Canvas Gradebook, Multimedia Studio, and New Faces in IS&T

New Canvas Gradebook

This summer, we released the New Canvas Gradebook. The new gradebook will allow you to more easily input and manage grades. There are several new functionalities in the gradebook that you will want to note. One new functionality is Late Polices which will allow you to automatically apply a specific grade for missing submissions (missing work) and allow you to deduct a specific percentage for each day an assignment is late (late work).



Another new feature is the option to change the status (none, late, missing, excused) of an assignment for a student. To change the status, click the gradebook cell next to the student’s name under the assignment you want to change and click the “Grade Detail Tray” icon.


There are several new and improved features available in the New Gradebook. To view them all, click the link to the New Gradebook Resources. If you have any questions, please contact the E-Learning helpdesk at x5201 or by emailing elearning@harding.edu

Multimedia Studio!

The Center for Learning with Technology is excited to announce the opening of the Multimedia Studio! The Multimedia Studio offers a Lightboard recording suite, which allows the recording of engaging lectures. It also houses a presentation studio, allowing recordings of PowerPoint lectures with voice-overs, or webcam presentations using Camtasia.

Professors and students may reserve times to use the Studio by contacting 1-501-279-5201. The Studio is located in the Administration building, second floor, in the 209 suite. Schedule a tour or visit us anytime! 

We want to thank Maren for his work in helping get the studio set up and the production of this video. Since making this video, Maren has moved to another organization. Thank you, Maren.

New Faces

Alyssa Eller

Alyssa Eller is the new Print Resources Librarian for Brackett Library. She is a Harding graduate (2016) and has been working at the Germantown public library outside Memphis, Tennessee. Alyssa was a former library student worker and is completing her graduate work in Library Science at the University of Missouri - Columbia. Her husband, Andrew, will be starting medical school at UAMS this fall so they will be very busy for a while. Please drop by the library to meet Alyssa!

Ean Myers

Ean Myers joins our team as Desktop Support Specialist. He comes to Harding having worked for the Walmart home office and for 3-D Technology. His wife Sophie is a 6th grade literacy teacher at Southwest Middle School. Ean and Sophie have a mini Australian Shepherd named Banjo, and during his free time, Ean enjoys reading and watching movies.

Beth Seay

Beth Seay is the Office Assistant in the Center for Technology & Learning/AV. She grew up in Judsonia, and is a third generation Harding graduate. She is married to Tim Seay and has spent the last 22 years raising and homeschooling their two sons, Brennen and Carter. Beth’s office is located in Lee 110.

Hannah Dodson

Hannah Dodson is the new Audio Visual Technician in the AV department. She was born and raised in Searcy. She graduated Harding University this past May with a degree in Electronic Media Production. Hannah's office is located in Lee 110.

New Library Website, Qwickly Attendance, and Calendar Find a Time

Library Launches New Website

Brackett Library launched a new web site on May 28. Our goal was to better organize all of our content and to improve user experience interacting with the virtual and physical parts of the library. We believe the new site will make finding resources easier. Come check out our new site at library.harding.edu.


Please note: If your syllabus or Canvas course includes links to any library web pages, you will need to update those links because we moved everything. Please feel free to contact us at library@harding.edu if you have questions or if you want us to help you update any library related sections on your syllabus.

Qwickly Attendance

I am happy to announce our newest integration to Canvas: Qwickly Attendance. 

Qwickly Attendance is an optional attendance tool that will be used in place of the existing Canvas Roll Call Attendance tool.  A few instructors piloted Qwickly last spring and found it to be an improvement to the existing Canvas attendance tool.  Qwickly has several key features that make it a great addition to any Canvas course. 

Key Features:

Flexible Automatic Grading

Automated Absent Email Alerts

Customizable Statuses

ID Card Reader

Student Check-in Mode

Unlimited Daily Sessions

To start using Qwickly, go to your Canvas course and click Qwickly Attendance on the left side of the navigation pane. If you do not see Qwickly, then you will need to click Settings, Navigation, and move Qwickly to the top section in order to add it to your course navigation pane. Click Save before moving on.

