Tag: how-to

Taking Live Classes Online with Blackboard Collaborate Ultra

Fall 2017 IT Professionals Forum @ UIUC Learn about the new version of Blackboard Collaborate called “Ultra”, which is now available and free to use in Illinois Compass 2g. Blackboard Collaborate Ultra is a “Google Hangouts” for education. It is traditionally used for synchronous online courses and conferences, but it can also be used for… Continue reading Taking Live Classes Online with Blackboard Collaborate Ultra

An Introduction to Blackboard Collaborate Ultra

In the summer of 2017 I collaborated with a colleague in our partner organization who offered to create an intro video to Blackboard Collaborate Ultra. This was an easy project from my vantage point: all I had to do was provide an outline that was to be used and my colleague did the rest. The… Continue reading An Introduction to Blackboard Collaborate Ultra

Improve Session Connectivity in an Online Session

How do  you make sure that your online class runs smoothly for everyone? You really can’t! But you can encourage best practices to free up bandwidth so that those who don’t have the best connection to the internet don’t struggle with staying connected. I based this documentation off of best practices from Blackboard, and customized… Continue reading Improve Session Connectivity in an Online Session

Respondus and Online Tests

Respondus is Windows-only software that lets instructors author and configure online tests while offline. Respondus not only runs on just Windows, it looks like old software, but it’s hard to dispute it’s value. I wrote this documentation years ago and it’s still useful today, mostly because the software really hasn’t changed. I also created a… Continue reading Respondus and Online Tests

Print an Online Test!?

Yes, there are many reasons why someone would want this. I spelled it out on the Blackboard Community Website. Until it’s a native feature within Blackboard Learn, we are going to need to maintain documentation on how to use Respondus to print out a Blackboard Online Test. https://answers.uillinois.edu/65113

Blackboard Collaborate Instructor Guide

One of the nice things about my job is that I can “steal” perfectly good documentation that’s publicly available and make some small adjustments to it to fit the needs of our campus. Such is the case with our Blackboard Collaborate Original “Instructor Guide.” Tip of the hat to the outstanding staff at the iSchool’s… Continue reading Blackboard Collaborate Instructor Guide

Help! Students can’t see the test!

Many instructors give high stakes tests online (think midterms or finals) after hours. Thanks to automation, an instructor can release an online test after standard business hours. Unfortunately, this is the worst time to have tech issues, but it happens. People using automation tools to release exams nested in folders that have their own date/time… Continue reading Help! Students can’t see the test!

The Illinois Compass 2g Advisory Group

Spring 2014 IT Professionals Forum In October 2012 during the migration to Blackboard Learn, Technology Services reached out to departments and individuals across campus to establish the Illinois Compass 2g Advisory Group. This poster covers strategies used to promote the involvement of faculty, students, and staff to increase alignment between their needs, campus services and… Continue reading The Illinois Compass 2g Advisory Group