Printer friendly user manual for My Space

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My Space - administration av roller, rettigheter, moduler og utseende

Administration of My Space

  • Administrators in classes and communities have access to an Admin-page. Only those with administrator rights (write access) to a class or community have access to the Admin-page.
  • With the exception of the calendar and the file storage, all functions (News, email, forums etc.) can be administered from the Admin-page.
  • Administrator rights are granted by the superuser at your department or faculty.

Roles and rights

  • There are only two types of rights in My space; reading rights and writing rights (administration rights).
  • Persons with reading rights are either ordinary members or students
  • Persons with writing rights can have one of the following titles; Professor/Lecturer, Teaching Assistant, Course Administrator or Administrator.
    • Therefore there is no difference in the rights between an Administrator and a Teaching Assistant.
  • In Communities in My Space there is only members and administrators. (Only administrators have writing rights)
  • Some administrators are shown in the Staff List in the Classes in My Space:
Rolle Vises under stab Role Shown in Staff List Administrator rights
Emneansvarlige/Forelesere Ja Professor/Lectures Ja / yes Ja / yes
Undervisningsassistent Ja Teaching Assistant Ja / yes Ja / yes
Administrativ kontaktperson Ja Course Administrator Ja / yes Ja / yes
Administrator Nei Administrator Nei / No Ja / yes
Student Nei Student Nei /No Nei / No
-- Nei

--

Nei /No Nei / No
Sensor Nei Sensor Nei /No Nei / no
  • The role Sensor is a member role and therefore has no administrating rights.
    • Persons with the Sensor role can see all the assignments submitted in the assessment folder and the Master`s thesis folder.
    • The Sensor role should be used to give external sensors admission to retrieve assignments from My Space on their own and to prevent the internal sensors (with administrator rights) to see the content in the Learning folder.
    • A person with the Sensor role in a class will automatically get the sensor role in all the subgroups in the class as well.
  • The sensor role can be set either in classes in My Space or in Felles Studentsystem (FS)
    • If a person has the role as Professor/Lecturer and then gets the sensor role, their admin rights will not be reduced. (They will still be able to admin the class and see the content in the Learning folder).

Grant administrator rights

  • As an administrator for a class or a community, you can grant other employees administrator rights.
    • This is done by clicking the Manage Membership link in the Admin-page.
    • Then enter the person’s surname or username in the field Add A Member and click Search.
    • In the next window you select the person who is to be given administrator rights by clicking on his or her name.
    • Finally, you must state the role the person is to have in the class/community/subgroups.

Grant adminitrator rights in several classes

If you are going to grant access rights to a person for several classes, it is possible to clone your memberships for up to 20 classes at a time. Provided that you have administration rights to grant.

  • This is done via "Control Panel"
  • Select "Clone my memberships (with admin rights)"
  • Find the user you wish to grant membership to. You can search by username or surname.
  • Click in the radio button (the circle) to select the person you wish to grant administrator rights to
  • Select "Term" (semester). Your classes and communities for the current semester are listed automatically. NOTE: Only classes and communities for which you have administrator rights are listed. Select other semesters if desirable. Classes for coming semesters become available in December (spring) and June (autumn).
  • Check the classes you wish to give the person membership in and specify the role.
  • Select "Clone membership for those selected" (This may take some time. Please be patient.)

Add a guest user

A guest user is a person who does not have a user account at UiB ( a SEBRA-account), but who needs access to a class or community through an external account. This can be used, for example, to give guest lecturers or sensors from external institutions access to a given class in My Space.

Note: An external user account should not be created if the person already have an account (UiB-account or external) in My Space. You should therefore search for the person in My Space before creating an account for him/her (Use only the last name when searching).

  • Via Admin for the class or community.
  • Select "Create a new External Limited Access user" - Use this to create an account for someone that does not have an UiB e-mail and do not have a My Space account already. The user will get the same rights as ordinary UiB members, but can not join other classes or communities on their own.
  • Enter the guest user’s email address and name.
  • Sebras password policy is implemented for guest users in My Space from January 5 2009.
    • The system will generate a password for the guest user if you leave the password fields empty.
    • If you manually give the guest user a password it must comply with Sebras password policy
  • Click OK.
  • In the next window that is displayed (may take some time), the user is assigned a role. Select one of the alternatives and click "Add"
  • The next window is an email message with log-on information for the guest user. Here, you can enter supplementary text, but do not remove the existing text.
  • Select "Send email" (You will receive a copy of the email which is sent to the guest user.)
  • The guest user is now displayed in the list of members.

Change the guest users e-mail address

  • If a guest user is already created in My Space, but is registered with the wrong e-mail address do not create a new account for this user.
  • Tell the guest user to change the e-mail address via the "Control Panel" in My Space.

Forgotten password and guest users

  • Guest users must change their password in My Space themselves.
  • If guest users have forgotten their password to My Space they will have to require a new password themselves by following the instructions that come up after they have tried to log on with a wrong password.
  • A new password will then be sent to their e-mail address. (Their e-mail address must be registered correct in My Space).

Deactivating guest users accounts

  • Each semester My Space will automatically deaktivate all the external guest users accounts that have not been used during the last twelve months.
  • The deactivated external guest users can activate their accounts again if they need it later (assuming that they still use the email address assosiated with the account).
    • Log on with the old email address and follow the instructions.

Add multiple (registered) members to a group in My Space

Note: This functionality is only offered in Groups in My Space, not in Classes. Student memberships in classes are never registered manually in Classes in My Space. The student memberships are automatically transferred to My Space after they have registered themselves in StudentWeb.

  • Go to the bottom of the “Manage Members” page.
  • Under “Add users by email” you can add several members to the group in one operation.
  • The following rules apply:
    • Members to be added must already be registered in My Space (have a user account).
    • Use the following email format (Add one per line)
      • Staff: username@uib.no
      • Students: username@student.uib.no
    • On work days between 09.00 a.m and 03.00 p.m you can add up to 5 members at the time. Outside these hours no restrictions apply.

Administrating classes and communities

  • See a detailed description of how you administrate each feature in My Space here
  • Under the menu "Group Administration" (top left) in the Admin-page, you will find the following administration choices for the homepage of the Class/Community:
    • Copy this class Can only be done once
    • Manage Membership - Add/Remove Demoemne members
    • Customize Portal Layout
    • Change Bulk Mail Policy - All members | Only admins can send bulk mail to this community.
    • Edit Group Properties - Change name, description, extend memberships, etc.
    • Create a new External Limited Access user - Use this to create an account for someone that does not have an UiB e-mail and do not have a My Space account already. The user will get the same rights as ordinary UiB members, but can not join other classes or communities on their own.
    • Manage Applets (add function)

How to add functions (applets) in classes/communities

  • Both the classes and the communities have some standard features/functionalities that are made available on the homepage for the class/community.
  • THere are also additional functionality (Blog, Resources via RSS etc.) which can be added to communities/classes.
    • Go to the Admin-page for the class/community
    • Under "Group Administration"
    • Click on "Manage Applets (add function)"
    • Click on "Add" after the name of the function
    • The added function will be displayed as a portlet on the class/community page
    • You administer the function from the Admin-page

Change the appearance of class/community pages

  • As the administrator of a class/community, you can decide the appearance of the page.
  • You can remove portlets/functions that are not in use, create your own portlets or tabs and move the portlets around on a page.
  • All this is done from the page called "Customize Portal Layout" which you will find in the Admin-page under "Group Administration".
  • The Customize Portal Layout page is structured in a table with two columns and you can scroll downwards to see all the portals available
    • Use the arrows to move portlets to another location on the page.
    • Use the red X icon to remove the portlet altogether.
      • Portlets that have been removed can be added again later if this is desirable. This is done by selecting the function in the drop-down menu "Unused Portlets" and click "Add this portlet here".
  • At the bottom of the page you can create new pages/tabs, and you can also create new names for existing tabs.

About publishing information

  • Information must be published in the class or community to which the target group belongs.
    • News to members in a specific class are published on the class page.
    • E-mails to members in a study program or a department are sent from the programme’s or department’s community page.
  • Everything published on the home pages of the classes/communities where a student is a member is also shown on the students "My Space" (their personal page).


Documentation overview

Assignment

Assignment is a simple system for administering the electronic submission of student assignments, work etc.


About Assignment in My space

  • Assignment consists of three different types of folders: The Learning Folder, the Assessment Folder and the Master’s Thesis Folder.

Folders Assignments.png

    • These three types of folder are visually different and they are the only type of assignment folders it is possible to create in the Assignment applet.
    • It is not possible to change the names of the three folder types.
    • It is possible to name any sub-folders that you may create in the ”Learning Folder” and ”Assessment Folder”.
    • The Learning Folder is automaticly added to Assignment. The other two folder types can easily be added.
  • The three types of folder are created by the administrator for a class. Each student is given his/her own Learning Folder, Assessment Folder and/or folder for his/her Master’s Thesis, in which they can upload all types of files.
  • The students can only see their own submitted files in the folders.
  • The administrator for the class can see all the students’ submissions in the three folder types.
  • The administrator can place a time limit on how long the folders are to be open (deadline for submission), and students who have not submitted their assignments can be alerted by email.
  • The teaching staff can comment on submitted assignments/work, either directly in the document or in a separate comments field in the Learning and Assessment Folders.