The first time you use Qwickly, it will ask you to "Begin Set-up." This is where you can set your attendance settings for the course.  Here you can set up automatic grading, and set up a grade based off of total points or per-session points.  You can also have Qwickly send an automatic email to the student once they have been marked absent.

Qwickly also has custom course statuses, so you can add your own statuses to attendance such as a tardy, extra credit, or participation status.

Qwickly offers a few new ways to take attendance. One example is the Student Check-in Mode.  You will start check-in mode via your Canvas course, and it will pull up a pin on the screen and allow your students 2 minutes to type in the code. It will automatically mark them present once they send their response in using Canvas on their phone or laptops.

There is also an option to take attendance via a card reader.  If you have a card reader hooked up to a computer in your classroom, students can scan their ID cards to be counted as present. 

Another option is that you can have unlimited attendance sessions per day. This would be great for those long classes that have a break at chapel, where you could take attendance before and again after chapel. It would also be convenient for taking attendance during optional “bonus” meetings for a class.

Qwickly allows you to easily see the attendance history for your class. By selecting the name of one student, you can pull up just that one student’s attendance history, which would be helpful if a student has a question about their attendance in class.

To learn more about Qwickly Attendance, contact the E-Learning helpdesk at elearning@harding.edu

Allison Case

LMS Support Specialist

Calendar Find a Time Feature

Have you ever wanted to schedule a meeting with several people and dreaded calling all of them to arrange a time? Google Calendar can help.

Start Google Calendar and click the button that says Create Event (the red plus sign at the lower right). Enter the title of the event and maybe the day you would prefer. Then, on the right, enter the Guests, the people you would like to invite. You can also click Rooms and choose rooms that have calendars associated with them.

Now the helpful part. Click the Find a Time link on the left.




That will create a calendar view showing the free and busy times of all of your guests and rooms. You can scroll through the day you chose. Also, there are arrows at the upper left to let you choose a different day.

When you find a time when all of your guests are free, you can click on the calendar view to select that time. After doing that, it’s a good practice to check the date and time fields at the upper left.

Will Banner live on? Where is the VoIP Conversion project up to? Is there an app for that?

Banner??

Pop quiz--How long has Harding been using Banner/Oracle as its core student information system, Finance/HR system, Admissions and Advancement systems?
          A) 10 years           C) 15 years
          B) 20 years           D) Too long
          E) None of the above

As part of our strategic plan, we are currently exploring alternatives and future roadmaps for Banner. This does not mean we will be automatically replacing Banner (and that would include many of the other systems connected to Banner), but are actively looking at other options. We are also asking Ellucian (the company that "owns" Banner) to show us their development road-map beyond Banner 9!

What Other Systems?

There are not many options really.
          1. Ellucian (Banner)
          2. Campus Management (Nexus) - this is being implemented at Lubbock and                            Lipscomb, and being used at ASU-Beebe
          3. Workday - chosen to replace Poise, Banner and PeopleSoft for the entire                              University of Arkansas system.

          4.  Unit 4

All the newer systems are cloud-based and have CRM (Client Relationship Management) built in.  

When Is It Going To Happen?

The research and investigation is underway.  We make our last payment under this contract with Ellucian in August 2021.  We pay a year in advance.  So we have time, and if we were to change, we would minimize "double payments!"

How Will I Be Affected?

The simple answer is - yes!  There is no doubt things will be different from Banner 9.  However, I suspect there are not too many of us reading this who are using Banner all day. Most Banner users are use Banner more as a casual user. Many of us will rarely use Banner directly. We all use what is in Banner but access it through our portal, Pipeline.  We are confident that our portal will also change!

Do We Really Have To Change?

The answer is yes and no.  We can certainly stay with Banner as long as Ellucian will maintain and enhance the product.  But even with that scenario, change is going to happen e.g. Banner 8 to Banner 9.  So in essence, the real answer is yes.  Whether that change is to enhanced versions of Banner or to another product is yet to be determined.

