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Business Communication Training Guide

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
45 views

Business Communication Training Guide

hello

Uploaded by

Chong Guan Feng
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 65

Connect Business Communication

Training Guide

Training Checklist
Section 1: Getting Started

Assigning LearnSmart Achieve.....................34


Creating a Writing Assignment.....................36
Creating a Blog Assignment.........................37
Creating a Discussion Board

Section 2: Course and Section Creation 4

Creating a New Course with Sections.............. 4


Editing Course Details.................................... 9
Editing Section Details................................... 9
Copying a Section with Colleague.................10
Sharing a Section.........................................11
Setting and Editing Registration Dates..........13
Locating the Student Roster..........................14
Section 3: Student Registration

Assignment.................................................38

Editing, Managing, and Organizing

Assignments................................................39

Extensions and Adjusting Point Values..........40


Adjusting Points for All Students..................41
Adjusting Points for Individual Students........43
Section 6: Library Resources

16

E-book Access.............................................44
E-book Highlight and Note Functions............44
Additional Instructor Resources....................46

The Importance of the

Section-Specific URL....................................16

Student Access and Registration...................16


Upgrading from Courtesy Access..................19
Section 4: Section Home Page

Section 7: Reports

21

Section 8: Support

25

65

What If I Have Questions?............................65


Self-Service Resources

Adding Assignments....................................25
Available Assignment Options .....................25
Creating a New Assignment from

(Success Academy)......................................65

Topics to Cover on the First Day of Class.......65


Tech Support Contact Information................65

the Question Bank.......................................27

Editing Question Point Values and Renaming

Assignments................................................30


Assigning....................................................33
Overview of Policy-Setting Categories..........31

Connect Business Communication

47

Locating Reports.........................................47
Connect Reports..........................................47
Running and Exporting Connect Reports......48
LearnSmart Achieve Reports........................59

Three Tabs on the Section Home Page...........21


Student View...............................................23
Tegrity Access and Information....................24
Section 5: Assignments

44

Training Guide

Section 1: Getting Started


Before you walk through the Training Guide, consider the questions below to help you get the most
out of your training experience.

What are your goals for product use? With which product features do these align?
Think about what you are looking for in the product and the
outcomes you chose for you and your students. This will help you
identify specific features that most suit your needs.

What percentage of your overall course grade will be comprised of the digital product?
Requiring use of the technology for a percentage of the grade leads
to the greatest impact on student outcomes. The typical percentage
range for instructors new to technology is 10-20 percent. See what
other instructors are doing at the Required = Results blog: http://create.
mheducation.com/wordpress-mu/connectblog/2013/08/14/
requiredequals-results-series/#.U0WtnPldWO0

What are your current assignment mix and course policies? Will that change with the
new product?
Consider applying your current course management approach to your
new course delivery with technology (mix and weight of homework,
quizzes, tests, etc.). This will provide for a smooth transition to
teaching with technology.

After youve walked through the steps in the guide, review these basic, yet critical elements to
ensure you are ready for class.

Account created.

Syllabus refers to the technology and purchase options.

Course created, with special attention to


Desired mix of assignments.

Policy settings that meet your needs.

Due dates.

Sharing and/or copying (if applicable).

Review the questions and topics above throughout your training experience. If you would like to see
how other instructors in your course area approach these topics, please contact your McGraw-Hill
representative.

Connect Business Communication

Training Guide

Section 2: Course and Section Creation


Creating a New Course with Sections
Before you create your new course, there are a few things to understand about the relationship
between courses and sections:

A Connect course can be made up of one or more sections that correspond with the
actual sections you are teaching at your institution. Each section maintains its own
roster and student results.

Use additional sections under one course for each section that you are teaching in a given
semester.

Assignments can be shared across sections under the same course. Assignments cannot
be shared across sections in separate courses.

First, log into Connect at connect.mheducation.com. After logging into Connect, you will be taken to
your My Courses page where you can create new courses or view/manage courses you have already
created.

A. Click add course to start creating a course.

A Select your subject from the menu.

Connect Business Communication

Training Guide

Section 2: Course and Section Creation

Creating a New Course with Sections - Continued

A. Select the title you will use for your course. Scroll to the right to see
more textbook options.
B. After choosing a textbook, select the bundle you want to use.
C. Click Next.

User Tip: Make sure to exactly match the title and bundle with what you are
ordering for your students.

Connect Business Communication

Training Guide

Section 2: Course and Section Creation

Creating a New Course with Sections - Continued

A. Enter your course name.


B. Change the time zone and set student registration dates.
C. Enter the section name. If you have used Connect before, you can
choose to copy assignments here from a previous course or section.
D. Click Create Coursethis will launch a summary of the
newly created course and section.

