Banner maintenance will run Monday, March 4th, 7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. during which Banner will be unavailable.
Monthly maintenance updates will occur on Thursday, March 21st, 5:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. This includes our monthly mandatory security patches. Users may experience intermittent downtime.
As part of our ongoing wireless upgrades, SkyNet-PSK will be shutting down on May 7th followed by SkyNet shutting down on July 29th. Eduroam is the preferred Wi-Fi network and should be used for devices such as laptops, tablets, and phones. If your device is currently connected to SkyNet or SkyNet-PSK, you are encouraged to change your wi-fi connection prior to the shutdown date. Knowledge Base articles are available for connecting with most devices. UTM-Open is also available for devices that do not support enterprise encryption and authentication methods.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Help Desk at 731-881-7900.
Transition to Canvas New Quizzes
What is the New Quiz Tool in Canvas?
New Quizzes is a quiz engine that integrates with Canvas and will ultimately replace the Classic Quizzes functionality that currently exists in Canvas. New Quizzes offers new question types, new functionalities, and additional student analytics.
When will New Quizzes launch at UTM?
While UTM Faculty will have access to New Quizzes beginning Summer of 2024, they will continue to have access to Classic Quizzes through May of 2025. End of support for Classic Quizzes is projected for Summer 2025.
How can faculty learn more about New Quizzes?
UTM's Instructional Technology Center has begun offering in-person and online training. Please log in to Runway's ITC page to register for training, or contact the ITC for an appointment.
Online Teaching Tip: Communication
Dr. Amy Richards, Associate Professor in Family & Consumer Sciences, recently shared how she achieves faculty presence in her online courses.
"Communication in my online classes entails a 4-pronged approach:
Class announcements three times a week (on Monday to welcome students to the new week and to provide the Canvas link to the week's module; on Wednesday afternoon to remind them to answer a question on the Canvas discussion board; and on Friday to remind them to finish replying to other students on the discussion board and to submit any assignments that might be due that evening).
Individual feedback is provided every week on assignments that students submit as well as with the grades for discussion posts.
Individual emails are sent to students that have missed submitting an assignment or missed participating on a discussion board to check in with them to make sure they are doing okay.
Tutorial pages and "To do" lists for each week that help guide the students with knowing what to do and to help them learn the material is the final communication approach.
Embedded in all of the methods is a message to reach out to me if they have questions. Over the years, I have found this approach to work well and have received good comments from my course reviews."
ITS Safety
ITS would like to thank everyone who reports suspicious emails by using the Report Message button in Outlook and/or by forwarding to abuse@utm.edu! Everyone plays a role in keeping UTM safe from cybersecurity threats and your vigilance helps protect the privacy and security of the data we've all been charged with protecting. We would like to recognize the following users for reporting suspicious/malicious emails in February:
Top 5 "Report Message" submissions
Jeffrey Longacre - English and Modern Foreign Languages
Nancy Buschhaus - College of Engineering and Natural Sciences
Andrew Larkins - Academic Records
Ann McCann - Biological Sciences
Jan Bass - Military Science and Leadership
Top 5 reports to Abuse
Andrew Larkins - Academic Records
Lana Ferrell - Chemistry and Physics
Pat Taylor - Nursing (Retired)
Cheryl Stewart - Education Student Services
Bud Grimes - University Relations
If you need help finding or using the Report Message feature in Outlook, please contact the Help Desk at 731-881-7900 and they would be more than happy to walk you through it. The Report Message button is the preferred way for reporting suspicious and malicious emails going forward, but you can always forward anything you aren't sure about to abuse@utm.edu to be checked.
Again, thank you for your continued vigilance and keeping UTM safe!
Akindi Enhancements
Akindi is UTM's bubble sheet program, and the company recently announced new enhancements.
Improved Speed & Navigation
Specifically redesigned with large classes in mind, faculty will experience faster loading and easier searching on the results pages
Clear Partial Mark Reporting.
Akindi will clearly highlight and display when a student receives partial credit on a question. The Responses tab will feature light-red cells on partially correct questions. Corrected Test Sheets will display the number of points earned on partially correct questions. Question Breakdown will display the number of students who got partial credit on a question, which will be highlighted light red.
Single Student Actions
The 'Responses' tab will support single student actions. Instructors will be able to select specific students to export results, download corrected test sheets, and send the grades to the LMS gradebook.
ITC Training Topics in March
This month, the ITC will offer training on Canvas Basics, SharePoint, Turnitin Similarity Tool, Harmonize Discussion Tool, Proctorio, and New Quizzes. To accommodate faculty schedules, sessions will be offered via Zoom only this month. Visit the ITC schedule in Runway for session descriptions and registration. To view the schedule of sessions and to register, log in to Runway. Contact the ITC if you have questions specific to your courses.
