What do IT Fellows Need to Know?

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» Posted by Sintjago on Jul 25, 2011 in Fall 2011 | 0 comments

What Do IT Fellows Need to Know?

Updated 07/25/11

You can use this as a general training/reference guide.

Moodle 1.9

https://moodle.umn.edu/

General

Manually giving students access to the site
Specifying course site settings

Content management

Uploading/deleting files
Creating links to files on the Homepage
Organizing files

Forums:

Designing & building discussion threads

Groups:

Creating groups for discussion forums
Using Groupings feature to separate multiple course sections in one site
Separating a site with multiple course sections into groups by section

Quizzes: –

Uploading a single file, online text, advance uploading, and offline
Setting up a quiz/quiz options
Adding random questions
Grading objective quiz questions
Grading essay questions manually (this isn’t very common)

Gradebook:

Setting grade book settings
Adding an activity to grade book and entering grades
Entering grades via the activity interface/directly into the grade book
Methods of aggregating/sum, simple weighted mean, and weighted mean of grads
Using extra credit in grade book
Setting personal viewing preferences

Moodle transition from 1.9 to 2.0

http://www.oit.umn.edu/moodle/transition/

Note: Sheila can explain all this stuff to you.

Identify the difference in features/functionality between 1.9 and 2.0 and forward official documentation to instructors if needed
Understand OIT’s timeline for the transition process and make recommendations for transitioning sites from WebVista and from 1.9 –refer instructors to official OIT emails for this

WebVista

http://webct.umn.edu/

Note: UTTC isn’t offering any WebVista training since it’s being phased out, so you may need to have other IT Fellows give you an overview. IT Fellows don’t get many requests for WebVista support except for moving files out of WebVista into Moodle. OIT does have these online WebVista modules:

Instructor basics: http://uttc.umn.edu/training/courses/description/?designator=VTA151

Student orientation: http://uttc.umn.edu/training/courses/description/?designator=VTA4111

How to transfer content (i.e. zip files and upload them to Moodle) and transfer quiz banks using Respondus (although Respondus is not an easy program to use – you can have the ISTs (Instructional Support Techs – the undergrads in Pete’s office) do this. http://www.oit.umn.edu/moodle/transition/tranfer-quizzes/index.htm
Upload, update, delete files
Adding/managing learning tools and resources to a site
Managing gradebook
Managing groups, discussions

Adobe Presenter

http://www.oit.umn.edu/umconnect/services-support/support-faq/presenter-faqs/download-presenter/index.htm

Note: Sheila can explain this stuff to you. Adobe Presenter (formerly known as “Breeze”) is a program where you download a plug-in into PowerPoint, which enables users to narrate PowerPoint presentations. The U isn’t going to support Presenter after Jan, 2012.

Explain the phasing out of Adobe Presenter by Jan, 2012 (defer to official briefs)

Understand that Presenter presentations can still be viewed, but not created after Jan, 2012
http ://blog .lib .umn .edu /oit /news /2011/05/changes _to _adobe _acrobat _licen .html

Camtasia Relay & Camtasia Studio

http://www.oit.umn.edu/class-capture/

Note: OIT is offering Camtasia RELAY as the Presenter substitute:

However, Camtasia RELAY is really a very limited tool – it doesn’t let you edit. Camtasia STUDIO is the better tool, but it costs $. ATS is buying some Camtasia STUDIO licenses, and each IT Fellow will be given a license. The online tutorials for Camtasia Studio are very good.

Show instructors how to get Camtasia Relay and teach them how to use it
Explain that Camtasia Relay is OIT’s centrally supported software for creating presentations
Describe the difference between Camtasia Relay & Camtasia Studio
Teach instructors how to create presentations using Camtasia Studio

Note: You can download a trial version of Camtasia Studio if you want to mess around with it – the official licenses should be coming soon!

http://www.techsmith.com/camtasia/

UMConnect

http://www.oit.umn.edu/umconnect/

UMConnect is a tool to have online meetings / presentations

Note: This is a tricky one with instructors may ask you to set up their meetings and provide tech support during the meeting. That doesn’t fall within the scope of IT Fellow responsibilities, but it can be an artful matter to communicate that. Ask other ITFs and Sheila for suggestions on how to respond. One thing to keep in mind is that if the meeting is not for use in a class with students (like if it’s for a meeting or presentation to people outside the U) you can recommend that they pay $ to have OIT set it up and run it (benefit – they don’t have to be concerned about the technology failing).