File sizes:

  • The administrator can upload individual files of up to 100 MB in all the folders.
  • For students the limit is 20 MB in all the folders.

About the Learning Folder

Learning Folder Assignment.png

The Learning Folder is a folder intended for the submission of work on which the students are to receive comments and feedback. This folder is not intended for assignments that have a bearing on the grade for the class. In the Learning Folder, the provisions of the regulations for exams do not, therefore, apply. Note: Assignments submitted in the Learning-folder can NOT be transferred to the electronic examination archive at UiB.

About the Assessment Folder

Assessment Folder Assignment.png

Assignments which are submitted in the Assessment Folder should be assignments that have a bearing on the grade for the class. In the Assessment Folder, the provisions of the regulations for exams therefore apply, see Regulations for studies and degrees at the University of Bergen, Chapter 4 Examinations, and any supplementary rules adopted by the faculty. Note: Assignments submitted in the Assessment-folder can be transferred to the electronic examination archive at UiB.

About the Master’s Thesis Folder

Masters Thesis Assignment.png

As of august 1 all Master thesis should be submitted electronically (Jfr. UU møte 3.oktober 2006, Sak 45/06 Elektronisk innlevering, arkivering og tilgjengeliggjøring av masteroppgaver ved UiB). Note: The Master’s thesis submitted in the Master’s-thesis-folder can be transferred to the electronic examination archive at UiB.

The Master’s Thesis Folder is a type of Assessment Folder that is only intended for the submission of Master’s theses. Assignments submitted in this folder should be assignments that have a bearing on the grade for a class. In this folder, the provisions of the regulations for exams therefore apply, see Regulations for studies and degrees at the University of Bergen, Chapter 4 Examinations, and any supplementary rules adopted by the faculty.

Students may, when submitting a thesis in the Master’s Folder, choose to make their Master's thesis available and searchable on the web in BORA. More about the advantages of making your master's thesis available, and the conditions under which your Master’s thesis is published.

All electronically submitted Master’s thesis must be in PDF format.

Sub-folders can be created under the Master’s Thesis Folder but only individual folders with the student’s name. This function is offered to the departments at which students themselves choose the submission date. For those that have a common submission date at the department (the Master’s class), it is not necessary to create individual folders per student.

Personal declaration when submitting assignments in My Space and Kark

  • As of from June 13. 2008 15:00, a personal declaration text will appear in the beginning of each submission in My Space and Kark. The students must accept the personal declaration to proceed in the submission prosess.
    • Exeption: The personal declaration text does not appear when it is a group submission in My Space.
  • The Personal declaration is available in both Norwegian and English and is controlled by the students language setting in My Space.
  • Click here for more information about the personal declaration (located in the documentation for the students).

Valid exam registration control

Create the folder types (Learning Folder, Assessment Folder and Master’s Thesis Folder) in a class or a subgroup

Important information: Always create the assignment folders in CLASSES and not in Communities, like for instant a degree program. It is only assignments submitted in Classes (or in class subgroups) that can be transferred automatically to the Exam archive.

  1. If the Assignment applet has not already been created in a class (will be created automatically in all classes at the start of the semester), add the Assignment applet in the class: How to add functions (applets) in classes/communities
  2. Go to the Admin page for the class/subgroup and find the menu "Assignment"
  3. Access the Assignment Folder by clicking "Assignment" in the Assignment applet that has been created, or via the Admin page by clicking on ”Assignment” under the menu "Assignment".
  4. In order to create either a Learning Folder, Assessment Folder or a Master’s Thesis Folder, click on the button "Create New Folder" when in the "Assignment" window.
  5. Repeat the process by accessing "Assignment" and clicking "Create New Folder" again.

Set an opening and closing time for a folder

  1. Check "No" when asked: "Inherit opening dates from [the class name]"
  2. Specify the opening date and time in the field "Open from"
  3. Specify the closing date and time in the field "Closed after" - After this time the students are not able to hand in assignments.

Close a folder

  1. The folder is closed in the time period before the date "Open from" occurs and in the time period after "Closed after" has occurred.
  2. A folder will be closed if you set the date/time for "Open from" = the date/time for "Closed after"
  3. Alternatively you can close a folder by choosing "Folder properties"
  4. Then click once in the box next to "Close the folder"
  5. Click OK
  6. The folder is now closed

Alert time and closing time for folders

  • To ensure a state of readiness at the time of submission deadlines it is recommended that the closing date and time is set between 08:00 and 15:00 on workdays
  • Submission dates set outside workdays between 08:00 and 15:00 are on your own risk. (There is no state of readiness at the IT-department or at the Department of Education outside these hours).

Enable/disable Assignment applet

  • "Assignment (enable | disabled)":
    • Is used to activate/deactivate all the assignment folders (standard/default = disabled).
    • The contents/the folders in "Assignment" is only visible to students when it is enabled.

Administrer Assignment for subgroups

It is possible to do some administration of Assignment in subgroups from the class-level:

Create Assignment for all subgroups

You can create Assignment folders directly in a subgroup, but if you need to do this for several subgroups you can save some time by administrer this from the Class Admin-page.

Step by step:

  • Go to the Admin-page for the class
  • Under "Assignment" choose "Add an Assignment Folder to all subgroups (this may take a while)"

In this page you will get two choices:
1. Add Assignment to all the subgroups in this class

  • This will create and add Assignment (with the Learning folder) in each subgroup.

2. Add folders in Assignment based on individual selection for each subgroup.

  • Choose among options in a table to add Assignment and selected folders in each subgroup
    • the following options are available:
      • Add subgroup (Remember to check wich subgroups to administrer in the box to the left)
      • Activate (make visible)
      • Learning folder
      • Assessment folder
      • Master's thesis folder
      • Group submission
      • Anonymize
    • Note that some combinations are not allowed: The Master's thesis folder can never be anonymized even if you select this in the table.
  • Click "Create" when you are reday to create the folders.
  • After the folders have been added you will get a receipt.
  • To change any settings in the folders at a later time you have to go to the relevant subgroup.

Opening dates for the folders

  • Set opening dates on all Assignment Folders (also for subgroups)

Here, you can stipulate common opening dates which will apply to all the Assignment Folders (also subgroups), but not those that have separate opening dates or which have chosen not to use common opening dates at all.

Other administrative options

Edit folder properties

  • Select "Assignment" in the Admin window and the folder whose properties you wish to edit.
  • Select the button "Folder properties" in order to edit the folder’s properties.
  • Choose whether the administrator is to be notified when a student assignment has been submitted, and whether common opening dates are to apply to the whole class, including subgroups or whether separate opening dates are to be defined (applies to this folder alone).

Membership

  • The student’s membership from StudentWeb is shown in the column "Membership" in the assignment folders when a student has submitted an assignment.
  • Memberships has the following notations:
    • X : Membership fetched from Studentweb. Has a class- and exam registration.
    • U : Membership fetched from Studentweb. Has only a class registration (not an exam registration)
    • E : Membership fetched from Studentweb. Has only an exam registration.
    • -- : Membership created manually. Role is student, but will not be shown.

Submit an assignment for a student

  • Is used by the administrator when the student is unable to submit it him/herself or when the folder is closed. (The administrator submits the assignment for the student.)
  • The button is called: "Upload a new assignment for a student"
  • When an administrator submits an assignment on behalf of a student the student automatically receives an e-mail notification of this submission.
  • When an administrator uploads an assignment on behalf of a student they will see if any of the students are missing a formal class exam registration.

Access to/commenting on assignments

Submitted assignments are shown in the folder and can be commented on in two ways:

1.Write a brief comment directly in the window:

  • Select ”New Comments” and write the text directly in the field on the page (only simple text). You can also mark as passed/not passed. This will be entered in a small file linked to the student’s assignment.

2.Comment directly in the student’s assignment:

  • First, download the student’s assignment to your own computer.
  • Write your comments directly in the text and save the file on your own computer.
  • Return to the folder and upload the new version of the assignment containing your comments.
  • The student will then be able to view both his/her own assignment and the new version containing your comments.

Administrators and professors can upload different versions of comments and they can use the text box for version comments to distinguish between the commented files.

The student receives an automatic email message when comments have been added.

"Passed" / "Not passed"

In addition to comments, it is possible to tick the appropriate box for whether the assignment has been passed/not passed.

  • The feedback "Passed" / "Not passed" is not considered to be an exam result, (i.e. it is not the same as Pass / Fail). The assessment is entered in separate records and will be registered in FS.
  • The comment "Passed" / "Not passed" can be used as feedback to the students in relation to mandatory assignments that must be passed before the student can sit the exam and submit the actual exam paper.
  • The comment "Passed" / "Not passed" is shown to the student in the status field for the assignment.

Email to students who have been awarded "Passed" / "Not passed"

An option has been created making it possible to send an email to students who have had "Passed"/"Not passed" checked, respectively, in the Comments column.

