[ skip to content ]

INSTRUCTION

OCCS offers services which assist faculty in distribution of course information and learning material to their students.

Blackboard and e-Learning Tools
Blackboard is the University's course management system. It incorporates Web pages, email, discussion boards, chat rooms, online quizzes, an online grade book, a calendar, virtual groups and document sharing. Additional tools have been integrated to further add functionality:

  • iTunesU allows faculty to post audio and video files for student access.
  • Perception is an assessment management system that integrates with the Blackboard course site and enables the instructor to author, schedule, deliver, surveys, quizzes, tests and exams. Eleven standard reports are available.
  • Respondus is another tool for creating and managing exams.
  • Respondus lockdown browser (LDB) is a tool that locks down the testing environment. Students are locked into the assessment and are unable to print, copy, go to another URL or access other applications. The LDB is fully integrated with Blackboard.
  • StudyMate  is an authoring tool that lets instructors create Flash-based activities and games using four simple templates.
  • SafeAssign a Blackboard plugin that assists in the detection of plagiarism in students' papers by checking against multiple databases including the Internet - comprehensive index of documents available for public access on the Internet and the ProQuest ABI/Inform database with over 1,100 publication titles and about 2.6 million articles from '90s to present time, updated weekly.
  • And currently in pilot mode are a set of social learning tools allowing for wikis, blogs, and journaling.

Classroom Central
Classroom Central provides equipment, services, and support to help faculty and students take full advantage of the technology available in the University's technology classrooms. Assistance is available through the Technical Support Center at 757.683.3192. Questions and comments may be sent to classroomcentral@odu.edu.

Faculty/Student Communication System (FSCS)
FSCS allows instructors to keep class communication separate from personal communication and gives professors the option of letting teaching assistants share the workload. The system was designed and developed in house by OCCS and the Center for Learning Technologies, utilizing the expertise and advice of faculty members who recognized the need for a closed system for class discussions.

Opscan Test Grading
OCCS is pleased to offer automated/computer graded test services via its optical scanning equipment to all faculty, staff and graduate assistants.

Mailing Lists
The Mailman software application manages email discussion lists (mailing lists) via the web. Unlike most similar products, Mailman gives each mailing list an individual web page that allows users to create and administer lists, as well as subscribe, unsubscribe, and adjust delivery options from any computer with Internet access.