Whichever way we go, we will do our best to keep you as informed as possible of what is happening with this project.

The Answer to the Pop Quiz?

While a number of people would like to answer D, the answer is C --15 years.

Updates from Brackett Library

The 2018 lectureship audio and video files are now available in Brackett Library’s online institutional repository, Scholar Works at Harding. Past lectureships, starting with the year 2014, are located on this site. The repository also contains digitized collections from the Ann Cowan Dixon Archives & Special Collections, faculty and student research, Harding publications, and Harding doctoral dissertations.

Brackett Library is also happy to announce that students and faculty can self-reserve the newly named Henry Terrill Conference room located on the second floor of the library. Patrons can go to https://ht-confroom.youcanbook.me/ to find available times and reserve this space online. Reservations are for groups of 6 – 15 people and can be made up to 30 days in advance. Room amenities include a large white board and a 65” SMART TV with HDMI and wireless access. More details can be found on the reservation page.

DormNet helps people get “unstuck” …

Dr. McLarty made this statement recently at a Welcome Dinner to a group of student workers who returned to campus a week early to participate in a rigorous week of training and twelve-hour workdays. These students are called DormNet Assistants (DNAs for short), and they work in IS&T.

This group of 15 student workers, managed by Lora Fleener, runs the DormNet Help Desk. They support the Harding student body with all computer-related issues. Two of the 15 student workers are Senior DNAs – they help supervise and assist the other DNAs.

The DNAs handle everything from “my computer doesn’t work” or “I can’t log into my Pipeline account!” to “how do I make this laundry app work?” or “Help! My computer just crashed!” They are on the “front line” when something goes wrong. They get to answer the phone when things go very wrong. They help students get “unstuck.”

Recently, before school started, DormNet was able to assist different groups of students and help them get their computers ready for school to start. One of the most fascinating things to watch is a group of recently-trained student workers help international students set up their computers, all of which are in a foreign language. In these pictures, DNAs were helping the Chinese students set up their computers. None of the DNAs has training in Chinese, but somehow they were able to work together and get the job done.

As displayed on the entrance to the IS&T offices, Colossians 3:17 says: “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” And then a few verses later in Colossians 3:23-24: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”

And for DormNet, that means we help people get “unstuck.”

There is an App for That - Canvas Teacher App

Have you been away from your computer and realized you need to send a
quick announcement to your Canvas course? Did you know Canvas has an app that
will allow this and much more?

Canvas has multiple apps available, including the teacher app for iOS
and Android devices. The Canvas Teacher app allows teachers to grade
assignments, provide feedback and conveniently communicate with students from
your mobile device.

For more information, check out the Mobile Guides - Canvas
Teacher page in the Canvas Guides or download the Canvas Teacher app from the
App Store or the Play Store.

VoIP Update

As announced in this article from April, the conversion to VoIP is nearly complete. The only devices left on the old telephone switch are a few fax machines and we have been turning off sections of the old phone switch as we proceed.

We have tried to convert all of the devices on that switch, but we may have missed some. If you have any phones or fax machines that are in an obscure location or seldom used, please try them and assure that they work. If they don’t work, please call 4100 and enter a ticket so we can convert them.

Internet Connectivity Update - August 15, 2018 9.00pm

I am pleased to report that at this time just about everything is up, connected to the internet and running. The main part of campus has been up since around 10.00am today. All the dorms were taken off-line and the access points and network switches in the dorms were updated and reconfigured. Again the good news is that most of them are now up and connected. 

We are still working on it tonight and expect the only thing to be down in the morning to be a couple of dorms that need new equipment, which should be here tomorrow.

We are still seeing some errors, but the config changes and updates have made the network connections stable. We can now turn our attention to fixing the remaining errors.

I want you to know who it is when I say, We are.... The people who have been working until the wee hours and then coming back after are few hours sleep are those in the Network Services group. These people understand how central to our mission it is to have technology operating and ready to do business. They have worked very hard and with great expertise to remedy this problem. University networks have an interesting characteristic. We make significant changes over the summer to avoid major disruptions during the academic year. However, the first time these changes get tested with any load is when the students start returning! Most times there are no significant problems. And then there are the other times...