  • Click the folder
  • Click the box in the top left-hand corner so that all the files are checked.
  • Click "View comments on checked items"
  • In the Comments column on the right, "Passed" or "Not passed" is shown for each assignment (if such a comment has been registered).
  • Check those you wish to send an email to in the boxes in the left-hand column.
  • Click the button "Send email to checked items" under the list.
  • Write your message and send or cancel
  • See the guidelines for sending emails here Email administration in My Space

Notify students who have not submitted work

  • "Show missing submissions" lists all students who have not submitted the assignment in a folder.
  • Tick the box on the left of the assignment name in order to send an email to the candidate(s).
  • When you are in the window showing which students have failed to submit an assignment, you can also select "Show submissions" to see all the students that has submitted the assignment
  • Tick the box on the left in order to send an email to the candidate(s).

Printout of submitted assignments in a folder

It is possible to print a list showing submitted assignments in a folder. The printout shows the class code and name, and the name of the folder. It also shows: Author, Role, Last changed and Comments (Passed/ Not passed) as well as the total number of submissions.

  • Click the folder
  • Click the box in the top left-hand corner so that all the files are checked.
  • Click "View comments on checked items"
  • In the Comments column on the right, “Passed” or “Nor passed” is shown for each assignment (if such a comment has been registered).
  • Click the “Print” button above the list.
  • Select printer and print.

Anonymization of folders

  • It is now possible to take delivery of anonymous electronic submissions in the Assignment applet in My Space (i.e. submission using the student’s student number only).
  • In order to safeguard students’ anonymity, it is a requirement that submissions must be in PDF format or in Plain Text.
    • It is important, therefore, to inform students about the format requirements in the case of planned anonymous submissions well in advance of the submission date.
  • Note: Submittet assignments in anonymized folders will not show up when viewing submitted papers per student. This is to ensure the anonymity of the students.
  • Information about format requirements is available in the students documentation:

How to create an anonymous submissions folder:

  • Note:The folder must be empty (not contain any files) for it to be possible to anonymize it after it has been created.
    • If the folder is empty, the anonymization process can be reversed so that an anonymous folder can become non-anonymous.

If you wish to anonymize a newly-created folder:

  • Create a folder with the name you wish
  • Highlight “Yes” for the option: "Anonymize contents in this folder" (the final option on creating the folder).

If you wish to anonymize an existing folder:

  • Click the folder you wish to anonymize
  • Choose "Folder properties"
  • Highlight "Yes" for the option: "Anonymize contents in this folder".

Information shown in the status field

”Ephorus N/A” indicates that no ”Ephorus responsible” role has been linked to the class (N/A means Not Available). Assignments can nonetheless be checked in Ephorus even if no one has been registered as having the Ephorus responsible role in the class in My Space. The status is visible to both students and staff. Read more about Ephorus at UiB here. It is important that all students familiarise themselves with:

The status for submission to BORA and the Exam archive is visible to both students and administrators.

Group submissions:

When several students write an assignment together that is to be submitted in My Space, the submission can be organised so that only one copy of the assignment has to be submitted. This assignment will be visible to all the students in the group (the authors).

Group submissions can be organised in subgroups:

  • All the students who are members of the subgroup can see each others’ submitted assignments.

To organise the submission of group assignments for a subgroup:

  • Create a subgroup under the class for each group of students who are going to write an assignment together.
    • The administrator can limit students’ right to join a subgroup on their own initiative. In such case, the registration policy must be set to “Closed”. Go to Admin – Group administration – Change registration policy – Open | Closed | Waiting for approval (select “Closed”)
  • Distribute the students as members of the correct subgroup. Alternatively: The students can themselves register as members of the correct subgroup if the registration policy is not set to “Closed”.
  • In order to use Assignment for a class, it must first be added in the same way as other applets.
  • Create the Assignment applet and the folder type(s) to which the subgroup’s members are to submit work.
    Click “Enable” in “Allow group submission in all folders” from the Admin page under "Assignment". This allows all the members of the subgroup to see the submissions made by another member of the subgroup.
  • Enable the Assignment applet from the Admin page by clicking “Enable”. (This makes the contents of the Assignment applet visible to the members of the subgroup.)

Note: Once a group submission has been made, i.e. a file has been uploaded by a student, the group submission functionality cannot be disabled. This can only be done as long as the Assignment applet is empty (contains no files).

Note: You can not use anonymous folders when you set up group submissions.

Note: It is only the administrator for the class who can comment on the submitted assignments. All the students who have made a group submission can see the comments on the assignment.

Format requirements for submissions in My Space:

Format requirements apply to the submission of assignments in My Space when:

  1. Students submit their Master’s theses.
  2. Students submit an anonymous assignment in an anonymised folder.

Format requirements in the different folder types:

  • The Learning Folder and the Learning Folder’s sub-folders:
    • No format requirements.
  • Anonymised Learning Folder and/or anonymised sub-folders in the Learning Folder:
    • Requires either PDF or plain text (txt, sgml, html, xml, lisp, etc).
  • The Assessment Folder and the Assessment Folder’s sub-folders:
    • No format requirements.
  • Anonymised Assessment Folder and/or anonymised sub-folders in the Assessment Folder:
    • Requires either PDF or plain text (txt, sgml, html, xml, lisp, etc)
  • The Master’s Thesis Folder and the Master Thesis Folder’s subfolders (Folders in the student’s name):
    • Requirement is PDF.
  • ZIP-files:
    • ZIP-files that contains supported fileformats are allowed in the different folders. But ZIP-files are not allowed in the Master thesis' folder.

Delete, move and copy files in the Assignment applet

In the Assignment applet, limitations apply with respect to the folder types between which files can be moved or copied.

  • Students cannot delete submitted files from any of the folder types in the Assignment applet.
    • Students who wish to delete a file from the Assignment applet must contact the administrator/person responsible for the class, who can do this for the student.
  • It is not possible to move files from the Learning Folder to the Assessment Folder or to the Master’s Thesis Folder.
    • It is possible to copy files from the Learning Folder to both the Assessment Folder and the Master’s Thesis Folder.
    • It is also possible to move files within the Learning Folder – for example from one sub-folder to another.
  • It is not possible to move files from the Assessment Folder to the Learning Folder or to the Master’s Thesis Folder.
    • It is possible to move files within the Assessment Folder – for example from one sub-folder to another.
  • It is not possible to move files from the Master’s Thesis Folder to the Learning Folder or the Assessment Folder.
    • Students can move a file from the Master’s Thesis Folder to their own sub-folder in the Master’s Thesis Folder (with the student’s name). It is not possible to copy files from the Master’s Thesis Folder to the Learning Folder or the Assessment Folder.

Granting extra/shorter time for submissions for individual students

  • This functionality is used if one or more students have been allotted extra/shorter time for assignment.
  • It is possible to administer who is to be given extra/shorter time and how much extra/shorter time each individual is to be given.
  • It is also possible to give one or more students extra/shorter time in an individual folder, or for the whole class (i.e. in all assignment folders created in the class).

Procedure:

  • If you have not set an opening and closing time for the folder you should do that first.
  • Click on the correct folder.
  • Click on the button "Admin who should have extra/shorter time".
    • A list of the students that have already been granted extra/shorter time will appear.
  • Click on the button "Give someone extra/shorter time"
  • Fill in the extra or shorter time you want to grant the selected student/s (remember to select the students from the list).
    • To grant shorter time indicate this with a subtraction sign like this: "-1"
  • Note: When extra/shorter time is granted before or after the original deadline has expired, the extra/shorter time is added/subtracted with effect from the expiry of the original deadline for submission. E.g.: If the deadline is set to expire on Monday March 1, 2010 at 12:00 and a whole day extra is added at 14:00 on the same day, The new deadline for submission will be Tuesday March 2, 2010 at 12:00 (not 14:00).
  • If the folder has an opening and closing time this will be shown over the field for "Extra/shorter time - days"
  • If the folder has an opening and closing time you will see what the new date and/or time will be for the selected students. This will be indicated below the field for "Extra/shorter time - hours".
    • It will say: "New closing time for selected students: [date + time]"
  • Note the following limitations when calculating the new closing time:
    • If the folder does not have a defined opening and closing time My Space will not be able to calculate the new closing time. This is why it is important to define an opening and closing time before granting extra/shorter time.
    • My Space will not be able to calculate what the new time is going to be if you apply it for "The whole class".
  • Click on the button "OK" when you are done (to save).
  • Note: When extra/shorter time is granted an e-mail notification is automatically sent to the student/s who received extra/shorter time and to the person who granted the extra/shorter time.

Send email to students who have been granted extra/shorter time

It is possible to send an email to all students who have been granted extra/shorter time for submission and to print a list of these students.(Note that all students who are granted extra/shorter time are automatically sent an email about this when it is registered.)

  • Select folder
  • Select “Admin who should have extra/shorter time”
  • Check the students to whom you wish to send an email
  • Click the folder “Send email to checked items”
  • Write your message and send or cancel
  • See the guidelines for sending emails

Print a list of those who have been granted extra/shorter time

The printout shows the class code and name, and the name of the folder. It also shows: Surname, First name, Email address, Role, Extra/shorter time and Where (the extra time has been granted).

