Category: Faculty

This post describes how to set up a WiFi extender, which can help improve WiFi connection to avoid freezing and glitching for video/audio calls! Consider setting up an extender if you are having connectivity issues with conferencing platforms such as zoom or Google Meet.
This material is compiled from Tech and Learning’s website on WiFi extenders.

A WiFi extender is a device that extends the range of your WiFi from your router, to reach further areas of your property.

Step 1

To begin, you need to see what your download and upload speed currently is. Open a browser and go to a website such as this one to run a speed test. Once you know your baseline speed, you can find an extender that improves your number.

From there, buy an extender. Ideally, one that plugs directly in to a power socket.

Step 2

For placement, you will want to place your extender halfway between your router and the dead zone. The sweet spot will be where the extender is close enough to the router to still pick up a signal, and close enough to the dead zone to transfer WiFi.

Make sure the extender is placed in an open area, and not behind a fridge or other object which could obstruct the signal.

If you do not have an outlet in the desired area, consider running a power socket extension cord from an accessible outlet to the area.

If the dead zone is upstairs, place the extender directly above the router, on the dead zone floor.

In terms of angles, some extenders come with antennas to direct the signal. This can help to direct the signal directly to the dead zone. Also, you can even create your own booster or WiFi reflector with foil or half a can; this video describes how to create a diy booster.

Step 3

Finally, test and adjust your extender. “Name” the extender in your system so that is it easy to locate (this can usually be done from within the app the extender is connected to, or through the setup website as instructed through the installation booklet) then run the same speed test from step 1. If the speed is not much improved in your dead zone area, try moving the extender, or adding an antenna. Repeat the process until the speed is improved.

Alternate Option

If the extender does not work and you still have dead or slow WiFi zones, consider installing a mesh WiFi network.

A mesh uses multiple points to create a web-like signal that interconnects your entire home. This is a more advanced system and will cost you more, but the end result is usually very impressive with strong signal in every room, even for larger homes. 

Check out the video below to learn about different types of extenders:

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Information Services at [email protected] or (310) 506-7425.

This post offers a list of keyboard shortcuts for zoom that can be useful for instructors. The material has been summarized from Tech Learning’s website.

Note that these specific shortcuts can only be used in the zoom app, and not in a browser window.

Mute Audio

• PC: Alt + A (to mute yourself)
• PC: Alt + M (to mute your students)
• Mac: Cmd + A/M
• iPad: Cmd + Shift + A/M

To mute yourself in zoom without navigating to the mute/unmute button in your toolbar, try using the combination of keys listed above relevant to your device type. Always remember to check your profile on zoom to ensure that you have muted and unmuted successfully!

Screenshot Your Page in Zoom

• PC: Alt + Shift + T 
• Mac: Cmd + T
• iPad: Volume up + Power buttons

If there is an instance where you would like to capture what is presented on your screen, try using the shortcuts above. The picture will save in your files for later. This can be helpful during someone’s zoom presentation, where the presentation may not be saved and you would like to take notes afterwards and review the material. Make sure, though, that the presenter is informed that you are saving their presentation, and that they are ok with you doing so.

Begin Recording

• PC: Alt + V
• Mac: Cmd + Shift + M
• iPad: Cmd + Shift + M

These shortcuts begin a recording of your class. For more information on recording in zoom, check out our Recording in Zoom PDF, and how to Access your Recordings.

Screen Share

• PC: Alt + S
• Mac: Cmd + Ctrl + S

Note: There’s no Zoom shortcut for the iPad but you can share your screen by accessing the control center, holding down the record button (solid white circle inside another circle) and selecting Zoom from the options.

Raise/Lower Hand

• PC: Alt + Y
• Mac: Option + Y

A really great feature of Zoom, which makes it feel more like a real-world meeting, is the ability to raise a hand. This allows you to keep the group muted but still give participants the feeling that they can speak up and interject when they need to, perhaps with a question.

Other Shortcuts

For a full list of zoom shortcuts, go to Settings in the upper right hand corner of your main zoom screen. Then, on the left, click keyboard shortcuts, which will show a full list.

The Roster tool displays the names and pictures of site participants, in this case, your class section students. The Roster tool is a helpful way to learn students names, take attendance, and verify identities during class assignments and assessments.

Please keep in mind that you do not need to add officially enrolled students to a class site; all registered students are automatically enrolled each business day.

Also, please note that the Roster tool does not allow an instructor to add or remove participants from a site; therefore, faculty must use Site Info to do this. For detailed steps and more information, read under the coinciding subheading in this article.

If you would like to know how to merge or combine course sections, please click here to be redirected to Community Pepperdine.

To view a video on how to utilize the Roster tool, please view below.

Displaying Pictures in Roster

1. Log on to Courses with your Pepperdine credentials.

2. Scroll through your left tool bar and select “Roster.”

3. Select either “Official Photos” or “Pictures from Profile” on the top right of your Roster page.

“Official Photos” are usually the default and are photos fed from the University ID card system, assuming that the student has taken an ID Card photo. “Pictures from Profile” are the optional profile photos uploaded directly by the students, if they have done so.

