LMS news

Mac users - Fast and free webDAV client (Cyberduck)

Tue, 20 May 2008 08:59:44 +1000

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

Tue, 20 May 2008 08:57:40 +1000

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)

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 12:59:14 +1000

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.
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

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 12:56:56 +1000

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.

Lunch time seminar: Keeping your LMS subjects legal

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 15:08:41 +1100

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).

Student view accounts now available for LMS communities

Wed, 9 Apr 2008 12:06:13 +1000

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 savings

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 15:19:29 +1000

Due to daylight savings 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.

LMS outage: 5pm Sat 29th to 8am Sun 30th March

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 11:00:50 +1100

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.

Accessing the LMS via the Student Portal

Fri, 7 Mar 2008 08:04:00 +1100

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

Document access error issue

Fri, 29 Feb 2008 08:12:09 +1100

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. This issue can be fixed by modifying permissions in the Content Collection.

Reminder: all semester 1 LMS subjects made 'available' - February 22nd 2008

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 10:30:04 +1100

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

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 10:29:16 +1100

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

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 10:28:52 +1100

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

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 10:28:15 +1100

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.

Allowing guest access to a subject

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 10:25:21 +1100

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.

Lunch time forum: Media Enrichment in the LMS - 20 February

Tue, 12 Feb 2008 13:55:42 +1100

This forum focuses on the inclusion of multimedia within subjects and communities to enhance the student experience and make use of resources available at the University of Melbourne. Topics include Lectopia, Readings Online, Audio and Video resources (broadcast recordings of music, spoken word and video), plus searching for resources to include using SuperSearch and the Digital Repository. 20 Feb, 12-1 pm, LMS training studio.

Lunch time forum: Turnitin - 12 February

Thu, 7 Feb 2008 14:49:04 +1100

Turnitin is online web-based text-matching software that works by comparing electronically submitted papers to billions of pages of content located on the Internet and proprietary databases as well as the work of other students whose papers have also been submitted into the system. This session discusses the integration of Turnitin with the LMS. 12 Feb, 1-2 pm, LMS training studio.

Workshop schedule for March now available

Thu, 7 Feb 2008 11:15:36 +1100

The LMS Academic Support team is running several workshops in March for new and experienced LMS users.

Drop-in support sessions: 25th - 29th February

Thu, 7 Feb 2008 11:15:06 +1100

The LMS Academic Support team is holding drop-in support sessions for staff in the LMS training studio between 10am - 12pm, 25th - 29th February. No appointment necessary.

Important info: the release of LMS subjects for Semester 1, 2008

Fri, 1 Feb 2008 08:41:20 +1100

To assist students in their preparation for study, and to increase first year cohort satisfaction with their course experience, Academic Board has endorsed that all Semester 1 LMS subjects will automatically be made available to students enrolled in these subjects on Friday February 22nd.

Lunch time forum: New Options for Group Management - 7 February

Thu, 31 Jan 2008 14:22:00 +1100

The LMS has two new tools to help manage groups. The BatchGE Group Manager provides a more user-friendly interface and includes options for the batch management of groups and users. The sign-up list tool allows students to sign up online for group work, events, projects, etc. 7 Feb, 1-2pm, LMS training studio.

Upgrades to the LMS

Tue, 29 Jan 2008 15:51:01 +1100

A number of new features and improvements have been installed in the LMS, including a Readings Online plug-in and a new groups management tool.

New workshop: Working with Groups

Fri, 18 Jan 2008 15:31:34 +1100

This workshop focuses on the use of groups within subjects and communities to facilitate group work or for administrative purposes.

Lunch time forum: Records of Student Presence in the LMS - 30 January

Fri, 18 Jan 2008 14:57:17 +1100

This session will outline the information that is available through Subject Statistics, Item Tracking, Adaptive Release, Performance Dashboard, Early Warning System, Communication tools, and the Gradebook. 30 Jan, 12-1pm, LMS training studio.

