DRAFT
1/6 Task for Dao – describe how to work with tables (under Lectures)
MET e-Live Course Development
Process
January 2009
MET e-Live Course Development Process
Table of Contents
Introduction
Section 1.
1.1
Section 2.
4
High Level Development Process Overview
Roles and Responsibilities
EL Course Development Process - Step By Step
5
5
10
2.1
Obtaining Course Offering Schedule
10
2.2
Determining Course Development Category
10
2.3
Update Project Plans and EL Rolling Schedule
11
2.4
Vista Course Setup Procedure
11
2.5
Review Course Materials
13
2.6
Development Environment Setup
14
2.7
Content Development and Revision
14
2.7.1
New EL Course Development
15
2.7.2
Major EL Course Revisions and Merges
16
2.7.3
EL Course Conversions/Updates
17
2.8
Course Elements and Editorial Checklist
17
2.8.1
General EL Changes for All Elements
18
2.8.2
Syllabus
18
2.8.3
Lectures
18
2.8.4
Discussions
20
2.8.5
Assignments and Final Project
21
2.8.6
Assessments (Quizzes) and Final Exam
22
2.8.7
Course Front Page
23
2.8.8
Calendar
23
2.8.9
Grade Book
24
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2.8.10
Video Clips
24
2.8.11
Online Library Resources
24
2.8.12
Faculty Resources
24
2.8.13
Real Time Collaboration Tools
25
2.9
Faculty Orientation
25
2.10
Backups
26
2.11
Quality Assurance
26
2.12
Development Phase Closure
27
2.13
Simultaneous Content Development and Updates
27
Section 3.
Templates and Detailed Procedures
28
3.1
Email Template “Initial Editor Introduction”
28
3.2
Adding new assessment using Respondus®
29
3.3
Faculty Feedback Form for EL Courses
30
3.4
Email Template “Ending Development Phase”
33
3.5
Contract Management Process for New EL Courses and Revisions
34
3.6
Copyright Policy for EL Courses
35
3.7
Procedure to Set Up EL Development Workstation
37
3.8
Student Course Development Affidavit Form
40
3.9
Technology Choice for Virtual Meetings and Office Hours REVIEW
41
3.10
Meeting with the Instructor REVIEW
42
3.11
Video Recording Procedures Dao to add
43
3.11.1
Recording with Video Camera
43
3.11.2
Recording with Echo 360
43
3.11.3
Recording with Camtasia Studio
43
3.12
Vista Bugs and Methods to Get Around Them
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3.13
Section 4.
4.1
Faculty Orientation Agenda
Infrequently Used and Obsolete Procedures
Tracking Changes Using Paper Copies
45
47
47
Introduction
During Fall 2008, Metropolitan College introduced new blended course format (eLive). Typically e-Live (EL) courses are 14-week courses combining classroom
session with online education. To manage online activities, e-Live courses use Vista
management system – same system that is used for MET Distance Education (DE)
courses. Unlike EL courses, DE courses, while covering the same material, run in an
intense 7-week format.
This document addresses procedures for developing online content for blended
courses. The goal of this document is to standardize and streamline e-Live course
development processes at MET, encourage best practices, provide detailed guidance
on course editors, and simplify conversions of online content between different
delivery formats.
EL development process is managed by EL Development Manager (see “Roles and
Responsibilities” below).
From the online content availability perspective, EL courses fall into the following
categories:

Courses with no pre-existing online content

Courses with pre-existing online content that requires significant revision

Courses with pre-existing DE content

Courses with pre-existing EL content
This document focuses on online content development tasks that are grouped in
Planning and Production phases. A separate document covers administrative and
support procedures that address EL course delivery (consisting of Pre-Launch and
delivery phases). Unlike development tasks that are tied to course development
schedule, administrative tasks are tied to specific course delivery dates.
Most of the time in this document we assume that content development work is
completed before the course start date. However, to help faculty in their efforts to
maintain course content as current as possible, e-Live support team will attempt to
accommodate requests for content changes during while courses are being taught.
The “simultaneous development” work will be coordinated ad-hoc based on
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MET e-Live Course Development Process
availability of resources.
This document is composed of four sections:

Section 1 describes high-level course development process, and EL development
team’s roles and responsibilities.

Section 2 contains step-by-step description of EL development process.

Section 3 contains forms and templates used in the development process.

Section 4 is an archive containing obsolete and rarely used procedures
Section 1. High Level Development Process Overview
1.1
Roles and Responsibilities
EL Program Manager – responsible for overall online content development and
delivery of EL courses. Supervises EL Development Manager and EL Administrator.
EL Development Manager – responsible for managing all online content
development efforts for EL courses, maintaining new course development template
and student orientation course. Supervises EL Editors and EL Proofreaders.
Manages enrollments for development team.
EL Administrator – responsible for smooth delivery of EL courses, including training
and support for students and faculty.
EL Editor – responsible for developing/revising online content and working with
course instructors to prepare courses for blended delivery.
EL Development Coach – experienced EL Editor assisting new editors.
EL Proofreader – responsible for quality assurance and proofreading of e-Live
courses prior to scheduled delivery.
EL Technologist – supports educational technologies used in EL courses. Assists EL
Editors and EL Administrators with technology-related needs.
BU Courseware Support – service provided by NIS and external providers to
support students and faculty with technical issues (PC, networking) related to using
course management systems. BU Courseware support can be contacted by email
(webcourseware@bu.edu); additional contact information is available on Vista home
page (vista@bu.edu).
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Note: some of the roles mentioned above are filled by student employees. Student
employees will be trained before granting them access to systems. Student
employees involved in EL course development and/or administration have to sign an
affidavit that requires disclosure to faculty when taking particular courses that they
were developing/supporting (see form in Section III).
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Table 1. E-Live Course Development Process
Process Step
Responsibility
References
Planning Phase
1. Obtain course schedules from Academic
Departments. For each course, continue with
the next steps.
EL Program
Manager
2. Determine Course Development Type and
assign Course Development team
EL Program
Manager
EL Development
Manager
3. Setup Course in Vista following and perform
the necessary enrollments for development team
and Instructors. Request WebDAV privileges for
new editors
EL Program
Manager
4. Update Project Plans and EL Rolling Schedule
EL Program
Manager
EL Course Setup
Procedure
Development Phase (For Each Course)
5. Review Course Materials

Review course materials.

Create course development schedule (project plan).
6. Development Environment Setup

Prepare Development workstation and setup a local
course copy using Dreamweaver.
EL Editor
EL Editor
Setting Up
Development
Workstation
7. Content Development and Revision
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Process Step
Responsibility
References
7.1. New Courses
EL Editor
Initial Editor
Introduction
7.2. Major Revisions and Merges
EL Editor
Initial Editor
Introduction
7.3. Conversions and Updates
EL Editor
Initial Editor
Introduction

Collect all necessary templates, fill out course
information, and create a new course development
package to send to the Instructor (Course Author).

Use “Initial Editor Introduction” email template to send
the package. Schedule a face to face meeting if
appropriate.

For new instructors: identify training needs and
arrange training, review copyright policy.

Review technology choices, including collaboration
technologies for virtual meetings and office hours, with
Instructor

Follow the course development schedule to
incorporate provided content into a Vista course.

Notify Instructors using the “Initial Editor Introduction”
template for corresponding development category.