  • Select folder
  • Select “Admin who should have extra/shorter time”
  • Click the “Print” button.

Granting extra time for submissions for all students

Follow this description to grant extra time for submissions for all students in a folder:

  • Click on the correct folder.
  • Click on the button "Folder properties".
  • Set new time in the fields "Closed after" - the new submission time.
  • Click "OK" when you are done.
  • Remember to notify the students in case of a new deadline.

Procedures for granting extra time for submissions in the event of unplanned downtime in My space and Kark:

In the case of unplanned downtime in My Space the following guidelines for granting extensions applies. The guidelines also applies to Kark.

  • If My Space was unavailable for electronic submissions during the course of the stipulated submission date and this was not the result of planned downtime, the submission deadline will be extended by at least one day for all students in the class.
  • If My Space was unavailable for electronic submissions for more than one day and this is not a result of planned downtime, the submission deadline will be extended by at least two days for all students in the class.
  • The department/faculty responsible for the class in question will stipulate a new submission deadline in accordance with these guidelines.

The department/faculty will send information about any changes in submission deadlines via e-mail and notification on My Space as soon as possible. Students are responsible for checking My Space and their student e-mail at regular intervals.

Use the following standard message in case of unplanned downtime in My Space:

My Space was unavailable on [dd.mm.yy] from [hh.mm] until [hh.mm]. The fault has now been rectified and the system is up and running again. The department/faculty has set a new submission deadline, cf." Guidelines for the extension of deadlines for submission".

New deadline: [hh.mm] on [dd.mm.yy].

Note: Fill inn the date and time where it is missing.

Overview: Planned submissions in My Space and Kark

Download archive of assignments

In the Learning folder and the Master’s thesis folder, you can download non-anonymous archives of assignments. The following two options are available:

  • "Download an archive of the contents of this folder and all sub-folders" and
  • "Download an archive of the files in this folder".

In the Assessment folder, it is possible to download anonymous archives of assignments. An anonymous archive changes the file name of all the assignments to the students’ student numbers. The following two options are available:

  • "Download an archive of the contents of this folder and sub-folders" and
  • "Download an archive of the files in this folder".

Download an archive of the submissions in the class and all the subgroups

  • Go to the Class Admin-page
  • Under "Assignment" select "Download an archive of the submissions in the class and all the subgroups (this may take a while"
  • Save or open

Send assignments to the Exams Archive and BORA

The Exams Archive is a central archive for electronic exam papers submitted in My Space at UiB. All electronically submitted assignments in Assessment Folders and Master's Thesis Folders in My Space must be transferred to the Exams Archive once the exam results are availablr (including failed assignments).

As from July 3rd 2013 assignments are transferred automatically on a nightly basis. Assignments transferred to the Exams Archive and/or BORA will display a text in the status field stating: “Sent to Exams Archive” or: “Sent to Exams archive and BORA” (the latter applying only to the Master’s Thesis Folder).

Note: It is not possible to transfer content from a Learning Folder to the Exams Archive. Hence, carefully choose a correct folder type (either the Assessment Folder or Master’s Thesis Folder) when accepting exam submissions.

Note: Assignments are not moved from My Space when transferred to the Exams Archive and/or BORA. (It is a copy of the assignment that is sent to the Exams Archive and BORA).

Note: Master’s theses which students have chosen to make available in BORA display a text in the status field stating “Waiting to be transferred to BORA”. Once the thesis has been sent to the Exams Archive, it will automatically be forwarded to BORA if the thesis has been approved. Only Master’s theses that have been graded as “passed” will be made available in BORA. A thesis that is graded as “failed” will not be transferred to BORA even if it is transferred to the Exams Archive.

The status information related to the transfer to the Exams Archive and BORA is visible to both students and administrators.

How to manually transfer assignments to the Exams Archive:

If the automated transfer procedure fails, an adminstrator can transfer assignments manually.

  1. Go to the folder which contains the assignments.
  2. Select all the files that are to be transferred to the Exams archive.
  3. Near the bottom of the page under all the assignments, you will find the button “Request sending the check items to the Exams archive” Click the button.
  4. Check that the status field for the assignments changes to: “Pending sending to Exams archive” or: “Pending sending to Exams archive and BORA” (only applies to the Master’s Thesis Folder). In addition, the date and time when the button was clicked will be shown as well as the name of the person who clicked it.
  5. The actual transfer takes place during the night.
  6. Check the day after that the transfer was successful (check the status field). (It might take longer than one day in periods with a lot of activity in My Space.)
  7. If you experience problems when transferring many assignments simultaneously try transferring fewer at a time.

Notification of any error messages/ problems with the transfer can be given via the link at the bottom of the page “Do you have any technical questions regarding this page?”

Cancel transfer to the Exam Archive/BORA

In the Assessment folder and the Master’s thesis folder, there is a button: "Cancel sending the selected files to the exams archive”. On cancellation of submission to the Exam Archive/BORA, a log is shown detailing who cancelled the submission and the date/time of day when this was done in the status column.

There is an option for canceling the submission of Master’s theses to BORA. The button, which is found under “Properties” for the file, is called “Cancel sending the file to BORA”. In principle, you should not cancel sending to BORA because this is an agreement the student has entered into with the University Library to make the thesis available in BORA. If you choose to cancel the sending to BORA, the status field will show who performed the action and when.

The use of Ephorus (text recognition program)

Printing Master's thesis

The "Felles Kopitjeneste" (the Copy service at UiB) can print the Master's thesis at UiB. This is a service for the faculties/institutes in need of printing the thesis.

  • The papers must be submitted in My space in pdf. Administrator in the institute/faculty is responcible for transferring the files to the copy service "Felles Kopitjeneste".
  • The transportation will deliver the copies when they are printed.
  • Normal delivery time is 1 - 4 days.
  • The department for purcheses (Innkjøpsavdelingen) at UiB will bill the faculty for prints each month.
  • The institute/faculty is responsible for making sure that the printed papers are identical to the electronic submitted files in My Space.


Information to give the Copy service (Felles kopitjeneste)

  • The faculty must give the Copy service a list of contact persons at the institute/faculty.
  • They must also specify how many copies the institutes/faculty will cover.
  • This form must be used for each order. (The form is only available in Norwegian).
  • Send the form to kopi@uib.no
  • If the students want personal copies, they can contact the Copy service (Felles kopitjeneste) later to order them, or they can use a different copy service.
  • Questions regarding printing Master`s thesis:
    • Contact person: Thi Hai Nguyen
    • Phone: 55 88 20 46
    • Email: kopi@uib.no


Transferring large files to the Copy service (Felles Kopitjeneste)Outlook has a file-size limit when sending large files as attachments. If a file is too large to be sendt as an attachment you can use one of the following methods til deliver the files to the Copy service:

  1. You can use the IT-departments transfer solution for large files. [Go to the IT-department to see how this is done.] (Only available in Norwegian).
  2. You can go to the Copy service's office in Christiesgate 20 and download the files directly to one of their computers.
  3. You can burn the files on a CD and send it to them.

Documentation for students

Documentation for students


Documentation overview

Blog

  • Blog is a tool that can be made available in Classes and Communities so that students and lecturers can blog in an academic context.
  • The Blog in My space is not a personal Blog, but a group Blog.
  • In order to use Blog for a class or subgroup, it must first be added in the same way as for other applets:
  • How to add functions (applets) in classes/communities
  • Note: When adding a blog one is responsible for keeping the content within the scope of professional and pedagogical activity.

How to make a blog entry:

  • New entries are created by clicking “Add entry” in the Blog portlet.
  • In the form that appears, you enter the title and contents of the entry.
  • If you are going to use images in the entry, the images must already be available on the internet, and you simply refer to the URL address (e.g. topp_03.gif) in the dialogue box which appears when you click the image icon.
  • When you have finished writing the entry, you can publish it immediately or leave it as a draft.
  • If you want to publish the entry, select “Publish” from the box at the bottom.
  • The entry will not be readable by anyone other than the administrator until it has been changed to “published”.
  • You can edit a blog entry after it has been published.
  • You can also turn a posted entry into a draft again.


How to comment a blog entry:

  • Others can comment on entries by clicking “Add comment” when in the actual entry.
  • Comments will be displayed underneath the entry.
  • Note: Students can not edit or remove comments after it has been published.


Documentation overview

Calendar

Timetables

  • Timetables are imported from the university’s electronic time-planning system (Syllabus).
  • Contact the administration at the department or faculty if you wish to make changes to the timetable.
  • The cancellation function for an activity in My Space is only to be used for cancelling activities when it is less than 24 hours notice, and it should be used as a supplement to news on My Space.
  • If you cancel activities at very short notice, you should also consider sending an e-mail to the students in the class. The relationship between the uib.no (former student portal), My Space and the time-planning system is described on Timeplanlegging og rombestilling (in Norwegian only).

