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News and Announcements Archives
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Introducing the myCourses Status Page | |
 The myCourses course management system has become a very important teaching tool at SFA and is relied upon by hundreds of SFA faculty and thousands of students. In an effort to more proactively communicate important news and alerts pertaining to myCourses, the Office of Instructional Technology is announcing the launch of three new information sources. The first source is designed for students and is located at http://sfaonline.sfasu.edu/status. Faculty should instruct students to visit this page on the SFA ONLINE web site when they have questions about the status of myCourses and to learn helpful workarounds to common problems. The second source is designed for faculty and is located at http://oit.sfasu.edu/status. This page on the OIT web site includes the information given to students as well as additional information useful only to faculty. The third source is intended only for faculty. It is an email listserv that will send myCourses news and alerts directly to subscribers. The information is the same as that located on the web page but in a more direct email form. If you subscribe, you might expect an average of about one new message per week. If you would like to recieve email messages pertaining to the status of myCourses, you will find the listserv subscription information located at the bottom of the myCourses Status Report page for faculty or by following this link http://oit.sfasu.edu/status/index.php#mailinglist. |
| June 2008 |
Interactive Pen Display Demonstration
| The Office of Instructional Technology has over 100 technology workshops and special events scheduled for faculty this summer. The following special event is happening this week.
You are invited to a come-and-go technology demonstration hosted by the Office of Instructional Technology on Wednesday, June 11th, any time between 2:00PM & 4:00PM in the OIT Conference Room (Library 214). The demonstration will be presented by ComputerLand Network Technologies of East Texas and will feature the SMART Technology’s Sympodium Interactive Pen Displays and their higher education applications. This interactive pen display connects to a computer and projector. All the content on your computer appears simultaneously on the interactive pen display and on the large presentation screen in the classroom allowing you to add notes as you present. Please stop by for the live demonstration and refreshments Wednesday, June 11th, any time between 2:00PM & 4:00PM in the OIT Conference Room (Library 214). For more information about OIT's other technology workshops, click the big mouse on the left of this screen. |
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Tech-Know Tips
The Office of Instructional Technology is introducing a virtual tool box of ideas called Tech-Know Tips. Tech-Know Tips provides you ideas from others, as well as a place to share your own ideas, about the development and delivery of an online course. Check it out at http://oit.sfasu.edu/tips!
Miss the Brown Bag Blast?
The discussions that began at the Brown Bag Blast are summarized on a wiki at http://brownbagblast.pbwiki.com. When you arrive at the wiki you will be looking at the homepage. From there you will want to click Show all pages (see graphic below) located at the bottom of the page to see the list of topics discussed at the event. Click the link to the topic you wish to read/edit. The Wiki Password/Invite Key which is bbb.
If you would like to add to the discussion, please feel free to click on the Edit page (see graphic below) button located at the top left hand side of the page. You will then be asked for the Wiki Password/Invite Key which is bbb. Enter your name and email then click Log in and you are ready to edit the wiki!
Interested in adding a wiki to your class? Here are some educational wikis you might want to check out:
http://www.wetpaint.com
http://pbwiki.com
http://instiki.org/show/HomePage
http://www.seedwiki.com/
http://www.jot.com/
For questions or more information, contact Gail Weatherly at gweatherly@sfasu.edu or (936) 468-1818.
| Spring 2008 |
OIT Brown Bag Blast!
On Friday, February 8th, 2008 from 11:45AM to 1:00PM the Office of Instructional Technology will be hosting an a Brown Bag Blast event for faculty to come and discuss a variety of topics related to online teaching and learning. It will be located in the Wyatt Room within the Steen Library.
For questions or more information, contact Gail Weatherly at gweatherly@sfasu.edu or (936) 468-1818.
Grand Opening of New OIT Facilities
On Tuesday, November 20th the Office of Instructional Technology unveiled their new facilities located in the second floor of the Ralph W. Steen Library. Feel free to stop by and check it out! Photos taken from the event are posted below.
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| Fall 2007 |
Ahead of the Curve
Did you miss Ahead of the Curve? Below are links to the handouts from the break out sessions offered. You may click the link to Faculty Workshops (computer mouse icon) to the left of the page to signup for workshops for RSS Feeds, Podcasting, and Turnitin.