Identify Instructor training needs. For new instructors –
offer Vista training. Review technology choices,
including collaboration technologies for virtual
meetings and office hours, with Instructor.

Notify EL Delivery Services of Instructor training needs

Make the necessary updates related to schedules, due
dates, course format, student groups, conditional
releases, etc. Document all updates that have to be
made and/or reviewed by the instructor.

Request faculty feedback.

Incorporate Instructor’s feedback. If no feedback was
provided - send second request (?).

Send QA request to EL Proofreader.
8. Editorial Checklist
Editorial Checklist
Getting Faculty
Feedback
Closing
Development
Phase
EL Editor
Editorial Checklist serves a reference for common
configurations related to specific Vista elements.
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MET e-Live Course Development Process
Process Step
Responsibility
9. Faculty Training
EL Administrator

Offer Vista or other technology training for faculty as
appropriate (optional).

Update EL Editor on progress.
10. Backups
EL Editor
11. Quality Assurance
EL Proofreader

EL Editor
Proofread all online course materials and make
necessary changes.
12. Final Configuration Check

Verify Vista section parameters (SourcedId, start date,
etc.).

Backup course
13. Development Phase Closure

Review course and get instructor’s sign off. Send an
Email on Ending the course Development Process.
Inquire if Instructor is planning to make any content
changes while teaching the course.

Mention that EL Administrator will get in touch
approximately one week before the course start date.

Update project plan, course status, notify EL
Administrator about completion of the development
phase.
References
EL Program
Manager
EL Editor
End of
Development
Notification to
Faculty
Simultaneous Content Development and Updates
14. To assist faculty in their efforts to maintain
course content as current as possible, e-Live
support team will attempt to accommodate
requests for content changes to running
courses. The “simultaneous development” work
will be coordinated ad-hoc based on availability
of resources.
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EL Editor
EL Administrator
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MET e-Live Course Development Process
Section 2. EL Course Development Process - Step By Step
2.1
Obtaining Course Offering Schedule
All EL courses, including online content requirements, are defined in the Detailed
Scheduling Sheet maintained by MET’s Academic Services team (Kim). Detailed
Sheets are issued in January for Summer and Fall semesters, August for Spring.
Instructors are assigned in the Staffing Sheet that is issued two weeks after the
Detailed Sheet.
After Staffing Sheet is completed, work with the Instructor to determine course
development category and what content should be leveraged (see below).
2.2
Determining Course Development Category
Together with Academic Departments, determine course development category as
described below:
“New Course” - Building a new EL course from a New EL Course template.
This category requires a Course Development Contract (see Section 3) with the
course author defining scope of work, intellectual property rights, dates, remuneration,
etc.
“Revision” - Significantly revising existing online courses with new content.
This category typically requires a Course Revision Contract (see Section 3) with the
course author. Unlike new courses, revisions are based on a previous course
template. If the previous template is not EL, this category also involves all actions
described in Category 3 below.
“Revision/Conversion” - Converting a course from DE to EL.
This typically involves changing format form 7 to 14 weeks, eliminating references to
online facilitators, modifying discussion groups, changing activity dates, instructors,
etc.
“Revision/Update” - Updating previously offered EL course
This category typically involves changing only activity dates and possibly instructors
Note: this document does not address reverse conversions/updates from EL to DE
courses.
Assign Course Editor (and Development Coach for new editors).
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MET e-Live Course Development Process
Provide Development Team with the following information:
Course name and number, semester course will be offered
Development category
Instructor(s) name and contact information
Other relevant information
Add course to E-Live Course Database.
For Categories 1 and 2, contact Instructor to explain the new course development or
major course revision process and requirements for Vista-based online content
development. Detailed new development process, including contract management, is
described below. If Instructor cannot meet requirements of Vista-based development
process, they will be directed to CourseInfo website that explains how to request a
new course in CourseInfo system. At this time, EL team does not support CourseInfobased courses.
For categories 3 and 4, determine with the Instructor or Academic Department
course number and semester to leverage (see the corresponding detailed section
below).
2.3
Update Project Plans and EL Rolling Schedule
EL Rolling Schedule and Course List are stored at met-research.bu.edu, e-Live
section. Rolling Schedule is displayed using Excel Services for SharePoint (download
spreadsheet, update locally and upload). Course List can be updated online.
2.4
Vista Course Setup Procedure
Note: The following steps require Administrative access to Vista and are typically
performed by EL Program Manager. They can be also performed by BU Courseware
Support (send detailed email to webcourseware@bu.edu).
For new courses and EL to EL updates, follow procedure below. For DE to EL
conversions, before continuing, send a request to BU Courseware Support
(webcourseware@bu.edu) specifying which online course content to copy to EL
space (course number and semester). EL team currently does not have direct
access to DE courses. BU Courseware Support will create a copy of a previously
offered DE section.
New EL courses will use Vista New EL Course template. This template has been
developed and is maintained by e-Live support team.
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MET e-Live Course Development Process
1. Create new course in Vista :
Title format:
2008 Spring MET CS 625
Category format:
2008 Spring Blended
2. In the new course, create a new section and enter the following:
Title:
Section EL
Under Assign Content, use “Copy content from another section” and choose
appropriate section (previous EL section, copied DE section, or new EL course
template).
Enter Start/End Date and Time. Typically EL sections use start on the first day of
the semester at 8 am, and end dates 2 days after semester ends at 12 pm.
Sections are not visible to students outside of these dates, but are available for
instructors and designers. Note: course start date is always the semester start
date, not the first meeting date.
Term: Choose “YYYY Semester” (will be typically visible in “My Vista” three
months after semester ends).
IMS Field Sourcedid.id : for automatic roster synchronization this field should have
the following format (all lowercase letters):
[year][semester][school][dept][number][section]
Examples:
09sprgmettm648_el
09fallmettm648_el
09sum1mettm648sel
09sum2metcs625sel
(spring)
(fall)
(summer 1, replace “_” with “s”)
(summer 2 and summer 12-week)
3. Enroll Development Team as follows:
Instructor
<Faculty>
(primary)
<Editor>
[<Coach>]*
EL Manager
Designer
TA
<Support>
Student
Auditor
<EL Dev.
Manager>
<Editor>
[<Coach>]*
EL Manager
Assoc. Dean
(Zlateva)
* "Coach" is an optional role, assigned for new Editors
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4. For instructors with no Vista experience - Enroll Instructor to Demo course as
Instructor and Student Orientation course as Student.
5. Request WebDAV access for new editors by sending request to BU Courseware
Support (webcourseware@bu.edu).
6. Enroll new Editors in “Test” (Instructor/Designer) and “e-Live Template” (Auditor)
sections for testing and reference.
7. Have all student employees sign Non-Disclosure Affidavit.
Note for Future Use: Course development can be performed using course
templates. Templates make sense when a large course is split in several identical
sections. However, template-based development increases complexity and training
requirements. EL courses always contain one section, and all development steps are
currently performed directly on course sections.
The following procedure is referenced for potential future use only.
Prerequisites: a master template exists for the subject area.
Create course template from Master template:
• Under Content Manager tab ->Template Manager, Hybrid Master
• Template, v CopyName convention: e.g. CS599HB2008Spring00
• CHECK "FULLY COPY"
• Make it Public
• Place it under the corresponding course.
• Give permission to course editor to the course template
• Make all changes in the template as necessary
• Assign course template to the HB section
• In Admin Tab
• Find the course/section
• Edit section properties
• Assign template
2.5
Review Course Materials
Login to Vista and verify you have Instructor and Designer access to the course you
will be working on (you should see Teach and Build tabs).
From the development perspective, there are two types of changes made to EL
courses. The first type of changes is related to Vista course management system
configurations (e.g. due dates, discussion topics, etc.). These changes are performed
directly in Vista (Build and Teach tabs). The second type of changes is related to
online course materials (e.g. lecture content pages). These changes are typically
made using Dreamweaver – a web development application that supports offline
content development and synchronization with online Vista courses.
Note: This document does not describe web page development with Dreamweaver.
Editors should have at least basic knowledge of Dreamweaver-based web
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development, including proper use of style sheets.
2.6
Development Environment Setup
The standard content development process involves downloading existing Vista
content to development workstation using Dreamweaver WebDAV interface, making
the necessary changes locally with Dreamweaver, uploading new content to Vista,
and verifying new content by accessing Vista with a browser.
Connect to the course from development workstation using Dreamweaver/WebDAV
and create a local copy. Detailed instructions on setting up a new development
workstation are available in Section 3
Note: Vista has some bugs, and we have found some ways to get around them. See Vista
Bugs and Methods to Get Around Them in Section 3.
2.7
Content Development and Revision
General Notes
To offer best choices, MET often offers same courses in different formats (including
seven week online and fourteen week blended formats). Same courses can also be
offered at different dates, by different instructors, with or without teaching
assistants/facilitators, in one or several sections. This typically requires changes in
course online content, as well as configuration changes in Vista course management
system. When developing and revising Vista content, please keep this in mind, and
try to make content format-neutral, instructor-neutral, and date-neutral as much as
possible.
To facilitate future format conversions and updates, please take notes of all
information that might be useful for future course editors, and collect this information
in a word document format.
Distance Education and e-Live program currently have a shared folder on K: drive
(K:\SHARED\ERT-DISTED). The file that contains the latest update will be stored in
this folder and the naming convention should be [year][semester][school][course
code][section][last editor] For example, 2008FallMETCS632ELDaoC.
Communications with Faculty
While creating and revising online content, EL Editors will need to make a lot of
decisions, including interpretation of materials and directions from faculty, sometimes
having all necessary information. EL Editor should avoid contacting faculty with single
questions; instead, questions should be collected and feedback requested for several
questions at a time (once every one-two weeks is a good rule of thumb). When in
doubt, EL Editor should seek guidance from EL Development Manager.
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Copyright Policy for EL Courses
Boston University policy restricts the use of copyrighted materials (e.g. published
research articles), including use of these materials as part of the online course
content (click here for more information). The policy applies to all BU courses,
including blended courses. The course author has the ultimate responsibility to
comply with BU copyright policy. See “Copyright Policy for EL Courses” in sSection 3
for details.
Communications with EL Development Team
EL Editor maintains course development schedule and provides periodic (weekly)
updates to EL Development Manager and EL Program Manager.
EL Editor periodically backs up Dreamweaver files to an assigned shared drive or
other save media, and requests backups of Vista sections (please discuss with EL
Development Manager before starting),
2.7.1
New EL Course Development
Assumptions:

