Contents:
GOOD HOUSEKEEPING: TIPS FOR END OF SEMESTER MAINTENANCE
by Faye Bradshaw
Good housekeeping tips apply to on-line courses just like they apply
to your home - or that one junk drawer that everyone seems to have.
The end of the semester is the time to close out your course and
prepare for the next semester.
Four areas of your course that you need to think of
include:
- Course availability
- Course content
- Grade book / course statistics
- Course backup / new site requests
Course Availability
Once students no longer need access to course content, you will
need to change the availability settings. Making a course unavailable
prevents students from accessing course content and tests after the
official end of the semester.
The process is a simple one:
-
In Blackboard: Reset the course to unavailable.
- In WebCT: Select Deny Student Access from the Manage Students Records table (grade book).
Course Content
The end of the semester is an excellent time to review and update course content,
including tests, quizzes, learning units/modules, learning activities, resource links
(external web sites and research articles), calendar, and syllabi.
In addition, take time for the following:
- Review end of semester evaluations to help you revise your course.
- If you have not already done so, consider creating a course notebook or journal to
keep notes on what worked and what did not work within your course.
- Create a hit list of things to change, based on student evaluations and your notes.
- Check to see if you need new copyright permissions before re-posting any material.
Grade Book and Course Statistics
It always a good idea to export your grade book files to your computer for safekeeping and easy access.
Both Blackboard and WebCT will allow you to download a file type (comma separated) to your computer.
This file can be accessed through MS Excel. Also, download student tracking pages, which indicate how
often students accessed various sections of your course.
Course Backup and New Site Requests
On your computer set up a download/backup folder for each course that you teach.
If you have multiple backup files of the same course, then create sub-folders indicating
the course and date in the folder name.
Next, compile and download discussion, chat, and
whiteboard logs to folders on your computer.
Last, create a backup of the course and
download the zipped file to the appropriate folder. Remember, do not try to open or rename
these files within your computer.
Most course sites can be used from one semester to the next. In Blackboard if you want to avoid
the hassle of clearing out email, discussions, chats, and grade book entries, then it is best to
request a new course site. For WebCT, you will need to request a new course site for each semester
that you teach a particular course. At Indiana State University, Course Site Request Forms are
accessible at Instructional Support Forms and User Guides.
In closing, remember that good housekeeping begins with a good list.
This Checklist
(printable PDF) may make the process a little easier.
Faye Bradshaw is an instructional designer with the
University's Center for Teaching and Learning. If you
have questions on this article or any instructional design
topic, contact Faye at (812)237-2346 or extbrads@isugw.indstate.edu
ANNOUNCEMENT: NEW ISU DISTANCE COURSES
Summer and Fall 2004 distance offerings include
a variety of new ISU web (online) courses.
The list (below) of new ISU distance courses includes
a link to a short announcement for each course.
School of Education
School of Health and Human Performance
School of Technology
ISU faculty members seeking assistance with
course development should contact:
Center for Teaching and Learning
Instructional Design Staff
237-3053
For assistance with distance course delivery,
contact:
Melissa Hughes
Director, Distance Support Services
m-hughes@indstate.edu
IPSE GRANTS: REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
As an initiative of the Indiana Partnership for
Statewide Education (IPSE), the Indiana Higher
Education Telecommunication System (IHETS)
makes grants to Indiana colleges and universities
to support development of educational content
delivered via technology.
The goal of this program is to help faculty expand
the range of educational offerings available to
citizens of Indiana in an asynchronous, online
format.
Grants will be awarded in an open competition
among proposals submitted by individual (or teams
of) faculty employed by IHETS member institutions.
ETCETERA, ETCETERA, ETCETERA
Google is partnering with MIT and 16 other universities
to develop a search tool that will allow searches for
specially tagged academic content. According to the
release, this new tool will allow colleges and universities
to build "superarchives of scholarly work, including metadata
tags that allow for online searches of that content."
The Google tool will use an interface created by the
Online Computer Library Center.
Source: Edupage (9 Apr 04); Chron of Higher Ed (9 Apr 04)
Apollo Group (and its subsidiary, the University of Phoenix)
made the Top 50 Corporations in the April 04 issue of
Business Week. Apollo Group is listed at 48, "....with
sales and earning success based on catering to working
adults almost insatiable demand for higher education."
According to Apollo's 2003 Annual Report:
- Consolidated degree enrollments for the Apollo Group increased by 29.0% - - to 227,800 students.
- Enrollment at University of Phoenix exceeded the 200,000 mark - - a new milestone.
- Degree enrollments for University of Phoenix Online increased by 57.8% - - to 99,500 students.
Apollo was founded in 1973 by John Sperling, who believed
that "...lifelong employment with a single employer would be
replaced by lifelong learning and employment with a variety of
employers. Lifelong learning requires an institution dedicated
solely to the education of working adults." For more information
on Apollo, including financial reports and opt-in email notice
of news alerts, go to
www.apollogrp.com
Source: Higher Education Marketing Newsletter (14 Apr 04);
www.apollogrp.com (retrv'd 14 Apr 04);
THOUGHT FOR MAY:
The journey is the reward.
~ Chinese Proverb
Interaction is published by the Office of Distance
Support Services - Indiana State University.
