EdTech provides consulting, training, outreach and educational services
for faculty, instructors and staff using educational technologies.
EdTech provides consulting, training, outreach and educational services
for faculty, instructors and staff using educational technologies.
Instructors, request your Illinois Compass course sites now to beat the fall semester rush by using the onlinecourse request form
We will be performing maintenance on the Course Site Request tool for Illinois Compass on Monday, July 6 from 6:00 to 8:00 AM. During this time you will not be able to request a new Illinois Compass course site. Please note: This maintenance is only for the course request service. Illinois Compass itself will be unaffected and you will be able to log in to the system as normal during this period.
The Office of Continuing Education, Conferences and Institutes, CITES Research and Learning Technologies, and Illinois Online Network would like to invite Illinois faculty to attend this year's Faculty Summer Institute May 18-21 at Alice Campbell Alumni Center. Academic Professional Staff and graduate students whose focus is learning and technology are also invited to apply.
FSI offers more than 50 presentations, hands-on workshops, forums, keynotes, and panels, and learning teams devoted to enhancements and innovations of teaching and technology. FSI draws participants from all disciplines and many 2-year colleges and 4-year universities across Illinois. Each school has a limited number of participants who can register for the conference. Because space is limited, we ask that you contact the U of I representative for approval by emailing
fsi-managers@edtech.cites.uiuc.edu. Registrations will be accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis.
There is no registration fee. FSI has proven over 10 years to be a significant vehicle for sharing and broadening one's teaching and technology knowledge and skills.
For a description of sessions and other information, please explore the FSI web site:
As you plan your courses for the fall, you might consider having your students publish assignments as web pages, whether in Illinois Compass, Netfiles, or some publicly available Internet service. You don't need to be a web master to conduct web-based student assignments! We will consult with you as you plan assignments and help you communicate technical procedures to your students in an easy-to-follow style. We can visit your class and present a miniature training session to get your students started. Similarly, we also offer consulting for instructors who want their students to do assignments or group work that utilize digital images, video, blogs, wikis, or podcasts.
These clinics are for existing users of the Illinois Compass Grade Book. EdTech staff will be available to assist faculty and staff with calculating final grades, calculating columns, importing final exam grades, posting final grades, and other Illinois Compass Grade Book issues. Click a date on the EdTech calendar to sign up for an appointment or call for a date and time that fits your schedule
We are excited to introduce our new Course Site Request and Course Site Management tools for Illinois Compass for Summer 2006. The new tools allows you to request, edit, track, and cancel your requests at your convenience, without needing to call or email our office. New features include the ability to:
New Request: https://edtech.cites.uiuc.edu/CompassSiteRequest
Site manager: https://edtech.cites.uiuc.edu/CompassSiteRequest/sitemanager.do
After applying the Microsoft update released April 11, Users of Internet Explorer on Windows computers may notice that they now have to click twice on certain tools such as the HTML Creator, the My Computer icon for browsing for files, or certain Flash or multimedia files. This is because the browser now requires user activation of the interactive controls used in these and similar tools. The extra mouseclick is needed to activate the tool before it can be used.
These changes are specific to Internet Explorer on Windows computers and are the result of the Microsoft update. An alternative to activating user interaction controls with an extra mouseclick would be using an alternate web browser such as Firefox (free download from www.mozilla.com).
Lori Mestre - Unveiling the Learning Commons
4/12/2006, 12:00pm ~ 1:00pm
23 Illini Hall
Joe Grohens, English Department
Norma Scagnoli, Human Resource Education
Wednesday, March 29, 12:00 P.M. ~ 1:00 P.M.
23 Illini Hall
Illinois Compass will be unavailable for 24 hours beginning Monday, March 20, 2006 from 5:00 A.M. until Tuesday, March 21, 2006 7:30 A.M. for a significant upgrade of the Compass database. Users will not be able to log in during this time. This database upgrade will provide greater capacity and stability of the overall Illinois Compass system. For more information, you can check the CITES Status Page at http://status.cites.uiuc.edu
We have published a new module in the Teaching Methods section of our web site titled "Teaching with Online Communication Tools." This module provides strategies for using online technology to create collaborative environments and to improve student writing, critical thinking skills, and participation.
This is the third part of series of web pages on teaching strategies to use with online technologies. To explore our other resources, please visit our Strategies for Teaching With Online Technologies web page.
