Subject: December Digest Featuring SoftChalk Talk

Happy Holidays from SoftChalk! We know the month of December can get quite hectic and your calendar is probably full, but take a moment to check out our latest webinar series - SoftChalk Talk. At SoftChalk Talk you will get all your SoftChalk questions answered by the experts. Come 2009 you will be happy you did - SoftChalk is the gift that keeps giving all year long!

Introducing your SoftChalk Talk Experts: Click & Drag

SoftChalk Talk is a new and exciting online series that will feature Click & Drag - SoftChalk experts, Dave and Mary Beth. This will be your hour to discuss topics of importance with SoftChalk fans near and far. It's a great place to ask a SoftChalk question, ask for advice, or share your ideas and suggestions. Please join your hosts for an exciting one-hour session on the following dates. To register visit http://www.softchalk.com/talk.html.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008
12pm PT | 1pm MT | 2pm CT | 3pm ET

Thursday, January 8, 2009
1pm PT | 2pm MT | 3pm CT | 4pm ET

Wednesday, January 14, 2009
9am PT | 10am MT | 11am CT | 12pm ET

Advance Your LessonBuilder Skills

Get specialized detailed training. Each Short Course is a live 1-hour training course conducted by a SoftChalk instructor using web conferencing. The course includes a presentation and examples, as well as an opportunity to ask questions and receive assistance from the instructor. These Short Courses are free to our Gold Support clients (register from the Help Menu of SoftChalk LessonBuilder) and a small fee for others. Register at http://www.softchalk.com/training.

The following Short Courses are being offered at this time:

SoftChalk StyleBuilder - Tuesday, December 16
1pm PT | 2pm MT | 3pm CT | 4pm ET

Hyperlinks and Embedded Media - Thursday, December 18
1pm PT | 2pm MT | 3pm CT | 4pm ET

Introduction to SoftChalk - Monday, December 22
9am PT | 10am MT | 11am CT | 12pm ET

Quizzes and SoftChalk ScoreTracker - Tuesday, January 6
12pm PT | 1pm MT | 2pm CT | 3pm ET

Creating, Importing and Modifying Tables - Thursday, January 8
9am PT | 10am MT | 11am CT | 12pm ET

Images and Sidebars in LessonBuilder - Monday, January 12
10am PT | 11am MT | 12pm CT | 1pm ET

Contact SoftChalk
22 South Auburn Ave Richmond, VA 23221 l team@softchalk.com l 877-638-2425 (toll free)

Please report any problems to blackboard@vcu.edu.

Thank you,
The Blackboard Team

If unforeseen circumstances cause the system to be down past midnight updates will be posted to the Blackboard system announcement blog at:

http://blog.vcu.edu/blackboard/

Regards,
The Blackboard Team

For further assistance contact:
Technology Services Help Desk Contact Information
Phone: 828-2227
Email: blackboard@vcu.edu
Help ticket: http://www.ts.vcu.edu/helpdesk/
Blackboard FAQ: http://faq.vcu.edu/ts/

Bb Training/Instructional Assistance
http://www.pubinfo.vcu.edu/training/it/search.asp (enter Keyword: Blackboard)
Center for Teaching Excellence - http://www.vcu.edu/cte/

Regards,
The Blackboard Team

Regards,
Blackboard Team

Items covered in this blog entry:
• Blackboard User’s Group meeting Thursday, October 16, 10am-11am, Cabell B-41
• Blackboard Downtime -Sunday, October 26, 8am to 4pm (Note, not usual Bb downtime schedule)

Blackboard User’s Group meeting Thursday, October 16, 10am-11am, Cabell B-41
Please join the Learning Systems group for a Blackboard User's Group meeting on Thursday, October 16 (Monroe Park Campus Reading Day), in Cabell Library B-41 from 10am to 11am. The Learning Systems group will discuss documentation that is available for your use and use of your students. The group would also like to hear your suggestions for additional documentation. If you plan to attend, registration would be appreciated, register at http://www.pubinfo.vcu.edu/training/course_detail.asp?ID=6188 . Registration is not required.

Blackboard downtime – Sunday, October 26, 8am to 4pm (Note, not usual Bb downtime schedule)
The University Computer Center has scheduled Sunday, October 26 from 8am to 4pm to move data to a new storage device. During this move, Blackboard data will be moved to the new storage device. For more details see VCU Planned System Changes (http://www.pubapps.vcu.edu/changes/plannedChange.aspx).

Training Opportunities and Help Links
Center for Teaching Excellence
Learn about sound pedagogical methods and other resources
http://www.vcu.edu/cte/
Blackboard Training – enter Keyword = Blackboard
http://www.pubinfo.vcu.edu/training/

Blackboard FAQ
http://faq.vcu.edu/ts/

Blackboard Known Issues
http://faq.vcu.edu/ts/index.php?action=show&cat=41

Technology Help Desk page
http://www.at.vcu.edu/helpdesk/index.html
Email: blackboard@vcu.edu

Blackboard’s Support for Faculty, Instructors and Designers
(NOTE: this is not a VCU site. We run the Blackboard Academic Suite version 7.3)
http://behind.blackboard.com/s/faculty/

