Georgiaview vista

Introduction

GeorgiaVIEW Vista is a course management system widely used in the University System. GVVista makes it easy to include features of Web-based instruction in your courses: a syllabus, linked Web pages, e-mail, online testing, a gradebook, chat rooms, discussions, blogs and journals.

Training for GVVista 8

For workshop information, see the 2009-10 calendar. A training environment in GVVista8 is available at http://train.view.usg.edu For additional information, or to schedule a meeting, contact Simon Grist.

You can get started by going to the "Learning" section of this site.

GeorgiaVIEW Vista

1. To access GeorgiaVIEW go to: http://highlands.view.usg.edu.
2. GeorgiaVIEW will be unavailable every other week from 10pm Fri to 7am Sat. for maintenance. See the Announcements on your "MyGeorgiaVIEW" Course List page for dates.

How do GHC faculty log on to GeorgiaVIEW Vista?

Your username is the same as your GHC username. Your GeorgiaVIEW Vista password is your SCORE PIN.

How do Students log on to GeorgiaVIEW

Student username: same username they use for the GHC network.
Student password: the initial SCORE PIN (this is their date of birth (ddmmyy).
See GeorgiaVIEW FAQ's

Where can I get help?

The Online Support Center provides GHC faculty and students with help 24/7 (includes password issues).
You can also contact IT staff at Floyd or cartersville by phone or in person for password resets.

How do I assign a section from an existing section in GVVista 8?

You can assign content to a course section by copying it from another section in which you are a designer.
1. Locate the existing section on your "My GeorgiaVIEW" course list page, and click the course name.
2. Select "Copy Content from Another Course."
3. Click "Continue," and choose the course section you wish to copy to the current section.

See pdf: "Assigning Content to a Section in GeorgiaVIEW".

2009-10 Banner-to-GVVista data export schedule

Date	Spring 2010 Semester Data Processing
November 10, 2009	Initial course sections, faculty teaching extract.
January 4, 2010	Export students enrolled: update sections. faculty teaching
January 7	Update sections, instructors, students since previous export
January 11	Update sections, instructors, students since previous export
January 12	Update sections, instructors, students since previous export
January 13	Update sections, instructors, students since previous export
January 14	Update sections, instructors, students since previous export

Learning GeorgiaVIEW Vista

Introductory and intermediate GeorgiaVIEW workshops are available every semester. These workshops show you how to implement many Vista's basic features, how to post content for your class sections, and show you how to begin developing a course. Instructional resource Center staff can also meet individually with faculty members (contact Simon Grist).

If you are just getting started and you prefer to learn how to use GeorgiaVIEW by youself, read one of the basic guides designed tol help you set up a course section in a minimum amount of time (see: "Getting Started with GeorgiaVIEW Vista", below).

If you have used GeorgiaVIEW and you need help implementing a process or using a tool, you can access the context-sensitive HELP in ant Vista section.

If you want to learn how to achieve a certain task in GeorgiaVIEW, like using the Gradebook. check out one of the "How-To" guides available at one of the sites listed under General Online Resources.

GeorgiaVIEW Vista General Online Resources

How-to GeorgiaVIEW Vista 8 Guides: Online how-to guides to using Vista's features and tools, with step-by-step instructions and screenshots (University of North Carolina).

GeorgiaVIEW Vista 8 Faculty Tutorials comprehensive how-to's about many of Vista's features and tools, with flash videos and voice-overs demonstating proceedures and tools (Online Learning Center, Georgia Southern University).

Step-by-step GVVista 8 pdf handouts : These detailed guides are more focused and in-depth than the previous two, and explore Vista 4s new features (Georgia Perimeter College -their version is called eCollege).

Getting Started with GeorgiaVIEW Vista

Using Blackboard Vista to Supplement Classroom Instruction
This is a good place to begin if this is the first time you have used Vista. Produced by Boston College, this is a basic 15-page pdf that explains how to put together a basic site.

Creating a Course from Scratch in Blackboard Vista 4
Produced by UMass at Amherst, this 24-page pdf includes all the information in the above document, but is more comprehensive. Tis is a good overview of many of the basic processes instructors encounter each semester.

