Linking to sharestream library video

The library website now has links to sharestream videos. Here's how to link them to Blackboard:

1. At the library website, click the traditional library catalogue search
   
   
2. Type "sharestream" and whatever you want to search for and click search
   
   



3. Click on the result you want
   
   
4. Click the Persistent Link (at the bottom)
   
   
5. You can either copy the URL if you want to link to the details and let the students launch the video from this details page, or click the video, log in, and copy the video url
   
   
6. Either one can be used as a weblink in Blackboard

New way to use drive in Google hangout (and hangout lite)

There's a new way to use drive in Google hangout and hangout lite (available through Gmail).

1. In a hangout, click chat
2. drive (and choose a document that is already shared to those you're hanging out with)
3. right click on its link and open in a new tab (or window)

Lost special phone ring?

Sometimes the phone ring file gets corrupted, and you only get the default ring.

Here's how to reset it.

1. Click the settings button



2. Choose 4 Security Configuration
3. Choose 5 Trust List
4. Choose 2 ITL File
5. Hit the **# keys
6. Choose unlock
7. Choose erase
8. Wait for reboot
9. Use phone same as before

Mystery: why Google classroom sometimes claims you don't have permission to share a file in About Materials

Google classroom has an "About" section that you can post administrative materials in.

Typically it works just fine, but today I saw on a Mac that with both a Word doc, as well as a Google doc, it gave the following error message when we tried to post it:

Oops! There was a problem attaching a file. Make sure you have permissions to share this file and try again.

There's a Google group forum where people are complaining about this, but so far no solutions. 

By the way, we did try to clear the cache, and no luck, as others who posted after that suggestion also found.

I have not bee able to reproduce this on my Mac.

Blackboard test availability exception makes it look like it's available to the whole class

If a test is no longer available to your class it looks like this:

You can, however allow a student (or a group of students) to be an exception, and take the test at a different date. But still the rest of the class won't be able to see it.

However, at first it will LOOK like it IS available to the whole class since it's not grayed out anymore, and there's no "Availability:Item is no longer available." note underneath it!

It is still unavailable to the rest of the class, and you can see that the rest of the students will not see it if you click the edit mode off.

Notify instructor 2 weeks before deleting old Bb courses

Instructors should be emailed 2 weeks before courses that are 2 years plus a semester are deleted.

1. Ask ITS to email me a csv file containing the usernames of the instructors who will be having a course deleted.
2. In Excel, remove duplicates from the column of email address (not the other columns)
3. Create a Google group named that semester, and if over 1500 people, the batch number.
4. Add 1000 instructors at a time (upto 1500) by direct add All email. They will not get an email about being added to the group. 
5. Emails that have been disabled need to be notified unless their from CE. Search for each in Blackboard courses looking for instructor, and contact their department (canned response "Bb retention dept"). 
6. Copy the group email address in Settings, Email options from the Email footer
   (i.e. 2012x2-instructors.gg@mtroyal.ca)
7. Email to the group the following: (canned response "Bb retention group" in bcc subject: Warning: Spring 2012 Bb site(s) about to be deleted)
   
   You are receiving this email because you are the designated instructor of at least one Blackboard site from the XXXXX semester which will be deleted after 2 weeks from today as part of the course retention policy (see page 64).
   
   If you would like to keep an export backup of the course that can be imported into a new course, please follow this YouTube tutorial:
   
   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVl2TxkvKwk&list=UUYMuSsY55FBCfWec-Qf_bcw
   
   Please contact me (Andrew Reil: email areil@mtroyal.ca, phone 403-440-7002, room T110) if you have any questions or concerns.

Making sure the microphone doesn't also become a speaker.

When using the black mike in a classroom it might try to be both the micorphone (which you want) AND the speaker (which you don't want).

If it becomes the speaker, you will only hear the other side faintly, thinking that you can't hear them at all.

Here's how to fix the situation:

1. Right click the speaker icon in the lower right of the computer and choose playback devices





2. Make the Smart Cart (or room) speakers the default speakers.





3. On the Recording tab, right click the Desktop Aver microphone and disable it





4. Left click on the USB microphone and set it as the default, OK.

Restore an Announcements button

Accidentally delete the announcements button? Here's how to get it back:

Click menu, tool link

Type Announcements and make sure you're on the Announcements Type. Submit.

Move the button to the top.

Signup list

Make a signup list using Google Spreasheets then make it editable by:

Share, advanced

Change private access

on people at MRU, change view to edit, save,

copy the link (to put in your Bb site) and click done

De-group

If you want to remove a Google contact from a group, but not delete the contact:

1. menu
2. contacts
3. go into the group you want to remove people from
4. select the people you want to remove
5. click the group button
6. uncheck this group
7. apply

iPhone Gmail

Making an Exchange account to MRU email in the native iPhone app is now tenuous with the recent iOS upgrade. The best solution is to abandon the native iPhone mail app and use the Gmail app for iPhone.

But, if you still want to use the iPhone app, turn on IMAP by going into Gmail settings, and enabling IMPAP. This will theoretically allow syncing.

If this doesn't work, go to Google sync is supposed to help.