New Contract Development contract between Instructor and BU has been approved
and signed.

New EL course Vista section has been created based on New EL Course template.
New EL Course template contains a blended course framework including some
standard sections (e.g. MET Academic Conduct policy), best practices, technical
support pages, examples, as well as useful instructions and hints for editors.
1. Put together all necessary documentation for new EL course development,
including:

Course development schedule

Course Map (for each week)

Course Syllabus worksheet
o Course description
o Course objective
o Instructor biography (both instructor and teaching assistant)

Picture

Contact information

Office hour

Biographical sketch
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o Grading structure
o Course resources (textbook, eBook, articles, case studies, etc)
o Study guide

Weekly topic

Readings, discussions, assignments (if any), quizzes (if any)

Course Development checklist

Assignment worksheet

Assessment (quiz) worksheet

Discussions worksheet

Face-to-face agenda

Course introductory video (EL editor will schedule the time with instructor)
Exclude unnecessary worksheets if they are not necessary based on available
information about the course.
All document templates are included in Section 3 of this document.
2. Attach all documents to an email to the Instructor, see “Initial Editor Introduction”
email template in Section 3.
3. Incorporate Instructor-provided content in New EL Course template.
4. Follow standards and recommendations for specific EL course elements (Syllabus,
Lectures, Assessments, etc.) below.
2.7.2
Major EL Course Revisions and Merges
Follow the New EL course development procedure above; exclude unnecessary
templates when communicating with Instructors if scope of the revision is known.
Note: In the future, the Revision Scope Definition document will be submitted by the
instructor before the contract is signed. This will help to limit the amount of
worksheets sent to the Instructor.
Follow element-specific EL standards and recommendations to the extent they do not
contradict the structure of the course you are revising.
Course merges involve merging previously offered EL course with revised DE course.
In this situation, instead of receiving revisions from the Instructor, EL Editor compares
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both versions and applies the necessary changes to EL course. Depending on the
amount of changes, performing complete conversion of the DE course might be
easier.
2.7.3
EL Course Conversions/Updates
Use “Initial Introduction” email template to notify faculty about course development
effort and verify that we are using the correct course content to update.
Use “Course Elements and Editorial Checklist” section below and make the necessary
updates related to schedules, due dates, course format, student groups, conditional
releases, etc. Document and keep track of all updates that have to be made and/or
reviewed by the instructor using “Instructor’s Feedback Form for Blended Courses”.
(See “Tracking Changes Using Paper Copies”) in Section 4 if you use a paper copy to
track changes.)
Send to Instructor “Request for Instructor’s Feedback for EL Courses” and offer a face
to face meeting (if appropriate) to review changes, discuss technologies planned for
the course, help with Vista features, etc. Use “Request for Faculty Feedback” email
template.
Incorporate Instructor’s feedback. If no feedback was provided - send the second
email following Template for the Second Email on Getting Feedback
2.8
Course Elements and Editorial Checklist
This section describes the detailed element-specific work that is typically required
when revising online content to adopt it for blended EL format. For the purposes of
this document, course elements include:

Syllabus

Lectures

Assignments

Discussions

Assessments (quizzes)