Using Vista 4.0 (pdf): a one-source guide to setting up abasic course section, this 80-page document is very well-done and comprehensive; includes step-by-step how-tos and screenshots (from Utah Valley State College).

Addding Content

It is essential to prepare content for the web in the right format so students see the material quickly, and without having to download anything or open an application. This means, for example, that you should convert .doc, .docx or .ppt files to a format designed for the web.

Here are suggestions for preparing text, slideshows, graphics, etc., in the best formats for use in GVVista.

• Text

Prepare text as html, the file format used to display text on the web.

1. To enter text dirctly in Vista, use the built-in html Editor.

You can watch this Guide to using Vista's html Editor. Or read a "How-to" about Using HTML Editor in Vista.

Troubleshooting the HTML Editor in GeorgiaVIEW.
If Vista's html Editor doesn't seem to work,you probably need to set up Java on your computer,
To make Vista's html Editor work, follow the steps in this guide.

2. If you have a lot of text and pages to prepare, use a web page editor like Seamonkey.
Download Seamonkey: Seamonkey Tutorial.

3. Avoid using Word files, which require the user to download them and open Word to view them.
Although it is not the best solution, it is possible to convert existing Word docs to html from withing word itself.
See how to convert Word files to html.

4. If the page that results from you converting a word file to html does not look right when you upload it to GeorgiaVIEW, you can clean it up by using HTML Tidy.

• PowerPoint

Convert PowerPoint files to Flash.

Avoid using .ppt files, which require the user to download them and open PowerPoint to view them.

1. Use Impatica in the IRC) to convert .ppt to Flash movies.

2. Use iSpring (fee), which adds a button to PowerPoint, converting a ppt file to a Flash file. The slideshow plays right in Vista's browser window, and your users don't need PowerPoint and don't download files to see them.
Download iSpring

3. Use Keynote on a Mac. Download a 30-day trial version from Apple. You can open the ppt file and save it a a swf file (i.e. Flash).

• Text & graphics

Convert text-that-includes-graphics to pdf files (portable document format).

1. Use the full version of Adobe Acrobat 7.
See: Converting files to PDF using Acrobat 7

2. Use a free pdf converter like Cuteftp (see this Making a pdf Document FAQ ).

3. Install a "Save as pdf" add-in to Word. This allows you to save a Word doc directly from within Word as a pdf.
To download and install the Save as pdf add-in, follow these instructions.

• Photos

Save photos or continuous-tone pictures as .jpeg or .png files.

Download Irfanview, a free image converter.

• Line graphics

Save line art as .gif or .png files.

Irfanview also works for this conversion.

• Sound

Convert sound files to mp3 files.

See Using Audio in Blackboard Vista Workshop handout.

• Movies

Convert movies to .mov or .avi files
On a Windows computer, see Moviemaker.

• Screen content

Take a screenshot and save it as a .gif
1. Download Screenshot Captor (freeware) to capture all or part of what is on your your screen.

2. See this How to take a Screenshot FAQ for other screenshot instructions.

FAQ's

1. Why can't my students see/open a file/document in a GVVista section?
2. Some students can't read a document I saved as an .rft file, what should I tell them?
3. Some Vista users cannot open my Word or Powerpoint attachments. What can I do?
4. How do I download a file from the Internet using Internet Explorer?
5. My students can't play an audio file with an ".ra" extension. What should I tell them?
6. Why can't my student see their grades?

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1. Why can't my students see/open a file/document in a GVVista section?

Some students report that they can't read documents or hear audio clips that their instructors have put in their course section in GeorgiaVIEW. GeorgiaVIEW supports a wide range of file formats, among them word processing file formats (.doc, .docx, and .rtf), and Real Audio file formats (.ra). Texbook publishers sometimes use these formats in EPacks that they make available to instructors to use in course management systems like GeorgiaVIEW.

However, file formats like these are not the best formats to use on the web because they are not always easy for users to see or hear. It is best to post documents as web pages (not as a word processing document). And avoid using proprietary file formats like Real Audio -".ra" files (which require the user to download a player to hear them).

