Continuous Delivery Updates for February 2021

Instructors Only

Dropbox – Save Progress and Visual Enhancements

The Save button in the new Dropbox creation experience enables an instructor to save their progress while creating or editing a folder. Previously, Save and Close was the only option.

The scrollbars on the main and right-hand panels now appear thinner and less noticeable, providing more vertical space when creating or editing a folder.

The name of the folder appears in the immersive navbar along the top of the page.

The name of the Dropbox folder on the immersive navbar and the less obtrusive scrollbar in the new Dropbox creation experience
Figure: The name of the Dropbox folder on the immersive navbar and the less obtrusive scrollbar in the new Dropbox creation experience

Brightspace Pulse – Course access events added to Brightspace Data Platform

To allow administrators and instructors to see when learners access courses from Brightspace Pulse, the app now sends course access events to the Brightspace Data Platform (BDP). The BDP stores these events, and then computes and stores the aggregated data, which can then be accessed through various course reporting tools, such as Classlist, Class Progress, Engagement Dashboard, and the Course Overview widget. For example, in Classlist, the Last Accessed column now displays a timestamp when a learner accesses a course from Brightspace Pulse.

Grades – Additional features for Mastery view of the grade book

The first time you use the Mastery View table page, a message appears under the page title indicating the default calculation method for the data in the view and provides a link to the Settings page, where you can change the calculation method.

If you change the calculation method after evaluation data has been collected, a warning message appears to indicate that the evaluations must be recalculated according to the newly selected method.  Any prior evaluations with manual overrides or feedback are not affected by changing calculation methods. If outcome overall achievements are already published, recalculations for the newly selected method are also immediately visible to learners.

When viewing the Outcomes Progress Evidence page from a mobile device, the evidence appears in a responsive display format for the smaller screen. 

Quick Eval – Homepage widget

Quick Eval can now be added to course homepages as a widget to allow instructors to view and access any submissions awaiting evaluation. The Quick Eval widget displays a list of up to six activities with submissions to evaluate. The activities are sorted by due date, with the earliest date first. The icon indicator in the widget shows the type of activity (dropbox, discussion, or quiz), and the number of unevaluated submissions for each activity. The due date and course information are also visible below the title of each activity.

The Quick Eval widget displaying unevaluated activities
Figure: The Quick Eval widget displaying unevaluated activities

Rubrics – Warning dialog for partial evaluations

Previously, if an instructor attempted to publish a partially completed rubric evaluation, the partial evaluation dialog appeared. If the instructor tapped Enter on their keyboard, the partial evaluation was published. 
Now, the default button behavior has changed so that tapping Enter on the page returns the user to the rubric to complete the evaluation. This change adds a verification layer to reconsider their action and ensure that instructors are not mistakenly publishing incomplete evaluations. 

The partial evaluation warning dialog appears the same, but has updated default behavior.
Figure: The partial evaluation warning dialog appears the same, but has updated default behavior.

Respondus – New Live Proctoring Feature

Earlier this month, the Respondus Live proctoring feature was released to instructors.

This feature leverages a video conferencing system (Zoom, MS Teams, etc.) and allows instructors to proctor students in real-time during online exams, tests, and quizzes.

This feature is intended for small classes where an instructor can view all students on the screen at once.

For more information on this new feature as well as instructions on how to enable it, please see the Live Remote Invigilation of CourseLink Quizzes with Respondus LockDown Browser section of the Tips for Live Remote Invigilation with Zoom or Teams page on OpenEd’s Remote Teaching & Learning website.

Zoom – Live Transcription (Closed Captioning) Service

Earlier this month, the Zoom Live Transcription Service was released.

The Live Transcription (closed captioning) service is available for Educational/Pro account holders. This service automatically captions speakers in Zoom meetings, adding their text to the bottom of the meeting window, as well as making a live transcript available in its own panel.

Visit the Zoom: Live Transcription Service page for details on configuration and setup options.

Contact

If you have any questions about the updates, please contact CourseLink Support at:

courselink@uoguelph.ca
519-824-4120 ext. 56939