Calendar

Real-time Collaboration tools

Faculty Resources

Developer Resources
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2.8.1
General EL Changes for All Elements
Making changes, please remember that the content might be converted back to
Distance Education format. It is important that you try to maintain the content formatneutral.
EL courses are currently offered in a one-section format. Remove all groups using
Group Manager.
Remove all referenced to “weeks” and replace with “lectures” or “modules” (as
appropriate) if necessary.
Remove all references to “Facilitators”; replace with “Instructor” if necessary.
Remove all references to “online courses” and “distance education”.
Update all dates, including dates embedded in course content, and activity dates and
due dates configurable directly in Vista. Try to remove references to dates from
course content as much as possible. It is a good idea to gather all date references
into as few places as possible, so they can be easily updated for future courses.
Correct all typos and punctuation errors you encounter.
2.8.2
Syllabus
Add information about face-to-face meeting time and location; also make it available
in Calendar. This information can be found at:
https://www.bu.edu/link/bin/uiscgi_studentlink/uismpl/1228931660?ModuleName=univschs.pl
(BU Student Link => Academics => University Class Schedule )
Face-to-face meeting dates should be shown under the "Notes" for selected courses.
If this information is not available, please contact Academic Department Coordinators.
Verify the faculty information and schedule video recording sessions if necessary (see
Video Clips below).
2.8.3
Lectures
Lecture is the main unit of organizing online content. EL courses typically contain 1214 lectures (unlike Distance Education courses which typically organize material in 7
weeks). The goal is to organize content in a format-neutral way, All linkages between
lectures and weeks, if any, should be consolidated in the Syllabus.
Typical changes to Lectures include the following:
Remove references to weeks and specific dates.
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If the course already includes 14 lectures, reorganize the content around the lectures
and replace references to weeks with references to the corresponding lectures.
Otherwise replace “weeks” with “modules”; one module will typically cover two weeks
of classes in a blended course.
The instructor will need to indicate how to split 6-7 modules into 12-14 lectures if
necessary.
After a 7-to-14 week conversion, every other week will not have any assignments,
discussions, quizzes, etc. Please discuss with Instructor and rearrange or add new
activities.
A special note about the study guide: For some courses, there is a study guide. The
study guides for each module are generated from a study guide file or course
schedule in the syllabus folder. All we need to change is the study guide file; we don’t
have to change the study guide portion within each module. There are learning
objective and study guide for each module/lecture in the introductory page. The study
guide in this page is an embedded iframe and the code is as follow;
<iframe frameborder=0 height=[550]* scrolling=no src
="../[syllabus/met_syll_07_studyGuide.htm#lec1]*" width="100%"> </iframe>
*to be adjusted
Important Note: When editing HTML files, it is important to use the standard
formatting Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). Please contact EL Development Manager
with all questions.
Transferring Text
Be careful when copying text from Instructor-provided documents (e.g. MS Word) into
Dreamweaver. Word and other programs typically add formatting marks that get
transferred when using copy/paste function. Use “Paste Special” as text only, or use
paste first into Notepad, then copy/paste from Notepad to Dreamweaver.
Adding Images
If lecture material includes images, please follow steps below. Avoid changes image
size in Dreamweaver directly – this might make images fuzzy and granular. Instead,
use an image editing program (Adobe Photoshop) if any image manipulations are
necessary.
1. If your image is in a separate file, open the file with Adobe Photoshop. If the image is embedded in
a document or a web page, copy it to Clipboard, use File=>New in Photoshop to open a new file
and choose "Clipboard" in Preset field, then select Edit=>Paste (Ctrl-V).
2. If necessary, use Image=>Image Size and select the appropriate size. Make other adjustments in
Photoshop to ensure good image quality.
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3. Use Select=>All (Ctrl-A) and Edit=>Copy (Ctrl-C) to copy updated image to clipboard.
4. In Dreamweaver, position cursor at the insertion point and use Edit=>Paste (Ctrl-V). Click OK in
Image Preview window (usually all defaults there will work OK) and enter the file name (include
lecture number, image number and brief description in name, e.g., L02_Im03_History_Chart.jpg).
Choose or create a new image folder under the corresponding lecture folder, and click Save. Enter
Image description that corresponds to file name above.
5. End
Working with Tables
(Dao)
2.8.4
Discussions
When converting from a DE course, typical changes to Discussions include the
following:
If the course has several sections, with each discussion repeated for every section,
remove all duplicate sections.
Remove section numbers and facilitator’s names from discussion titles.
Remove references to weeks (e.g. use “Discussion 1” instead of “Week 1
Discussion”).
Remove selective release criteria. (Go to “Set Release Criteria” from the action link of
the discussion, click “remove all” to remove the release criteria. Click “Save”.)
Organize discussions into the following three categories. Rename categories and
topics that serve the same purpose but have a different name. If an existing course
does not have all these topics, add the missing topics. Remember to inform Instructor
about changes you make when requesting feedback at the end of the editing cycle.
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Communication with Your Professor
From Your Professor: This topic will be locked to the students. Only the instructor
can post in this topic. Please watch this forum for important posts from your instructor.
Questions and Answers: Use this forum to ask questions and post comments to
your instructor and to fellow students in your class. Feel free to respond to your
fellow students.
Class Community
Introduce Yourself: Introduce yourself to your instructor and other students. Feel
free to respond to each other's posts.
Knowledge Sharing: This section is a place to help each other, share general
knowledge, learning materials and useful links that are not specific to particular
course discussions (please respect copyrights when sharing).
Careers: This section is a place for professional development topics and
discussions about career opportunities, certifications, etc.
Water Cooler: Please feel free to socialize here with other members of the class
and with your instructor. If you have a question or comment related to the class,
please post to the Q&A topic or contact your instructor directly by email.
Course Discussions
These are discussion topics for most modules.
Note: Instructor can request additional categories or subcategories.
Include references to discussion topics start and end dates using Syllabus/Study
Guide and Calendar. Include these dates into Faculty Feedback form for validation.
2.8.5
Assignments and Final Project
When converting from a DE course, typical changes to Assignments include the
following:
Review the assignment and make any changes related to course format, faculty
name, dates, etc.
The cutoff date for assignments is typically the last day or first day of the next study
period. Include these dates into Faculty Feedback form for validation.
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Check the box to create a corresponding event in the Calendar tool.
Check the box to allow the assignment to be graded (A column is automatically
created for this assignment in Grade Book).
Check the box to Release the grade to students in My Grades.
Select Numeric grade out of 100 unless instructor specifies otherwise.
Check with the instructor whether the students can take back and correct their work
after submission but before the due date. The default is that they cannot.
Adjust the conditional release date if there is a conditional release by date.
Remove conditional release if the condition is based on groups (see “Discussions”).
2.8.6
Assessments (Quizzes) and Final Exam
Typical changes to Assessments include the following:
Assessment Property
Title
Grade Book Column
Name
Question Delivery
Display Assessment
Duration
Attempts
Student Score
Dates Available
Result Properties
Default Settings for
Quizzes
“Lecture 1 Quiz” or
“Module 1 Quiz”
Default Settings for
Final Exam (if exists)
“Final Exam”
e.g. “Quiz 1”
Final Exam
Note
Titles should match the
course structure. Avoid
references to “weeks”
Keep column name
short