• Elluminate Live Demo (zip)
• Podcasting (pdf)
• Power Sites (zip)
• RSS Feeds (pdf)
• Virtual Worlds (pdf)
• Did You Know? (zip)
On Septmeber 20th we had our Ahead of the Curve event. The Ahead of the Curve series offers professors the opportunity to see the latest technology and innovations for enhancing online and campus-based courses. This year's theme was "Teaching Tools for the 21st Century".
As always keep checking back on the OIT page for upcoming faculty events and happenings!
Turnitin is now integrated into myCourses!
SFA's licensed plagiarism prevention software, Turnitin, has now been fully integrated into myCourses.
The Turnitin PowerLink gives myCourses users convenient access to Turnitin’s suite of learning tools all without leaving the familiar myCourses environment.
Recognized worldwide as the standard in plagiarism prevention, Turnitin instantly identifies papers containing unoriginal material and acts as a powerful deterrent to stop student plagiarism before it starts.
• For more information about Turnitin, visit their official website at www.turnitin.com.
• To sign up for an OIT Workshop for Turnitin software, visit the workshops sign-up page by clicking the "Faculty Workshops" link on the left of this page.
| Spring 2007 |
Introducing the OIT Spotlight...
We are adding a new feature to the OIT site dedicated to showcasing those SFA departments going above and beyond in distance education. Below you can see a our compilation of online programs taken from SFA Online.(You can also click the link on the left side of the page)
myCourses Regularly Planned Downtime
myCourses will begin an ongoing schedule of regularly planned downtime for routine maintenance from 10:00 p.m. on the 4th Friday night of each month until 8:00 a.m. Saturday. Please plan for myCourses to be unavailable each month during these hours.OIT Welcomes Donna Lemons to the Staff!
Cynthia Wilson recently retired after seven years of outstanding service as OIT's Administrative Assistant and Donna Lemons has been hired to fill this important position.Many of you know Donna as she has been employed with SFA for 21 years including 10 years in the Bookstore and 11 years as the Benefits Assistant in the Human Resources department.
Please help us welcome Donna to the OIT team.
| Winter 2006 |
myCourses Planned Downtime
The myCourses (Blackboard/WebCT) server hardware will be upgraded over the Christmas break. During the upgrade process, myCourses will be down intermittently between 12:00 PM on Thursday, Dec. 21st and 8:00 AM on Wednesday, Jan. 3rd.During this time, myCourses may be expected to go off-line without warning. If you are logged in when the system goes down, your work may not be saved. Therefore, between December 21st and January 3rd, please be advised to work on any myCourses related work off-line, saving the work on your own computer and wait until January 3rd to upload or submit the work in myCourses.
Beginning in January, myCourses will begin an ongoing schedule of regularly planned downtime for routine maintenance from 10:00 p.m. on the 4th Friday night of each month until 8:00 a.m. Saturday.
OIT is Now Hiring...
OIT is currently looking for a full-time administrative assistant. If you are interested, or in need of more information, please visit the The Office of Human Resources.OIT announces SFA Online
To all SFA Faculty and Staff,
In Spring 2006 there were over 2,000 enrollments in SFA's online courses. Until now, distance education information for students has been found on the OIT website mingled with information intended for faculty and staff. As the enrollment in online courses continues to rise, so does the need for SFA to have a separate site dedicated to serving the needs of our online students.
Today, the Office of Instructional Technology announces the launch of a new website called "SFA Online". SFA Online is targeted toward students and provides information about online courses and programs offered by SFA. SFA Online is designed to support recruitment and retention at SFA by providing updated information about how students can get started taking online courses and about the services that are available to them as online students. The site also includes a market analysis survey and information pertaining to WebCT technical support for students.
Faculty and staff will continue to find information helpful to them at OIT's main website at oit.sfasu.edu. With the launch of SFA Online, OIT will begin to streamline the main OIT website by removing information intended for students and enhancing the information intended for faculty and staff.