The calendar has the following functionality

  • Printer-friendly format of the calendar (click List view when in the calendar)
  • List view of all submission deadlines (all folder types).
    • Changes made to submission deadlines will be immediately updated in the calendar. (this does not apply if the student has been granted an individual postponement of the deadline).
    • Note: Closing date for submission folders = the submission deadline shown in the calendar. It is only possible to change the submission deadline by changing the closing date for the folder via the Assignment applet.
  • Extended display for all calendar items in monthly and weekly views of the calendar. In the extended display, the following information is included:
    • Teacher/topic are shown in the monthly overview if they have been entered in FS.
    • Teaching venue.
    • Last modified: + Date and Time + Who made the change. For all the lectures etc the changes will be made by the "Timeplansystem UiB" (the timetable system at UiB).
  • If you click the activity item in the calendar, you will get more information about the activity (if this has been registered).
    • You can choose whether to be notified if the activity is added or deleted, you can print a list of the activities and you can export the calendar items to other calendars, such as Outlook.

Subscribe to calendar

  • It is possible to subscribe to class- and subgroup calendars in My Space from other calendars that support the iCalendar standard. For instance; Google Calendar, iCal, Windows Live Calendar, etc.
  • Note that even though the calendars in My Space are updated frequently this is no guarantee that other calendars are updated at equally frequent intervals. Because of this, there might be a delay in the update of the calendar data. The calendars in My Space are always the authoritative source of information regarding teaching activities.
  • To subscribe to a calendar look for the subscription icon Feed.png
    • If a calendar in My Space does not have the subscription icon it means that the subscription service is not available for that calendar.
    • Right click on the icon and copy the URL that you need to create a subscription in an other calendar.
    • Note that the subscription service only works in the current semester.

Calendar export

In the calendar, you can export the following to another external calendar in the standard “iCalendar” format (for example Outlook):

  • Calendar items, one by one.
  • All calendar items in a class- or group calendar
  • Your personal calendar items
  • Look for the export icon Export.png

Export to Microsoft Office Outlook:

  • Select the class- or community calendar you wish to export
  • Click on the export icon Export.png
  • Select "Save to disk ". A file will then be saved in .ics format on your hard disk.
  • Open Outlook
  • Select the Calendar
  • Select File > Import and export..
  • Select "Importa an iCalendar- or vCalendar-file(*.vcs)"
  • Find your saved file and click "OK"
  • The export is complete.

Export to Google Calendar:

  • Select the class- or community calendar you wish to export
  • Click on the export icon Export.png
  • Select "Save to disk ". A file will then be saved in .ics format on your hard disk.
  • Then open your Google Calendar.
  • Select "Add" a calendar and then "Import calendar", which enables you to upload a calendar file.
  • Select the .ics file you have saved from My Space and select which calendar you wish the activities to be imported to.
  • Select "Complete import".

Day summary

The Day summary in My Space shows all your activities today from all the Classes and Communities that you are a member of.


Documentation overview

Connection to other systems

My Space has some integrated systems which students can access directly via My Space. These systems are Kark-innlevering and Kark-seminar

  • To add a link to integrated systems, the applet "Connection to Other Systems" must first be added to the class/community.
  • How to add functions (applets) in classes/communities
  • Go to the Admin page for the class/community to which the applet was added.
  • Select systems from the menu "Connection to other systems". (Click Yes to add the system in the portlet and No to remove it.)


Kark

The Kark learning support system is integrated into My Space and can be used for all classes at UiB.
The connection from My Space to Kark takes place automatically and Kark receives user data, tuition activity and community affiliation from FS/Student Web/My Space. Kark opens in a new browser window so that the user can remain in contact with My Space.

Assignment seminar
Kark allows students to submit, read and comment on assignments directly on the internet. Its powerful assignment management system means that Kark can be used in most tuition systems. The Kark administrator for the class (class administrator) decides who at any given time will have access to the assignment topic and submitted assignments and who can comment on assignments.
The seminar is also highly suitable when students are to submit several versions of the same assignment and when the class is portfolio assessed.
Since the tuition set-up varies from class to class, it is the class administrator who decides which functions are to be used, including folder functions, the generation of commentator lists and blogs.

Blogs (discussion forums)

In some tuition systems, it is natural to have an electronic discussion forum in connection with the assignment seminar. Kark has three variants to choose from: teacher, student and discussion blogs. In the two former variants, it is the blog owner who writes new contributions. In the latter, everyone is free to start discussions. In all three, others can contribute input and questions.

Submission of assignments

Kark is also available in a submissions-only variant which is suitable when the seminar functions are not needed or when file formats have to be used that cannot be shown in web browsers.
Kark-innlevering can deal with all or selected file formats. It has been designed to enable teaching staff to comment on assignments, both directly in the assignment and in a separate comments field in Kark.
Kark-innlevering is run by the same program as the seminar, and the class administrator has the same possibilities to adapt Kark to the working methods used in the class.

Introducing Kark
Kark is activated by creating a link to seminar or to homework on My Space. Many people add links to a manual along with the Kark link The Kark office will provide assistance when you use Kark for the first time.
Questions about Kark can be sent to kark@uib.no .

Documentation overview

Classes and Communities

Colors in My Space

Different colors for Classes and Communities indicates where you are in My Space:

  • My Space/Home, Classes and Communities, My Calendar, My Files and Control Panel are blue.
  • Classes and Subgroups in Classes are green.
  • Communities and Subgroups in Communities are purple.

How to create classes in My Space

Access to Classes and Communities in My Space

Students

  • Are automatically placed in classes and communities on the basis of their formal class- and exam registrations at StudentWeb. They are also automatically placed in communities based on their affiliation to study programme, institute and faculty.
  • All the information published in class or community pages is displayed on the student’s personal page, "My Space".
  • Students cannot drop classes for which they have registered for examinations. You can thus be sure that published information will be displayed on students’ personal pages (My Space).

Staff

  • Are not automatically placed in classes or communities but they can join them through [Join/Drop a Class or Community Group ] in the Classes and Community portlet in My Space. Please note that membership in classes and communities does not confer administrator rights (write access).

Administrator rights

  • Each department has one or more superusers who establish administrator rights (write access) for teaching staff. This is normally the duty of the study consultant.
  • If you have been granted administrator rights (write access) in a class or community, they will automatically be displayed in the class and community portlet in My Space.
  • Contact a superuser at your department if you wish administrator rights (write access) to a class or community.

Displaying a class in My Space for longer than a usual semester:

  • The classes normally disappear from the students’ overview in My Space on 1 January and 1 July respectively.
  • It is possible to extend memberships for the students in a class into the following semester for a limited period of time. This is useful if you wish to receive an assessment of the teaching at the beginning of January for a class that ended in the fall.

How to extend the display period for a class for students:

  • On the Admin page for the class under Group Administration, go to "Edit Group Properties - Change name, description, extend memberships, etc."
  • Set a final date for displaying the class in "Extend student memberships in the Class to the selected date"
  • Note: The maximum extension is 6 months from 1 January and 1 July respectively.
  • If no date is set before January 1 or July 1, the students class memberships will be dropped on these dates.

How to create subgroups

Subgroups in a class are used, among other things, to divide students into smaller groups, e.g. tutorial groups, seminar groups, laboratory groups and similar. Subgroups have the same tools/functions as the home page for the class or community.

Creation of subgroups via Felles Studentsystem (FS)

Creation of subgroups directly in a class or community

  • Note: It takes time to create subgroups in My Space. It is therefore recommended that you create subgroups via FS, see info above.
  • Go via the Admin-page or the portlet Subgroups: Select "New Subgroup"
  • Give the subgroup a name and, if applicable, a description
  • Select "Join Policy":
    • Open: The students can choose to join the subgroup themselves
    • Closed: The administrator enters members via "Manage Membership"
    • Needs Approval: Users can request membership. Requests must be approved by the administrator via "Manage Membership".
  • If the Join policy is set to "closed" you can define a date and time for when the subgroup should open for registration.
  • You can also define a limit of how many students that can sign up as members in the subgroup.
    • This limit does not include persons with an administrative role in the subgroup. (Administrators are counted in addition to the student member limit).
    • The limit is for students or other members that choose to click on "Join" the subgroup.
    • Note also that the administrators can override a limit by adding more members through the "Sort/Manage" in the memberlist.
  • Click "OK" to create the subgroup
    • Wait until it is created (this may take some time)
  • Add members or tell the students to join a subroup of their choice (see Join Policy above).

How to remove (archive) a subgroup

  • Subgroups can be removed (archived) so that they are no longer displayed in My Space
    • The subgroup will no longer be visible to anyone in My Space, not even for the administrators
    • Note: You can not make an archived subgroup visible again after it has been archived
  • Go to the Admin-page and click the "Archive this group" option under Group Administration
  • An alternative to archiving a group is to set the enrollment policy to "Closed" under Group Administration and drop the students memberships. This way the students will no longer have access to the subgroup.