Deliver one at a time and allow questions to be
revised
 Check “Display question titles”
In a new browser window
As defined by Instructor (for conversions – leave
as is)
1; do not randomize questions in a question set
Do not release
 Start - Semester
 Final two weeks of
start date.
the semester.
 End – End date of
 Do not check
the corresponding
“Create
module plus one day
corresponding
(typically Monday),
event”
11:59 PM
 Check “Create
corresponding event
in the calendar”
Check all; choose last
Check all; choose first
option in 1-III (show
option in 1-III (show the
correct answer and
percentage value).
© Office of Educational Technology Research, 2008
Include all dates in
“Instructor Feedback
Form” for validation
Explanation of
differences: we do not
want to publish correct
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MET e-Live Course Development Process
Assessment Property
Default Settings for
Quizzes
percentage).
Default Settings for
Final Exam (if exists)
Submission Properties
Security Properties
Leave blank (for conversions – leave as is)
Leave blank
Enter new password
(10 characters, letters
and digits)
Custom Instructions
Leave blank (for conversions – leave as is)
Note
answers to Final Exam,
unless Instructor
request so.
Include Final Exam
password in the
feedback form and end
of development email
Adjust the conditional release date if there is a conditional release based on dates.
Delete “conditional” if the condition is based on groups.
If appropriate, make changes to quiz instructions to remove DE-specific references.
The final exams DE courses are usually proctored online exams. This typically does
not apply to EL courses, where final exams typically take place during the final faceto-face meeting. To update instructions, please create a new HTML instruction file
with EL name prefix. (In DE courses, instruction files are often included in Module 7
and the syllabus folder, such as study guide, course outline, exam details, etc.).
Ensure the final exam is invisible and protected by password in the beginning.
Remember to keep track of availability date changes, as well as other issues that
require Instructor’s guidance, in the Instructor Feedback form.
If there is a need to add new assessments, or make changes to questions/answers in
existing assessments, please contact EL Development Manager for additional
guidance.
2.8.7
Course Front Page
Look at the front page to see if all the elements are in the right place and make sense
and make corresponding changes.
2.8.8
Calendar
The calendar is the center for al the scheduling information. Each assessment and
assignment (project, lab, research paper and final paper) will have a corresponding
calendar event. Discussions and other events can also be shown on the calendar by
using the “Add Entry” command in the Calendar View. Go to Calendar, click on a
date you plan to add the event, then click “Add Entry” command.
For blended courses, make sure to add the face-to-face meeting time and location on
the calendar. To find out about dates/location, check course schedules or contact
Academic Department coordinators. (This information should also be in the Syllabus)
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2.8.9
Grade Book
Delete grade book entries that have week number in the topic, create grade entries
that reflect lectures or modules or just sequence.
Delete information related to facilitators and groups.
Reorder the grade book entries to make it easier for students and faculty to view
them. To reorder the entries, select “View All”, then click “Reorder columns”.
2.8.10 Video Clips
For new courses, discuss with Instructor, record and embed video clips of Instructor
introducing the course, individual lectures, homework assignments, etc. If course
already contains video clips, review the clips and identify any conflicts related to
course format (DE vs. EL), identity of the Instructor, etc. Seek guidance from the
Instructor on how to resolve the conflicts (re-record videos or inform students about
discrepancies).
Course and lecture introductions are typically recorded with a video camera and do
not include slides. To record videos with slides, use Echo 360 or Camtasia appliance.
(See Section 3 for specific processing instructions).
2.8.11 Online Library Resources
BU offers access to Online Library http://www.bu.edu/library for students and faculty.
Direct access is available from all computers on BU network. To access library offcampus, authorized users need to use their Kerberos credentials and go through a
proxy server.
For courses that include references to online Library, follow instructions
http://www.bu.edu.ezproxy.bu.edu/proxy/modifyurl.html to include links in online
(Vista) materials.
New faculty might need to request off-campus access to library resources by sending
email to ezproxy-help@bu.edu (include affiliation with BU, BU email and BU ID). For
additional information, see
http://www.bu.edu.ezproxy.bu.edu/proxy/faqs.html#distanceoff-campus .
2.8.12 Faculty Resources
“Faculty Resources” is a hidden from students folder that contains various information
that faculty might need while teaching the course. (This section will be continuously
updated with new materials).
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2.8.13 Real Time Collaboration Tools
For all courses – create Live Classroom
All courses by default should contain a link to Live Classroom. If the course already
has a Live Classroom, remove the link to the old classroom. To create a new Live
Classroom:
1. Switch to Build view, Course Content, Add Content Link, then choose ‘Live
Classroom’, ‘Create Live Classroom’.
2. For Classroom Title use “MET [class code] [semester]”. For example, MET CS 674
EL Fall 2008.
3. Choose “Create New Room” and change the following setting(s):
 Presentation tools are available to both students and instructors.
For Computer Sciences courses – check and, if necessary, add IOCOM icons:
1. In Build mode on a Course Content page:
a) Add File -> Browse for Files -> Repository -> Boston University (bottom link) -> Vista MET
Hybrid Classes -> Videocollaboration
b) Check "met iocom setup instructions.html, then click OK
c) Make sure Subscribe option is selected, and click OK. Link is added to the Course
Content page.
d) Click on the ActionLinks arrow next to the link and choose Customize Link
e) Click Replace Icon and chose met_video_icon.gif; click OK and again choose Subscribe
option.
f) Click Save.
g) Test link.
h) Hide the link until a decision is made to use IOCOM in the course.
2. Continue in Build mode, choose Manage Course -> Course Menu
a) Under Order and Visibility, click "Add Custom Link" button next to "Course Tools", and
enter:
Title: Video Collaboration
URL: http://igmeeting.insors.net/bu/
Icon: -> Browse -> select same icon as above
b) Test link
c) Hide the link until a decision is made to use IOCOM in the course.
2.9
Faculty Orientation

Enroll faculty scheduled for training in Demo Course and EL Student Orientation
courses (in addition to the course being developed/revised).

Provide new faculty with training agenda (Section 3) and “Teaching with Vista” and
“Learning with Vista” manuals. Review Vista features and best practices
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MET e-Live Course Development Process
according to the agenda.

Discuss EL copyright policy (see Section 3).

Discuss any ideas faculty might have related to collaboration and technology use.

Take notes and discuss with team.
Technology training
(Technology options are described in Section 3)

IOCOM
We currently only provide the one-on-one support and training for full-time faculty (occasionally
excepted for part-time faculty). Instructor can contact MET IT (itmet@bu.edu) for assistance with
setup and hardware requirement (headset, webcam, etc). Instructor can also install the software by
his/herself just following this manual (authentication required).
To request the one-on-one training session, an instructor has to send a request to the EL
Development Manager. He/she will schedule training with the instructor after the hardware has been
set up and the software has been successfully installed.
2.10 Backups
EL Editor backs up all Dreamweaver content and submits request to EL Program
Manager or NIS to backup Vista section.
Note: We need to develop best practices to periodically backup content during
development.
2.11 Quality Assurance
Proofread all online course materials and make necessary changes or inform the EL
editor of that particular course to apply the changes.
Syllabus and Lectures

Read through every page

Check for typos and grammar

Check if links work

Check if videos work (if any)
Assignments

Proofread instructions

Check dates (due date and cutoff date)
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Discussions

Check to make sure there are no groups/conditional releases. Make sure that the
discussion does not mention about facilitator (could be teaching assistant instead).
Assessments or Quizzes