For students seeking information about SFA's online courses and programs, please encourage them to visit SFA Online at http://sfaonline.sfasu.edu.
| Fall 2006 |
New OIT home page.
August 17th marked the official launch of the new version of WebCT at SFA. The updated course management system is being called "myCourses" and can be accessed directly at http://mycourses.sfasu.edu or through the myCourses tab of mySFA. Students will not be able to access courses until the first day of class. As in the past, faculty will need to use the red Edit button located next to each listed course in mySFA in order to direct the system to use myCourses.myCourses includes new student-centered features to promote active learning such as the ability to send instant messages to instructors and fellow students, blogging, and journaling. Faculty have found that myCourses has made building and managing courses much easier and efficient thanks to new features such an authentic student view, convenient action menus, and people links and improvements to existing functions of file management, gradebook, and discussions.
The success of the launch depended on the collaboration of many people. Special thanks goes to the faculty who began training and developing courses last spring and taught pilot courses in the new version this summer, working closely with OIT to test all the new tools and processes. These pilot faculty included Dr. Carolyn Able, Dr. Ron Anderson, Dr. Mark E. Turner, Dr. Susan Jennings, Dr. Vikki Boatman, Ms. Kelly Noe, Dr. Todd Brown, Dr. Christopher Ayer, Dr. Brian Utley, Ms. Cay McAninch, Ms. Becky Griffith, Dr. Lysa Hagan, Dr. Kathleen Belanger, and Dr. Steve Lias. These faculty, along with all the other faculty who have attended training and developed instructional materials in the new version have been critical to the success of this advancement. Thanks also goes to the staff of ITS who partner with OIT to ensure that the course management system integrates properly with SFA's student information system. All of these people along with the entire staff of the Office of Instructional Technology have for the past year been involved in the planning, investigating, installing, testing, learning, teaching, transferring, designing, building, troubleshooting, cheering, and other essential functions necessary to complete this migration smoothly and on schedule.
All faculty are encouraged to attend training as soon as possible to make the most of using myCourses.
Information on workshops for experienced WebCT users is available at http://www.oit.sfasu.edu/facdev/workshops.html#F2F.
Workshops are also available for faculty who have never used WebCT at http://www.oit.sfasu.edu/facdev/workshops.html#WCT6.
Faculty needing support using myCourses should email mycoursesfacultysupport@sfasu.edu or call extension 1452
WebCT Announcement
The purpose of this message is to update SFA faculty and staff on the status of the migration toward the new version. Everything is on schedule for a successful launch of the new WebCT version 6 on August 17. If you use WebCT in any capacity, you will want to be aware of the following information.Completing the Pilot Phase
Beginning in Summer I, faculty from the School of Music have been piloting the new WebCT version 6 to deliver their online masters degree in Music Education. In Summer II the pilot phase was expanded to include a limited number of faculty from other disciplines and many other faculty have been using the new version to prepare their courses for the fall semester. Overall, faculty response to the new version has been very positive and student support issues have been minimal.
Course Migration
All fully online courses listed for Fall have already been migrated and are ready to go. Migration of existing WebCT 4 courses should be completed by the end of Summer. Faculty needing assistance with migrating course materials should contact Melane McCuller by email at webctfacultysupport@sfasu.edu.
Planned Downtime
Anyone currently piloting or developing in WebCT 6 should be aware that WebCT 6 will be unavailable during a planned downtime between Summer II and Fall. Faculty who have been teaching courses using WebCT 6 this summer should access all material in WebCT 6 needed for Summer II grading before noon on Saturday, August 12th, the day immediately after final exams. WebCT 6 will be down from 12:00 noon on the 12th until August 17th.
Name and Address Change
The current version, WebCT 4 will continue to be fully available until August 17th. On August 17th version 4 will go down and the webct.sfasu.edu address will become unavailable permanently. When the new WebCT 6 comes up on August 17th it will wear a new name and address. We will begin to refer to the SFA electronic course environment as myCourses and the address will be mycourses.sfasu.edu. This naming convention will help us avoid confusion as future upgrades occur and will correspond nicely with the myCourses tab students are accustomed to using in mySFA.
