myLesley Upgrade in August 2015

Posted on August 10, 2015 by Kris McElroy

myLesley is being upgraded to the latest version of Blackboard (Blackboard Learn 9.1 October 2014 Release). The upgrade will begin at 5:00 PM on Wednesday, August 26th and will last until the morning of Friday, August 28th.

What does this mean to you?
During the upgrade, you will not be able access to myLesley. However, LOIS, email, and other Lesley systems will remain available and unaffected.

What’s changing in myLesley?
There will be no major changes to myLesley with this upgrade which means no new tools to learn how to use. Instead, this upgrade is intended to fix minor errors and improve the overall performance of the system.

Should I do anything to prepare?
It’s always a good idea to have a backup of your course materials. You may wish to archive your course(s) prior to the upgrade just in case. You can find instructions for doing this on the Lesley Support site.

We also recommend that you closely review your course content after the upgrade to ensure everything is behaving as intended.

We don’t expect any issues, but it’s good to be prepared.

For the most recent information on the upgrade, please check the myLesley Upgrade page at: http://tinyurl.com/myLesleyUpgrade

New Features in Kaltura

Posted on June 30, 2015 by Kris McElroy

The Kaltura Media tool in myLesley has recently been updated to a new and improved version. The basic features of Kaltura remain unchanged. However, there are some nice new features and options available to you.

Kaltura Media Mashup – No Changes

There have been no changes to the Kaltura Media Mashup tool and it still functions the same as the previous version. Kaltura Media is available under Mashups in the myLesley text editor or from the Build Content menu.

Upload Directly From Your Mobile Device

Kaltura Media has been redesigned to allow you to upload videos directly to myLesley from your mobile device. Simply record a video on your iOS or Android device, use the device’s browser to navigate to your myLesley course, and upload as you would if using a laptop or desktop computer. Check out our support site for complete instructions.

iOS	Android

Record Your Computer Screen

You can now use Kaltura Media for screencasting. Record a demo of an application process or give a tour of your myLesley course site. Anything you can show on your computer screen you can record using Kaltura and share with your students. Your students can use it, too. Check out our support site for complete instructions.

Learn More….

The IT and eLearning Support site has step-by-step instructions for using Kaltura. Be sure to visit us to learn how to use the new features or to get started with Kaltura for the first time. Have questions? Email us at elis@lesley.edu.

myLesley Blogs, Journals & Wikis, Oh My!

Posted on August 26, 2014 by Kris McElroy

Did you know that myLesley has its own built-in set of blogs, journals and wikis? They’ve been around for a while, but with the latest myLesley update now is a great time to take another look.

What’s so great about Blackboard blogs and wikis?

Faculty who have already switched over to these built-in tools have found them to be far easier to use and set up. This is especially true if you create individual blogs for your students. Now there’s no need to manually set up a separate blog for each student. Just create your blog, click a single button (Individual to All Students) and Blackboard will automatically take care of the rest. Note: If you select the Course option all of the students will post their entries to a shared single blog.

Blackboard blogs, journals and wikis have the same text editor as the discussion board so your students do not need to learn a new tool. Adding images and media is far more straightforward and obvious and because theses tools are native to the Blackboard environment, they have access to all the Blackboard tools. This includes the ability to easily add and/or record video with Video Everywhere, recording audio with Voice Authoring and integration with the Grade Center.

What you need to know?

All Blackboard blogs, journals and wikis are private to your course and can only be accessed and viewed while you and your students are logged into myLesley. This set-up fully complies with FERPA regulations. This privacy feature also means that you cannot copy blog or wiki content to another course.

If you have created a template for a wiki assignment, we recommend that you set it up in another course, such as a development shell or your myspace (aka Faculty Demo Student Account). You can then manually copy and paste the pages of the wiki into your new course. You could also create a Word document with the structure of each page and save it with your other course resources. This may seem a little more cumbersome than simply copying the wiki from course to course, but it’s easier than having to delete all the pages and student comments from last semester’s wiki assignments in order to start with a clean template.