4. You may then scroll down to review the available photos for enrolled users based on your selection.

Managing Participants with “Site Info”

1. Log on to Courses with your Pepperdine credentials.

2. Scroll through your left tool bar and select “Site Info.”

3. Select “Manage Participants” on the top menu bar.

4. To filter site participants, click the “View” drop-down and select the user role to manage the individual’s settings to your liking.

Instructors will also have the option to make changes on the participants table:

• Under “Role,” you can change access privileges that instructors may want to strongly consider before assigning to users. This may be useful for TAs.
• Under “Status,“ you can change a user access to the site; keep in mind, “Inactive” will prevent the user from accessing the site.
• To remove a user from your site, click the “Remove” box corresponding to the use students who are on the course roster (i.e. registered students) cannot be removed manually this way.

5. Select “Update Participants” at the top to process any changes.

6. To add a participant, still under the “Site Info“, click “Add Participants.”

7. To add official Pepperdine University users (faculty, staff, or students) or previously added guests, you may either enter the individuals’s NetworkID username (e.g. jdoe) of formal email address (e.g. [email protected] or [email protected]) in the “Other Official Participants” box.

You may add multiple people at once by simply entering each person on a separate line.

8. To add new, outside users, enter the person’s outside email address in the “Non-official Participants” box.

9. Below, chose whether to “Assign all users to the same role” or “Assign each participant a role individually.”

Then, decide whether the new participants will be “Active” (can view the site) or “Inactive” (cannot view the site). Remember, you can change these settings later in “Manage Participants.”

10. Click “Continue.”

11. Now, you may select the role(s) for the participant(s).

Your options are “Access” (equivalent to Student), “Assist” (equivalent to Teaching Assistant for assigned access to select areas), and “Maintain” (equivalent to Instructor).

12. After choosing roles, click “Continue.”

13. Select whether or not you would like to send an email notice to the added users. If participants are new “outside” users, Courses will automatically send them an activation email to verify their account, enter their details and choose a password.

14. Once your option is selected, click “Continue.”

15. Review the information for accuracy. If you must make any corrections, click on the “Back” option at the bottom.

16. Click “Finish” to add the participants. You may now see the updated participants, as well as see the new students in your “Roster.”

Wondering what else you can do in Courses? For a list of the top 5 Courses tools and information on how to utilize them, click here.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Information Services at [email protected] or (310) 506-7425.

The Messages tool allows you to send and receive messages to students in your course or project site. On this tab, you may view your received, sent, deleted and drafted messages. For step by step instructions on how to send a message and select recipients, as well as a video on how to utilize the tool, please read below.

1. Log on to Courses with your Pepperdine credentials.

2. Scroll through your left tool bar and select “Messages.”

3. Select “Compose Message.”

4. Click on the box associated with “*To” and a drop-down menu will appear with your recipient selection. You may choose which specific individuals to message, or select “All Participants.”

5. If not already checked, make sure to select”Send a copy of this message to the recipients’ email address(es),” as this option sends a message to the student’s Pepperdine University email account, not just as a message in the Courses site.

6. Create your email by filling out your “Subject” and “Message.”

7. Once you are finished with your email, select “Send” on the bottom left.

Wondering what else you can do in Courses? For a list of the top 5 Courses tools and information on how to utilize them, click here.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Information Services at [email protected] or (310) 506-7425.

The Resources tool allows faculty to compile and categorize important information to share with your students in an organized and central manner. Through the Resources tool, you can: share files or website links; post lecture notes, PDF documents, or presentations; release resources based on Gradebook conditions or to specific groups.

Please note that Resources has a 2GB storage maximum, so if you would like to store more than what is allowed, try integrating Google Drive with your Resources tool through a simple web link.

To view an informational video on how to utilize the Resources tool, please view below.

1. Log on to Courses with your Pepperdine credentials.

2. Scroll through your left tool bar and select “Resources.”

3. Look to the right of your site title under the Resources tab and click on “Actions.” A drop-down menu with numerous options will appear.

The details on what each option allows you to do, as well as the coinciding steps to utilizing the three most popular options, may be found below:

“Upload Files”

You can upload a document (such as a PDF, Word, PowerPoint, etc.) by browsing your computer.

1. To upload a file, from the “Actions” drop-down menu, click “Upload Files.”

2. Simply drag and drop your desired file, or select “Drop files to upload, or click here to browse” to open the file browser window.

3. For the pop-up browser window, select the desired file on your computer and click “Open.”

4. To add another file, repeat the process. To finish, click “Continue.”

Under “Email Notifications,” you may select whether or not to email your students with a notification when uploading this file.

“Create Folders” 

Through creating a folder, you can organize your content by uploading categorized, specific files into each of them.