The reason for this has nothing to do with GeorgiaVIEW. Whether or not a user can readily open a file depends on the settings the user has in his/her web browser or computer.

The solution
1. Before deciding to use a non web-friendly format consider the ease with which users can access a file in GeorgiaVIEW.
2. Use web-friendly, non-proprietary file formats.
3. TEST, TEST, TEST! Test your course on one of the GHC classroom computers. Test it in Internet Explorer and Firefox. Is it easy to get to your material? Test it on a slow PC in your public library.
4. If you do decide to use a non-web-friendly format (.doc, .docx, .rtf, ra for example) on the web, then tell users how to open the file by placing instructions prominently on your GeorgiaVIEW Home Page.

Where to get more HELP
1. The best place for information about how to play a particular file in GeorgiaVIEW is the Online Support Center:
http://help8.view.usg.edu
2. For solutions to handling any number of file types see http://www.fileinfo.com
3. And of course, the "Add Content" section of the IRC site: http://www.highlands.edu/facultystaff/irc/vista/gvvista.html
4. GHC IT client support staff are wonderful sources of assistance.

2. Some students can't read a document I saved as an .rft file, what should I tell them?

If the rtf document does not open on the computer you are using (whether or not it opens directly in the web browser depends on the user's computer or web browser settings), save the .rtf document and open it in a word processing application (e.g. WordPad, Notepad, Microsoft Word).

Rich Text Format (RTF) is a file format developed by Microsoft. Most word processors can process RTF files. The format was developed to enable documents to be transferred between application programs (or word processing programs). RTF files have the file extension, ".rtf". They also allow you to make changes to the document after it has been created unlike most files saved as a PDF. Files named so that they end with the file extension ".rtf" can be viewed with most word processing applications (e.g. WordPad, Notepad, Microsoft Word and Star Office).

Download and save the .rtf document to your computer, open a suitable word processing application and open the .rtf document from within the application.

3. Some Vista users cannot open my Word or Powerpoint attachments. What can I do?

You may be saving these documents in either Microsoft Office 2007 (Windows) or Microsoft Office 2008 (Mac). By default, these Office applications save files in a new, different format, ending in "x." (docx instead of doc; pptx instead of ppt) Other Vista users who have not upgraded to Office 2007 or 2008 will be unable to open these new file types with older versions of Word or Powerpoint.
Simply changing the file extension manually does not make these files viewable.
Both Office 2007 & 2008 can be configured to save files in the previous format. This is called Compatibility Mode.
A quick solution is to save the document as a .doc, not as a .docx

4. How do I download a file from the Internet using Internet Explorer?

Follow the directions below to download a file from the internet in your course site.
Step 1. Place your cursor over the link of the file you wish to download.
Step 2. RIGHT click that link.
Step 3. Select the option “Save Target As…”
Step 4. Take note to where the file is being saved on your computer. This can be determined by noting the folder name or file path in the “Save in:” field.
NOTE: You can change where it will save the file by clicking the dropdown arrow and choosing an alternate location on your computer.
Step 5. Click the “Save” button, next click the “Close”

5. My students can't play an audio file with an ".ra" extension. What should I tell them?

To play an .ra file (Real Audio), you need the correct audio file player. Download and install Real Player

(http://www.real.com/)

6. Why can't my student see their grades?

1. Make sure the tool is Added.

2. Make sure the Tool is not Hidden.

Go to Build Tab >
Go to Manage Course >
Select Course Menu >
Scroll down to the very bottom and make sure that under "My Tools", the "My Grades" is not hidden
If the only option to the right is "Show Link" then you have it Hidden - click on Show Link to unhide. See image 2.

3. Make sure the Grades are Released to Students.

Go to the Teach Tab >
Grade Book >
Grade Book Options (top right) >
choose Column Settings >
Make certain that "Released to Student" says Yes under each Desired Grade Column
and Grade Column says Yes under each Desired Grade Column

4. To test to see if students can see their grades,
go to the Grade Book and input grades for your fake account (Demo Student)
Save
go to Student View and see if you can see the grades
If you see them, the student sees theirs.