News

What is the "analog sunset" and how does it impact classroom technology?

The "analog sunset" is the broad term being used to describe the transition to digital display technologies that is currently ongoing within the electronics industry. As the analog sunset progresses, new electronic devices will no longer be able to interface with older analog devices and vice-versa. In addition, most of the major PC manufacturers have announced that beginning in 2013, they will be removing VGA entirely from their computers.

Did you know that manufacturers are no longer making VCRs? Although many technology classrooms include the ability to play a VHS tape, the format is now a legacy technology. Find out what you can do today to preserve your media and ensure you can play your content tomorrow.

Enjoy your summer by taking something off your Fall to-do list now. Sign-up today for bCourses and request a Webcast-capable classroom from your schedulers.

Recently, users have experienced problems using the Web Content tool in bSpace (ie. linked pages show up blank). The reason for this is due to changes in default web browser security settings. We recommend using the steps outlined here, to make sure your students can view those links.

In Spring 2014, campus will begin the transition to bCourses, Berkeley's new Learning Management System (LMS) powered by Canvas.  For more information, go to: http://ets.berkeley.edu/bcourses

Phasing out Overhead Transparency Projectors

Starting in Spring 2014, ETS will no longer provide overhead transparancy projection equipment for loan and in general assignment classrooms. If you are planning on displaying transparancies, you do have a couple of options.

As Fall semester gets underway, we'd like all of our users to review this list of tips and answers to commonly asked questions. Doing so might very well address your question and save you time. Thank you.

 Important updates for all our users

 In order to improve the stability and performance of bSpace, ETS updated it this summer to the 2.9 version of Sakai. This article describes the key changes brought with this update. Be sure to review this before you start developing your course site.

In order to ensure bSpace's stability for the next two years and to take advantage of new features developed by the Sakai community, ETS recently completed an update to bSpace. This update to Sakai 2.9 is part of a two-year project currently underway, aimed at improving the teaching and learning capabilities of the campus' LMS. You can read more about the LMS project here.

With its Summer 2013 pilot well underway, ETS is engaged in evaluating the Canvas LMS from a variety of perspectives and with input from many key campus stakeholders. 

On July 8th, ETS will update bSpace in order to ensure its stability for the next two years and to take advantage of new features developed by the Sakai community. This update to Sakai 2.9 is part of a larger project currently underway, aimed at improving the teaching and learning capabilities of the campus' LMS. You can read more about the LMS project here. Even as we determine which new LMS we'll use and what the rollout plan for the campus will be, ETS will make sure that bSpace remains reliable and useful for our 45,000 users.

In late May, ETS kicked off its Summer Canvas pilot with three instructors from the Law School, and Art History and Sociology, who bring a diverse set of needs to the Canvas platform. The purpose of the pilot, which is part of the larger LMS replacement project, is to determine whether the Canvas LMS can meet our criteria for replacing bSpace and for meeting the teaching needs of the campus. This pilot includes a total of five departments and about 300 students.

Based on considerable feedback from our user community about the limitations of bSpace (powered by Sakai), ETS has undertaken an effort to find a Learning Management System (LMS) better suited to Berkeley faculty and student needs. We have a set of key requirements, derived from our user conversations and from studying the LMS landscape at our peer institutions, that better address the current and projected needs and have determined that the Canvas product from Instructure looks like the most promising option for the Berkeley community moving forward.

Throughout the semester, students may be presenting materials or projects in class. To help facilitate this activity, here are some pointers that may help the technology run smoothly and efficiently.

In the Fall of 2012 ETS participated in an eText pilot sponsored by the Office of the CIO, in conjunction with Educause and Internet2, to evaluate the value and use of eContent in UC Berkeley courses. McGrawHill provided the eTextbooks for students and Courseload provided the software used to access them. 14 courses and 11 different faculty participated in the pilot from a range of disciplines including college writing, business, engineering, math, history, and statistics. Over 650 students in participating courses were given the eText for free for the semester.

Berkeley’s new Instructional Design and Faculty Support (IDFS) group is a community of practice on campus that brings together instructional designers and faculty support staff who share common interests and strategies for addressing professional opportunities.*  The group currently includes staff from ETS, the Law School, the Library, the Center for Teaching and Learning, EECS, and the Student Learning Center.

Since November, we have met monthly to get acquainted, brainstorm topics of interest and to delve deep into a topic that we all want to learn more about.

ETS staff have received a steady stream of questions about Canvas, CalCentral and the longevity of bSpace.We'd like to answer a few of those questions here.

What is Canvas?

Instructure’s Canvas is a Learning Management System (LMS) that ETS plans to pilot later this Spring and Summer. We see it as the eventual successor to bSpace course sites.