Training Available
In April over 85 faculty and staff attended the WebCT 6 Premiere and were introduced to the new version. Since that time over 100 faculty have attended the Transition Training workshops offered by the Office of Instructional Technology. All faculty are encouraged to attend training as soon as possible to make the most of using the new version.
Information on workshops for experienced WebCT users is available at http://www.oit.sfasu.edu/facdev/workshops.html#F2F.
Workshops are also available for faculty who have never used WebCT at http://www.oit.sfasu.edu/facdev/workshops.html#WCT6.
| Summer 2006 |
2006 Commencement Video
The 2006 Web Course Development Commencement was a success! If you would like to take a glimpse of the event, Click here to download the video (You will need Realplayer to view).An Important Announcement for Summer I & II Online Students
The Office of Instructional Technology will conduct a WebCT orientation, Keys to WebCT, on Thursday, May 25 and Friday, May 26, in the Steen Library, from 1:30 - 4:30 PM. It is highly recommended that students who are new to WebCT and are enrolled in a web course or web enhanced courses for the Summer I & II semesters, attend this informative WebCT orientation, Keys to WebCT.The hands-on instruction in this orientation will cover the basics of WebCT including log-on plus a variety of helpful tips and features about the WebCT tools.
A reservation is not required; however seating is limited to 30. For additional information please email webct@sfasu.edu.
| Spring 2006 |
The Office of Instructional Technology invites you to:
The 2006 Web Course Development Commencement at 2:00pm on Friday, May 12, 2006 in the Human Services/Telecommunications Building, Room 101. (Refreshments will be served at 1:45 p.m.)Please mark your calendars to attend this year's commencement honoring those who have completed requirements to become Certified Online Instructors. The tentative agenda is as follows:
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Welcome and Introduction of Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs - Dr. Randy McDonald
Congratulatory Address - Dr. Mary Cullinan, Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Introduction of Commencement Speaker - Melane McCuller Commencement Speech - Dr. Marie Saracino Presentation of Certificates - Dr. Randy McDonald and Gail Weatherly Introduction of OIT Teams - Dr. Randy McDonald, Gail Weatherly, Andra Floyd, Randy Watson, Melane McCuller, Bryan Tarpley Closing - Dr. Randy McDonald |
Please attend and show your support for the newly certified online instructors, and feel free to invite others to attend.
| Fall 2005 |
Blackboard merges with WebCT
On October 12th, Blackboard and WebCT announced that the two companies intend to merge. You may see the full announcement at http://www.blackboard.com/WebCT. The Office of Instructional Technology is optimistic about the merger and believes that it will eventually result in enhanced products and services for students and faculty. However, as indicated in the following excerpt from the announcement, it is likely that the merger will have no effect on SFA for the next few years.
"Blackboard plans to enhance and support the existing products of both WebCT and Blackboard. New releases and ongoing software maintenance for WebCT and Blackboard will continue to be a key focus of the combined company. .......Over time, Blackboard will incorporate the best features and usability characteristics from the two product lines into a new, standards-based product set that will incorporate a scalable, architecture, the use of Web services, unparalleled ease of use, and flexible customization features."Although we may not see effects of the merger for some time, positive changes are just around the corner at SFA. Currently, the Office of Instructional Technology is in the planning stages of upgrading to WebCT Campus Edition version 6 and anticipating a "go live" date in January 2007. After SFA's transition to WebCT 6 is completed in 2007, OIT will assist the University in investigating which Learning Management System products are most suitable for SFA as we continue to move forward. It is reasonable to expect that SFA may be ready to move beyond WebCT 6 around 2010. Perhaps the new products that are referred to in the Blackboard/WebCT announcement will be available to SFA at that time.
As we embrace the continual change brought on by advancing technology, OIT remains committed to supporting faculty's use of best practices in pedagogy, andragogy and instructional design. Regarding the upgrade to WebCT 6, please be assured that OIT will continue to provide full support for our current version 4 of WebCT throughout Fall 2006 while assisting faculty and students in making a smooth transition to the new WebCT 6 in January 2007.
