News
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
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:
- after significant development has occurred in the subject, or
- if all students have submitted their assignments, or
- if all content is being cleared out of the subject site.
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.
LMS Drop-in sessions for semester 2
The LMS Academic Support team is offering a series of drop-in sessions for academic and support staff who have previously attended an Essential Elements workshop to work through LMS subject setup issues. Team members will be on hand to provide advice, assist with queries or to problem solve. There is no need to book for these sessions.
Session dates: 21 July – 1st August (Monday – Friday, 10 sessions)
Times: 10am – 12pm
Location: LMS Training Studio, Elisabeth Murdoch Building
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.
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."
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.
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
New images for banner creation tool
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 IS Service Desk.
Lunch time seminar: Keeping your LMS subjects legal
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:
- Click on a hyperlinked subject (on the Home and Studies Tabs) to be taken directly to that subject on the LMS
- Click on the LMS link on the Studies Tab to be taken to your LMS home page.
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:
- In the Manage Content tab, click the Courses link and navigate to your subject folder where your documents are stored.
- Click the Permissions icon that corresponds with the file or folder that you wish to change permissions for.
- Select Subject User List from the drop-down menu and click Go.
- Select the check box of your subject.
- Select Student as the role and select Read from the permissions list.
- 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:
- after significant development has occurred in the subject, or
- if all students have submitted their assignments, or
- if all content is being cleared out of the subject site.