Learning Environments Learning Management System

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Turnitin: Unavailable Saturday 21st November, 6:30pm - 10:30pm

Turnitin will be unavailable in the LMS whilst the Turnitin website undergoes scheduled system maintenance.

Submission or creation of Turnitin assignments will not be possible during this period.

 

Turnitin: Unavailable Saturday 17th October, 5:30pm - 9:30pm

Turnitin will be unavailable in the LMS whilst the Turnitin website undergoes scheduled system maintenance.

Submission or creation of Turnitin assignments will not be possible during this period.

 

Respondus 4.0 now available

If you installed Respondus 3.5 on your computer, you can now download and install Respondus 4.0
Available from the LMS Content Collection [10Mb]
(Respondus is only available to UoM staff, you will need to log into the LMS to download the file).

Advice about Respondus on the LMS support site.

You cannot update to Respondus 4.0 using the "Check for Update" tool in Respondus - it requires a full installation, even if you have Respondus 3.5 installed. There is NO need to uninstall Respondus 3.5 since both versions can reside together on a computer. Also note that the data format between the two versions is unchanged, so files can be edited with either Respondus 4.0 or Respondus 3.5 without conversion. The vendor will continue to support Respondus 3.5 for the foreseeable future, but new features and bug fixes will only occur with Version 4.0.

Turnitin: Unscheduled downtime

The Turnitin web site was unavailable on Monday September 14th from approx. 12noon to 4:30pm.
Submission or creation of Turnitin assignments was not possible during this period.

ARS: Account Registration System downtime

The Accounts Registration System will be unavailable between 2pm and 9pm on Tuesday 8th September for maintenance. Users will not be able to reset their password during this time. Please contact the Service Desk if you have any issues resulting from the downtime.

LMS unavailable: Between 6pm on Friday 11th September and 7am on Saturday 12th September

The LMS will be unavailable from 6:00pm Friday 11th September and 7:00am Saturday 12th September to allow important maintenance and technical fixes to be applied. We apologise for any inconvenience.

Unscheduled Turnitin Downtime

The Turnitin web site was unavailable between 1:00pm - 3:30pm on Monday August 24th.
Submission or creation of Turnitin assignments was not possible during this period.

Open Access Lab Trial 2 semester 2009 Announcement

In response to student feedback, selected faculty-based computing facilities will be made accessible to all students. This special trial will run during semester two and is intended to provide students with increased access to campus computing facilities.

Turnitin unavailable Sunday 9th August, 1:00am - 5:00pm

Turnitin will be unavailable on Sunday 9th August 2009 from 1:00am - 5:00pm whilst the Turnitin website undergoes critical system maintenance. Submission of assignments will not be possible during this downtime.

LMS unavailable: Saturday 8th August, from 5pm.

The LMS will be unavailable between 5pm Saturday 8th August and 9am Sunday 9th August 2009 to allow important maintenance and technical fixes to be applied. We apologise for any inconvenience.

All LMS semester 2 subjects for 2009 being made available

To assist students in their preparation for study, all 2009 Semester 2 LMS subjects will automatically be made 'Available' to students at 10am on Friday 17 July 2009.

Note: Any subjects already made 'Available' to students by this date will not be affected by this system change.
All past LMS subject instances, excluding 2009_2 and 2009_Y, will be made 'Unavailable' to students at 10am on Friday 24 July 2009.

For more information about 'Available' and 'Unavailable' please see Setting up your subject

Staff developing LMS subject sites for Semester 2 can refer to the 'LMS framework for subject presence: a guide for subject planning at the University of Melbourne' which outlines core elements for LMS subject sites.

Further information about LMS subject development, staff development and support

Tips for getting started in Semester 2, 2009

Check through these useful prompts to help you prepare your subject for Semester 2, including;

- Checking enrolled students
- Viewing your subject as a student
- Copyright and the LMS
- Allowing guest access to a subject
- Checking subject links and permissions
- Copy forward subject?
- Removing copied student material
- Archiving your subject

Turnitin unavailable Sunday 12th July, 1:00am - 1:00pm

Turnitin will be unavailable on Sunday 12th July 2009 from 1:00am - 1:00pm whilst the Turnitin website undergoes critical system maintenance.
Submission of assignments will not be possible during this downtime.

Disruption to Service on 20th and 21st May 2009

Due to technical problems between 2:00pm Wednesday 20th May and 1:30pm Thursday 21st May the LMS was intermittently unavailable or displayed reduced performance for some users.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused.

