Category: Technology

As you know, Wichita State is in the process of becoming a full Blackboard Ultra school. At this time, all Blackboard users are in the Ultra Navigation area when they log in to Blackboard, and approximately 100 instructors are also offering their courses in Blackboard Ultra Course format.

To assist all instructors in the move to Ultra courses, WSU has been working with a vendor to provide an Ultra version of most of your previously offered courses. Beginning Sept. 20, most instructors will receive an Ultra course version copy of their current and previous courses going back about two years. Here is what you need to know:

• Most courses on the Blackboard server have been copied and the copy has converted to an Ultra version. This Ultra version of the course can be found in the Development/Sandbox Course Shells area in Blackboard and can be identified as a copy by the U at the end of the course name.
• These Ultra version courses are copies of the original courses and the original courses also still exist. The original versions can be found under their associated semester in Blackboard.
• Instructors are not required to use these new Ultra course version courses. This version is provided as a gift and is intended to help instructors as they develop their courses in Ultra. Instructors are welcome to use these new versions in the future, but it is not required.
• Eventually, all courses at WSU will need to be in the Ultra course format. The Office of Instructional Resources recommends that instructors work in only one Ultra course format initially to get used to the new tools and then adopt the Ultra course format for the rest of their courses over time.

All courses at WSU must be in the Ultra Course format by the spring 2023 pre-session.

This is a reminder for all students, faculty and staff that send out surveys to use Qualtrics. Wichita State has a license for Qualtrics, which became the official institutional survey software in 2012.

Qualtrics can be used for research purposes, program review, nominations, elections, applications and much more.

Listed below are some of the benefits of using Qualtrics for your survey needs:

• The program reduces overall cost as the university has a site license for Qualtrics, so users do not have to pay any other third-party vendor.
• There is access to the Qualtrics Support Site to help users with survey design, methodology and survey questions.
• Members have access to on-campus survey experts to optimize their survey and response rate.
• Qualtrics ensures that users get accurate email lists of students, faculty and staff for their survey.
• Qualtrics educes survey fatigue as it can create reduced samples that more approximately target your survey population.
• Qualtrics sends reminders, follow-ups and thank you emails to survey recipients.
• Users can view analytics of create reports, including filtered results within Qualtrics.
• Users can avoid getting marked as a spammer by sending surveys through Qualtrics rather than through their myWSU email.
• Users can create surveys with embedded video, audio and graphics.
• Users can create surveys that only show appropriate questions to each user using skip logic and survey flow.
• Users can export data directly to (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Comma Separated Value (CSV) format or Portable Document Format PDF.

If you need an account, would like training, or have questions please contact Whitney Crager in the Office of Planning and Analysis at 316-978-5350 or whitney.crager@wichita.edu.

Until further notice, students and faculty should not rely on Blackboard’s calendar integration. The Office of Instructional Resources will push out any updates as they become available.

Recently, the Blackboard calendar tool has experienced problems when integrated with external calendars such as Google Calendar and Outlook Calendar. This interrupts the transfer of assigned items to flow from Blackboard to these integrated calendars.

This is a nationwide issue that is not limited to the Wichita State campus. For more information, contact OIR@wichita.edu.

As part of our ongoing commitment to provide quality service, Wichita State’s Information Technology Services (ITS) Telecommunications is announcing an upgrade to the current university voicemail service.

Because the university’s current voicemail system has certain features that no longer work and the manufacturer support has ended a new system, Opentext CXE, is required. Opentext CXE integrates with email to enhance users’ voicemail experience.

To utilize full features, a valid @wichita.edu mailbox association must be provided for each voicemail box. After this upgrade, all voice messages will be stored in the associated Wichita State University exchange mailbox. Messages will continue to be accessible through the phone, and can also be accessed by email.

To migrate to this new system, all current WSU voicemail users will receive an email from telecomservices@wichita.edu, listing their extension, associated email and caller ID information. The email will contain instructions on the steps you must take to activate your new voicemail.

If you or your department has a voicemail account that is not associated with a specific @wichita.edu email address, your service will move to the new system, but will not be integrated with an email inbox. You will receive an email with details on how to set–up and manage your new voicemail service.

If your department has a shared @wichita.edu email address you would prefer voicemails to be sent to, please enter a ticket at the link below. When you click Service Requests, just click Telecommunications Assistance and you will be able to choose a category, including voicemail. This system allows our office to process requests more efficiently.

For more information visit the Telecommunications Opentext CXE upgrade, contact 316-978-3535, or visit the official ITS Telecommunications website.

Chrome River will introduce an all-new homepage design in September.

This update includes a new top navigation bar that prioritizes key information.  The + NEW button, previously found at the top navigation bar, has been relocated and renamed to + CREATE.

The + CREATE buttons will be found on the ribbon next to each EXPENSE, INVOICE, PRE-APPROVAL ribbon. Additional information and updated training material will be posted on the Chrome River webpage below.

As part of our ongoing commitment to provide quality service, Wichita State’s Information Technology Services (ITS) Telecommunications is announcing an upgrade to the current university voicemail service.

Because the university’s current voicemail system has certain features that no longer work and the manufacturer support has ended a new system, Opentext CXE, is required. Opentext CXE integrates with email to enhance users’ voicemail experience.

To utilize full features, a valid @wichita.edu mailbox association must be provided for each voicemail box. After this upgrade, all voice messages will be stored in the associated Wichita State University exchange mailbox. Messages will continue to be accessible through the phone, and can also be accessed by email.

To migrate to this new system, all current WSU voicemail users will receive an email from telecomservices@wichita.edu, listing their extension, associated email and caller ID information. The email will contain instructions on the steps you must take to activate your new voicemail.

If you or your department has a voicemail account that is not associated with a specific @wichita.edu email address, your service will move to the new system, but will not be integrated with an email inbox. You will receive an email with details on how to set–up and manage your new voicemail service.

If your department has a shared @wichita.edu email address you would prefer voicemails to be sent to, please enter a ticket at the link below. When you click Service Requests, just click Telecommunications Assistance and you will be able to choose a category, including voicemail. This system allows our office to process requests more efficiently.

For more information visit the Telecommunications Opentext CXE upgrade, contact 316-978-3535, or visit the official ITS Telecommunications website.

If you are using the Zoom-to-Panopto integration, you may find that having the recordings in your “Meeting Recordings” folder is inconvenient. If so, you can move them easily, and OIR has a training page to show you how.

This method works to move any Panopto video from one folder to another, regardless how the recording was captured in the first place.  Need more help? Reach out to the Office of Instructional Resources directly by emailing OIR@wichita.edu.

Do you need training on the new Master Classroom touch panel? Campus Media Services’ 2021 Master Classroom Touch Panel Training page provides short video and text-based training on the new touch panel to get you started with the recently updated equipment. If you have never used a Master Classroom before or if you would like more in-depth training, you will need to schedule an in-person training session with Glenn Gunnels via email or phone, using the information provided on the webpage.