Regards,
Blackboard Team
blackboard@vcu.edu

If unforeseen circumstances cause the system to be down past midnight updates will be posted to the Blackboard system announcement blog at:

http://blog.vcu.edu/blackboard/

Regards,
The Blackboard Team

For further assistance contact:
Technology Services Help Desk Contact Information
Phone: 828-2227
Email: blackboard@vcu.edu
Help ticket: http://www.ts.vcu.edu/helpdesk/
Blackboard FAQ: http://faq.vcu.edu/ts/

Bb Training/Instructional Assistance
http://www.pubinfo.vcu.edu/training/it/search.asp (enter Keyword: Blackboard)
Center for Teaching Excellence - http://www.vcu.edu/cte/

Items covered in this blog entry:
· Wimba Voice Tools and Live Classroom will be upgraded on Friday, September 26
· Bb Regularly Scheduled maintenance – September 12 and September 26
· JournalLX (Bb blog tool) Pilot will end December 2008
· Bb Known Issues – Where to Find?
· News from Center for Teaching Excellence
· Training Opportunities and Help Links

SoftChalk Innovators Series: "Promoting Higher Level Thinking Skills"

Hello,
For professional development purposes, we offer a "Certificate of Attendance". Our Innovovator Webinars are about the pedagogy, not the technology. Next session, on August 27, learn how SoftChalk is used to develop higher level thinking skills. Click here for details.

Other ways to learn about SoftChalk:

* Introductory Demonstrations: Discover the main features of SoftChalk, see examples and ask your questions.
* SoftChalk Short Courses: Join our popular training program on topic-specific one-hour sessions.

Innovators in Online Learning
Promoting Higher Level Thinking Skills:
Using Bloom's Taxonomy with SoftChalk LessonBuilder
Wednesday August 27
11 am Pacific | 2 pm Eastern

In this one hour presentation Lyn Hawks, Coordinator of Independent Learning at Duke University TIP, will show how you can you use SoftChalk to ensure that students are thinking at their highest level. Bloom's Taxonomy is a familiar framework for educators as they help students explore levels of knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, evaluation, and synthesis. Learn how the Duke University Talent Identification Program harnesses LessonBuilder quizzes, activities, and hyperlinks to provide meaningful skill practice and assessment at the highest levels of critical thinking. See examples of elementary, middle, high school, and college level lessons at work. The session ends with a Q&A period. (Space is limited. Please register now for best selection!)
Register Now for this Innovators presentation

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Online Introductory Demonstrations
Want to see how easily a lesson can be built? Each one-hour live online demonstration introduces the key features of SoftChalk. We will view example lessons, and then demonstrate how the lesson content was created using SoftChalk. The session ends with a question and answer period . Register at http://www.softchalk.com/webinar.

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SoftChalk Short Courses
Get specialized detailed training. Each Short Course is a "live" 1-hour training course conducted by a SoftChalk instructor using web conferencing. The course typically includes a presentation and examples, as well as an opportunity to ask questions and receive assistance from the instructor. These Short Courses are free to our Gold Support clients (register from the Help Menu of SoftChalk LessonBuilder) and a small fee for others. Register at http://www.softchalk.com/training.

Register Now for Short Course Training

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Check out our newly updated Quick Tour Videos, Sample Lessons and User Guides on our website today!

Please feel free to forward this digest to any of your colleagues who may have an interest in creating more engaging on-line lessons for their students.

Please contact us with questions or concerns.

The SoftChalk Team
team@softchalk.com
www.softchalk.com
877-638-2425 (toll free USA/Canada)

Items covered in this blog entry:
New Information:
• Bb JumpStart Service started August 1, 2008
• Bb Policies posted on-online
• 2008 Summer courses will be set to Unavailable status the week of September 1
• Bb courses for 2005 Summer, 2005 Fall & 2006 Spring were archived
• Softchalk LessonBuilder upgraded to Version 4
• Bb 7.3 Documentation (new version after May 16, 2008 upgrade)
• Respondus version upgraded and license renewed

Reminders (might be new information if you are first time user):
• Making 2008 Fall courses available to students
• Combining course rosters for Multiple sections or Cross-listed courses
• Download Gradebook from Prior Semester course(s) for your Personal Copy or Upload Grades
• Blackboard Maintenance Schedule (Next date: August 8, 4pm to midnight)
• Wimba Voice tools and LiveClassroom Maintenance Schedule
• Training Opportunities and Help Links

Regards,
The Blackboard Team

For further assistance contact:
Technology Services Help Desk Contact Information
Phone: 828-2227
Email: blackboard@vcu.edu
Help ticket: http://www.ts.vcu.edu/helpdesk/
Blackboard FAQ: http://faq.vcu.edu/ts/

Bb Training/Instructional Assistance
http://www.pubinfo.vcu.edu/training/it/search.asp (enter Keyword: Blackboard)
Center for Teaching Excellence - http://www.vcu.edu/cte/

If unforeseen circumstances cause the system to be down past midnight updates will be posted to the Blackboard system announcement blog at:

http://blog.vcu.edu/blackboard/

Regards,
The Blackboard Team

For further assistance contact:
Technology Services Help Desk Contact Information
Phone: 828-2227
Email: blackboard@vcu.edu
Help ticket: http://www.ts.vcu.edu/helpdesk/
Blackboard FAQ: http://faq.vcu.edu/ts/

Bb Training/Instructional Assistance
http://www.pubinfo.vcu.edu/training/it/search.asp (enter Keyword: Blackboard)
Center for Teaching Excellence - http://www.vcu.edu/cte/