Linking to examination advice in your LMS subject

Student Management Services have recently distributed a notice to subject coordinators, to request that important advice about examination conditions is displayed to students from their LMS subject sites; specifically, to link to:
Important information about your exams
Frequently Asked Questions

Information about how to set up these links in your LMS subject site is provided here

Disruption to Service on 29th April 2009

On Wednesday 29th April, 2009 (3:30pm - 4:45pm) LMS experienced some technical issues resulting in the LMS being unavailable. Technical staff investigated the issue and were able to restore the service. This has not affected the ongoing performance of the LMS.
We apologise for this disruption to service.

New LMS guides for Turnitin

Intended for new and experienced users of Turnitin in the LMS, two new animated guides demonstrate how to interpret 'Originality Reports' and explore some of the myths surrounding the use of 'Originality Scores' generated by Turnitin.
See the Turnitin support page for more information.

All LMS subjects being made available for Semester 1, 2009

To assist students in their preparation for study, all 2009 Semester 1 LMS subjects will automatically be made 'Available' to students at 2pm on Monday 23 February 2009.

Note: any subjects already 'Available' to students by this date will not be affected by the system change.

In addition, all past instances of LMS subjects will be made 'Unavailable' on this date.

For more information about 'Available' and 'Unavailable' please see Setting up your subject

Staff developing LMS subject sites for Semester 1 can refer to the 'LMS framework for subject presence: a guide for subject planning at the University of Melbourne' which outlines core elements for LMS subject sites.

Further information about LMS subject development, staff development and support is available http://www.lms.unimelb.edu.au/staff/

LMS scheduled maintenance: Saturday 14 February

On Saturday 14 February 2009, the LMS will undergo scheduled maintenance between 5pm and 7pm Eastern Daylight Saving Time to update and apply technical fixes. No downtime is expected and the LMS should remain available for use through this period.

Add Item functionality change

An unexpected technical error has emerged on the Add Item function when adding content to LMS subject sites. While this error is under investigation, the recently updated facility of local files (those added from your hard drive) option to Save to a location in the Content Collection has been removed.

We hope to restore this function shortly, and in the meantime users are advised to revert to previously recommended practice of firstly uploading content files into the Content Collection, then adding them using the Link to Content Collection item, and avoid using the 'Attach local file' function.
View the LMS guide 'Content Collection - Adding files'

LMS scheduled maintenance: Saturday 7 February

On Saturday 7 February 2009, the LMS will undergo scheduled maintenance between 5pm and 9pm Eastern Daylight Saving Time to update and apply technical fixes. The LMS will be unavailable for use through this period.

Respondus 2009 licence update

If you installed Respondus http://www.lms.unimelb.edu.au/staff/assessment/respondus/ on your computer prior to 1st January, 2009 you will be advised the licence has expired the first time Respondus is started in 2009. The new licence key http://app.lms.unimelb.edu.au/bbcswebdav/xid-2401978_4 is now available for Respondus use in 2009.

Document access errors - fixing permissions to content items

Current students may report document access errors to content files in LMS subjects if permissions to these files have not been set correctly. To check if all links to your content files are functioning correctly please follow the steps described below.

Steps for the repair of permission errors:

  1. In the Control Panel of your subject, click "Check CS Links".
  2. Files not currently available to students will be identified with the "Repairable Permission Error" icon (yellow hand).
  3. Select the checkboxes for files you wish to make available to students.
  4. Click "Repair" (at the top of the page).

Further information about this tool is online at http://www.lms.unimelb.edu.au/user_guides/check_collections_link_guide.pdf

TURNITIN: Unavailable Dates

Turnitin will be unavailable on Sunday 21st December 2008 from 4:00am to 12:00pm and Wednesday 31st December 2008 from 4:00am to 12:00pm whilst the Turnitin website undergoes critical system maintenance. Submission of assignments will not be possible during these downtimes.

UPGRADE NEWS: The LMS successful

We are very pleased to announce that the LMS has been successfully upgraded. Access is now restored for all staff and students.
We look forward to the teaching and learning opportunities provided by this upgrade; a summary of new features is available at http://www.lms.unimelb.edu.au/upgrade08/.

For any queries about the upgrade, please contact the Service Desk at http://servicedesk.unimelb.edu.au/itsc/lms/

UPGRADE NEWS: The LMS upgrade has begun

The LMS is now unavailable from 5pm Friday 12th December until 10am Wednesday 17th December. A 'read-only' copy of the LMS taken 9pm Monday 8th December will be available during the upgrade period for staff and students to view essential content.