Drop-in support sessions: 29 Jan - 1 Feb

Mon, 14 Jan 2008 10:15:00 +1100

The LMS Academic Support team is holding drop-in support sessions for staff in the LMS training studio between 10am - 12pm from 29 January to 1 February. No appointment necessary.

Respondus 2007 licence expiry

Mon, 14 Jan 2008 10:20:34 +1100

If you installed Respondus on your computer prior to 1st January, 2008 you will be advised the licence has expired the first time Respondus is started in 2008. Staff can obtain the new licence key for Respondus use in 2008.

Enhancements to subject admin functionality

Thu, 20 Dec 2007 10:46:28 +1100

The LMS now has a tool for staff to download lists of students for export or printing; and an extended staff role management tool with a search function.

New podcast tools now available

Tue, 18 Dec 2007 11:52:24 +1100

Lectopia recordings can now be linked to their associated LMS subject site. Staff can also upload their own digital media files using the new Podcast tool in the LMS.

New wiki tool now available

Tue, 18 Dec 2007 11:14:11 +1100

The wiki tool provides an online workspace that can be used for collaborative work within a subject or community.

New blog tool now available

Tue, 18 Dec 2007 10:50:55 +1100

The blog (web log) tool provides an interface for reflective writing and topical commentary within a subject or community.

New sign-up list tool now available

Tue, 18 Dec 2007 10:29:53 +1100

A sign-up list can now be added to a subject or community to provide students with a means of signing up online for group work, tutorials, essay titles, projects, etc.

Subject banner creation tool

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 10:11:54 +1100

The LMS subject banner creation tool allows you to dynamically construct a banner which you can upload into your LMS subject.

LMS framework for subject presence

Tue, 4 Dec 2007 08:34:30 +1100

The LMS framework and associated recommendations regarding minimum level of subject presence and levels of access were endorsed by Academic Board in September 2007. It is expected that the minimum presence will be achieved for all undergraduate subjects from 2008, and by 2011 for postgraduate subjects.

LMS outage: Saturday 8 December

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:55:57 +1100

On Saturday 8 December 2007, the LMS will be unavailable for up to 12 hours between 7am and 7pm Eastern Standard Time.

Workshop schedule for November to February

Fri, 23 Nov 2007 09:25:31 +1100

The LMS Academic Support team is running several workshops from November through to February for new and experienced LMS users.

Building iPod quizzes with Respondus

Mon, 5 Nov 2007 09:37:44 +1100

An update for the Respondus quiz creation software has been released. Among other improvements, a "Save as iPod Quiz" feature has been added for exporting questions in a format usable with Apple's iPod Quiz game.

WebRAFT information

Thu, 18 Oct 2007 14:42:53 +1000

The University's WebRAFT system will no longer be available after 6 pm on Friday November 30th 2007. Staff and student users will be unable to access any part of WebRAFT after that date. If you need to make copies of any WebRAFT materials you must do this before November 30th.

Subject options for Semester 1, 2008

Mon, 15 Oct 2007 08:52:49 +1000

Before the start of each semester, empty LMS subject sites are made available ready to be designed and developed for the next subject offering. There are now some additional options to make this task more efficient.

Workshop schedule for October to December

Tue, 2 Oct 2007 09:08:16 +1000

The Academic Support team is running several workshops from October through to December for new and experienced LMS users.

Unscheduled downtime Friday September 14th

Mon, 17 Sep 2007 12:00:00 +1000

The LMS was unavailable from 8pm Friday September 14th until 4pm Saturday September 15th due to technical problems. We apologise for the inconvenience to LMS users.

Communities in the LMS

Mon, 3 Sep 2007 11:00:15 +1000

The Community System is now available as a new part of the LMS in Semester 2, 2007. Staff can request an LMS community site to establish an online environment to share resources, projects, collaborative research and online communication with colleagues, groupings of students or a general community of interest.

New LMS web site

Thu, 30 Aug 2007 08:22:04 +1000

The LMS web site has been redeveloped.