Tip #7: Outlook: Using the To-Do Bar

In Office 2007, Outlook has improved organization by adding the To-Do Bar. This gives an overview of tasks, appointments, and flagged emails to make follow up more convenient.
The To-Do Bar can be customized to personal preference. The To-Do Bar can be minimized so that it is still available when needed, but increase the screen view for email.

Adding items to the To-Do Bar
Any items on your calendar are automatically listed for the day on the To-Do Bar.
There are two ways to add an e-mail item to the To-Do Bar:
Method 1: Drag the e-mail from your Inbox to the To-Do Bar
Method 2: “Flag” the item for followup by clicking the grey flag on the e-mail. Any flagged items will be listed on your to-do bar.


Marking an item as complete on the To-Do Bar
Calendar items are removed once the scheduled end time is reached.
There are two ways to add an e-mail item to the To-Do Bar:
Method 1: Drag the e-mail from your Inbox to the To-Do Bar
Method 2: “Flag” the item for followup by clicking the grey flag on the e-mail. Any flagged items will be listed on your to-do bar.


Customizing the To-Do Bar View
To change the To-Do Bar view, navigate to the view menu at the top of your Outlook screen and select To-Do Bar. From here you can select if you want to view the To-Do Bar as Normal, Minimized or Off.

Tip #35: Web Browsers & Java affect your Blackboard experience

Tip: Web browsers and Java affect your Blackboard experience

Here’s how to do it:
As with all programs, web browsers differ in how they work with Blackboard. Often issues that arise for users can be overcome by trying a different web browser.

The three major web browsers used are Internet Explorer (primarily on PC’s), Safari (primarily on Macs) and Mozilla Firefox.

When browsers provide newer versions, it’s considered good practice to wait until it has been released for a while before updating. This wait ensures that programs working inside the browser (like Blackboard!) will have found any potential incompatibilities and update as well.

If you’re experiencing difficulties, try downloading an alternate browser and see if the issue continues. Firefox 2.0, the most compatible version of Firefox with Blackboard, can be downloaded at http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/all-older.html

It might not be just your web browser
Blackboard depends on the use of an internet plug-in, Java. Having an up-to-date version of Java will enhance your Blackboard experience. The most current version of Java is Version 6 update 7. There are several methods of checking your java version but the Java website will do a quick check for you and display the version. You can test if Java is working and check your version of Java by going to: http://www.java.com/en/download/help/testvm.xml?ff3
If you notice Blackboard issues and you’re running an older version of Java, you might consider updating your Java version. The Java website provides free downloads of its latest version at: http://www.java.com/en/download/

When this still doesn’t help
Call the helpdesk for assistance! Be prepared to tell them what browsers you’ve tried things in and which version of Java you’re running. This will help those troubleshooting quickly identify any problem areas or trends in issues being reported.

TIp #6: Minimizing the Office Ribbon

The Ribbon is the top navigation bar in Office 2007. It is designed to help you quickly find the commands that you need to complete a task. Commands are organized in logical groups that are collected together under tabs. Each tab relates to a type of activity, such as writing or laying out a page. To reduce screen clutter, some tabs are shown only when they are needed.

Minimize the Ribbon for a Short Time
To quickly minimize the Ribbon, double-click the name of the active tab. Double-click a tab again to restore the Ribbon.

Always Keep the Ribbon Minimized
1. Click the Customize Quick Access Toolbar icon at the top of your screen .
2. In the list, click Minimize the Ribbon.
3. To use the Ribbon while it is minimized, click the tab and all options for that tab will appear.

Restoring the Ribbon
1. Click the Customize Quick Access Toolbar icon.
2. In the list, uncheck Minimize the Ribbon.

Keyboard shortcut: To minimize or restore the Ribbon, press CTRL+F1.
Tip: You can still use the keyboard shortcuts while the Ribbon is minimized.

Tip #34: Adding a Course Banner

Tip: You can add a banner to your course.

Here’s how to do it:
A course banner is an image that appears at the top of the Announcements page of your course. To add a banner to your course, navigate to the Control Panel. Click Course Design and then click Course Banner.

Click the Browse button to locate the desired image on your computer. Select the desired image file and click Open. Click Submit to upload the image as your course banner. NOTE: You must upload image files in .jpeg or .gif formats. Blackboard does not recognize other image formats.

Cautions when adding course banners:
Some course banners may create accessibility issues for course users. To avoid these issues, we recommend the following guidelines for course banners:

• Avoid uploading banners that contain moving images. Moving images may increase students’ page loading time and may interfere with students’ browsers.
• Avoid using large images. Keep images within 500 x 500 megapixels.
• Avoid uploading image files that are too large. The file size for any image uploaded to Blackboard should be no larger than 5 MB.

Tip #5: Saving documents in PDF format

PDF is a file format that preserves document formatting and enables file sharing. The PDF format ensures that when the file is viewed online or printed, it retains exactly the format intended, and that data in the file cannot easily be changed. PDF files can be read on any operating system making it a preferred choice for file sharing.