For any queries about the upgrade, please contact the Service Desk at http://servicedesk.unimelb.edu.au/itsc/lms/

UPGRADE NEWS: The LMS upgrade begins at 5pm today

The LMS will be unavailable from 5pm today, Friday 12th December and 10am Wednesday 17th December. A 'read-only' copy of the LMS taken 9pm Monday 8th December will be available during the upgrade period for staff and students to view essential content.

For any queries about the upgrade, please contact the Service Desk at http://servicedesk.unimelb.edu.au/itsc/lms/

UPGRADE NEWS: The LMS upgrade begins this Friday 12th December at 5pm

The LMS will be unavailable between 5pm Friday 12th December and 10am Wednesday 17th December. A 'read-only' copy of the LMS taken 9pm Monday 8th December will be available during the upgrade period for staff and students to view essential content.

For any queries about the upgrade, please contact the Service Desk at http://servicedesk.unimelb.edu.au/itsc/lms/

LMS unavailable 12th – 17th December 2008

The LMS will be upgraded to a new improved version in December 2008. All staff and student users are advised that the LMS will be unavailable during the upgrade process between 5pm Friday 12th December and 10am Wednesday 17th December.

A temporary “read-only” copy of the LMS will be available for use during this period so that students can access essential content.

Subject coordinators who are teaching during this period, or know that their students require access due to supplementary assessments should contact Bronwyn Disseldorp b.disseldorp@unimelb.edu.au or Deborah Jones djones@unimelb.edu.au to discuss any specific requirements for LMS access.

For any queries about the upgrade, please contact the Service Desk at http://servicedesk.unimelb.edu.au

Accessibility and the LMS: What do I need to know?

Staff are invited to attend an overview of the services that the Disability Liaison Unit and the LMS Academic Support team can provide for the preparation of accessible teaching materials in the Learning Management System and the support available to students with disabilities.

This session will include a demonstration of how students with visual impairments access the LMS with the JAWS talking screen reader and the student resources that have been jointly developed by the DLU and Learning Environments.

[More information]

LMS upgrade in December 2008

The LMS will be upgraded to a new improved version in December 2008. All staff and student users are advised that the LMS will be unavailable during the upgrade process starting at 5pm Friday 12th December until 10am Wednesday 17th December.

This upgrade will deliver some exciting new features and improvements.

[More information]

Listening to the LMS: Using the Learning Management System with the JAWS screen reader

Lectopia recording

Majella Knobel and Bronwyn Disseldorp

The Learning Environments LMS Academic Support team recently began a joint project with the Disability Liaison Unit to examine the accessibility of the Learning Management System and develop advice and support for students and staff. The starting point for the project has been accessibility for students with low vision using screen readers.

This session describes obstacles experienced by students using screen reading software and the strategies to overcome some of the challenges.

Wednesday 29th October 11am-12pm
LMS Training Studio, G17 Elisabeth Murdoch Building - location of LMS Training Studio.

New look Turnitin

Turnitin has recently introduced a new interface for creating and submitting assignments. You will be asked to accept a new licence agreement next time you use Turnitin and have the option to ‘Try the New Turnitin’ or ‘Switch Back’ at any time.

Known problem with Firefox 3 for Windows XP/Vista

When submitting an assignment using Firefox 3 for Windows XP/Vista, users will receive an error "Please enter a valid file" when trying to submit a file. This issue will be addressed in a future service pack. In the meantime, Windows XP/Vista users submitting assignments to the LMS should use Internet Explorer 6, Internet Explorer 7, or Firefox 2.

Turnitin unavailable Sunday 17th August, 2:00am - 10:00am

Turnitin will be unavailable on Sunday, 17th August 2008 from 2:00am to 10:00am whilst the Turnitin website undergoes critical system maintenance. Submission of assignments will not be possible during this downtime.

Manage Subject Menu errors resolved

The recent intermittent problems experienced by some users when managing subject menus has been resolved through the LMS maintenance performed Sat 26th July.

LMS scheduled maintenance: Saturday 12 July

On Saturday 12 July 2008, the LMS will undergo scheduled maintenance between 5pm and 8pm Eastern Daylight Saving Time to update and apply technical fixes. There will be NO downtime and the LMS will remain available for use through this period.