Faculty planning to complete OIT's Certified Online Instructor program should be aware that the required online Web Course Development Community course will not be offered during Summer 2006. This means that faculty who are not Certified Online Instructors now, but wish to be by Fall 2006 must complete pre-requisites now and enroll in the online course to be offered in Spring 2006. Contact Melane McCuller immediately to complete any pre-requisites at mmcculler@sfasu.edu or extension 1452.
For more information about WebCT version 6 see http://www.webct.com/ce6.
Ahead of the Curve
The Office of Instructional Technology sponsored the Ahead of the Curve event on Sept. 20, which included round-table discussions among online instructors over Tablet PCs, E-Packs, Respondus Quiz Builder, and Evaluating and Encouraging Online Communication. Click here to view pictures from the event.
| May 2005 |
Want to see the future?
Join us for a sneak preview of the new features that will be available in
WebCT Campus Edition 6.0! You will see demonstrations of new features and
enhancements in the following key areas: course preparation, content presentation,
communication tools, assessments and assignments, and course management
capabilities. The preview will be presented as an online seminar from WebCT
on Thursday, May 19th, at 8:00 a.m. in Boynton Room 220. No pre-registration
required. After the presentation, OIT will host an informal discussion of
the upcoming release.
OIT's target date for upgrading to WebCT version 6 is January 2007. Additional
information
about version 6 is
available on the WebCT website.
WebCT Orientation - May 31, 2005 Who should attend? Students enrolled in a web-based or web-enhanced course and students and instructors who are interested in learning the basics about WebCT features and functions may want to attend. There is NO registration required for the orientation sessions; computer space is limited to 30 seats. Click the heading above to see the schedule.
| October 2004 |
OIT's StudyMate Interactivity Software
StudyMate 1.0 is a new authoring tool that lets you create nine Flash-based activities and games using three simple templates. The flash activities are usable with any web server or can be published directly to WebCT courses. StudyMate will import items from MS Word files or the Respondus Test Bank Network, making it easy to create interesting, interactive activities from existing content.
You CAN get your bachelor's degree and teaching certificate ONLINE!
WHO...
This online program is one that paraprofessionals and qualifying students may choose in order to complete a bachelor's degree and become certified to teach pre-kindergarten through grade four.WHAT...
The program is designed so that the online courses required to complete the degree could be completed in five semesters excluding summers. Additional courses from community colleges could be taken during summers. To complete the EC-4 program requires a total of 132-133 hours depending on whether labs are taken in the communication section of the core courses.WHERE...
Application forms are available online at www.education.sfasu.edu/ele/ec4online.| September 2004 |
Panel Presentation of NEW METHODS and MARKETS in DISTANCE ED
2 p.m. - 4 p.m. Thursday, September 9, 2004, Wyatt Room, Steen Library
Welcome and Introduction of Presenters: 2:00 - 2:05
Stephen Lias, Music: 2:05 - 2:40
Theresa Coble, Forestry: 2:40 - 3:15
Susan McKee, Nursing Division: 3:15 - 3:50
Questions from the audience: 3:50 - 4:00
Join this group of innovative SFA faculty as they share new methods to deliver highly visual information in an online environment as well as successful efforts to acquire new student markets through distance education.
| July 2004 |
Fall WebCT Orientation
The fall 2004 semester begins at 8 a.m. Monday, August 30. Some of your classes may be a web course or even a web-enhanced course. To be prepared for your class and to meet the expectations of your instructor, attending a WebCT orientation session is recommended.
What will you learn??
- Students will learn the basics of WebCT including features it can offer them and what functions they serve.
When?
There are two days for WebCT orientation. You only need to attend one of these days.
1 p.m. - 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 10
1 p.m. - 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 11
- 1 - 1:30 p.m. - Introduction to WebCT
- 1:30 - 2:30 p.m. - Communications - Calendar, Mail and Discussion
- 2:30 - 3 p.m. - Student Homepage
- 3 p.m. - 5 p.m. - Student Presentations: Building a series of web pages in composer, uploading web pages to WebCT
Seating is limited to 30 per session.
| June 2004 |
Staff Gears Up for Orlando Conference
OIT staff members Andra Floyd, Melane McCuller, and Gail Weatherly are busily preparing for Impact 2004, the 6th Annual WebCT Users Conference.Andra and Gail will be presenting a session entitled "Catch the Wave: Experience an Online Course." The presentation will allow participants to peer into SFA's Course Design Community, a course that has been designed to give Web-based instructors a student learning experience. The course contains modules about the importance of community in the online environment, instructional design principles, content for the online environment, use of communications tools such as email, chat, discussion forum, and student presentations, and the improvement of accessibility through alternative text. For more information about SFA's WebCT training, click here.
