Tips and Tricks to be Successful in an Online Course

If you're taking Winter classes this session, you might be taking an online course. If you are, we have some tips for you on how to be successful taking your online course.

We made a video. You can watch it here.

If you would rather read the tips, follow the jump.

#Assignments!

Follow this advice and save the #hashtags for Twitter.

Don’t log in at 11:58 to submit something due at 11:59.
Do give yourself enough submission time.

Don’t use special characters, punctuation marks, or extra spaces in your assignment filenames. #nohashtag

Don’t hesitate to ask for help if you encounter an issue.
Do contact BOLT Support right away if you can’t upload a file.

Do watch for your submission receipt from BOLT in your BU email. Save it in case you need proof of submission later. This is your only proof of submission!

BOLT assignment submission receipt

Secure Quizzing Tools in BOLT

BOLT comes with several tools instructors may require you to use to take quizzes online.

Your instructor may require you to use Respondus LockDown Browser, Respondus LockDown Browser and Monitor, or Examity.

  

If your instructor requires LockDown Browser (or LockDown Browser and Monitor) for a quiz, we suggest

1. Downloading the LockDown Browser using our download link here: http://www.respondus.com/lockdown/download.php?id=666246493
2. Taking any practice quizzes your instructor has provided to make sure you are comfortable with how the browser works
3. Launching LockDown Browser from your desktop and logging into BOLT to take the quiz

If your instructor requires you to use Examity to take an online quiz, we suggest you
1. Go to the Examity dashboard (click the examity link in your course) right away to create your profile
2. Schedule your exam at least 24 hours prior to the posted exam start time (This is required!)
3. Arrive 15 minutes prior to the start of your exam to allow time to connect with the proctor and do any troubleshooting necessary.
4. Make sure your pop-up blocker is disabled.
5. Make sure your internet connection speed is 3 Mbps or higher.  Check here: http://www.speedtest.net/
6. Schedule then take any practice exam your instructor provides.

For step by step guides to using these tools, please go to http://www.bloomu.edu/imdc-bolt-quizsurvey

Having Quizzes Trouble?

Troubleshoot common problems in quizzes by following the advice in these tips:

1. Give yourself enough time.
Make sure you give yourself enough time to take your quiz. Don’t start an hour long quiz a half hour prior to the closing time on the quiz. Start early enough to give yourself time.

2. Close apps and browsers.
Focus on your quiz and reduce possible issues by closing other applications and browsers or browser tabs. 

3. Use a strong connection.
If you can, use a wired connection. If not, try to be close to your router, or close bandwidth-heavy applications (streaming apps or games).

4. Exit and re-enter the quiz.
If you encounter an issue, exit your quiz and immediately re-enter using another browser. Sometimes this simple trick will resolve your problem.

5. Contact BOLT Support NOW.
Contact us right away so we can give you the timeliest troubleshooting possible. Call us at (570)389-2888.

BOLT Tips for Semester Start

Are you ready for the Fall semester?
 

Here are some tips.

Check your schedule.

Make sure your schedule looks like you thought it would in MyHusky. 

Check your email.

Instructors may email you prior to the semester with information.

Learn about BOLT.

Check out our Student Support page and visit our YouTube channel.

Get tech requirements.
Read your instructor's syllabus carefully and find out what technology is required.

 

Update Software.
Make sure you have all your software updates-especially your web browser.

Did you know...

...you can save your answers in Quizzes?

Save your answers as you go when you are taking quizzes in BOLT to preserve your progress.

When you click the Save button to save your answer, the greyed out disk icon will activate.

Questions with saved answers will have colorful disk icons. You can also click the disk icons in the left hand Questions panel to save answers.

BOLT Tips: Taking Quizzes

Tips for Successful Quizzing in BOLT

	Reboot your computer if it has been on. If your computer has been on for awhile, reboot the machine. This can help free up memory and increase performance.
	Use a strong, reliable Internet connection. Make sure you use a reliable Internet connection. If possible, use a wired Internet connection to reduce the possibility of wireless connectivity issues.
	Close other programs and browsers. Keeping it simple during exams can reduce confusion and make it easier to take the quiz, both for you and the computer.
	Save your answers. BOLT allows you to continually save your answers as you go. If you do this, your progress should not be lost even if you are “kicked out” of the quiz or have difficulty submitting it.
	If one browser doesn't work, try another. If you run into technical difficulties taking a quiz, save your answers, close out of the browser, and finish the quiz in another.
	Contact BOLT Support. Contact BOLT Support immediately if you have any issues while taking an exam on BOLT.