List of favourites

  • When you have over 40 class memberships you will automatically get search fields instead of a list of your classes and communities.
  • If you have over 40 class memberships you can make your own list of favourites that will be available as a list in addition to the search fields
  • The list of favourites is administrated under the "Classes and Communities" tab.
    • Find/search for the classes/communities that you wish to save as your personal favourites and check the checkbox
    • Remember to save your changes by clicking "Update favourites"
    • You can add as many classes/communities as you want

Documentation overview

custom portlet

It is possible to add custom portlets for a class or community:

  • Go to the Admin page of a class/community
  • Under "Custom Portlet"
  • Choose "New custom Portlet"
  • Fill inn the Name and Content for the custom portlet
  • The portlet will be posted on the class/community
  • Go to the Admin page and choose "Customize Portal Layout" to move the portlet to where you want it in the class/group page.


Documentation overview

E-mail

You can send e-mail to:

  • Everyone or to individual members in a class or community.
  • To several classes or communities at a time – also to selected role types in each class.
  • Do not use the e-mail service more than necessary.

E-mail to everyone or to individual members in a class or community

  • From the "Staff" applet (in a class), click "Send e-mail".
  • Alternatively: From the Admin page of the class/community under the menu "Bulk Mail", select "New Bulk Mail"
  • Select who is to receive the e-mail:
    • Send to everyone in the community
  • Or send to the following roles:
    • Students
    • Teaching assistants
    • Course administrators
    • Administrators
    • Professors / Lecturers
  • You can also choose: "In addition, send to the following" (if you have not selected "Send to everyone in the community")
    • Select who is to receive the e-mail.
  • Select "Compose Bulk Message" to write the message
    • The e-mail address of the sender will automatically appear in the Copy (Cc) field.
    • If you do not wish to receive a copy of the e-mail, remove your e-mail address from the Copy field.
    • In the Copy field you can also enter several e-mail addresses (use a comma between each e-mail address)
    • Remember to fill in all the required fields marked with "(required)"
    • Select the date and time to send the e-mail
  • It is possible to edit or stop an e-mail message if it has not been sent. This is done via Admin under the "Bulk Mail" menu by selecting "Bulk Mail History".

Send e-mail to everyone or to individual members in several classes or communities simultaneously

  • From the "Classes and communities" applet or from the "Staff" applet
  • Click on the link "Send bulk mail to several classes/communities"
  • Choose who is to receive the e-mail
    • Choose the classes/communities and/or subgroups who are to receive the bulk e-mail
  • Select "Compose Bulk Message" to write the message
    • The e-mail address of the sender will automatically appear in the Copy (Cc) field.
    • If you do not wish to receive a copy of the e-mail, remove your e-mail address from the Copy field.
    • In the Copy field you can also enter several e-mail addresses (use a comma between each e-mail address)
    • Remember to fill in all the required fields marked with "(required)"
    • Select the date and time to send the e-mail
  • It is possible to edit or stop an e-mail message if it has not been sent. This is done via Admin under the "Bulk Mail" menu by selecting "Bulk Mail History".

Include a link to a file in the File Storage when sending e-mail

  • First add the file in the file storage to the class/community.
  • Select "Add link to a file in the File Storage"
  • An overview of the files in the File Storage will be shown
  • Select the file to which you wish to add a link. (You select a file by clicking once on "Choose" in the right column)

Enable students in a class/community to send e-mail from My Space

  • The default setting for sending e-mailf from classes and communities is set to administrators only.
  • It may be necessary for an administrator to enable students to send e-mails from My Space. For instance if a group of students are working together on an assignment and have their own subgroup in a class.
  • Go to the Admin page, under Group Administration
  • Change Bulk Mail Policy by selecting "All members"
  • All members, including the students can now send e-mails from My Space to the members of the class/ subgroup.


Documentation overview

Ephorus

Connection to Ephorus (text recognition program)

  • All staff at UiB can get an Ephorus account.
  • If no one is responsible for Ephorus in a class in My Space the following text is visible in the Admin-page for Assignment:
    • "No one is registered as responsible for Ephorus for this class. Use this form to register as responsible for Ephorus."
  • If someone is registrered as responsible for Ephorus in a class in My Space, the following text is visible:
    • "Responsible for Ephorus for this class: [e-mail address for the person responsible]"

Get/or connect an Ephorus account to classes in My Space and/or Kark

  • Only one staff/administrator per class can have reports sent from Ephorus.
  • The responsible for Ephorus in a class is usually a Professor/Lecturer.
  • If there is more than one Professor/Lecturer in a class you first have to agree on who should be responsible for Ephorus before you send the request.
    • The person that receives the reports from Ephorus can distribute them if needed.
  • If you wish to get an account in Ephorus, or to connect an already existing Ephorus account to classes in My Space or Kark, fill in the class codes in this form on the intranet.

Information given to students about the use of Ephorus at UiB


Documentation overview

Forums

Forums enable communication between staff and students or just between students.

All members of a class or community can take part in the discussion and respond to contributions from other members.

  • Forums are created from the Admin-page by clicking the link "New Forum" under Forums
  • Fill in the required fields marked with "(required)":
  • Name
  • Purpose
  • Presentation (with threads or flat; this influences how contributions are shown)
  • Posting Policy:
    • Open (default choice; allows all members of the class or community to post and have posts appear immediately)
    • Moderated (means that posts must be approved by a moderator (Administrator) before others can see them)
    • Closed (only administrators can post something)
    • Users can start new threads (yes or no)
  • Note: When adding a forum one is responsible for keeping the content within the scope of professional and pedagogical activity
  • Click "OK"
  • Anyone can choose to receive an e-mail notification when new contributions are posted.
  • To receive notifications, click on the Forum and then on "Request e-mail notification for [Forum Name]".
  • Choose the notification interval (instant, hourly or daily) and click "OK".
  • To change the notification setting, click on the forum and then on "Unsubscribe e-mail notification for [Forum Name]".
    • You can edit all your e-mail notifications from the "Control Panel" by clicking on "Manage your notifications".


Documentation overview

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

  • FAQs are intended to help provide answers to the most frequently asked questions.
    • It can be questions which you are often asked by students or to which it is important to make answers more permanently available during the semester.

Make a new FAQ:

  • The creation of a FAQ is done via the link "New FAQ" in the Admin-page or from the portlet
  • Give the FAQ a title and presentation (Recommended presentation setting: " Q&A on Separate Pages? No")
  • Click "Create FAQ" to save/create the page
  • Click on the title of the FAQ that you created
  • Click on "Create New Q&A" to make a question and answer
  • Continue this prosess with "Create New Q&A" until you have made all the Q&A you wish to post.


Documentation overview

File storage

File types (recommendations)

From January 2009 it is recommended that files are published in either htm/html, PDF 1.4 (or newer) or in ODF 1.0. (Read more about this at the government’s web-page). This recommendation might eventually become mandatory.

Here you will learn how to save files in the two recommended formats.

PDF 1.4 (or newer)

It is strongly recommended to use PDF version 1.4 (or newer) when you want to publish final documents (for instance syllabus, exam assignments, solutions, PowerPoint presentations from lectures etc.) All the PCs at the University of Bergen have a "PDFCreator" installed, which can convert files to PDF. Note: The file is not printed on a printer, but is converted to PDF format, which can then be saved. It does not cost anything to convert files to PDF using the printer driver at UiB. You have to use one of UiB’s computers to follow the description below.

Step by step – saving as PDF

  • PDF version 1.4 is set as a standard version when using the PDFCreator on a UiB PC
  • Open the file that you wish to convert to PDF. (The original file will not be affected)
  • Select print (Ctrl+P)
  • Select printer "PDFCreator"
  • Click "OK”"
  • Click "Save"
  • Select the folder you wish to save the PDF-file in
  • Select a file name for the PDF-file
  • Click "Save"
  • The file has been saved and will open automatically
  • Check that the formatting is OK and close the file
  • The PDF-file is now ready to be uploaded in the file storage. See how to upload files below.

ODF 1.0

ODF (Open Document Format) is the recommended format when publishing documents that are meant to be edited further. Since ODF is not widely used yet and to ensure access to the published information it is recommended that these documents are parallel published in one or more file types.

Step by step – saving as ODF

An ODF-plug-in for Office 2003 is offered by the IT-department. When this plug-in is installed you can save office documents as ODF. A word-file can be saved as *.odt etc.

  • Send a request for "ODF-plug-in for Office 2003" to BRITA (http://bs.uib.no/). Remember to state the name/number of your PC.
  • Open your document in the usual programme (Word, Excel etc.)
  • Word-documents:
    • Select "File"
    • Select "Save as"
    • In the drop-down menu for file type select "ODF Text Document (*.odt)".
    • Save the file on your chosen location.
  • Excel-documents:
    • Select "File"
    • Select "Export ODF Spreadsheet…"
    • Save the file on your preferred location (The file will get *.ods as file extension)
  • PowerPoint documents:
    • Select "File"
    • Select "Export ODF Presentation…"
    • Save the file on your preferred location (The file will get *.odp as file extension)


Open Office – An alternative to ODF-plug-in and Microsoft Office

If you request it and as long as there is capacity on your computer the IT-department will install Open Office for you.