Melane will be recognized for her work on her ENG 273 (Technical and Scientific Writing) course. WebCT recently named Melane's course as one of it's Exemplary Courses for 2004. This honor is awarded to only five courses per year, and is representative of the outstanding methods Melane uses in course design and layout. Read more about Melane's course here.
For more information on the Impact 2004 conference, click here.
| May 2004 |
WebCT Orientation
Who should attend?
- Students enrolled in a web course or web enhanced course and students interested in learning the basics about WebCT features and function may want to attend.
Seating is limited to 30 per session.
When?
Morning session - 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. Saturday, June 5, in InfoLab1 at the Steen Library.
and
Afternoon session - 2 p.m. - 5 p.m. Saturday, June 5, in InfoLab1 at the Steen Library.
Student Presentations - Special Sessions
9 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, June 9, in InfoLab1 at the Steen Library.
or
2 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. Thursday, June 10, in InfoLab1 at the Steen Library.
A PDF of the flyer for the orientation sessions is available here.
| April 2004 |
Web Course Development Commencement
The Office of Instructional Technology invites you to attend the 2004 Web
Course Development Commencement.
3:00 p.m. - 3:45 p.m.
Friday, April 30
McKibben Education Building Room 131
Cookies and punch will be served at 2:45 p.m.
Please mark your calendars to attend this year's commencement honoring those
who have completed requiements to become Certified Online Instructors. Please
plan to attend and show your support for the newly certified instructors.
| February 2004 |
WebCT Testimonial
Dr. Robert Ramsey, chair of the communication department, speaks
about his thoughts on WebCT and online teaching.
In order to view this clip, you'll need RealPlayer (PC
version or Mac version).
Online courses
have grown in number over the years, and it doesn't look to stop any
time soon. If you'd like to take your classes online, sign up for a WebCT
workshop.
| January 2004 |
New 4.1 version of WebCT is here!
The new version makes developing electronic content and teaching online
easier than ever. Log in now or read
all about the new
features.
Along with the new version of WebCT, we have updated the WebCT
User Guide and Faculty
Workshop schedule.
In addition, a WebCT
Orientation open to all students and faculty will be held January 24th.
| October 2003 |
Melane's back
After being out for six weeks on medical leave, Melane McCuller is back
in her office at OIT and doing well. Melane is busy catching up on over
600 email messages, working one-on-one with faculty who come by the office,
and preparing workshops for the rest of the semester. Faculty with WebCT
and other technology questions may contact Melane by email at
mmcculler@sfasu.edu, by phone at extension 1452, or by appointment at
her office in the Faculty Development Center (Boynton 109).
NASA Days at SFA
OIT's Randy Watson gave a word of instruction to the crowd of children and
teachers who came to campus to participate in NASA Days at SFA. Randy coordinated
the arrangements necessary to connect the SFA campus with education specialists
at NASA via two-way interactive video. Children and teachers were able to
interact in real time and ask questions about life in space.
Using ITV technology, Randy regularly assists SFA faculty and staff in conducting
video conferences across the state and the nation for course delivery, dissertation
defenses, special meetings, and community outreach. You may contact Randy
Watson by email at rwatson@sfasu.edu,
by phone at extension 2774, or by appointment at his office in the Faculty
Development Center (Boynton 108).
| September 2003 |
The fall 2003 on-campus online
course orientation, Keys to WebCT, took place on Saturday, September
6, 2003, from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. in InfoLab 1 of the Steen Library,
and was conducted by the Office of Instructional Technology staff. Morning
and afternoon sessions were offered. Students enrolled in a web-based
course or web-enhanced course, as well as students interested in learning
the basics of WebCT, attended. Topics included logging on to WebCT, the
importance of browser settings, and tips about WebCT tools and functions.