Thank you again for bearing with us during these past couple of days.

Internet Connectivity Update - August 15, 2018 at 11.00am

Harding's internet connectivity is not operational. The problem, the root problem, is deeply buried somewhere. However, we now have some positive leads to follow.

We are going to be turning off the wireless access points in the dorms. A lot of loops (the term I heard is Mac Flapping) are occurring and it seems to be coming from the access points in the dorms. After they are shut down, we are going to upgrade the access points and switches in the dorms. Just to confound this issue, one of our switch manufacturers distributed a bad patch for their switches. We will have to undo that in the process.

This also means that there will be no wireless connectivity in the dorms - right when freshman are moving in! Dormnet assistants will be in the freshman dorms during this time to help those moving in to be set up as best we can.

We are hoping that with the dorms offline, the rest of the campus will be able to operate effectively. We are aware of what is happening around campus at this time of the year and will be doing all we can to make sure you can all take care of business.

We all want to know how long this is going to take. I really wish I could give you a definite time when everything will be back and running just like it was last week. However, that is not possible at this stage. We are really striving to get it up as soon as possible and in the meantime have as much up and running as possible.

Recently we have moved to a full VoIP phone system. Our old switch was on its 'last legs' and we needed to move. However, this means our phones are also on our data networks. That is why your desk phone is not working when the internet connectivity is down. It also means that the main campus number is not available. We will be putting a message on our web page shortly telling people how to contact us, especially some of the key offices on campus such as Admissions and Public Safety.

That is the latest. I will let you know more as I know more.

Thank you all again for your kind and understanding messages, and prayers at this time.

Extra Extra - TeamDynamix is live, Library adds digital resources

Our latest big project--TeamDynamix--is now live!

The ability to submit tickets, search a knowledge base, and browse through the services we offer is now available! In essence, TeamDynamix is the way IS&T will track what we do both from a day-to-day standpoint as well as the projects, short and long, that we work on. TeamDynamix also provides an easier and more consistent way to communicate with you as we work for and with you.

In the previous Hyperlink article, we had announced that it was coming. Since then we have been busy improving and making the service more consistent.

Today, we introduce TecHU.harding.edu (pronounced teck H U). It can be found at https://techu.harding.edu or via an icon on the upper right of Pipeline and will also be coming soon to the Harding app.

In it, you will find several features. On that page is a short introductory video that will describe how to navigate TecHU and the various features that are available.

Something that we have not offered before that we think you will like is the ability to submit service requests (tickets) online via the Submit a Ticket link in the left column. Of course, we are still happy for you to call using the numbers you will see on the lower right of the TecHU screen, but you will now also be able to request help anytime and we will respond as quickly as we can.

Even better, you will now be able to view your tickets using View My Tickets to keep up with progress on any outstanding issues. Using the options on that page, you’ll be able to see current as well as resolved tickets.

Some of you have used the knowledge base portion of Kenobi. With TecHU, there is a built-in knowledge base accessible with the Find Answers link. We will continually update it with new information as time goes on.

Later this summer, we will implement the project management portion. When it is live, you will be able to see and interact with the projects we are working on currently as well as future projects.

Of course, no modern software product would be complete without a search feature. It is at the top, and searching for a word or phrase will search all areas of TecHU.

TecHU also works very well on your phone or other mobile device, so be sure to try it out!

Hands-on training sessions will be offered, and you can sign up for them using the Introduction to TecHU (TeamDynamix) signup form.

We hope you will take the time to explore and enjoy TecHU! As always, please let us know your thoughts.

Brackett Library Adds New Digital Resources for 2018/2019

Westlaw Campus Research has been added to Brackett Library’s extensive holdings. Westlaw Campus Research provides a user-friendly interface and quality law, business and news content. Westlaw Campus Research can be accessed at http://libguides.harding.edu/westlaw. This resource will replace Nexis Uni, which will be discontinued on July 1, 2018.