Check Dates and check if the Final exam is hidden.
Course title page, menu, calendar, more?
For every course, make sure that the MET Blended Course Evaluation document is
available in the course content page (this document is for instructor only, please keep
in hidden at all time).
2.12 Development Phase Closure
Review course and get instructor’s sign off. Send an email using “End of Development
Phase” template. Inquire if Instructor is planning to make any content changes while
teaching the course.
Mention that EL Administrator will get in touch approximately one week before the
course start date.
Backup the new EL section using Vista backup feature, or send request to NIS Vista
support (webcourseware@bu.edu)
Update Project Plan and provide regular (weekly) updates to EL Manager. Update
project plan, course status, notify EL Delivery Services
2.13 Simultaneous Content Development and Updates
To help faculty in their efforts to maintain course content as current as possible, and
considering that blended courses run longer than “pure” online courses, have less
students and provide good opportunities for faculty to add/update course content, eLive support team will attempt to accommodate requests for content changes while
courses are being taught. The “simultaneous development” work will be coordinated
ad-hoc based on availability of development resources.
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MET e-Live Course Development Process
Section 3.
3.1
Templates and Detailed Procedures
Email Template “Initial Editor Introduction”
This template is only a guideline. The editors are free to make adjustments to it based on specific
circumstances. Some faculty members may want to have stronger control of the process, some may
want to delegate as much to the editor as possible. The goal of the email is to make the initial contact
with the faculty.
Dear Instructor,
I am an editor supporting MET e-Live program. I have been informed that you are
going to be the instructor for [Spring 2009 MET CS674 EL “Database Security”]
course. I will be working with you to prepare online Vista materials for this course.
For EL>EL Updates: [The course was previously offered as a blended course in [Fall
2008]. I will make the necessary adjustments course dates. Please let me know if
you would like to make any other changes to course content. After all changes are
made, I will notify you. At that time, I will also provide a list of questions that I will
need your help with to complete the work.]
For DE>EL Conversions: [The course was previously offered as a Distance Education
course in [Fall 2008]. I will make the necessary adjustments course format and dates.
Please let me know if you would like to make any other changes to course content.
After all changes are made, I will notify you. At that time, I will also provide a list of
questions that I will need your help with to complete the work.]
For new courses and major revisions: [This is a (new course, major revision to the
course), and I will be working with you to create online content based on a new e-Live
course template. Attached please find ……………………………. and proposed
course development schedule. Please review the schedule and let me know if any
changes are necessary.]
You are already enrolled in this course, and you can check the current status of
course materials in Vista at any time.
If you would like to change or add any video clips included in this course, please let
me know, and we will schedule a convenient for you recording time.
If you have any other questions or concerns, or would like to schedule a meeting to
discuss course materials, Vista or other technology features, please let me know.
Best regards,
[Your name], your e-Live Course Editor
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MET e-Live Course Development Process
3.2
Adding new assessment using Respondus®
Respondus is an easy tool for creating and managing assessments in Vista. It runs on
your local PC, and provides an intuitive graphical user interface to enter questions
and answers. Respondus supports most widely used question formats, including
multiple choice, true/false, etc.
Respondus works with Vista learning management system. The assessments you
build with Respondus can be easily published to Vista. Respondus files can be
exchanged between Instructor and EL Editor. When using Respondus, you can
conveniently work with permanent answer options, while Vista will randomize the
answer choices presented to students.
To request Respondus® software installation on your PC, please send a request to
MET IT Department, itmet@bu.edu.
Review “Getting started” manual before using Respondus.
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MET e-Live Course Development Process
3.3
Faculty Feedback Form for EL Courses
The Instructor’s Feedback Form is filled out by the EL Editor during the course
conversion/update process, and is sent to faculty to request review/approval of
important changes to course content, as well as to get answers to questions that
require faculty input, and solicit additional content. Please modify as appropriate.
Note: For DE>EL conversions this form is filled in the process of converting the course. For new EL
courses, faculty should review each course module after it is created.
The form is sent as an attachment; please see email template below.
vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv
Copy and paste into a Word document
vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv
Faculty Feedback Form for e-Live Courses
Course:
[ID, Name, Semester] (e.g. MET CS674 EL, Database
Security, Spring 2009)
Instructor
[name]
e-Live Course Editor
:[name]
Date
XX/XX/XXXX
1. Summary of Changes Made
Editorial changes are based on [baseline course ID, name, semester]. All the changes
are editorial; no content change has been made.
All dates in the course have been adjusted for the new semester. These changes are
reflected in the syllabus which includes the course schedule. The scheduling
adjustments take into consideration the following holidays: [dates/holidays].
Some changes are related to DE-to-EL course conversion. All references to “weeks”
have been removed and replaced with references to modules and/or lectures. All
references to “facilitators” and “course sections” have been removed.
I corrected all typos that I found in the course.
[List any additional changes that have been made].
2. Course Calendar
Below is a consolidated list of all course activities and due dates. Please review it
and let me know if any adjustments are necessary in the “Faculty Feedback” column.
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MET e-Live Course Development Process
Module
W
e
e
k
Week
End
Date
Mod.1,
Lecture 1
1
1/17/09
Mod. 1,
Lecture 2
…………
Mod 4,
Lecture 2
Mod 4,
Midterm
2
1/24/09
7
3/3/09
7
3/3/09
Final
Exam
14
04/20/0
9
Due Dates (all deliverables are due
on Monday of the following week at
8 AM, unless indicated otherwise)
DiscusAssign- Assesssions
ments
ments
“Introduce
n/a
Q1
Yourself”;
D1
D2
A1
Q2
Other
Faculty
Feedback
Face to face meeting
1/16/09 9 AM
MET PC Lab 3
Video Conference
TBD
Select Project
Face to face meeting
4/20/09 9 AM
MET PC Lab 3
Note to EL Editor: Use appropriate terminology in the “Module” column; courses can
be organized in modules, lectures, sections, chapters, etc. If you have any questions,
please review with the EL Development Manager before sharing with faculty.
3. Questions [If appropriate]
I have several questions that require your feedback before I can finalize the course
materials.
[list your questions here]
[list your requests, e.g. need for a bio/picture, video recordings, technology training,
etc.]
4. Changes/Additions
If you would like to add/change any materials in the course, please let me know and
send me materials to be included. (Copyright Policy for e-Live courses can be found
at http://met-research.bu.edu/met-ert/BlendedWiki/Copyright%20Policy.aspx ).
Thank you,
[Name], your e-Live Course Editor
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Copy and paste into a Word document
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Email Template
The goal of this email is to get feedback from faculty related to EL course development. This template
is only a guideline. The editors are free to make adjustments to it based on specific circumstances.
Please combine all your questions to minimize the number of feedback requests.
Subject: [Semester, Course ID] Faculty Feedback Request
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MET e-Live Course Development Process
Dear Instructor,
I am your e-Live Course Editor for [Spring 2009 MET CS 674 EL] course.
I am finishing making changes to this course [,including all content changes you have
requested]. I made most of the determinations related to new course dates, and
made changes specific to e-Live course format. I would like to ask you to review
these changes [,and answer several questions that require your input].
For your convenience, I put everything that requires your review and validation in the
attached Faculty Feedback Form.
You also have full access to this course as an Instructor when you login to Vista.
If you would like to add/change any materials in the course, please let me know and
send me materials to be included.
If you have any questions or comments, please contact me by email [account
name]@bu.edu, call me at [phone], or stop by my office, Room [number] at 808
Comm. Ave.
Please review and return the attached form at your earliest convenience, but no later
than [choose date as appropriate, typically two weeks from the current date], so I can
have the course ready for the new semester.
Best regards,
[Name], Your e-Live Editor
e-Signature
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MET e-Live Course Development Process
3.4
Email Template “Ending Development Phase”
This template is only a guideline. The editors are free to make adjustments to it based
on specific circumstances.
Subject: [Fall 2008 MET CS 625 EL] End of Content Development
Dear Instructor,
[I have finished all updates you suggested in the Instructor Feedback form]
-or[I have not received your response to the Instructor Feedback form, so I assume you
are pleased with the course online content.]
According to our e-Live development process, the content development phase of this
course now ends. Our support coordinator will be in touch with you approximately
one week before the start of the course to ensure the course starts smoothly. While
we will make every attempt to make last-minute content changes, please understand
that further non-planned changes to course materials will be subject to resource
availability.
This is the latest information available about your course:
(face to face meeting locations and dates)
(more?)
If you have any remaining questions or concerns, please let me know as soon as
possible.
Best regards,
[Name], Your e-Live Editor
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MET e-Live Course Development Process
3.5 Contract Management Process for New EL Courses and
Revisions
MET PROCEDURE FOR e-LIVE COURSE DEVELOPMENT AND REVISIONS
The following process applies when e-Live courses require development of new online content, or
major revisions to existing content. For online-to-blended course conversions and for blended-toblended course updates no contract will be issued. e-Live content development currently is performed
using Vista Course Management System. Courses that do not plan to use Vista are not currently
supported by Met Research; for such courses faculty is advised to use CourseInfo.
1. Scope of Online Materials and Payment Amount Determination and Review