  • Send a request for "ODF-plug-in for Office 2003" to BRITA (http://bs.uib.no/) Remember to state the name/number of your PC.
  • Open Office will give you the following programs:
    • Writer (Text editor - file extension *.odt)
    • Impress (Making slide presentations - file extension *.odp)
    • Calc (Spreadsheets - file extension *.ods)
    • Math (Writing mathematichal formulas - file extension *.odf)
    • Draw (For drawing - file extension *.odg)
    • Base (Making databases)

Make files and links available in the File Storage

Go to File Storage. There, you can view the folders for the class or community. The folder names are standard, but they can be easily changed by selecting Edit Folder, or Delete Folder.

In the File Storage you can upload old exam assignments, solutions, PowerPoint presentations from lectures etc. In addition, it is possible to make URLs available. It is also possible to add or delete folders.

To add files, do the following:

  • Click File Storage
  • Choose or create a new folder to which the file is to be added
  • Then click Add File
  • Browse for- and select the file
  • Enter a title and a description of the file (optional).
    • Administrators can choose whether a description linked to a file in the File Storage will be shown to students.
    • The description is automatically shown to students unless you actively select "No"
    • If there are several versions of the file, it is always the description linked to the last version of the file that is shown.
  • If you do not want the file to be visible for the students immediately, you can set a future publish date for the file.
    • Click the small calendar icon next to "Future publish date" and select the publish time.
    • All the administrators will be able to see the file when it is uploaded even if it has a future publish time.
    • The students will only get access to the file when the publish time has occurred.
    • If you do not set a future publish time for the file it wil be visible for the students immediatly.
    • Note: To edit a future publish time you must upload e new version of the file and then edit the future publish time. See how to upload a revised version of a file
  • Click OK
  • The file has now been made available to all students who are members of the class or community, and it is accessible in the File Storage.
  • A new file or folder in the class or community file storage is indicated with a red "New" text in the class/community file storage and in "My Files". The "New" indicator disappears after 7 days.
  • The "Views" column to the right indicates how many times the file has been opened and by how many persons in total.
    • To illustrate this the numbers "10 / 5" in the Views column tells us that the file has been opened by 5 different persons 10 times in total.

Note:

  • The administrator can upload individual files of up to 100 MB. For students (others), the limit is 8 MB.
  • Use file formats that can be opened using standard software.
  • As a default setting, only those with administrator rights can add files (and URLs) in File Storage. In order to give students write access to a folder in File Storage, open the folder in question and select Change access for members - Only read / Both Read and Write.
    • NOTE: Please note that when the students are given both read and write access to a folder, they can change and delete files in the folder, including files that others have made available. We therefore recommend that you always use the Assignment applet (see Assignment for more information) for the submission of student assignments etc. If you want students to see or comment on other students assignments then you should use Kark.

Edit the description of a file

You can edit or remove the description of a file in the file storage.

  • Click on the file’s "properties"
  • Click on "Edit description".
  • Edit the text and click "Change" to save the changes.

Upload revised version of a file

It is possible to upload a new version of a file in the filestorage, without deleting former versions. The members will only be able to see the last uploaded version (as long as they do not have administrative rights to the folder).

  • Select "Properties" for the file to revise in the column to the right
  • Select "Upload Revision" and follow the procedure for uploading a file
  • You may change the title
  • The Description field can be used for revision comments. (Comments will be visible in the file storage only if "Show description" is selected)
  • A future publish date can also be changed
  • Click OK
  • The last version is now at the top of the list and older versions can be deleted if preferred. (Remember that only the last version is shown to members).
  • Select "Normal view" to go back to the file storage view.

Upload more than one file at a time

  • You can upload more than one file at a time (Multiple Files) if the files are compressed in a ZIP file (this can be done in the file storage system on most PCs).
  • Select "Upload Compressed Folder"
    • Browse for the ZIP file
    • The content will be extracted into a folder with the title you enter.
  • You can add a ZIP-file to an existing folder:
    • Select "Add file"
    • Instead of entering the title, tick the box for "This is a ZIP file containing multiple files".
    • Click OK and the file will automatically be unzipped in the selected folder.
  • You can upload a ZIP-file without extracting the content:
    • Select "Add file"
    • Enter a title and/or a description (not mandatory)
    • Click "OK"
    • The ZIP-file is now saved in the file storage and the content is not extracted.

Move files between folders and classes

  • You can move several files or folders between folders and classes. (Requires administrator rights)
  • Tick the files or folders that you want to move.
  • Select Move.
  • Select the destination folder to which you wish to move the files.
  • Select "Move it here"
  • The selected files or folders is moved.

Copy files or folders

  • You can copy files within a file storage of a class or community
  • Tick the files or folders that you want to copy.
  • Select the destination folder to which you wish to copy the files.
  • The selected files or folders is then copied.


Documentation overview

Information pages

Information pages - administration

Library resources

  • A portlet called Library Resources is automatically created in all classes at the start of the semester.
  • This portlet shows the relevant resources at the University Library and the contact persons at the University Library for each resource.
  • The University Library is responsible for updating the information in this portlet.
  • The administrator can choose not to use this portlet for a class by removing it.


Documentation overview

Links

The portlet "Links" shows relevant links to organizations and resources. The links are the same for all classes. The links are only available in Norwegian.

Bibliotektenester:


Documentation overview

News

About News

  • Both administrators and students can mark news as read directly in My Space or on the classes’ home pages.
  • Students are responsible for reading important information posted by the faculty, department and class in My Space.
  • The column "Read by" in the Admin page under Manage News shows how many people have read a news item.
  • Note: The number in the "Read by" column is reset if you choose to republish the news item.
  • News that are set to be shown permanently will not be removed, i.e. the person who has written the item has deliberately chosen not to archive the news item.

Post a news item

  • Find the class or group where you want to post the news item
  • Click on either "Add News" in the News portlet in the class/community window or go via the Admin page for the class/community and select "Add news"
    • Fill in all required fields marked with "(required)"
    • After the Title and Body fields have been completed, you must state how long the message is to be displayed.
    • The message will be automatically archived after the archive date and you should always set an archiving date for news
    • If you wish the message to be displayed permanently, you must tick "never (show it permanently)" and the news will be displayed all the time
  • In order to publish the news, select "OK" and then "Confirm" in the next window. (Select "Edit" if you want to edit it further)
  • The news will be displayed on both the home page of the class/community and on My Space (The first page shown when you log in).
  • In the Body field, internet addresses will automatically be activated so that students can easily click them to access the page in question.
  • Messages can also be written in HTML. It is useful to do so if you wish to format the text. Select "The text is formatted as

HTML".

Post news on several classes/communities

  • Either click "Add news to several classes/communities" in the news field in the class/community window or go via the Admin page for the class/community and select "Add news to several classes/communities".
    • Select the classes and/or communities for which the news is to be posted
    • Fill in all required fields marked with "(required)"
    • After the Title and Body fields have been completed, you must stipulate how long the news is to be shown.
    • The message will be automatically archived after the archive date and you should always set an archiving date for news
    • If you wish the message to be displayed permanently, you must tick "never (show it permanently)" and the news will be displayed all the time
  • In order to publish the news, select "OK" and then "Confirm" in the next window. (Select "Edit" if you want to edit it further)
  • The news will be displayed on all the home pages of the classes/communities you have selected and on My Space (The first page shown when you log in).
  • In the Body field, internet addresses will automatically be activated so that students can easily click them to access the page in question.
  • Messages can also be written in HTML. It is useful to do so if you wish to format the text. Select "The text is formatted as

HTML".

Attach a link to a file in the File Storage in news

  • It is possible to attach a link to a file in news.
    • Select "Add link to a file in the File Storage" (located in the bottom left window when creating a news message).
    • Select the folder where the file is located. You navigate by clicking on the folder names.
    • You attach a link to a file by clicking "Choose" (located in the right column).
  • You may also add a link to a file that you retrieve directly from your own PC. The file will be saved in the File Storage for the class/community.
    • Click on "Add File"
    • Find the right file
    • Fill in the optional Title and Description fields
    • Click on "Upload"
    • When you click the link in the news the file will open

Note: The file is visible/ available to everyone who clicks the link to the file from the news item. If you publish a news item in several classes/ communities and attach a link to a file, then everyone will see the file, but the file will only be stored in one place: the File Storage of the class/ community where the news item is created.

Edit/reopen messages

  • You can edit news items by selecting "Manage News" under News on the Admin page for the class/community. A list of all news items will then be displayed.
  • Select "revise" for the news item in question and follow the procedure described for publishing news above.
  • In addition, you must fill in the "Revision Log" field. (This field has been created in order to allow other administrators to see what changes have been made, if any.)
  • In the Manage News window, you can choose between news items that are [Published | Unapproved | Approved | Archived | All].
  • If you select "Archived" items, an overview of previous posted news items will be displayed.
    • Archived news items can be reopened by selecting "revise" and by setting a new archive date.

