Instructional Technologies Help

First, be sure to check the help sections on the IT Help area for our two learning management sytems (LMS). There are help pages posted for myDU as well as for Blackboard.

If your question is not LMS-related, you might find your answer in the handy Faculty IT Handbook. You can download it PDF format from the IT Help site.

After that, check this area below for some frequently asked questions on the various systems supported. You might also find some useful information in our Teaching Online page, even if your class is not 100 percent online.

myDU
Blackboard
Classroom Response Systems ("CLICKERS")

Dominican currently supports two learning management systems: myDU and Blackboard. One advantage of myDU is that you do not have to request a class be set up for you, and your students will automatically appear on the roster. On the other hand, Blackboard is the industry leader in learning management systems and is well-supported by the publishing industry with ready-made "course cartridges." It also has some built-in journal and blog functions.

If you are confused as to which one to use, check out our publication on Which LMS to Use?

MyDU

There is a comprehensive faculty guide on using the LMS in myDU available from the IT help site. Although the screenshots were taken using last year's interface, the "mechanics" are still the same.

Here are some frequently asked questions on using myDU:

Can I copy already-posted material from one site to another, such as between semesters?

Yes! Simply go to the course site you want to copy material FROM, and click on the Copy Courses link down in the "Quick Links" area over on the left. The following screens should be reasonably self-explanatory. You will not be able to do this, however, until the Office of the Registrar is informed as to which specific courses you are teaching next term.

I want to start building up material for my classes next semester, but don't know how to access them.

To get to a future semester's course site (or as past semester's course site), after logging into myDU click on the Faculty tab. Then, scroll down and you will see a portlet area called All My Courses. Notice that the drop-down menu has a default setting of Current Courses. Simply click on the drop-down menu and select either Past Courses or Future Courses. From the ensuing screen, click on the course name to into the LMS site for that class.

I am baffled by the Gradebook. Where do I even start?!?

If you grade strictly by points, you can likely safely just follow the prompts to set up a basic gradebook. And yes, your students will see whatever you input into that gradebook. If you want to do weighted grades or not  allow students to access it, you want to consult our PDF documentation on using myDU that is available via the IT Help site.

Can students submit assignments electronically into my course site on myDU?

Yes! This is done through the Coursework menu item. And, even better, the scores get automatically added into the Gradebook. If you don't want to read through how to do this using the documentation cited above, you more visually oriented people may be delighted to know that we have posted not one, but two videos on this very topic on IT's help page. Check the portlet called myDU Flash Tutorials for Faculty. There is also one that shows you the students' perspective in the same area.

Blackboard

Before using Blackboard for the first time, you should strongly consider signing up for one of our Teaching Training Workshops. We offer various Blackboard workshops throughout the semester.

Also, be sure to check the various documents, Flash videos, and more posted on the IT Help site on Blackboard.

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Here are some frequently asked questions regarding Blackboard.

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How do I login?

If this is your first time accessing Blackboard, login using your Dominican network user name as your user name (everything before the "@" sign in your email address) and your faculty ID number as your initial password. Still no luck? You may not have an account. Check with the IT Help Desk.

Where are my classes?

Classes are not created automatically on Blackboard, since there is no tie-in between Blackboard and our registration system. You must request a class site be created by submitting an IT Help Desk ticket. Be sure to specify the course number, section, and course name. Also, if you taught the class on Blackboard before, be sure to indicate whether you want the contents copied over from a previous semester to this one. (Note: this can only be done for Blackboard sites. You can NOT copy between the two systems of myDU and Blackboard.)

Why aren't my students enrolled in the class?

Students must self-enroll into their Blackboard sites, as there is no tie-in between our registration system and Blackboard. Fortunately, we have a Flash video posted for students on how they can do this on the IT Help site in the Blackboard 9 Information for Students portlet, in the area called Flash Tutorials.

Why isn't anything working? I can't start a Discussion Board and the Grade Center doesn't load properly!

This latest version of Blackboard is extremely dependent on having the latest version of Java loaded on your machine. And not just any Java—the Java for the browser that you are using! Go to the Java website and click the link for Do I Have Java? and then follow the prompts from there. Also, be sure your web browser is compatible with Blackboard! There is a listing of compatible web browsers on the IT Help page for Blackboard.

Can students submit their assignments to me directly online via Blackboard?

Yes! This is done through using the Assignments feature. And, even better, the scores get automatically added into the Gradebook. We have two Flash-based videos posted on how to this on the IT Help page for Blackboard. Just scroll down to the portlet called Blackboard Flash Tutorials for Faculty and look for the two on posting assignments in Blackboard.

Classroom Response Systems ("CLICKERS")

The Dominican IT department has two sets of 25 classroom response systems available for lending out. You will also have to request to have the Turning Technologies software loaded onto your office PC as well as the classroom PC you are using.

Are students required to purchase clickers?

No. That's one reason why we have a couple of sets for faculty members to borrow and distribute in class.  Although it's much easier to grade class participation with purchased clickers, since you can tie each clicker number to a specific student (which you can still do with a borrowed set, though it's a bit more cumbersome), research has shown that students tend to not like it when they have to buy one for a class.

Is there documentation available on using them?

Yes, we have a brief 5-page guide in Adobe Acrobat format.

How can I incorporate clickers in my class?

There are a lot of suggestions on the web for this. Check our page of Outside Resources for some good links.