Faculty member submits a proposal with the scope of online course material to department chair
(or academic coordinator) via email

Department chair (or academic coordinator) recommends payment amount for revisions to
Associate Dean, and submits proposal to Associate Dean as back-up via email.

Associate Dean approves/rejects request via email, copying Office of Educational Technology
Research and Finance including the proposal for payroll file.
2. Online Content Development Contract

Based on Associate Dean’s approval, Educational Technology Research provides contract to MET
faculty member.

Development work can begin after contract with terms as approved by Associate Dean, is signed
by faculty member and Office of Educational Technology Research.

A copy of the signed contract is filed with the Associate Dean's office.
3. Payment Release
Payment will typically be split in two parts (1/3 after completing 50% of the work, rest after completion
of development work).
Office of Educational Technology Research notifies Finance to release payments by sending Request
for Payment with a copy of the contract. Release of the final payment is subject to approval by the
Academic Department chair.
For latest information, contract templates, or to view a proposal sample, please go to http://metresearch.bu.edu and look under e-Live tab. (Please use your Kerberos credentials with prefix “ad\” in
front of your username to access this page).
Note: Course Development and Revision contracts can be filled out online at
http://met-research.bu.edu (authentication required).
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3.6 Copyright Policy for EL Courses
Boston University policy restricts the use of copyrighted materials (e.g. published
research articles), including use of these materials as part of the online course
content (click here for more information). The policy applies to all BU courses,
including blended courses. The following guidelines apply to the online portions of a
blended course (the face-to-face portions should follow the same guidelines as
traditional classroom courses).
The course author has the ultimate responsibility to comply with BU copyright policy.
Both course development and revision contracts stipulate this responsibility:
3. Copyrights – By accepting this agreement, You are certifying to the University
that the Course will contain no third party copyrighted material, or that approvals
have been obtained (in writing), or royalties paid, for any such copyrighted
materials (i.e., articles, readers, etc.). You agree to clearly identify and disclose to
the University any such third party material. The University accepts no liability for
and You shall indemnify the University for third-party claims of infringement
associated with third-party materials incorporated into the Course.
To comply with the copyright policy, Office of Educational Technology Research
(ETR) will follow the following process before including (or linking to) copyrighted
material in online course content.
1. Ask the course author for a written permission from the copyright owner to use
materials and keep it on file. Include all permissions into online course content
into faculty-only folder when practical; otherwise keep the hardcopy in the course
binder.
2. If a written permission is not available, advice the author to request such
permission in writing (e.g. email).
3. If permission is obtained, file a copy and proceed with including the material into
the course. Any fees associated with obtaining permissions is responsibility of the
Academic Department.
4. If the request to use material is explicitly rejected by the copyright owner, the
material will not be incorporated into online course content.
5. If the copyright owner did not respond to the request, and there is no reasonable
means by which permissions can be obtained and royalties paid to copyright
owners, ETR will follow provisions of fair-use and The TEACH Act. In this
situation, the Author should:

review short and concise fair-use guidelines available at
http://www.bu.edu/webcentral/learning/copyright/ ;

indicate in an email that (1) there is no reasonable means to obtain a copyright
clearance, (2) fair-use provisions are met; and (3) the time window (no longer
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MET e-Live Course Development Process
than 15 days) when the material should be available to students.

