In Blackboard, as a part of the Courses list in the Assorted Dates area, you will find the Blackboard Learn Ultra Instructor Orientation course to help you prepare to use Blackboard Learn Ultra. If you have a large number of active courses, you may need to search for the course by its title. Each week, for three weeks, you will be notified of a new module to complete. 

The Orientation course activities won’t be graded or reviewed. The course is made up of self-paced activities to help you transition from using Original Course View to the Ultra Course View. Additionally, by completing this orientation course, you will gain insight into the experience your students will have when we switch to the Ultra Course View in Fall 2021. 

On November 3, you will also have Ultra Course View sandboxes available to you in your Courses list in the Assorted Dates area or under the Sandboxes group of courses. These sandboxes will provide a space for you to experiment with new features in the Ultra Course View while completing modules in the Orientation course. 

In next week’s OnCampus we will share more information about Module 3 training and the upcoming course sandbox availability.  

— Karly Good, ITS 

The Office of University Communications and Marketing maintains a social media directory for every Drake University-affiliated social media page. Take a look around to see which departments have pages, follow them, and invite your friends to follow along: news.drake.edu/social-media-directory.

While you’re looking around, let us know if your department page has changed. Maybe you have a department name change, you want a new cover photo, or you don’t see your URL on the directory at all.

Additionally, we would like to start compiling a list of Drake-affiliated Facebook groups with a focus on program-specific groups. Below are links to examples of these groups.

Drake PR & SPC and Graduate Programs: https://www.facebook.com/groups/295362453852493/

Drake English: https://www.facebook.com/groups/drakeenglish/

Drake Rhetoric, Media, & Social Change: https://www.facebook.com/groups/257726310929378/

Drake SJMC Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/147246729292754/?ref=br_rs

Drake Program in LPS: https://www.facebook.com/groups/166852185473/?ref=br_rs

Drake University ABA Program: https://www.facebook.com/groups/DrakeABA/?ref=br_rs

— Niki Smith, University Communications and Marketing

New faculty and staff who are members of the Phi Beta Kappa national honors society are invited to participate in the Drake chapter’s activities for 2020–2021. Founded in 1923, Drake’s Gamma Chapter was only the third institution in Iowa to be awarded a chapter. Please contact Maura Lyons, professor of art and design, at maura.lyons@drake.edu to self-identify as a member and for more information.

— Maura Lyons, Art and Design

Course archiving is necessary to maintain course data, remove unnecessary and dated courses/organizations from our system, and to stay within required server storage limits. Each year we archive and delete the oldest courses from Blackboard to make room for new courses. We have completed creating archives of all courses including and prior to the 2016–2017 academic year. At the end of October, we will be removing courses created for the 2016–2017 academic year and all previous terms.

If you want any copies of these older courses for your own files, please back up your course(s) before October 30. See Archiving, Exporting, and Importing Blackboard Course Packages (How-to) for instructions.

We do have the capability to restore courses if you need access to data once they are removed. This process takes about five working days. If you need to have a course restored, please submit a Blackboard Restore Archived Course request in the ITS Service Portal.

— Karly Good, ITS

The College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences still has some doses of flu vaccine remaining. Sign up to receive your flu shot at no cost. The vaccines are administered by Drake CPHS student pharmacists and pharmacist faculty members.

For questions, please contact Nora Stelter, PharmD, Associate Professor, Pharmacy Practice at nora.stelter@drake.edu.

The next technology project request review is happening in just a few months. If you have a project idea for consideration, please submit it by Dec. 18 by using the Technology Project Request form. The Submitting a Technology Project Request (How To) guide is available and explains how to complete the submission process.

Want to know about the current ITS projects? Visit the project management section of the ITS website.
Need additional assistance? Please reach out to Kris Brewster.

— Carla Herling, ITS

When was the last time you reviewed the privacy and security settings on your mobile devices? When a new version of your phone’s operating system (OS) is released, do you install it right away? How often do you update your mobile applications (apps) or delete those you don’t use?

These questions are about more than staying up to date, they are about being proactive to protect important data. Your phone is so much more than just a way to stay in touch. It lets you pay for purchases; answers your questions; entertains and informs you; and holds vast amounts of sensitive, personal, and valuable information.

One of the best ways to protect your personal information involves updating your devices on a regular basis. Most OS and app upgrades include security improvements, and delaying installation of those updates can expose your private information to attacks designed to exploit known security holes in older versions. Learning how to protect devices and personal information takes time, but keeping your phone’s OS and apps up to date, and deleting unused apps can help keep your information safe online.

Another way to protect your information is by regularly reviewing your phone’s security settings. The National Cybersecurity Alliance provides a resource page with more information on securing mobile devices and key accounts.

ITS will continue to simulate phishing and assign training to those most at risk. If you’d like to discuss any information security issues, please feel free to reach out to ITS or email informationsecurity@drake.edu.

— Information Security, ITS