BOLT Tips: End of Semester

An End of Semester Checklist... for BOLT!

	Back up course materials and assignments. Download files and submissions you want to keep. (You can use Binder to save course content!)
	Update ePortfolio. Update your ePortfolio to inlcude any learning artifacts you want to showcase from this semester. If you are graduating, export your ePortfolio. See the Did you know you can create an EduDentity account and export your ePortfolio to myDesire2Learn?
	Be prepared to take any finals in BOLT. Think ahead and be sure to know what time the exam or dropbox will be available in BOLT. Don't wait until the last minute to attempt your exams or submit to a dropbox. Contact BOLT Support immediately if you have any issues while taking an exam on BOLT.
	Know how long you'll have access to your courses in BOLT. Ask instructors how long you have to access their course in BOLT so you can download your work or any course content you want to save. If you are graduating in 2016 Spring, you will have access to BOLT with your Husky ID until approximately February 20, 2017.

BOLT TIP: Give yourself time!

Give yourself enough time before deadlines to submit your work. If you login a minute before your paper is due, you may not be able to access the dropbox by the time you get to it!

BOLT TIP: If you have a problem, contact BOLT Support ASAP

If you experience technical difficulty taking quizzes, submitting to dropbox, posting to discussions, or taking surveys, contact BOLT Support right away!

The sooner we hear from you, and can get on-the-spot information, the sooner we will get you a resolution to your problem!

BOLT TIP: Submitting Work

Sometimes students contact BOLT Support to resolve issues related to submitting their work to instructors via BOLT. BOLT Support has a few tips that can really help Bloomsburg University students submit their assignments successfully.

Plan Ahead

Have a contingency plan in place in case you have difficulty submitting work. Know if and when BOLT will be unavailable for scheduled maintenance. Check BOLT news items and the BOLT Students Blog for notifications about downtime.

Keep It Simple

Name your files without punctuation, spaces, or special characters. If you can, submit one document once rather than five separate documents several times. Simplify your submissions.

Keep a Backup

Always back up your work. Keep a digital copy handy. You can keep backups on storage media such as flash drives or external hard drives, on Microsoft One Drive, on other cloud storage solutions, or on your Bloomsburg University P drive.

Give Yourself Time

Give yourself enough time to submit work prior to the due date. If your assignment is due at 11:59pm, give yourself until 11:49pm to submit or post. If you wait until the last minute, taking time to click through BOLT to the submission area might make your submission late!

Check For Verification

BOLT sends submission receipts by email for dropbox submissions. It is good practice to check blogs, journals, wikis, and discussion topics after posting to ensure your work was submitted. If not, re-submit or contact your instructor and BOLT Support immediately.

BOLT TIP: Keep Your Filenames Simple

When you are submitting work to BOLT, keep things simple.

Don't use spaces, punctuation, or special characters in your filenames!

BOLT doesn't like those things in filenames and may not accept your file.

EXAMPLE:

Your professor wants you to submit a paper to the Paper#1 Dropbox. You create a document file called paper#1yourlastname.docx. When you go to submit the document to BOLT, you cannot upload your file.

Q: Why does this happen?

A: BOLT does not like the # sign in your filename. 

Q: How can you fix it?

A: Remove the special character from your filename (paper1yourlastname.docx for example) and make sure there are no spaces or other punctuation marks in your filename. Then try submitting the renamed file to BOLT.

BOLT TIP: Don't use Safari to access blogs, journals, podcasts, or wikis

A wiki in BOLT

Using Safari to access blogs, journals, podcasts, or wikis in BOLT causes a login error due to the browser's security settings.

We recommend using a different browser such as Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome to access these tools in BOLT.

If you try to access a blog, journal, podcast, or wiki and are prompted to login, please try using one of the recommended browsers.