Teach instructors how to set up, schedule, and record meetings using UMConnect
Provide guidance on how to conduct an effective online meeting
Teach the basics of online conference room management

Google Apps

Overall

Understand the value and the limitations of Google Apps

Docs

Teach instructors how to create a Google doc
Teach instructors how to upload a Google doc

Forms

Teach instructors how to create a Google form
Explain how Google forms can be used in courses
Teach instructors how to gather data from a Google form

NetFiles

http://www.oit.umn.edu/netfiles/

Teach instructors how to access NetFiles
Teach instructors how to upload files to NetFiles
Teach instructors how to link to Netfiles files in Moodle

Survey Tools

Note: IT Fellows should play a referral role and not be responsible for teaching/managing/creating surveys since these tools are almost always used for research. Refer instructors to the department’s research associate or college’s office of research consultation. http ://www .tc .umn .edu /~orcs

Fellows should be familiar with Google and Moodle’s feedback tools as they are more for polling students and less for gathering data for research projects.

Be somewhat familiar with these survey tools:
- UMSurvey: http://www.oit.umn.edu/umsurvey/ (people generally aren’t a fan of this tool)
- CEHD Survey Tool: https://survey.cehd.umn.edu/

ChimeIn (Polling Software)

Note: ChimeIn is was developed by CLA – everyone at the U has access to it. Students can use any personal electronic device to ring in their responses. You may not get a lot of requests for it, but it seems like instructors have a lot of interest in this tool.

ChimeIn: https://chimein.cla.umn.edu/

Show instructors how to get a ChimeIn account
Teach instructors how to use ChimeIn
Explain how ChimeIn can be used in a class

TurningPoint Clickers

http://www.turningtechnologies.com/responsesystemsupport/downloads/

Note: TurningPoint Clickers are used a lot in FSoS as they have their own sets of clickers. The other departments do not have clickers (they can borrow clickers from CLA, but CLA doesn’t always have enough to go around) so they could use ChimeIn instead.

UMWiki

Apparently this is not a useful tool and IT Fellows don’t really get requests for it.

UThink Blogs

http://blog.lib.umn.edu/uthink/

Note: It seems like lately more instructors want a blog to publicly showcase student projects. The Web Team has plans to develop a template for these projects. You can refer these requests to Sheila. (If instructors are comfortable creating the blog on their own that’s fine).

Teach instructors how to create a UThink blog
Understand when to refer a blog project to the web team (basically whenever the instructor isn’t comfortable doing it themselves)

VideoAnt

http://ant.umn.edu/

Teach instructors how to use VideoAnt
Describe the challenges of using VideoAnt for course assignments

MediaMill

http://mediamill.cla.umn.edu/mediamill/

Teach instructors how to upload footage to MediaMill
Teach instructors how to edit footage in MediaMill
Teach instructors how to share videos in MediaMill
Teach instructors how to create derivatives in MediaMill
Teach instructors how to share MediaMill content in Moodle

Skype

http://www.skype.com/intl/en-us/home

Note: Skype is not a University-supported tool, but IT Fellows are sometimes asked about it. It’s easy to use, but note that IT Fellows shouldn’t be expected to support hardware needs, network issues, or to facilitate sessions.

Soft Skills

Note: These skills will come over time as you get a sense of the instructors in your department.

Understand the role and responsibilities of the IT Fellow
Redirect instructors to other resources when requests for support are outside the scope of IT Fellow role and responsibilities (this means – instead of telling an instructor “no” to redirect by saying “That’s outside my scope, but here’s where you can go for support.”
Reinforce to instructors that their role is to teach, not do (this can be tricky and it depends on factors such as power dynamics in the department, the level of expertise of the instructor, etc. The bottom line is to “meet people where they’re at.” If you’re in a situation where you feel like you’re being asked to do things outside your role, you can ask another IT Fellow what they think, and also ask Sheila.
Recognize when to refer requests to Sheila/Pete/Yelena

Tech Support

Explain (very tactfully) that IT Fellows do not support students, and why
Point instructors to OIT websites for student tech support
Identify various OIT Tech support options for University supported tools (WebVista, Moodle, etc.) that you can use to ask questions —- SEE BELOW!
Explain (very tactfully) that IT Fellows do not support non-University supported tools (for example, if an instructor asks you help them with a Ning site – you won’t be able to provide support)

U-Wide Services

Describe the services provided by Smart Learning Commons: https://wiki.umn.edu/SMART
Understand eReserve: http://www.lib.umn.edu/services/eres-FAQ
Refer instructors the eReserve support
The Libraries’ Copyright info site: http://www.lib.umn.edu/copyright/welcome

Where Should Students Go For Tech Support?

Phone Tech Support Helpline

Call (612) 301-4357 (on campus, dial 1-HELP)

Online Chat Tech Support: Live Help

http://www.oit.umn.edu/help/contacts/index.htm

Mon-Fri 7:30am-8:00pm

Sat 12:00pm-5:00pm

Tech Stop: in person tech support

http://www.oit.umn.edu/tech-stop/

Visit Tech Stop in Coffman Union suite 101 on the East Bank or Coffey Suite 50 on the St. Paul campus.

Tech Stop location and hours:

http://www.oit.umn.edu/tech-stop/locations/index.htm