Edit a news item published in several classes/communities

  • A news item that is published in several classes/communities can be edited via all the classes/communities where it is published.
  • The changes will be visible everywhere where the news item was originally published.
  • An asterisk: * is shown after "[ revise all | revise this | delete this ]" in the title column if the news item has been published in several classes/communities.
  • To see which classes/communities the news has been published in, click "[revise all]"
  • A news item that has been published in several classes/communities can also be edited in just one of the classes/communities
    • Go to the Class/Community where you want to edit the news item
    • Select "[revise this]"
    • The change will now only be visible in the chosen class/Community


Documentation overview

Resources from RSS

  • An applet in which administrators can enter RSS feeds for a class/subgroup which retrieves information from other websites and displays it in a portlet in the subgroup or class.

Add a new Resource (RSS feed):

  • Click the Admin tab for the class/Community and then "Manage subscriptions" under "Resources from RSS”.
  • Write in the URL for an XML news feed which you wish to subscribe to or select a feed the system already knows by selecting them from the dropdown menu "Feed".
  • Click the "Add" button. (the RSS address for bt.no, for example, looks like this: http://www.bt.no/rss).
  • You can specify how many feeds are to be shown for each resource by updating the column "Number of items"
  • By editing the column "Titles only?" you can switch between showing only the headings and showing the heading with some of the first text in the feed.


Documentation overview

Staff List

Membership status:

Go to the role page to see which titles are shown in the Staff List.

Click on the Member List to see the membership status for all the students in a class:

  • X : Membership fetched from Studentweb. Has a class- and exam registration.
  • U : Membership fetched from Studentweb. Has only a class registration (not an exam registration)
  • E : Membership fetched from Studentweb. Has only an exam registration.
  • -- : Membership created manually. Role is student, but will not be shown.

Note: Administrators can not select "Drop membership" for students who has a exam registration.


Documentation overview

Statistics

Statistics is a function (a portlet) that can be added to the class/community for which one wishes to obtain statistics. See how to add portlets/functions for instructions on how to add a new portlet. Statistics are shown for the class/community to which the function is added.

It is visible both for students and administrators. But administrators are not able to see individual user`s statistics.

General options

View your own user statistics
General information about your user account in My Space. In addition, you will get information about your own contributions in the system as a whole. Among other things, you will receive information about how many news items you have published on My Space etc.

Other people cannot view your personal statistics.

View your own community statistics
Shows information about the community itself: the number of students, lecturers and sub-groups etc.

Administrator options

  • View statistics for this community:
  • View statistics for the whole system
  • Access control

Community statistics

Information about the community
The name of the community/class is shown, creation date, type of community, number of members, students and lecturers, and the number of sub-groups.
Information about contributions
(Shows your own contributions in the community/class)
Number of forums
Shows the number of forums you have created yourself.
Number of news
Shows how many news items you have published for the community/class.

Note that If you edit the news, the statistics will not be updated - only the original publication is counted.

Number of Surveys
Shows the number of surveys you yourself have created.
Number of Messages
Shows the number of messages you yourself have published in the forum.
Number of Files
shows the number of files.
Assignments
shows the number of assignments you yourself have submitted.

System statistics

for administrators shows statistics and data from the whole of My Space. Here, you will find information about the number of users, contributions and visitors. It is also possible to generate reports and get an overview of the material that is most visited.

Note: It is not possible to export statistic data to other systems/programs.


Documentation overview

Surveys

Create a new survey in the class

Can be used, among other things, for the assessment of tuition.

  • Via Admin, select Manage Applets
  • Under ”Applets To Add”, select Survey [ add ]
  • Return to Admin, and Survey Administration
  • Select ”New Survey”
  • Choose whether the survey is to be general or anonymised
  • Enter the name and describe the survey Click OK (+ confirm)
  • Enter a question number 1
  • Select presentation type (choose between checkboxes, radio buttons, free text etc.)
  • Decide whether the question is required. Required: Yes/No
  • Depending on the presentation type, enter ”Valid Responses”
  • Select Presentation Alignment.
  • Click OK

You can enter an unlimited number of questions.
NOTE: To make the survey available to users, you must select ”enable”/”disable”.
The administration of surveys (edit, see results, copying of surveys etc.) is done via the Admin-page in Survey Administration.

It is also possible to create a new survey in the class/ community via the “New Survey” link at the bottom of the “Surveys” portlet or via the Admin-page.

Displaying the answers:

  • The total registered answers for a survey is shown in the administration page for the survey.
  • You will not be able to export data or view the results while an anonymous survey is active/in progress.
  1. Deactivate the survey when it is completed.
  2. Select "Summary".
  3. In order to view the free text answers, you can select ”View free text answers”.
  4. Click “Conceal free text answers” to return to the normal view.

Open the results of a survey in another program:

The results of the survey will open in columns in Excel (or another program of your choosing) when you click ”CSV file”.

If it is a problem that the results do not open automatically in columns in, for example, Excel when you click “CSV file”, this can be fixed by changing a setting on your PC. Do as follows:

  1. Go to the START menu (bottom left)
  2. Select Settings
  3. Select Control Panel
  4. Select Regional and Language Options
  5. Under ”Regional Options”
  6. Select for example ”English (United Kingdom)”. (Norwegian will not work).
  7. Click ”OK”

Sending email in connection with a survey:

You can send an email about a survey to the following groups of persons:

  • Everyone who can take part in the survey
  • Students who can take part in the survey
  • Everyone who has yet to take part in the survey
  • Students have yet to take part in the survey
  • Everyone who has already taken part in the survey

This is how to do it:

  1. Access the survey you wish to send an email about.
  2. Go to Administration of the survey.
  3. In the email option: Select “Send bulk mail”
  4. Check the correct group of recipients
  5. The title will automatically be the name of the survey, but it can be changed.
  6. Enter your message.
  7. The email will be sent immediately when you click ”OK”.


Copy a survey to another class/community

  • You can copy a survey to another class or community in My space
  • You have to be have admin rights for both the class/community you move it from and to.
  • Note that you will not be able to kopy the survey directly from a class/community to a subgroup of this class/community.


Documentation overview

Syllabus

Under administration of the Syllabus on the Admin page for the class, you can choose to upload a new syllabus or add a link to a syllabus

Deadlines for publishing reading lists

  • Spring: December 1st
  • Autumn: June 1st


Upload a new syllabus

  • Get a template for creating a syllabus here.
  • From 1.1.2009 you can only upload syllabus files that are htm/html, PDF version 1.4 (or newer) and ODF 1.0 (or newer).
    • A step by step guide for how to save a file as PDF and ODF has been made available, see the step by step guides by clicking here
    • If you attemt to upload a file in a different file format (such as a word document for instance) you will only get an error message.
  • Select "Upload a new syllabus" if you want to upload a file that contains the syllabus.
  • The students will be able to download the syllabus in the portlet called "Syllabus" and in the File Storage for the class. It is also available on the University's web.
  • To edit/change the file go to the Admin page and select "Go to the Syllabus"
    • Then select "Upload Revision" to upload a new version of the syllabus.
  • Note: If a syllabus is not published one semester, My Space will find and show the last syllabus published for the class.


Add a link to a syllabus

  • If the list of recommended reading exists elsewhere on the internet, you can create a link to by clicking on "Add a link to a syllabus".
  • The students will be able to download the syllabus in the portlet called "Syllabus" and in the File Storage for the class. It is also available on the University's web.


Reference management systems

You can easily create a good syllabus using EndNote and Reference Manager.

  • User manual for EndNote: Please refer to EndNote's Help section for Independent bibliographies.
  • User manual for Reference Manager: Please refer to Reference Manager's Help section for Independent bibliographies.

After the syllabus has been created, it is uploaded to the class in the usual manner.

If you have questions in connection with the use of EndNote or Reference Manager, you can contact the University Library.


Digital syllabus

UiB buys a lot of digital literature, and quite a lot of this is syllabus. In addition is some syllabus digital accessible through other institutions (f. ex. The National Library of Norway) or it is Open Access. Based on this, UiB has made a template for syllabus to notify the students about the possibility.

It is possible to create the syllabus in Endnote or Reference Manager first and then paste it into the template with information about digital syllabus.


Monitor published reading lists

For those interested, we now offer a tool to help continuously monitor publication of reading lists.

Download the Excel file below, and use the Pivot Table feature to discover which courses have published reading lists within the specified deadline (and which have not). The file retrieves data from FS and My Space. Note: If you use Internet Explorer as your default browser, save the file to disc before you refresh Pivot Table data.



Documentation overview

User support

The user manual for My Space contains useful information about the tools in My Space and it is designed to allow you to carry out relevant tasks with the help of the manual.

Where do I find help with My Space?
  • Under the link ”Help” (in the top right corner in My Space) you will find an overview of the available user manuals for My Space.
  • Shortcuts to the user manual: The Help.png-icon is available in the top right corner in all portlets in My Space. The icon is linked to the appropriate place in the user manual. Administrators have access to the user manual for administrators, while students and ordinary members have access to the user manual for students.
  • There is also a [?]-icon linked to each heading/topic on the Admin page. This icon is also linked to the correct place in the user manual.

Questions about My Space can be asked by using the webform: "Do you have any technical questions regarding this page?"that you will find on the bottom-right on My Space.

Superusers of My Space at the faculties can answer simple questions and grant adminitrative access for staff.