Q: Will Blackboard work with the new Windows Vista operating system?
	Q: Lately, I have been hearing a lot about "blended learning." What does this term mean and what sort of blended learning are we doing here at Babson?
	Q: Is there a way to add audio to my PowerPoint presentation and deliver it over the web and/or blackboard?
	Q: How can I communicate basic concepts outside of the classroom, so I can dedicate my class session to case discussion?
	Q: Help! I want to set up my Blackboard site. What do I do? How do I do it? Can you help!?
	Q: How do I make my Blackboard course available to students?
	Q: I cannot be on campus for a class. What are my options for conducting class?
	Q: My guest speaker cannot make it to campus to speak to my students face-to-face. Is there any way to host him/her remotely?
	Q: I would like to give more in-class quizzes but am finding paper-based quizzes are not meeting my needs. Any thoughts?

Q: Will Blackboard work with the new Windows Vista operating system?

A: It should! In fact with FireFox it will work as is. With Internet Explorer however, Blackboard has not yet stated that it is 100% compatible. Below are a few things that you must do first. You should already have Internet Explorer 7 which comes with Vista, but if you do not, you should download this browser. After downloading the browsers, you will need to set blackboard.basbon.edu as a "trusted site". To do so, complete the following steps.

1. Open Internet Explorer 7
2. If the menus do not appear at the top, press and release the ALT key on the keyboard to display them
3. Select Tools menu / Internet Options
4. Under the Security tab, click Trusted Sites and then the Sites button
5. Uncheck the "Require server verification" checkbox if it is checked
6. Type "http://blackboard.babson.edu" in the "add this website" box and click the Add button
7. Click Close and OK
8. The next thing to check is that you do not have a pop-up blocker running that is preventing the window from opening
   (see http://www.webct.com/trouble/)
9. And finally, in Blackboard: Shut off visual text box editor - click Edit Personal Settings (located in the Tools panel) after logging in, then Set Visual Text Box Editor Options, then select Unavailable and Submit.

Q: Lately, I have been hearing a lot about "blended learning." What does this term mean and what sort of blended learning are we doing here at Babson?

A: At Babson, blended learning means using various delivery methods to best meet course and session objectives. The blend may consist of any combination of face-to-face class instruction, asynchronous discussion board forums, and synchronous distance sessions live over the Internet, depending on course content. This fall Babson is also piloting courses offered in simultaneous delivery mode, in which faculty teach face-to-face to some students in Babson's new technologically enhanced elearning room (Olin 101) while other students log on to the same class session at the same time via the Internet. To learn more, visit the Online Classroom section or contact CITG.

Q: Is there a way to add audio to my PowerPoint presentation and deliver it over the web and/or blackboard?

A: It's easy! To add sound to a PowerPoint (.ppt) presentation, you need:

• PowerPoint
• A Microphone
• Headphones or Speakers
• The Breeze Plugin

For more information on Breeze, see the Web Presentation section of our site.

Q: How can I communicate basic concepts outside of the classroom, so I can dedicate my class session to case discussion?

A: There are many ways to accomplish this, depending on the content and your learning objectives. Some faculty use practice question banks in EDU (in fact, two science professors are using EDU this semester to give students online quizzes to save valuable class time and still reinforce the learning). Others create and assign custom Web-based content such as voice-annotated presentations (using Breeze), voice-annotated spreadsheet movies (using Camtasia), and videos that provide the "mini-lesson" or "lecturette" that used to take place in the classroom. For more ideas, information, and examples, contact CITG.

Q: Help! I want to set up my Blackboard site. What do I do? How do I do it? Can you help!?

A: No problem! CITG is offering a series of face-to-face trainings this fall on how to use Blackboard. We also host Blackboard elearning. Also, you can always contact us with a Blackboard question.

Q: How do I make my Blackboard course available to students?

A: By default all courses are set to unavailable when created. This means that students cannot access your course. This is very helpful when setting up your course before the start of the semester. When you are ready to make your course available, do the following:

1. Go to the course you want to make available
2. Go to the Control Panel
3. Click on the Settings link under Course Options
4. Click on Course Availability
5. Choose Yes and hit Submit

Q: I can not be on campus for a class. What are my options for conducting class?

A: You can host your class via Elluminate. For more information about Elluminate, see the Online Classroom section of our site.

Q: My guest speaker can not make it to campus to speak to my students face-to-face. Is there any way to host him/her remotely?

A: You can host your guest speaker via Elluminate or Breeze Live. For more information about Elluminate, see the Online Classroom section of our site.

Q: I would like to give more in-class quizzes but am finding paper-based quizzes are not meeting my needs. Any thoughts?

A: Incorporating quizzes into class sessions for the benefit of reinforcement or mastery level skill-building is a great idea. However, paper-based quizzes can be cumbersome. The solution? Create assessment questions in EDU, Babson's online assessment tool, then administer quizzes based on these questions to students at the end of a class session to assess how well they learned that day's materials. (You can also assign the quizzes outside the classroom to check for understanding and review.) EDU's many features make it useful as a learning aid:

• Time release: You can create and set up quizzes at the beginning of the semester, based on your syllabus.
• Randomization of questions in a quiz and within each question: This feature ensures that no two students receive the same quiz. Students can repeat a quiz as many times as they like and not receive the same question twice.
• Auto grade/feedback: Students can see how they did and review the correct answer for further learning.
• Multiple attempts: When appropriate, students can take a quiz over and over until they internalize the concept at hand.

Faculty already using EDU in class report that students are more engaged and learn the content more deeply from integrating class quizzes during class at the close of each concept/chapter. EDU can make the faculty's life easier while improving students' ability to learn the material. Sounds like a win-win all around!