TBR e-Learning Wiki

CMS Transition Implementation

   TBR to Upgrade to Desire2Learn version 8.3
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The Tennessee Board of Regents system will be upgrading to Desire2Learn version 8.3 for the summer semester. Details about 8.3 including release notes, documentation (admin log-in required), upgrade process notes, and known issues may be found on this site.   

   TBR e-Learning Knowledgebase
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An extensive knowledgebase of frequently asked questions and answers is now available for all interested users by visiting http://efaq.tbr.edu. The site is primarily intended for Tennessee Board of Regents faculty and staff but is also available to the Desire2Learn community in general.

Questions and answers related to the programs and degrees offered through the Regents Online Campus Collaborative are available for faculty and students.  

   A New Course Management System

During 2007, the technology centers, colleges, and universities of the Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) system will move their online courses from WebCT and BlackBoard and  to a new course management system, Desire2Learn . To facilitate this transition, a Transition Team has been formed to plan and implement a systematic and system-wide conversion of all online courses to Desire2Learn. Because WebCT and BlackbBoard will no longer be licensed for use at TBR schools, the courses to be converted will include all fully-online courses as well as web-assisted courses in which the course management system is used as a supplement to classroom instruction.

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 Campus D2L Log-In Pages
APSU ETSU  MTSU  TSU  TTU  UoM  CSTCC  CLSCC 
COSCC DSCC JSCC  MSCC  NSCC  NSTCC  PSTCC  RSCC 
STCC  VSCC  WSCC  TTC  RODP  ROCE  TBR  Training 

    Transitional Organization

The transition process is a system-wide collaborative effort coordinated by the TBR Office of Academic Affairs , Dr. Paula Myrick Short, Vice-Chancellor. A system level implementation team has been established with representatives from each TBR college and university as well as representatives from the technology centers . Each institution will also have its own transition team with a representative attending all system level meetings. 

 

    Timeline of Activities
The transition process began with the selection of Desire2Learn as the new course management system in October, 2006. A comprehensive planning process continued into Spring 2007. Using a Train-the-Trainer model, campus instructional technology experts received training in the course archiving & conversion process. Extensive professional development activities for faculty and staff in the conversion process, course templating, new course development, and teaching best practices is currently ongoing. A system level timeline of activities is available on this site.

 

    Training & Support


In addition to the Train-the-Trainer model, extensive online and face-to-face instruction is available to all faculty, staff, administrators, and students. These resources include text, audio, and video media in printed, web page, and podcast formats. As part of the conversion process, a new emphasis on instructional design principles and the Quality Matters review process will be implemented.

 

    Resources on this Site

The TBR e-Learning wiki implements a degree of collaboration and targeted user feedback by relying on current web technologies such as this wiki, collaborative bookmarking via del.icio.us, collaborative charting via Gliffy, and collaborative calendaring via Google. In addition, an RSS feed is available in the upper right portion of the menu area.

Comments

From frakesl - 10/10/07 12:03 PM

ETSU Wimba Widget

From jonbooker - 6/12/07 8:32 PM

Is anyone have trouble with attachment in email? D2L limits us to 100Kb. That is too small for material I am sending to my students. Are you having any problems?

From gstorts - 2/27/07 10:41 AM

A comment with regards enumeration of content.  When enumerating content, you can "hide" the enumeration of modules.  This will allow you to have a preliminary module that might have instructor contact, syllabus, getting started, etc, without it taking on the enumeration of your content modules.

 For example I can "hide" the enumerations of my first module below, then allow the automatic enumeration to begin on my 1st module of content.

Getting Started                                                (enumeration hidden)
     Syllabus
     Introduction to Course
     Instructor Content
Module 1                                                            (enumeration not hidden - automatic
     Module Objectives                                           enumeration takes over)
     Chapter Reading
     Module 1 Assignment

From jstclair - 1/28/07 9:19 AM

My understanding is that D2L is bringing (at least electronic copies) of all materials to the Feb train-the-trainer sessions, including sample content to upload during training.

From jdaniels - 1/25/07 9:19 AM

Does D2L have any preferences or suggestions about bringing sample content to the training sessions so that we will have some sample files to practice uploading?  Or will they provide or have us create some sample content to work with?

From jstclair - 12/7/06 3:50 PM

The D2L past recordings (1 to date) may be accessed from http://www.desire2learn.com/about/events.asp . The recordings are free but registration is required.