Check out CITES EdTech job openings. Current opportunities include: Research Programmer, Research Programmer/Service Manager, Computer-Assisted Instructional Specialist and 50% Training Specialist / 50% Computer-Assisted Instructional Specialist.
Burks Oakley II, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs
Wednesday, March 8, 12:00 P.M. ~ 1:00 P.M.
23 Illini Hall
Lanny Arvan, Assistant CIO for Educational Technologies and Associate Professor of Economics
Wednesday, February 22, 12:00 P.M. ~ 1:00 P.M.
23 Illini Hall
Illinois Compass service has been restored and users are able to login and work without delays as of early Friday afternoon. To restore Compass performance we followed WebCT vendor advice to turn off the tool news icon feature in the system. The tool news icons are the small icons that appear underneath each user's course links on the Illinois Compass Home listing. These icons help alert students to new:
These icons are only used on the Illinois Compass Home listing page, and are not displayed inside Illinois Compass courses.
WebCT is investigating the issue and will let us know if and when the tool news icons can be reactivated.
If you need further help with Illinois Compass please contact edtech@illinois.edu or phone 244-7000.
Class rosters are being uploaded daily (Monday - Friday , not on weekends) from 4 :00 P.M. - 8 :00 P.M. into Compass. However, updates made in the campus Banner system are not immediately reflected in Compass; indeed, there can be a 1 to 3 day delay before course registrations are evident in Compass.
Compass Instructors: Compass grade books include a "Section" and a "Last Updated" column. The "Section" column contains the rubric, course number, and section for each student, which is very helpful in making sure that your cross listings and multiple sections are being uploaded into Compass. Note, too, that you can sort these columns, which can help sort students for grading. The "Last Updated" column indicates the last time each student was uploaded in to the course roster; thus, you will be able to identify students who have dropped your course since they will show an older last updated time stamp. To view these columns, go to Teach > Grade Book > Members.
Please read the important information regarding the status of the Illinois Compass service <http://www.cio.illinois.edu/compass/> from Pete Siegel, CIO. Accompanying his letter are strategies for working productively with Compass, especially during peak usage times, one for students and one for instructors; a more expansive, technical summary describing ongoing upgrades of the Illinois Compass system is also available.
We recommend that you submit your request for a Spring 2006 Illinois Compass course site by Monday, January 9, 2006 in order for your site to be ready by the start of instruction. Requests should be made at: https://edtech.cites.uiuc.edu/services/Main/CompassSiteRequest.
Requests submitted after January 9 are not guaranteed to be ready for instruction on January 17.
CITES receives hundreds of requests in the two weeks prior to the start of semester, which causes delays in the creation of course sites. In addition, this semester we will limit the administrative activity on the server in order to preserve maximum performance for the users. Therefore, it is especially important that you submit your request now.
Requests received after 5:00 P.M. on January 9, 2006 will be processed on a first-come-first-served basis after all of the earlier requests have been fulfilled.
Illinois Compass Site Request form is located at:
https://edtech.cites.uiuc.edu/services/Main/CompassSiteRequest.
Illinois Compass will be unavailable on Thursday, December 22, 2005 from 8:00 A.M. to 8:00 P.M. for extended maintenance. We are adding new equipment to the system that requires the system to remain unavailable until the work is completed.
The status of the system can be checked at: http://status.uiuc.edu.
Now is the perfect time to request your Spring 2006 site. We will create your site while you celebrate the holidays! Use the site request form at https://edtech.cites.uiuc.edu/services/Main/CompassSiteRequest.
On December 8, Lanny Arvan, Assistant CIO for Educational Technologies, guided a discussion on instructor use of Illinois Compass. Leslie Hammersmith, CITES Director of Educational Technologies; Keith Giltner, WebCT Regional Sales Manager; Matt Davis, WebCT Product Specialist; and Kristin Allen, WebCT Product Developer, assisted Arvan in providing information and answering questions. About fifteen people attended, including several CITES technical support staff.
Arvan initiated the discussion by suggesting that the first hour cover any general Compass topics and the second hour focus on the grade book feature. He then opened the floor to questions, comments, and observations.
During the general topics session, questions ranged from procuring Compass course sites to timed quizzes and the use of graphics slowing load times. More readily available advanced statistical feedback on individual quiz questions was requested. Discussion then turned to the effectiveness of timed quizzes at discouraging cheating and the reliability of Compass logs for quiz attempts. An EdTech staff member encouraged instructors to contact EdTech at edtech@illinois.edu with questions about student activity logs.