Academic Video Online (AVON) by Alexander Street Press has also been added to Brackett Library’s holdings. AVON is a comprehensive video library with over 64,000 titles, including documentaries, films, interviews, performances, news programs, field recordings, commercials and raw footage. A multitude of subject areas are covered including business, education, counseling, health sciences, history, film studies, music, and theatre. Some of the top content producers are Sony Picture Classics, 60 Minutes/CBS, A&E Networks’ History Channel, PBS, BBC, and Intelecom. The videos can be easily embedded into Canvas courses. Academic Video Online can be accessed at http://libguides.harding.edu/AVON.


Brackett Library has also added a large collection of Gale Primary Sources. This collection includes the following archives: Religion, Society, Spirituality, and Reform; Science Technology, and Medicine: 1780-1925 Parts 1 and 2; Photography: The World through the Lens; Archives of Sexuality and Gender; Nineteenth Century U.S. Newspapers; The Times Digital Archive; Women's Studies Archive; and Slavery and Anti-Slavery: A Transnational Archive. These resources can be found at http://libguides.harding.edu/galeprimarysources and http://libguides.harding.edu/slaveryandantislavery.

Come see the light (board) and more in this post...

Meet Lightboard

Chalkboard…Whiteboard…Now Lightboard

Lightboard is a video lecture recording tool which allows the presenter to diagram concepts while maintaining eye contact with the audience. Click on the video below to see a demonstration.  Contact elearning@harding.edu to schedule a recording time with Lightboard. Staff​ members are available to help ​you ​ get started and take you through the entire process. Your finished product can be posted to a Canvas course or site of your choice.

Hover, look and then click…

The most effective way to protect an organization from being compromised through phishing or other similar schemes is through user alertness and education!

We do this in a number of ways. We like to make sure we do not become complacent in how we deal with the emails we receive. Without a doubt, the vast majority of emails that come to our inbox are not nefarious. They are there to genuinely inform us and be used as a way to conduct our business.

Then there are those emails that have attachments or links that are set to trap us into sharing information we should not share or to have something downloaded that will take information from us illicitly.

To help us be more aware and alert, we will be conducting some phishing tests in the future. We will be generating some phishing style emails and sending them to different groups around campus. This is not a punitive exercise. There will be no public shaming. If someone 'falls' for the email, they will receive information that highlights why the phishing email was successful! It is designed to be informative.

One of the simplest ways to check whether a link in an email may be legitimate or suspicious is to just hover over the link and look at the bottom left of the browser window. You will see the actual web address where the link would take you should you click on it. (this works with most browsers, but it may not work on some instances of Safari)

Consider these two links:  www.harding.edu and www.harding.edu.

They look the same don't they?

Try moving your mouse pointer over each link.  DON'T CLICK - just "hover".

Did you see what web page you would have been directed to if you had clicked?

(This example is courtesy of John Nunnally.)

Library Donations

Rhema Christian Academy Library

Did you know that Brackett Library helps with various missions here and abroad? One outreach is donating books to mission fields. Lola and David Crouch recently asked for books for a school in Nigeria. Some health science books have been sent to Zambia. One of the latest missions was the Likewise College (overseen by Jeff Kreh), a school that works with those in the prison system in Arkansas. 

These books are either discarded books from our collection or donated books. If Brackett already has a copy in the library's collection of a donated book, it can be used for missions. Discarded books will be sent because many times the library has obtained a newer edition with the older edition being only a few years old. Brackett Library makes an effort to use books in a positive way when they are not needed in the current collection. If you are interested in making a book donation, please call 501-279-4354 for more details.

New Phones on Campus

Chances are you have already received a new phone on your desk recently. We are upgrading the campus to VoIP – voice over IP – phones.

Why are we making the switch? The Nortel phone switch was installed in 1989. It was the “latest and greatest” when we installed it, and it has served the campus well, but its time has come to an end. We need to make the switch to VoIP to keep up with industry standards.

