem can be resolved.
       
  • Q. What resources are available on the laptops?
    • A. Internet connectivity is available. Further, most of the software that can be found in the Academic Technology lab is installed, including the Office 2003 suite, most Adobe and Macromedia software, all the media players, and many specialized tutorials.
       
  • Q. Can I check out the laptops to my students overnight?
    • A. No. The mobile wireless labs are intended first for rotating classroom use, and secondly to be checked out to individuals working within the San Marcos campus library building.
       
  • Q. How do I return the mobile lab to Academic Technology when my class is over?
    • A. An Academic Technology technician will return to your classroom before the scheduled end of the class to pick up the mobile lab. You must never leave the laptops unattended.
       
  • Q. Who is responsible if the equipment is damaged?
  • Q. How do my students save their work? Can they save it on the hard drive of the laptop?
    • A. Students cannot store their work on the hard drive of the computer. The computers are equipped with a program called Deep Freeze, which returns them to initial state when they are rebooted. Any stored work or temporary files saved during a session will be lost on reboot. When you reserve the computers you can choose whether you want them configured with a CD-RW drive. If so, students can save to this drive. They must provide their own media. If students have a USB flash drive, they may also use this. Otherwise, they must email their saved work to themselves and store it temporarily on a mail server or, if you wish, Academic Technology will create FTP accounts and drive space for your class and the students can ftp their work to an Academic Technology server. If you want FTP accounts created for your class, use our FTP request form at the Academic Technology web site: http://www.palomar.edu/atrc. Allow at least 1-week's prior notice for creation of student accounts.  Finally, there are many web-based storage services that your students might take advantage of.
       
  • Q.  Can faculty members check out the laptops?
    • A.  No.  They are strictly for classroom and student use.
       
  • Q.  Can I use my own laptop in the classroom, while the students use the laptops from the mobile lab?
    • A.  Yes.

 General Questions

  • Q.  Where, physically, is Academic Technology located?
    • A.  On the ground floor of the library (LL) building on the San Marcos campus  (see map).
       
  • Q. Are you the ones responsible for student email?
    • A.  No. Contact student services for help, ext. 3143.
       
  • Q.  Are you the ones responsible for faculty email?
    • A.  No. Contact the IS helpdesk at ext. 2140.
       
  • Q. Where do I report PeopleSoft or eServices problems?
    • A. The IS helpdesk, ext. 2140.
       
  • Q.  How do I get help with Blackboard, and how do my students get help?

 

 
 

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