Instructors asked about delays when they log in to Compass. Arvan asked when the login times were slow and explained that it was likely due to increased loads on the system late in the semester. In regard to the groups feature, two instructors requested additional demo students to monitor group activity.
After a short break, Arvan announced that due to the numerous questions about the grade book at the first town meeting, he had asked WebCT to present a demonstration of the grade book. Davis and Allen then took the floor. They explained their understanding of the grade book questions at University of Illinois and answered questions. The last portion of the meeting was a presentation of grade book tools being developed for a future product release. For information on these new tools, visit the WebCT Vista site.
Important end of semester information for online learning management systems has been posted on our web site. For Illinois Compass information please see: http://www.cites.illinois.edu/edtech/investigate_edtechnologies/supported_systems/compass/index.html For WebBoard information please see: http://www.cites.illinois.edu/edtech/teaching_software/webboard/index.html And for Mallard please see: http://www.cites.illinois.edu/edtech/investigate_edtechnologies/supported_systems/mallard/index.html
RefWorks, a web-based service, allows faculty members and students to create customized databases using online resources and automatically format the content and bibliographies of their papers. (http://www.library.uiuc.edu/refworks/ ) It also provides quick search and advanced search functions. Keep track of your research citations, notes, etc. Workshops will be held in Undergraduate Library Room 291 multiple times in December! Register at: http://130.126.32.16/evanced/lib0/eventcalendar.asp Questions? Email Lisa Hinchliffe, ljanicke@uiuc.edu
We are pleased to announce that Illinois Compass is back online. You may now log in at: http://compass.uiuc.edu. We have successfully completed our hardware upgrades and system testing. We anticipate no further down time through the end of the semester, but we are planning for additional improvements of the system that will necessitate down time over the winter break.
Thank you for your patience during our system upgrades. Please note: During the Thanksgiving Holiday we will be closed Thursday, November 24 through Sunday, November 27. If you encounter any problems or have questions about Illinois Compass, contact our office at edtech@uiuc.edu, or by calling (217) 244-7000. CITES EdTech is open Monday through Friday, 8:30 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.
Illinois Compass will be unavailable from 8:00 A.M. Monday, November 21, through Wednesday, November 23, at 5:00 P.M. Major hardware upgrades will be made to the system during this time. It is critical that we do these upgrades now to assure maximum reliability and stability of the Illinois Compass system for the Spring 2006 semester.
If you need assistance to accommodate this down time, CITES EdTech is available Monday through Friday, 8:30 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. in 182 Armory Building (217) 244-7000. You can also reach EdTech by sending email to edtech@illinois.edu. For further assistance, please call the CITES Help Desk (217) 244-7000 or (800) 531-2531.
Date: Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Time:
6:00 P.M. - 8:00 P.M.
Where: Colonial Room, Illini Union
This meeting will focus on student use of Illinois Compass but it is open to all students, faculty, and staff. Refreshments will be served.
Date: Thursday, December 8, 2005
Time: 3:00 P.M. – 5:00 P.M.
Where: 253 Mechanical Engineering Building
This town meeting is focused on instructor use of Illinois Compass. The first hour is meant as a general session and to address any queries about what instructors should do for the Spring 2006 semester. The second hour will be dedicated to the Compass Grade Book. Instructors are encouraged to provide feedback on grade book issues and feature requests. A WebCT representative will be present to take note of the issues brought up.
Illinois Compass Town Meeting
As promised, we will be holding a meeting for anyone interested in discussing Compass's recent performance.
The meeting will be Thursday, Oct. 13, 1:00 P.M. - 3:00 P.M. in 407 Illini Union. CITES staff and vendor representatives will be there to answer your questions.CITES Educational Technologies is offering a new enewsletter that is sent out monthly with news and updates from CITES Educational Technologies. This enewsletter is sent to Teaching and Learning with Technology users who have received consulting or training from CITES Educational Technologies. You may subscribe to the newsletter without utilizing any other CITES service. Simply send an email to: edtech@illinois.edu. [View online version]
CITES EdTech offers a variety of training options in support of faculty, staff, and students using technology and online learning systems. All of our workshops are free of charge. Learn more about our Brown Bag Series, Lunchtime Learning Series, Develop Your Course Workshops, and regular training program by visiting our Training index page. (View the flyer (PDF))
CITES Educational Technologies is developing a new series of web pages on teaching strategies to use with online technologies. The first module, Inquiry and Problem-Based Learning in the Online Environment, discusses how instructors can create inquiry and problem-based curricula, while also learning how to augment the lessons through online tools.