User Tip: Use the schools course designation and term in the Course name

field (e.g., ACCT 201). When naming sections, create names that distinguish one
section from another (e.g., Fall 2014 M, W, F 10-11am).

Connect Business Communication

Training Guide

Section 2: Course and Section Creation

Creating a New Course with Sections - Continued

A. At the bottom of the summary, find the section web address. Provide this
URL to students for registration. Each section will have a unique URL.
B. Click Continue to section home.

User Tip: Copy the section URL to your syllabus at this time with the student
registration instructions.

Connect Business Communication

Training Guide

Section 2: Course and Section Creation

Creating a New Course with Sections - Continued

This is your section home page. When you add assignments, they will be listed here.

A. Click My courses to return to a list of all your courses and sections.

If you need to add an additional section

A. Click on the drop-down menu.


B. Select + Add section.

Enter the section name and click Save.

User Tip: If you only teach one section per term, it is recommended to
duplicate a new section for each term. If you teach several sections each
term, it is recommended to duplicate your course.

Connect Business Communication

Training Guide

Section 2: Course and Section Creation

Editing Course Details


A. Click on the course options menu.
B. Edit a course name or time zone once a course has been created.
C. Select Edit course components to add components needed.
D. Set Registration dates.
E. Select Duplicate course to copy an exact replica.
F. Add a section.

Editing Section Details


A. Click on section settings for the course you wish to change.
B. Click Edit section details to edit the section name and section web address.
C. Click Duplicate section to create an exact copy of the section.

Connect Business Communication

Training Guide

Section 2: Course and Section Creation

Copying a Section with Colleague


A. To copy an exact replica of your section into a colleagues Connect
account, click on the section settings button.
B. Choose Copy section.

A. On the copy section screen: Enter in the e-mail address(es) used by


your colleague(s).
B. Select find colleagues.
C. Select copy when youve found the correct colleague.

What does it mean to "copy"?


Copying a section provides your colleague with a duplicate of your section.
Your colleague will not receive any edits you make to assignments or new
assignments you create after copying.

What exactly is copied with my section?


When you copy a section, you copy all course features and assignments in
your section at that time, including assignment dates, policies, attached files,
questions, and content and e-book annotations. For LearnSmart modules, it
copies the topics, dates, coverage amount, and points.

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Training Guide

Section 2: Course and Section Creation

Copying a Section with Colleague - Continued

What can my colleague edit?


Your colleague can edit anything within the copied section
assignment dates and policies, content, learning outcomes, gradebook
categories, and e-book annotations.
User Tip: We recommend copying a course or section if you:

Teach independently from your colleague.


Do not need to monitor your colleagues students scores or reports.

Sharing a Section
To share an exact replica of your section with a colleagues Connect account:

A. Click on the section options menu.


B. Select share section with colleague.

A. On the share section


screen: Enter the e-mail
address(es) used by
your colleague(s).
B. Select find colleagues.
C. Select the number of
sections that need
to be created in your
colleagues account.
D. Select the edits that
your colleague will be
able to make in his or
her sections.
E. Click share for the
sections to be created
in your colleagues
account.

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Training Guide

Section 2: Course and Section Creation

Sharing a Section - Continued

What does it mean to share?


Sharing a section means sharing all assignments and course features
set up in that section.

What assets are shared?


In addition to assignments, shared course features include:
E-book annotations.
Business Communication gradebook categories.

What can my colleague edit?


Your colleague is not able to edit these shared course features, but he
or she may add to your e-book annotations.

What can I control in the shared section?


Sharing a section with a colleague allows you to control the
assignments your colleague will use. As sharing instructor, you
control what your colleague can edit. You can permit your colleague
to edit all assignment policies, to edit only assignment start and due
dates, or to edit nothing at all. Your colleague is never able to edit
assignment categories (homework, practice, quiz, or exam), content
(questions), or submission preferences (whether an assignment is set
to automatically submit on the due date).

How is reporting affected in the shared section?


Sharing a section also allows you to see scores and reports from
your colleagues students. Your colleague, however, cannot see your
sections scores or reports. Your section roster is never shared.
The permissions you set will apply to every assignment in your
section. Regardless of the permissions you set, your colleague will also
receive all edits you make to assignment names, questions, content,
policies, and start and due dates.
When you share a section with a colleague, you share all course
features and current assignments, including every assignments
questions, policies, attached files, and dates. As you create new
assignments in this master section, you will have the option to share
those as well.
User Tip: A typical user of sharing is a course coordinator, who might share
a section with a group of colleagues, adjunct professors, or graduate teaching
assistants to ensure consistency across a department. Sharing allows the course
coordinator to control the content of the assignments and also to see the scores
and reports for students in other sections, helping the coordinator monitor the
effectiveness of the assignments included in the shared section.