| August 2003 |
Faculty and staff attended the regional meeting of the Texas Distance Learning Association hosted by Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, on August 18, 2003. The one-day meeting provided an opportunity to meet with administrators, faculty, and staff from the East Texas, Central Texas, Gulf Coast, and North Texas regions who are interested in distance education. The meeting also provided an opportunity to see emerging distance education technologies, such as desktop video conferencing and online course management systems.
| April 2003 |
Staff members Melane McCuller, Andra Floyd, Megan Sharp, Gail Weatherly, Randy Watson, and Randy McDonald recently received notification of their successful completion of WebCT's rigorous Trainer Certification program. This certification required successful completion of the intense WebCT Knowledge Test, a two-day training workshop with WebCT trainer Estelita Young, and submission of a two-hour training video. Currently, SFA has more certified WebCT trainers than any other single university campus.
| March 2003 |
After more than two years of planning, research, systems integration, content development, and testing, SFA unveiled its online portal named mySFA on March 24. Located on the web at http://mysfa.sfasu.edu, the mySFA Intranet portal provides single-login access to news, information, and services vital to students, faculty, and staff. True to its slogan "Connecting the SFA Community", mySFA delivers a robust suite of online tools, including email, discussion groups, live chat, and interest group areas that support communication among members of the campus community.
| February 2003 |
| January 2003 |
| December 2002 |
OIT is implementing a new approach to WebCT student orientation! OIT will sponsor a single, all-day WebCT orientation on January 18, 2003, in the Steen Library. The OIT orientation sessions will be general, not specific to a class. Our staff will be identified by special T-shirts so you can locate us for help. This will be an opportunity for you and your students to attend sessions about logging into WebCT, navigating through a course, uploading a student presentation or assignment, communicating by email or discussion board, and completing a WebCT quiz. The Wyatt Room has ample seating for all of the introductory presentation-style sessions. Please note, however, that Info Lab 1 has 29 computers, so each hands-on session will be on a first-come, first-served basis. We cannot take reservations for specific classes. Please note the start times and locations of each session below, and notify your students as soon as possible if you want them to attend. If demand is greater than lab capacity, we will schedule a makeup orientation at a later date. Should you have any questions about the orientation schedule, please email gweatherly@sfasu.edu.
Wyatt Room - Steen Library - Basic WebCT Instruction
Sessions offered: 9-9:50, 10-10:50, 11-11:50, 1-1:50, 2-2:50, 3-3:50
Info Lab 1 - Steen Library
- Advanced WebCT
Student Presentations - 9:00 - 10:30 a.m; 1:00 - 2:30 p.m.
Assignment Tool - 10:30 - 11:00 a.m; 2:30 - 3:00 p.m.
Discussion Board and Email - 11:00 - 11:30 a.m; 3:00 - 3:30 p.m.
Quizzing - 11:30 - 12:00; 3:30 - 4:00 p.m.
Tentative Orientation dates for Summer 1, Summer 2 and Fall 2003 are as follows:
Wednesday, June 4, 2003
Saturday, July 12, 2003
Saturday, September 6, 2003
| November 2002 |
| October 2002 |
| September 2002 |
- Visit the new Enhance Your Course with WebCT page for complete instructions that will guide faculty through the process of learning how to enhance their course(s) with WebCT
| August 2002 |
- Announcing the Fall 2002 Distance Education Roundtable. Faculty planning to teach a distance education course this year are invited to attend the Fall 2002 Distance Education Roundtable in the Wyatt Room of the Steen Library, August 29, 12:00-1:30. Please RSVP to gweatherly@sfasu.edu.
- OIT will be conducting a Basic WebCT Orientation Series in the Wyatt Room of the Library on several dates. See the flier for more information.
- OIT launched it's new departmental website on August 21.
- Eight faculty and support staff attended a three-day on-campus workshop on Collaborative Videoconferencing August 13-15. The workshop was conducted by the Center for Distance Learning Research from Texas A&M University.
- OIT submitted the TIF HE4 grant for approval. Approval is expected August 26.