The second module, Active Learning in the Online Environment will help you integrate active learning into your online teaching.
To see our other resources on teaching with online technology see our Pedagogy web page.
The Campus Gradebook archive service was discontinued on July 1, 2005. CITES will no longer be able to provide Campus Gradebook archive files.
Now is the time to brush up on Illinois Compass and build up your Compass course sites for the Fall semester. We're offering training throughout the summer, along with one-on-one consulting. Drop in to the Armory or ask us to visit your office to talk about the pedagogical, design, and nuts and bolts issues of developing your course web site. For training, check out our training calendar for dates, times, and locations of our workshops, or send an email to edtech@illinois.edu to schedule consulting.
If you used the Compass Grade Book for collecting or calculating grades, we strongly encourage you to download these records to your computer by following the instructions provided in our Instructor Resources. More...
CITES will back-up current Spring 2005 WebBoard course sites starting early June. These HTML-only versions of your course site will be stored on CD-ROMs and available to you by request (edtech@illinois.edu). If you have a Spring WebBoard course that should remain active after the beginning of June please alert us (edtech@illinois.edu). More...
We will back-up all Spring 2005 courses in the last week of May. Back-ups will be stored on CD ROM in the form of .tar files. The back-ups include all the data in the course:
CITES Educational Technologies will host Grade Book Walk-In Clinics from April 26 through May 12, 2005 for all instructors and teaching assistants using the Illinois Compass Grade Book to post final grades to students. EdTech staff will be available to assist faculty and staff with calculating final grades, calculating columns, importing final exam grades, posting final grades, and other Illinois Compass Grade Book issues. Please review our Calendar for dates, times, and locations.
I'd like to alert you to an opportunity that is available to all instructors on campus. This is the Inter-Institutional Faculty Summer Institute on Learning Technologies. FSI will be held the week of May 16th (the week after Commencement), starting the afternoon of the 16th and ending around noon on the 20th. FSI has no registration fee and some meals are included (see the program). The first afternoon and the remaining mornings are plenary sessions with outstanding speakers. More...
CITES Educational Technologies announces its How and Why Workshop Series. This series focuses on becoming a power user of Illinois Compass. Join us for advanced workshops intended for instructors who already have some experience using Illinois Compass and want to explore more advanced uses in their classes.
Illini Hall room 23 is CITES Educational Technologies' new training and course development lab. Illini Hall is equipped to allow CITES EdTech staff to deliver software training and professional development activities to faculty and staff. It is also designed to enable EdTech staff to collaborate and consult with faculty/staff to successfully integrate technology into their teaching practices. More...
CITES Educational Technologies announces its Lunchtime Learning Showcase. Our first showcase, "Develop Your Course Week," will be Feb. 21-25 from 12:00 P.M. - 1:00 P.M. in Room 23 Illini Hall. Lunch will be provided and we would like all participants to register in advance.
CITES Educational Technologies has redesigned our web site with the hopes that our new design will highlight teaching and learning with technology even more and help you find the information you need faster. More...
Information about rosters and course management for Faculty. More...
Instructors with grades in Illinois Compass are strongly encouraged to create a personal .csv (comma separated value) file for their records. This file format can be opened in a text editor or in Microsoft Excel. To export grades, go to the Teach tab > Grade Book > Export to Spreadsheet. You should rename this file with your course name and date, and store it in a safe place. For more help, see Exporting and Importing Grades.
Dear Colleagues,
We have been talking with CITES, Deans, and faculty to revise the approach we have taken with Illinois Compass training. We are pleased to inform you that we have decided to waive the training requirement for all future use of the system. While we continue to believe that training is very important for providing the instructor with a comfort level in the new system and for informing our users of significant workarounds and available resources, we feel that the decision to attend training is better left in the hands of the individual. Further, our base of Compass users is now significant, with over 600 faculty, TAs, and support staff who have gone through our Compass training program. We believe this base of experienced users and our expanded training and support programs will lead to a successful and collegial migration of hundreds of additional new users to Compass during the hectic transition between Fall and Spring semesters.
If you have further questions, please contact EdTech by calling 244-7000 or emailing edtech@illinois.edu.
Our office hours are Monday-Friday, 8:30 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.
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