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Training Guide

Section 2: Course and Section Creation

Setting and Editing Registration Dates


You can change the registration dates for one or more sections so that students can only register
between specified dates. This feature helps you control the roster and prevent unwanted registration.
You can set registration dates during course creation or from the My Courses page.

A. Click on the Course options drop-down menu.


B. Click Set registration dates to change.

On the set registration dates page you have two options:

A. Change registration dates for all sections. This option allows you to set
the same registration dates for all sections within the same course.
B. You can change registration dates for specific sections. This option
allows you to specify different registration dates for different sections
within the same course. Click specific sections to view start and end
dates for each section in your course. Enter the start and end dates.
C. Click apply to save the changes.

Your registration dates will be listed under your section title.


User Tip: Open registration shortly before the term and close registration based
on your course drop date. Put this information in your syllabus.

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Training Guide

Section 2: Course and Section Creation

Locating the Student Roster


Your section roster displays each students name, e-mail address, and account status. You will also see
the number of active students in that section. "Active" means students have purchased registration
for the course or are using the courtesy access option.

A. Click on the section options.


B Select Student roster.

There are four possible account statuses:

1. Licensed: The student has registered and paid for the course.
2. Courtesy Access: The student has signed up for courtesy access of the
course, which will expire on the date listed.
3. License expired: The students access has expired. The student must
upgrade to paid access before assignments may be taken.
4. Inactive: You have changed the students status from active to inactive.

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Training Guide

Section 2: Course and Section Creation

Locating the Student Roster - Continued

A. Click a students name to make changes.

A. Toggle the options to change the status of a student to inactive if the


student doesnt belong in the course You are always able to change the
status back to active.
B. Deleting a student will permanently remove that student and all scores
they have received on assignments in your section.

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Training Guide

Section 3: Student Registration


The Importance of the Section-Specific URL
The section web address ensures that students register for the correct course/section. You must
provide the correct section web address to students for them to be able to find your course. Each
section created in Connect will have its own section web address.
User Tip: If you are using Connect integrated with your campus learning
management system, see resources on the Digital Success Academy for student
registration via your learning management system (LMS).

Student Access and Registration


A. Click on the Section options drop-down menu.
B. Select Registration sheet.

A. This will open customized student


registration instructions with the
section-specific web address.

You may want to print a handout


for your students or copy and
paste your section-specific web
address into your syllabus or
learning management system for
your students. Repeat the above
process for each section.
User Tip: Remember, each
unique section will have a
unique section web address. If
students change sections during the
term, simply provide them with the web
address of the new section they need
to be transferred into, have them click
Register Now, and follow the prompts.
Connect will recognize their accounts
and allow the students to easily register
in the new section.

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Training Guide

Section 3: Student Registration

Student Access and Registration - Continued

When students visit your section-specific web address, they come to a similar-looking landing page.

A. Once they verify the course and section information, they click
Register Now to get started.

A. Each student will enter his or her e-mail address to create an account.

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Training Guide

Section 3: Student Registration

Student Access and Registration - Continued

A. Next the student will enter a registration code from the bookstore
package.
B. If a student has not purchased a code yet, he or she can select Buy Online
C. or Start Courtesy Access.

User Tip: Prompt your students to purchase access up front if they are going
to stay in your class. If they dont, youll have to make sure that each of them
converts to paid access a few weeks into the semester.

What are the Student purchasing options?


Courtesy Access enables students to register for Connect Plus and receive
full access (typically for 14 days) without entering or purchasing an access
code. This option is convenient for students awaiting financial aid, those who
may drop the class and do not want to commit to purchasing Connect just
yet, or students who want to try the Connect Plus e-book before they buy. All
students will be able to register and get started with assignments at the start
of your course regardless of whether they purchased, used a code, or signed
up for courtesy access.

Students buying Connect online will typically have two options, Connect
standalone or Connect Plus. Connect Plus contains all of the assignment and
assessment features plus an integrated e-book. Connect standalone contains
all of the assignment and assessment features without an e-book.

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Training Guide

Section 3: Student Registration

Student Access and Registration - Continued

A. Students complete the registration by clicking Go to Connect Now,


at which point they will populate your section's roster.

User Tip: If students are registering on a computer on which theyve used


Connect before or a public computer, they should clear the Internet browser's
cache before trying to enter the new section URL (this will prevent them from
being taken to a wrong web address that may be stored in the browsers history).

Upgrading from Courtesy Access


Upgrading before the Courtesy Access Has Expired
A. On the students section home page during the courtesy access period,
there will be a link to upgrade to full Connect access.