Office 2007 has the capability to save documents in PDF format.

Saving documents to PDF Format
Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Access documents can be saved in PDF format by following these steps:
1. Click the Microsoft Office Button, point to the arrow next to Save As, and then click PDF.
2. In the File Name list, type a name for the document.
3. If you want to open the file immediately after saving it, select the Open file after publishing check box.
4. Click Options to set the page range or other output options Click OK.
5. Click Publish.

Reading Documents in PDF Format
Most computers have the Adobe Acrobat reader application installed, allowing you to read PDF files. If however you are unable to open a PDF file, the free Adobe Acrobat Reader can be downloaded from:
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html

Tip #33: Helping students troubleshoot

Tip: You can help students to troubleshoot their Blackboard issues.

Here’s how to do it:
Consider posting a series of technical tips in Blackboard for your students. You might consider adding these tips to a Technical Support discussion board, allowing students and teaching assistants the chance to share concerns and solutions.

Students can follow a series of steps or procedures to troubleshoot their Blackboard issues. We recommend the following troubleshooting steps:

1. Log out of Blackboard and shutdown the computer. Restart the computer and re-log into Blackboard. Some issues may only require logging out and logging back in to Blackboard.
2. Clear out your browser cache. If you use Internet Explorer as your browser, click the Tools menu option on your browser. Click Internet Options and select the option to delete your browsing history, temporary files, and cookies. Click OK. Close the browser entirely and re-start the browser. Log in to Blackboard.
3. Try using another browser. Some issues may be caused by browser errors or incompatibility. Consider using another browser, such as Firefox or Safari (Mac users), to see if the issue persists in multiple browsers.
4. Try using another computer at a different location. Some problems that you experience may actually be related to your personal computer or to your Internet Service Provider (ISP). Make sure that the problem is occurring in more than one location and on one computer.
5. Turn off pop-up blockers while using Blackboard. Remember to enable them again once you’re done with Blackboard.
6. Check the Known Issues website to see if the issue you are having is a known issue. This webpage describes fixes or work-around for several known issues in Blackboard. http://www.twu.edu/blackboard/known_issues.asp

What to do if none of the troubleshooting steps work:
If the students’ issues persist after they have tried the troubleshooting steps, ask them to contact the TWU Help Desk. The Help Desk is available via phone, 940-898-9371 or via email, helpdesk@twu.edu. They also have a chat room in which students and faculty can discuss their Blackboard issues with Help Desk personnel. Students should be able to tell Help Desk their course information, instructor information, any troubleshooting steps they have tried, and as much detail as possible about what they do when the problem occurs, including any error message numbers.

Tip #4: Making Documents Compatible with Office 2003

With the introduction of Microsoft Office 2007, new file types were also introduced. All files created with Office 2007 now end with an “x” at the end of the filename.

Users of Office 2003 may not be able to open Office 2007 files. However, you can save your documents in “Compatibility Mode” ensuring that those using previous versions of Office can open your document.

How to save in Compatibility Mode:
1. Click the Office Button
2. Hover the Mouse pointer over Save As
3. Select Word 97-03 Document (or Excel 97-03 Document, PowerPoint 97-03 Document, or Access 97-03 Document)
4. Enter the filename and click Save.

NOTE: Some of the elements in Microsoft Office 2007 are not available in previous versions of Office. Office will display these elements as images. Users opening the document in earlier versions of office will be able to view these elements, but they will not be able to edit them. When saving a document in Compatibility mode, Office will let you know which elements will not be able to be edited.

Tip #32: Contingency Planning

Tip: You can create a contingency plan and develop back-up procedures for your Blackboard course.

Here’s how to do it:
Because of the volatile nature of technology, it is advisable that instructors who use Blackboard develop contingency plans and back-up procedures. Blackboard has several features that can assist instructors with this. We recommend that faculty consider the following procedures:

• Archive your course periodically. Archiving a course allows you to save course content and user data to your computer or an external drive.
• Use the Gradebook Export feature to save a copy of your Gradebook to your computer. We recommend that instructors export their Gradebooks at least once a week. For instructions on exporting your Gradebook, view the Blackboard Tip #18.
• Develop and communicate to students a back-up plan in case Blackboard is not accessible.

Considerations for contingency plans:
When creating your contingency plan, consider the following questions:

• What are TWU’s policies regarding contingency plans?
• Does your department recommend or require any specific contingency procedures?
• Do you have multiple methods by which you can communicate with students in case of an emergency (e.g., email + phone + emergency website)?
• Will you be flexible with the course calendar and due dates if necessary?
• What contingency recommendations will you make to students (e.g., print your course syllabus, keep back-ups of all files submitted to Blackboard)?
• What back-up spaces could you use to continue your course if access to Blackboard or to the TWU campus was not possible?