[Maintenance schedule]

All semester 2 LMS subjects will be made 'available' - July 21st 2008

To facilitate pre-semester access to subject information and resources in the LMS for enrolled students, all Semester 2 LMS subjects are automatically being made 'available' on Monday 21 July. This change will not affect subjects that have already been made 'available' by teaching teams, nor will it affect LMS Community sites.

In addition, previously delivered LMS subjects (Semester 1, Summer 2008, etc) will be made 'unavailable' to students.

Further guidelines and advice about LMS subject development, including the 'Creating Effective Websites for University Teaching' and the 'LMS Framework for Subject Presence' are available at: www.lms.unimelb.edu.au/staff/

Tips for getting started in Semester 2, 2008

Check through the following reminders and tips to help in your LMS preparations towards the coming semester.

University Handbook entry in LMS subjects

A new LMS tool has been added which allows you to easily create a link to the University Handbook entry on your LMS subject menu bar. All new LMS subject sites are required to contain a Handbook entry link.

This information is detailed in the LMS Framework for subject presence document.
(Note: the basic default LMS subject site is now automatically populated with a Handbook entry, however this can also be manually added to sites that have already been created.)

New student list tool

A new LMS tool has been added which provides current lists of enrolled students for download as a spreadsheet, or printable table. This is available in the Control Panel of all subjects and communities.

Viewing your subject as a student

A useful way for staff to keep an eye on the student view of their LMS subject is to apply for a Student View account.  This account associates with your Unimelb username and will allow you to see every subject you are involved in as a student would.

LMS academic support and training events

A range of LMS training and support events are scheduled through the coming months, and customised sessions can be arranged where appropriate.

Allowing guest access to a subject

Subject coordinators may elect to make part or all of their subject site acessible by the general public by using the guest access function of the LMS. Sites that have been made available to the public can be accessed via the subject catalogue.

Archiving your LMS subject site

Subject coordinators are advised to archive their LMS subjects and associated Content Collection items regularly so that subjects can be restored if content is accidentally deleted during development or teaching. It is recommended that archives are made:

  1. after significant development has occurred in the subject, or
  2. if all students have submitted their assignments, or
  3. if all content is being cleared out of the subject site.

A full list of LMS guides, including animated voice-over guides are available

Turnitin unavailable Saturday 28th June, 12pm - 4pm

Turnitin will be unavailable Saturday, June 28th, 2008 from 12:00pm to 4:00pm whilst the Turnitin website undergoes critical system maintenance. Submission of assignments will not be possible during this downtime.

LMS scheduled maintenance: Saturday 28 June

On Saturday 28 June 2008, the LMS will be unavailable between 5pm and 8pm Eastern Daylight Saving Time to update and apply technical fixes.

[Maintenance schedule]

Your copyright responsibilities and your LMS page

Academic staff are able to make limited portions of copyright material available online to students via the Learning Management System (LMS). This copying is permitted by the statutory licence for educational use (Part VB of the Copyright Act). Certain conditions and limitations apply that you must abide by, see further information for specifics.

[More information]

Known problem with Manage Subject Menu function

When editing a menu through the "manage subject menu" function, the "Add Content Item" option may not appear. It is possible to either use a different computer, or wait a short period before retrying the action, and the function may be restored. This is a known intermittent error, affecting subjects on a temporary basis, and has been escalated to Blackboard for technical assistance.

Mac users - Fast and free webDAV client (Cyberduck)

This webDAV client is fast, easy to use and free. Their website states....

"Cyberduck is an open source FTP, SFTP, WebDAV and Amazon S3 browser licenced under the GPL with an easy to use interface, integration with external editors and support for many Mac OS X system technologies such as Spotlight, Bonjour, QuickLook and the Keychain. If you need help, there is an introduction, a list of common problems and a FAQ."

[Cyberduck website]

LMS maintenance windows

The LMS Governance Board has endorsed regular scheduled maintenance windows in the event the LMS requires to be updated or to apply technical fixes.

[learn more]

LMS Lunchtime forums (May)

A schedule of LMS lunchtime forums has been released for May. Many of the topics are new and a range of guest presenters will bring University perspective to the sessions.

For full details of all LMS events see this page.