Where to find out more info?

Please review the support pages below for more info on how to set up the tools, create and edit content, and grade student work.

Blackboard Wikis
Blackboard Blogs and Journals

Simple Ways to Save Time Using myLesley

Posted on February 5, 2014 by Kris McElroy

It’s a busy and rapidly changing world. You need tools to help you keep the chaos under control and make sure you have time for the important things. Below are a few ways myLesley can help you simplify some of the course administration tasks, leaving you more time for teaching.

Send Email

Looking up email addresses and setting up contact groups for your students can take a lot of time. Stop doing it! Email your students directly from your myLesley course using the Send Email tool. Email the entire class, groups of students, or select individual students. A copy of the message will be sent to your email address for future reference.

Are you better at speaking than typing? Try Voice Email instead.

Many faculty find they can provide more information in the same amount of time by recording their message.

Announcements

The Announcements tool is a great way to share time sensitive information to the entire class.

Use Announcements to kick off a new week, wrap up content and remind students about upcoming due dates. It’s a great way to summarize discussions and highlight key points for feedback to the whole class. Do you need to clarify information and clear up confusion that multiple students are having? Don’t send 15 emails. Send one announcement.

Announcements are visible on the home page of the myLesley course, but check ‘Send a copy of this announcement’ to also send an email to everyone. This will provide students two opportunities to receive important course information.

Create a Course Repository

Even if don’t teach online, having course content in myLesley can be incredibly helpful. Placing your syllabus, links to readings, and assignment information online allows students to easily find information when it’s needed, 24 hours a day/7 days a week. Clear organization and instructions translates to less frustration and confusion for students and fewer clarification emails for you.

Performance Dashboard

The Performance Dashboard provides a quick overall view of student activity in the course. The dashboard lists all the students and how long it has been since they last accessed the course. It is a quick way to identify students you may need to reach out to.

The dashboard also shows students’ discussion board activity. Click on the number in the ‘Discussion Board’ column to access details on an individual student’s posts.

These are just a few easy to apply tips for using myLesley as a time-saving tool. Check out our Faculty Instructional Technology Resources to learn more about myLesley’s features.

myLesley Update for Spring 2014

Posted on January 10, 2014 by Kris McElroy

Happy New Year and welcome back from the break. We are excited to announce that as of January 3rd, 2014, myLesley will be updated to include a couple of enhancements: the profile feature and a new “look and feel,” which will enable viewing the discussion board in tree view again. You will find detailed information about these enhancements below.

New Profiles
You can now create a profile in myLesley to share with your classmates and instructors. Your profile will allow you to post a photo of yourself, and provide a little information about yourself, such as what you are studying. Profile photos can be viewed next to your posts on the discussion board, allowing you to better connect with your classmates and colleagues. You also will be allowed to choose how you want your name to display in your profile.

Learn how to create your profile at http://tinyurl.com/qjxhdjm.

Return of the Discussion Board Tree View
If you have missed the Tree View on the Discussion Board, the new “look and feel” of Blackboard allows us to get that back. You can once again choose to view discussion forums in list or tree view depending on your preference.

New Icons
The new “look and feel” of myLesley also includes a few new icons:

The new Logout button looks like a power icon seen on many digital devices.

View and edit your Profile.

Posts from multiple courses.

View the Calendar.

When editing content, the chevron menu icon no longer exists. In the new, cleaner look, you will not see edit icons until you hover your mouse over the item of content you wish to edit. Once you move your cursor to the item you would like to edit, all the edit options will appear. The old chevron edit icon has been replaced with a simple down arrow.

Please remember that if you hover your mouse over any icon you don’t recognize, a text popup will identify it for you.

For more information on how to use myLesley, please refer to our Faculty Instructional Resources site.

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