From jformosa - 12/7/06 8:36 AM

Andrea;

 I am registered as well.

 John;

They are in fact archived.

 

From jonbooker - 12/6/06 10:07 AM

Does D2L have any video training material. I am think of screen capture with voice-overs to help in the training of faculty on campus?

From rickcruse - 11/28/06 9:28 PM

Food for Thought:

   If I understand correctly, under the current system, only 2 TBR facilities provide 24X7 Help Desk support.  The d2l initiative may help fund another tier of support for other facilities with lower support levels, possibily through various centralized support models. 

   Does this also provides an opportunity to leverage funds to expand support for all institutions.  If a 'Tier II' level of support is developed to support users with d2l afterhours, could this same support staff also provide extended support for other applications in the TBR catalog?  Although this group may not provide the personalized levels of support for applications as an individual institution, with proper training and documentation, the Tier II staff could provide "continuity of care".  If a user has a problem and calls it in at 6:30 PM and the traditional Help Desk hours are 7-7, the problem could sit for 12+ hours awaiting resolution.  Alternately, the Tier II staff could call the user back, gather additional information, serve as an off-hours contact for vendor isssues, etc.   Additionally, this model could reduce confusion for the user.  By providing a broader level of support, the users wouldn't have to know if the problem was d2l or if they might have a problem with their system.  Either problem could be processed/resolved 24X7.

   The incremental costs of expanding this support would be much less than providing this service without a business driver such as d2l.  TBR recognizes the need to provide an enhanced support model to service this application.  Could this give us an opportunity to leverage these dollars while expanding the benefits to our audience?

From rickcruse - 11/28/06 8:12 AM

Security:

  • To address Ferpa/Hippa issues, the application must use SSL and some type of secure authentication.
  • With data housed in a different state, are there concerns governing when and how information can be subpoenaed that contrast with TBR guidelines and TN state law?  This goes beyond copywrite of materials and focuses on what happens to our data if authorities in another state determine they need information from the data center or a particular server.  Although we 'own' the data, laws of the state housing the information will override our guidelines and laws where they conflict with the other state.

Campus Network Bandwidth (BW):

  • How much bw does an average transaction use?  After receiving information from d2l about the payload of the application, sites should review their current bw usage and determine whether there is sufficient bw to support another application.  Specific guidelines would be to determine whether there is available bw at peak utilization times.
  • What types of traffic, protocols, and ports are necessary for usage?
    • if they are non-standard ports, how do we ensure those ports are available for an off-campus user using network services via the public vs campus networks?
  • How are the data transferred?
  • What impact will the customer notice due to latency of a WAN connection rather than using campus resources.  (IT staff should be aware this could impact how the application launches through the portal.  WAN issues could impact all portions of the portal if the connection to the internet is experiencing issues as the portal attempts to establish sessions with the d2l site)
  • Does d2l recommend any type of Quality of service or Traffic Shaping to improve performance?  Are there any routing concerns?

Disaster Recovery:

  • Backups
    • What is the backup window?
    • Are backup tapes housed off-site?
    • Is there user impact during this window?
    • Are there addtional fees associated with any recovery from backup, whether it's a user or system level restore?
  • Maintenance
    • What are the windows for scheduled maintenance?
    • What is the frequency of version upgrades?  (Can we see a copy of the product roadmap).
    • On upgrades, since these are separate instances, what is the impact on an institution that has issues after a major or minor revision to the application or underlying software?  Would it require a rollback for all institutions?  How can we mitigate the impact of such upgrades?
  • Failover
    • Are there multiple locations available in the event of catastrophic failure?  Are the locations geographically diverse?
    • Are the sites synchronized via remote cloning?  Live replication?  If a restore from tape at another location is necessary, what are the contracted recovery point objectives?
    • When was failover last tested and how often is DR tested?

 

 

From jstclair - 11/25/06 11:31 AM

Terms of Use: This site is intended for the use of Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) faculty, staff, administrators, and students and is intended to support the transition from course management systems currently in use to the new course management system adopted for use in 2007.  No registration is required to view these pages. However, registration is required to post comments. Registration is open to any currently employed TBR faculty, staff, or administrator and to any currently enrolled TBR student via their institutional email address. Comments not related to the conversion process will be subject to removal. To request a registration, please use the registration link to the upper right. Note: Registrations will only be accepted from authorized TBR institutional email addresses.

 

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Last Modified 4/10/08 8:21 AM