1. From the “Actions” menu, click “Create Folders.”

2. You will now be redirected to the “Create Folders” page. Enter a “Folder Name” for your desired folder creation.

3. If you would like to leave the folder named and as is to later populate or create sub-folders, you may go to step 6.

However, if you would like to enter a description, add date restrictions, or set other features, click “Add details for this item.”

You will now be shown more options. At the top, you may enter a folder description if you wish.

If you scroll down, there will be three drop-down option menus that will allow you to create a folder with features detailed to your liking.

5. Note that you may create as many folders as you like, either individually or at once as shown below.

6. Once you have created your folder(s) with or without your preferred details, click “Create Folders Now” on the bottom left to finish.

7. Notice that, once the folder creation is completed, you may select the “Action” button for each coinciding folder and be presented with the same option choices you are now familiar with to populate the folder with the content of your choice.

“Add Web Links (URLs)” 

By adding this, you can share links to relevant websites.

1. From the “Actions” menu, click “Add Web Links (URLs).”

2. Enter your desired website address in the “Web Address (URL)” field (e.g. http://www.pepperdine.edu).

Enter a title for the link in the box labeled “Website Name“. As stated on University Community, the system will populate the web address by default, but you can add any description you prefer (e.g. Visit Pepperdine University’s website).

3. Similar to creating folders, click “Add details for this item” to enter a description, add date restrictions, or set other features. If you scroll down, there will be three drop-down option menus that will allow you to create a folder with features detailed to your liking.

4. Note that you may create as many Web Links as you like, either individually or at once as shown below.

5. Once you have created your Web Link(s) with or without your preferred details, click “Add Web Links Now” to finish.

“Create Text Document”

Here, you may create a text (.txt) document.

“Create HTML Page” 

This allows you to create a web page with the built-in rich text editor.

“Create Citation List”

This option allows you to share bibliographic details for multiple references in a list format.

Wondering what else you can do in Courses? For a list of the top 5 Courses tools and information on how to utilize them, click here.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Information Services at [email protected] or (310) 506-7425.

Similar to TWEN and other course management systems, faculty may use Course’s by Sakai’s Syllabus tool to post a syllabus for students to easily access in their Course site. This article goes in detail on the different options of creating and/or uploading your syllabus, as well as the specific steps regarding the processes.

For more information, please watch the video and read the information presented bellow.

Syllabus Options

Faculty can include a syllabus to their site in four different ways:

File Attachment. Faculty may add a document (ex, .pdf, .docx) as an attachment to the Syllabus tool in Courses. If uploaded like this, students can download, open, and print the file at their convenience. However, in order to make a syllabus edit, the instructor will must edit the original document and re-upload the new version as a replacement or follow-up revisal. (This is the most common option.)

Webpage from Document. You can also create a webpage syllabus from a text document using the Text Editor within the Syllabus tool by either copying and pasting your syllabus or writing the information directly in the text box. Students may still view and print the syllabus at their convenience, and the instructor may edit the syllabus directly through the same site’s Text Editor.

Multi-Part Syllabus. Instructors can create a multi-part syllabus by adding one syllabus item at a time, with the option of reordering or removing individual items in the syllabus editor. (This is a good option to use if the instructor likes to organize the syllabus by weeks or class meetings.)

Point to Webpage. This option is best used if the faculty has a syllabus posted on a webpage, so the instructor may direct, or link, the Syllabus tool to that syllabus.

Steps on How to Add Your Syllabus

For instructions on how to add a Syllabus, please read below.

1. Log on to Courses with your Pepperdine credentials.

2. Scroll through your left tool bar and select “Syllabus.”

3. Under the Syllabus title, click “Add Item” in the tabs presented.

4. A required dialog box will then appear. Proceed to first enter a title for your syllabus item (e.x. “Fall 2020 Syllabus”). 

For attaching a syllabus

• After entering the title of your syllabus, you may leave the content part blank. Click “Add and Publish,” and skip to step 5.

For other syllabus options

• You may copy and paste your syllabus information into the Content area, write new information, and/or link to other websites or resources to your syllabus.
• If you would like to create multiple items, create the titles as your syllabus section titles and type or link the coinciding content with that section. Repeat these steps for each section until you have a complete syllabus. This will allow you to create an online syllabus that does not require an additional application for viewing.

5. To attach a document, click “+Add Attachments.” From here, you may upload file(s) from your computer, point to an outside website link (URL), or select an existing document from the “Resources” tool.

6. If you do not yet wish to have your syllabus viewed by your students, you may hide your syllabus by selecting the “eye” icon on the left side of your published syllabus. To verify that it is hidden, the eye should not have a line across, and a “Saved!” pop-up message should appear near the Syllabus title. To unhide, simply select the “eye” once more.

Wondering what else can you do in Courses? For a list of the top 5 Courses tools and information on how to utilize them, click here.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Information Services at [email protected] or (310) 506-7425.