based on this information, ETR will make the material temporarily available in
the online course in the specified time window.
6. If the Author cannot obtain copyright clearance, but material is available on the
Internet, ETR can include the corresponding link into the course instead of
including the material itself. Of course, there is a risk that material will be removed
from that site, or the web site would not be available when students try to use it.
Please note that at this time, the Office of Educational Technology Research is not
staffed to provide additional third party copyright clearance services to course
authors/instructors. Similar to teaching traditional classroom courses, the course
author/instructor is responsible to obtain the necessary copyright clearances before
distributing copyrighted content to their students.
We will be looking into other available options and additional services that we could
provide, and will be updating this page accordingly.
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MET e-Live Course Development Process
3.7 Procedure to Set Up EL Development Workstation
Request Dreamweaver installation from MET IT (itmet@bu.edu). Make sure all
necessary patches are installed.
Editor should have WebDAV access to Vista (username/password different form
Kerberos). Request from NIS through EL Development Manager (to do that, send
you name, BU username, BUID to EL Development Manager).
At this time, you should be setup as a Instructor and Designer for the course you will
be working on.
Open Dreamweaver, choose “Site”, and then choose “New Site”.
For the naming convention, please name your course [year][semester][school][course
code]. Disregard ‘What is the HTTP Address (URL) of your site?’
On the next screen, choose “No, I do not want to use a server technology”.
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MET e-Live Course Development Process
On the following screen, choose “Edit local copies on my machine, then upload to
server when ready (recommended). Pick a folder name to store the new site. If the
folder does not exist, it will be automatically created.
The next screen is the most critical. To get the URL of the WebDAV server, you need
to go to VISTA. From Vista’s Build Mode, choose “Design Tools”, “File Manager”,
Click on the Action Links of the File Manger, Choose “View WebDAV info”. Then put
in your username and password for WebDAV. The password for WebDAV is usually
different from your password for Dreamweaver. Then click “Test Connection”.
On the following screen, choose “No, do not enable check in and out”.
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After the site is created, click on the green arrow button to get files from the site. After
the files are downloaded, and changed, click on the blue arrow button to upload files
to the server.
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3.8
Student Course Development Affidavit Form
Student Non-Disclosure Agreement
All students involved in online content development at Metropolitan College (MET)
are required to read and agree to the following statement.
I, ___________________________________, agree not to disclose any information
about students and courses that I will come to have access to while developing eLive courses at Boston University to anyone who is not authorized to have access to
this information by MET Management. This information includes, but not limited to,
lecture materials, assignments, assessments and exam questions, discussion
content, references to textbooks and online resources, names of students and
faculty, grades and other personal information, etc.
I will keep all working documents (including hard copies and electronic files)
protected from unauthorized access at all times.
If I take a course that I have worked as an instructional designer, administrator
and/or proofreader, I will have an obligation to inform the course instructor(s) about
my prior work on this course.
I promise not to do anything that may negatively affect course development process
or the integrity of MET education system.
_______________________________________
Student Signature
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3.9
Technology Choices for Virtual Meetings and Office
Hours REVIEW
The Editor will discuss with the Instructor the format for virtual meetings and office
hours.
For office hours, the instructor can have the choice of Live Classroom, IOCOM,
phone conferences, etc. For more information see “Video Collaboration” section at
http://met-research.bu.edu.
The Editor will work with EL Technologist to explain and demonstrate collaboration
technology options, than choose and configure appropriate technologies for the
course.
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3.10 Meeting with the Instructor REVIEW/OBSOLETE
Before the meeting with the Instructor, the Blended Course Editor prepares the
following items:
1. A marked hard copy for reference at the meeting
2. An updated soft copy in MS word (with “Track Changes” turned on) to give the
instructor at the end of the meeting
3. An Instructor Feedback form (with “Track Changes” turned on) to give the instructor
at the end of the meeting
At the meeting, the Blended Course Editor and the instructor will go through the
following steps:
Explain the process
Review the changes the editor has made
Discuss the final exam, make sure the instructor knows how to hide and unhide the
final exam: By time period available, password and hide/unhide.
Discuss appropriate technology features to be incorporated in the course (video
collaboration, visualization, etc.)
Review applicability of course tools (Chat, Who is Online, etc.).
Discuss any additional course requirements.
Agree upon how and when Instructor will communicate the feedback (e.g. marked
hard copies, or Word documents with tracked changes, or new materials).
Agree with instructor on a project schedule.
After the meeting, the Instructor gives feedback based on the instructor’s feedback
form and the soft copy of the course, indicating changes to the course materials,
validating the mapping of course materials to dates. The Instructor will give the Editor
back the soft copies and the Editor will make additional editing and upload the
changes to Vista.
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3.11 Video Recording Procedures Dao to add
3.11.1 Recording with Video Camera
3.11.2 Recording with Echo 360
3.11.3 Recording with Camtasia Studio
(in development)
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3.12 Vista Bugs and Methods to Get Around Them
Bug with “Create a corresponding event in the Calendar tool”
Description: Go to assignment, pick an assignment. Go to edit properties. Choose due
date and cut off date, check “Create a corresponding event in the Calendar tool”.
Then save. You may find that the event is not created in the calendar.
Workaround: “uncheck and save, then check”:
Go to assignment, pick an assignment. Go to edit properties. Choose due date and
cut off date, un-check “Create a corresponding event in the Calendar tool”. Then
save.
Go to assignment again, pick an assignment, then go to edit properties. Choose due
date and cut off date, check “Create a corresponding event in the Calendar tool”.
Save again. You will find that the event is now created in the calendar.
Bug with rollover dates
Description of the bug:
Go to Build
Go to Manage Course
Date Rollover, adjust all dates: can only adjust dates to the dates in the future, but
cannot adjust dates in the past.
Date Rollover, adjust individual dates, sometimes the individual dates are there,
sometimes the screen will be bland.
Workaround:
Go to the assignments or assessments and set the dates over there.
We still won’t be able to adjust the date of an event to the past.
Note: This function cannot adjust dates for events created through “Add Entry” in the
calendar view.
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3.13 Faculty Orientation Agenda
1. Vista login page and technical support information there
2. Course setup and navigation
3. Faculty role during off-campus weeks:

Facilitate online discussions

Grade and provide feedback for assignments and assessments/quizzes

Schedule live video/audio collaboration sessions

Online office hours
4. Vista capabilities


Assignments:
a.
Submission and re-submission
b.
grading and providing feedback
c.
Default settings (availability, etc.)
Assessments:
a.
Taking a test quiz
b.
Completing and releasing grades
c.
Providing feedback
d.
Default settings (availability, feedback visibility, etc.)

Course Calendar

Working with Gradebook

Final Exam options

Course surveys
5. Checking what students see
6. Communication with students

Asynchronous:
a.
Announcements
b.
Course email, forwarding to personal accounts
c.
Discussions boards, topics, participation, grading and weekly recap
d.
Best practices (when to use various tools)
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e.


Recording lectures and short clips (Echo 360 and Camtasia)
Synchronous:
a.
Chat (if enabled)
b.
Live Classroom
c.
Multi-point videoconferences (IOCOM) and webinars (emerging
technologies – mostly for CS courses)
Discuss collaboration strategy for off-site weeks, use of lecture recording for
face-to-face weeks, recording short fragments (e.g. homework guiding
instructions) using Echo 360, Camtasia appliance or video camera
7. How to make changes to course content (EL Editor), dates, discussion topics, etc.
and get other help (EL Admin Support). Provide contact information.
8. Discuss additional faculty requests and ideas.
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Section 4.
4.1
Infrequently Used and Obsolete Procedures
Tracking Changes Using Paper Copies
In an unlikely event Instructor or Editor prefers to review changes made to a course
content using paper copies, please use the following process.
Note: Please use caution to keep course content, including quiz answers,
confidential. Shred paper copies when they are no longer needed.
When making online Vista changes, track them on the corresponding paper pages
and mark them according to your level of certainty:
If the change does not require a follow-up discussion with the Instructor, the attach a
brief note on a GREEN sticker and make the change.
If the change requires a follow-up validation by the Instructor, attach a brief note on a
YELLOW sticker and make tentative changes online.
If it is not clear how to make a change, but you feel that a change is necessary, attach
a note on a RED sticker.
Schedule a meeting with the Instructor and go through your notes.
Below is a procedure to create a hard copy of an online Vista course.
Login to Vista, switch to Teach view. (Some items, such as hidden assignments, may
not be available in Student View.)
Course Front Page:





Right Click → select all
Right Click → copy
Open empty Word document, paste.
Save .doc file, name = <course name> Front Page.doc.
Print
Lectures:

Click
in the left menu.
For every week/section:
Open a section

Click “Create Printable View”


icon
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



Select all -> Continue (Currently, there is a problem with printing the Study Guide.
So, unless you are printing the syllabus section, please deselect Study Guide
before you proceed.)
Click the “Save to File” button.
Save .zip file, name = first few words of section name (e.g. week 1/module1/lecture
1. doc)
Unzip the file, print and go to the next section
Assignments:








Click
in the menu.
For each assignment:
Click the action links Icon next to each assignment, and choose the action, "Go to
Assignment".
Right click -> select all
Right click ->copy
Paste into empty Word document.
Save .doc file, name = Assignment_<number>.doc . Print.
If the assignment has references to other documents, print them and save as
Assignment<number>_Supplement<number>.xxx (xxx can be a .doc file, .pdf file,
etc.)
Discussions:






Click Discussions icon
in the left pane to open the list of discussions.
Right click -> select all
Right click ->copy
Paste into empty Word document
Save .doc file, name = Discussions.doc
Print
Final Project Instructions – create a printable view (see Lectures) and print.
Final Exam Instructions - – create a printable view (see Lectures) and print.
Assessments – extract/print ONLY IF SPECIFICALLY REQUESTED BY THE
INSTRUCTOR.
Other components – print if possible and make a note for the instructor.
Note: The hard copy acquired through this manner may not contain the correct format. It may contain
wrong indentations, bolds and central or right adjustments. So, when we notice incorrect formats in the
print view, we need to check whether the online view is also incorrect. In addition, some of the course
content such as videos and forms, are not included in the printable view.
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