COLT Blog - Topics of Interest

COLT UPDATE

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:38:00 -0600

COLT Services have been restored. Everything should be operational.

COLT UPDATE

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:02:00 -0600

The Education Complex has been closed until 12 Noon today. COLT will be unable to provide any services while the building is closed. Please check back for updates.

This DOES NOT AFFECT Blackboard! (unless you are using some additional colt services. ex streaming media housed on our servers)

COLT Service Outage

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:29:00 -0600

Due to unforeseen water damage in the Education Complex some COLT services have been disrupted. We have had to shut down several machines that are housed in the Education Complex. We have had to shut down our web server which will affect our website (cdl.utpa.edu), our help desk, course activation and other cdl hosted applications (podcast, tegrity request, etc).

You can STILL ACCESS BLACKBOARD and our main webpage via the following links.

colt.utpa.edu - colt homepage (some links will not function ex. help desk)

onlinelearning.utpa.edu - Blackboard login page

We experienced this issue at about 6:30 PM and have NO timetable as to when we will be able to fully restore services. If you have need any assistance our help desk will still operate as normal (M-F 8-5) we may be reached at (956) 318-5327 or emailed at colthelp@utpa.edu For any additional updates you may check our blog, twitter, and facebook.

COLT - Spirit Week Contest

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 09:30:00 -0600

Bronc enthusiasm is at its best in the Center of Online Learning and Teaching which won the annual Spirit Week Door Decorating Contest featuring the theme of Bucky’s Gone Country.

Tegrity Lecture Capture

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 08:22:00 -0600

Attention Faculty – Tegrity Lecture capture is here! If you would like to know more information about Tegrity or would like to use Tegrity in your course(s) please visit our Tegrity page.

cdl.utpa.edu/tegrity/

UT System Buys Land in Second Life

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 19:16:00 -0600

On August 25, 2009, pioneering representatives from all 16 University of Texas System campuses convened in Austin, Texas to lay the foundation for the Virtual Learning Community Initiative (VLCI). Funded by the UT System Transforming Undergraduate Education grant, this spearheading project is extending operations of each of the 16 UT campuses into the online virtual world of Second Life. Leslie Jarmon, Ph.D., the Primary Investigator for the statewide proposal, is a Faculty Development Specialist and Senior Lecturer in the Division of Instructional Innovation & Assessment (CIE/DIIA) at the University of Texas at Austin. UTPA and COLTT are participating in this project with the goal to enhance teaching and learning at this institution.

Do Students Cheat More in Online Classes? Maybe not.

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 19:08:00 -0600

By Marc Parry

A new study contradicts the perception that cheating is more widespread in online classes, finding that students in virtual courses were less likely to cheat than their face-to-face peers.

You can’t make any sweeping generalizations based on the results, since the study only looked at 225 students at Friends University, a private, mid-sized, Christian-based institution in Wichita, Kansas.

Blackboard Scheduled Downtime

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 13:27:00 -0600

ATTENTION: Blackboard will be down on Thursday Aug 27^th from 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM. We will be upgrading our institution Blackboard from 8.0.2 to version 8.0.3. This fix will not change anything that you are used to seeing in the Blackboard interface. In addition to Blackboard being unavailable Instructors will be unable to ‘Activate’ their course(s) during this time. We do not foresee any issues with this upgrade. All COLT services should be back up and running by 6:00PM on Aug 27^th. Our web services will still be accessible during this time.

COLT - Network Issues

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 09:25:00 -0600

Currently there is an network outage in our department office. This DOES NOT have any effect on Blackboard. Our website however is currently offline until the network issue(s) get resolved. Please check back for more information.

Course Activation

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 09:29:00 -0600

Starting July 8th, you will be able to ACTIVATE your Fall 2009 course through Blackboard. Rather than filling out the course request form and trying to find out that tricky call number or CRN, you just need to login to Blackboard and look for your Fall 2009 course(s). Once you are in the course, click on the “Activate” link on the course homepage. The activation process is quick and simple. Click on the link below to see a 3 minute tutorial on how to activate your course. The activation process should be familiar to you if you have requested a Blackboard course in the past. However, if you have any questions, please contact us at 381-2979 or by email at cdlfaculty@utpa.edu.

http://cdl.utpa.edu/activate/activate.html

IMPORTANT By activating your course, you will kick start the process of adding student enrollments as well as restoring content to your course (if necessary). It is critical to activate your course soon to be ready for the Fall 2009 semester. Please make sure to activate your course and allow 7 business days for your course to be ready.

UTPA Services Restored

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 15:43:00 -0600

UTPA Power has been restored. Everything is back up and functional.

Power Outage @ UTPA

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 14:20:00 -0600

The University is experienceing a power outage. We do not have a time table on when the power will be restored. Blackboard services are still available, but some components may not be available such as streaming media.

Welcome back

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 08:51:00 -0600

Welcome back to Summer I 2009!

The Center for Online Learning, Teaching and Technology will be having extended hours on 6/8/09 - 6/9/09. The Center will be open from 8:00AM - 7:00PM. We are located in the New Education Complex (EDCC 2.202). If you need help during off hours feel free to visit our helpdesk at http://colt.utpa.edu/helpdesk. There you will be able to find answers in our FAQs section. You can also open up a support ticket if you need to get help.

Online Students at Bryant & Stratton College Will Graduate Via Second Life

Wed, 27 May 2009 15:14:00 -0600

Some students at Bryant & Stratton College will have a short commute to their graduation ceremony: All they need to do is turn on their home computers.

On June 10, approximately 40 students in the institution’s online-degree program will sign on to Second Life, a three-dimensional virtual world, where they will watch computer simulations of the college’s vice president and a student speaker address them before their names, degrees, and honors are announced. Read more...

Teaching Online: 2 Perspectives

Wed, 27 May 2009 15:07:00 -0600

A Reaffirmation of Why I Became an Educator

By GINA GRECO

"Impersonal, disconnected, and unfulfilling." That is how I would have answered if you asked me 10 years ago what I thought of online teaching. As a teacher, I feed off the energy of the crowd and thrive on exciting and entertaining my students to the point of drawing even the most resistant into attending class. Read More...