We first installed VoIP phones in the IS&T area as a “pilot” project to test their usability on campus. It didn’t take too long to decide that this was the direction we needed to go. As new buildings were built, we installed new VoIP phones instead of installing expensive copper phone cable. When we did this, it meant that we were “straddling” two phone systems – Nortel and VoIP – and that did make management of both systems cumbersome.

Recently, the decision was made to cut over the rest of the campus to VoIP. Harding Telephone Service (HTS) has been cutting over the campus building by building. As time and schedules permit, HTS is replacing old Nortel phones and installing new VoIP phones. They plan to finish the cutover by this fall.

There are many benefits to the new phones, including allowing the user to make phone changes through an online portal. Once you get your new phone, you can log onto https://phone.harding.edu with your Harding username and password and make changes to your ring settings, forwarding settings, and other settings. You will also have access to Jabber.

Jabber is a set of applications that allows users to connect to each other in more ways than just a desk phone. One feature is an app for Android and I-Phone. Once downloaded, Jabber allows a user to answer and make calls as if using their desk phone on their cell phone no matter where they are located, as long as they have a data connection (don't worry, the app can be turned off/on when needed). This app not only allows you to take calls in almost any location but it also allows you to keep your cell number and private voice mail separate from your office number and office voice mail when you need to.

Another feature of Jabber can be a virtual phone set on your computer so you can answer, make calls and check voice mail via your computer. It’s also easy to save a voice mail on your computer by using this feature so you can keep any messages you feel you should for as long as you need to.

Along with the desktop virtual phone, a chat window can be used to message others who use Jabber. In all Jabber applications, you can set a presence icon that lets others know if you are on the phone, away or in a meeting. These are just a few of the features of Jabber we are excited about using on campus.

New Faces

IS&T has welcomed some new people this semester. If you haven’t already met them, stop by and say hello!

Anora David

Anora is the Office Assistant in the Center for Technology & Learning/AV. Born in Camden, Tennessee, she attended both Michigan Christian College and Freed-Hardeman University. She spent 22 years in Liberia as a missionary. In 1996, she and her husband built Ford-Madden Christian School there which now houses kindergarten through high school grades. Anora’s office is located in Lee 110.

Maren Patterson

Maren Patterson comes to the Center for Learning with Technology from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He has been a digital content developer for 18 years and has guided teams to successful publications of various projects.

Currently, Maren is working​ on​ ​the following projects: 3D Virtual tour and interaction​ ideas​, best methods for introducing Virtual Reality (VR) to campus and assisting with planning for the 8th Annual Faculty Technology Showcase. ​He is also collaborating with the Library to create a dynamic video to illustrate library resources for instructors and students.

Maren’s office is located in Admin 212.

Introducing Team Dynamix

For a while, we in IS&T have wanted a better way to help track what we do both from a day-to-day standpoint as well as the projects, short and long, that we work on. Along with that we wanted to have an easier and more consistent way to communicate with you as we work for and with you.

With that in mind, we explored the market and found a company and product called TeamDynamix. Because TeamDynamix works mostly with higher education institutions, they understand the things we in a higher ed IT operation regularly deal with. It appeared to be a good fit so we recently signed a contract and have been implementing the product.

We plan to open it to you around June 1. Your main entrance to it will be a portal linked from Pipeline that will have links to four main areas we think you will find helpful:

A Service Catalog that will contain information about the various software, hardware, help, and other services we provide. Within each service will be information about how to use the service as well as request the service or help with it.

A Ticketing system where you will be able to enter requests and view your outstanding requests. We will be using this much more to to track, but more importantly to consistently communicate with you about what we are working on for you.

A Knowledge Base like Kenobi, our wiki, except tied in with the services and tickets. Over time, the articles IS&T people have created will be moved to the TeamDynamix knowledge base and will be accessible through this portal. (Don’t worry, the other things in Kenobi like Policy Portal, etc. will remain as they are.)

A Projects area where you can see and interact with the projects we are working on or plan to work on.

We are already using this in a limited fashion as we configure it and are already seeing some benefits. It is also expandable and as our use of it grows, it will allow other areas to have a presence as well.

More information will be coming soon. We look forward to being able to use it as we work with you.