May lunchtime forums:

Educational theory behind blogs and podcasts – Christine Redman (Melbourne Graduate School of Education) Monday 5th May, 1-2pm
Save time and effort in the LMS: reusing LMS material – Debbie Emerson & Bob Ivison (Learning Environments) Tuesday 13th May, 12-1pm

Keeping your subject legal – Helen Thomson (Copyright Office) Friday 23rd May, 1-2pm
Media Enrichment in the LMS – Andrew Veal, Ailsa MacKenzie and Ross Glover (Collection Access & Learning Environments) Monday 26th May, 1-2pm

The popular banner creation tool has been updated with a selection of new images. Added are several faculty specific images plus a blue swirl series similar to banners used on University web pages.

Take a look at the themes available at: this page.

Student view accounts now available for LMS communities

The Student view tool has now been updated to enable use in LMS communities as well as subjects.
For more information about Student view accounts and how to request an account visit this page.

Daylight saving

Due to daylight saving being scheduled for a week later than normal some activities in the LMS may be inaccurately recorded by one hour in the week prior and week following the change on 6 April 2008. If you have concerns about possible effects on formal assessment please contact the LMS Academic Support team.

The LMS will be unavailable to all users between 5pm Saturday 29th to 8am Sunday 30th March.

This scheduled downtime has been arranged to allow Information Services to conduct a full test of our LMS Disaster Recovery (DR) systems, to ensure that in the event of a critical disaster situation we are able to maintain access to the LMS, and the integrity of all LMS subject and community content is preserved throughout.

If you have any concerns about this scheduled LMS outage please contact the IT Service Desk.

Using the LMS and unsure what your copyright obligations are? This session will discuss the common copyright issues that arise when using the LMS and ways to ensure that your subject stays legal. Friday 23 May, 1-2pm, LMS training studio (ground floor, Elisabeth Murdoch building).

Accessing the LMS via the Student Portal

Did you know that students can access the LMS through the Student Portal?

There are two ways to access LMS from the Portal:

Log into your Student Portal to check your email and notices and for easy access to essential university functions and services.

Student account passwords – 8 characters only

Students may currently experience difficulties accessing the Student Portal and the LMS if their University account password has been set with more than the suggested 8 characters. For example, if their password consists of 9 characters, they will not be able to access Portal or the LMS and will need to reset their password at https://accounts.unimelb.edu.au/

'Document access error' issue

If students receive a “document access error” when attempting to access subject materials, it is possible that either the link to the document is broken or the document does not have the correct permissions set to allow student access.

A staff member can ensure that students have permission to access a document in the Content Collection using the following steps:

  1. In the Manage Content tab, click the Courses link and navigate to your subject folder where your documents are stored.
  2. Click the Permissions icon that corresponds with the file or folder that you wish to change permissions for.
  3. Select Subject User List from the drop-down menu and click Go.
  4. Select the check box of your subject.
  5. Select Student as the role and select Read from the permissions list.
  6. Click Submit.

Please refer to the 'Content Collection guide' for full details.

Tips for getting started in Semester 1, 2008

All semester 1 LMS subjects made 'available' - February 22nd 2008

This is an important reminder that on Friday February 22nd  all subjects in the LMS will be automatically made available to view for enrolled students. Additionally, LMS subjects previously delivered (eg Semester 2, 2007) will be made unavailable.  

This change will not affect your subject if you have already made it ‘available’.

University Handbook entry in LMS subjects

A new LMS tool has been added which allows you to easily create a link to the University Handbook entry on your LMS subject menu bar. From now on, all new LMS subject sites are required to contain a Handbook entry link. This information is detailed in the LMS Framework for subject presence document.

(Note: the basic default LMS subject site is now automatically populated with a Handbook entry, however this can also be manually added to sites that have already been created.)

New student list tool

A new LMS tool has been added which provides current lists of enrolled students for download as a spreadsheet, or printable table. This is available in the Control Panel of all subjects and communities.

Viewing your subject as a student

A useful way for staff to keep an eye on the student view of their LMS subject is to apply for a Student View account. This account associates with your Unimelb username and will allow you to see every subject you are involved in as a student would.

LMS academic support and training events

A range of LMS training and support events are scheduled through the coming months, and customised sessions can be arranged where appropriate.

Allowing guest access to a subject

Subject coordinators may elect to make part or all of their subject site acessible by the general public by using the guest access function of the LMS. Sites that have been made available to the public can be accessed via the subject catalogue.

Archiving your LMS subject site

Subject coordinators are advised to archive their LMS subjects and associated Content Collection items regularly so that subjects can be restored if content is accidentally deleted during development or teaching. It is recommended that archives are made:

  1. after significant development has occurred in the subject, or
  2. if all students have submitted their assignments, or
  3. if all content is being cleared out of the subject site.
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