LMS GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

FACULTY OPEN FORUM ON EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY (2/15)

The next Faculty Open Forum on Educational Technologies is scheduled for from 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM on Wednesday, February 21st.
Event Details

ANNOUNCEMENT TO FACULTY (2/5)

View the latest UMB E-LEARNING NEWS AND SPECIAL EVENTS IN FEBRUARY.

JAVA CERTIFICATE PROBLEM

Java certificate expiry - Jan 24 We have recently been notified that the Java certificate in WebCT Vista will expire on January 24, 2007. Unfortunately, the solution from WebCT involves significant downtime which we do not want to allow at this time during the term. As a result, when you login to WebCT Vista after this date, you will be prompted to accept the expired Java certificate.

With all browsers, you will be able to "always trust" this expired certificate; the prompt from WebCT Vista should not show again.

How to validate WebCT Vista's security certificate

WEBCT VISTA NETWORK SERVICE WINDOW

Please note the following planned network service schedule for WebCT Vista. WebCT Vista will be unavailable during these hours for necessary maintenance. A planned servicing on Dec 2nd from 4-7am has been canceled. If that changes due to an unanticipated need, we will let you know.

2/24/07 4-7AM
3/24/07 4-7AM
4/21/07 4-7AM
5/5/07 4-7AM
6/23/07 4-7AM

NEW LMS SUPPORT MODEL FOR FACULTY

There is a new technical support model for faculty, linked below:
Technical Support for Faculty

A print version is linked below. Please note the new support telephone numbers for faculty, staff to contact and other instructional support resources available.
LMS Information Sheet

NEW TWT WORKSHOPS FOR FACULTY

The Teaching with Technology program is offering 4 new workshops for faculty on WebCT tools. The workshops are just 50 minutes in duration and with the exception of Communications each focuses on just 1 tool. The new workshops are: 1. Assignments; 2. Assessments; 3. Grade Book; 4. Communications

The TwT will offer half day workshops on Jan 16, 17, 23, and 24 that cover all the basics for getting started using WebCT.

See the full schedule of workshops and sign up at http://itc.umb.edu/twt

INTERNET BROWSER UPDATES

Internet Explorer v.7: The latest release of Internet Explorer, version 7 is compatible with WebCT Vista.

Firefox v.2.0: Firefox 2.0 is now out in general availability. It’s our understanding that it is not being pushed out as an update, but is rather a voluntary upgrade. WebCT has not yet fully certified Firefox 2.0, so we are not supporting it yet either. We will keep you posted on that front. We are discouraging users from upgrading until WebCT has certified it and we have had a chance to update the browser checker.

STREAMING VIDEO

WebCT Vista should not be used for storing of streaming media. Vista does not have the ability to stream out video or audio files, nor does it handle storage or downloading of large files very well. We strongly discourage students and faculty from putting streaming media into Vista.