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Training Guide

Section 3: Student Registration

Upgrading from Courtesy Access - Continued

Upgrading after the Courtesy Access Has Expired


A. Under any course on the students My Courses page with an expired
courtesy access, there will be a link to upgrade to full Connect access.

After the student clicks the link, he or she must register using one of the following:

A. A registration code.
B. Access purchased online.

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Training Guide

Section 4: Section Home Page


Three Tabs on the Section Home Page
The Connect section home page has three tabs:

A. Home page.
B. Library: additional course resources (links for the e-book, question
bank, lectures, instructor resources, media resources [audio/video],
and more). See Section 7 for more details.
C. Performance: view student results and run reports. See Section 8 for
more details.

Whats on the section home page?


The section home page opens when you click a section of one of your
Connect courses. Here, you can add and edit assignments and view
your course.

A. Your assignments are listed here. Assignments that have not yet been
assigned to students appear highlighted in yellow.
B. Use these boxes to select assignments for action.
C. These links allow you to share, copy manage date, Show/Hide, group
or delete. You can choose to group assignments into categories by
clicking the group icon and also assign selected ones as prerequisites.
D. To create a new assignment, click Add assignment.

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Training Guide

Section 4: Section Home Page

Three Tabs on the Section Home Page - Continued

F. If you have new messages, an envelope icon will appear here. Click
anywhere in the line to expand the list of messages.
G. In this Section info box, you will see your information, the title used
for the course, and other identifying section information. By clicking
on the gear to the right of Section info, you will see a menu of select
actions to take to edit the section info.
H. At the bottom of this box is the section web address and a place to
upload your syllabus.
I. Under my course resources there will be a link to LearnSmart, the
adaptive learning program as available.

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Training Guide

Section 4: Section Home Page

Three Tabs on the Section Home Page - Continued

This is the bottom half of your section home page:

A. Section performance shows the average scores of students.


B. You can also search for a specific student by name to get only
his or her average.
C. Click on go to lectures to record, view, and manage lectures for
this course.
D. Bookmarks allow you to add links to websites for your students.
E. You can add RSS news feeds for your students here to help
keep your course page current.

Student View

You are able to toggle to the Student View to see what students
will see once they log into their course.

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Training Guide

Section 4: Section Home Page

Tegrity Access and Information


The your recorded lectures widget provides access to the Tegrity lecture capture service. You can
easily record, manage, and allow your students to view your lectures online. Students access Tegrity
free with Connect.

A. Click find out more to access Tegrity.

With Tegrity, students can participate during class instead of trying to write down everything you say.
After class, they can review your lecture through Tegrity on a web browser, iPhone, or other mobile
device. Tegrity can also be used for remote proctoring.

For more information on using Tegrity in your class, visit the Tegrity website at
http://www.tegrity.com.

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Training Guide

Section 5: Assignments
Adding Assignments
A. Click Add assignment on
your section home page
to access the assignment
options.

Available Assignment Options (assignment options may vary depending on title)


The next section will walk you through creating LearnSmart and question bank assignments.
The full list of assignment options available for you are:

A. Create new from question bank: Build and customize assignments by adding
provided questions and exercises. These are sometimes questions from the text,
a workbook/lab manual to accompany the text, or additional exercises created
specifically for Connect.
B. LearnSmart Achieve within Connect Business Communication develops or improves
editing skills and empowers students to put responsible writing into practice.
LearnSmart Achieve is an adaptive learning system to help students learn
faster, study more efficiently, and retain more knowledge for greater success. It
pinpoints concepts the student does not understand and maps out a personalized
study plan for success. Based on students self-diagnoses of their proficiency,
LearnSmart Achieve provides students with a series of adaptive questions. This
provides students with a personalized one-on-one tutor experience. Instructors
have access to reports
that highlight progress
and areas for additional
reinforcement for
students as well as an
at-a-glance view into
students strengths and
weaknesses.
C. Group assignment: Create
assignments for student
to work on as a team.

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Training Guide

Section 5: Assignments

Available Assignment Options - Continued

D. File attachment assignment:


Create manually graded
assignments that have
the students respond with
an attached file (Word
document, Excel sheet,
etc.).
E. Presentation Capture
within Connect Business
Communication gives
instructors the ability to
evaluate presentations
and students the
freedom to practice their
presentations anytime,
and anywhere. With its
fully customizable rubric,
instructors can measure
students uploaded
presentations against
course outcome and give students specific feedback on where improvement is
needed. Instructors have the ability to assign students into groups to peer review
presentations, empowering students to thoroughly master presentation skills.
F. Web activity: Create an ungraded assignment directing students to a web activity
online.
G. My assignments: A shortcut to the my assignments area in the library tab which
will display all of the assignments created in this course.

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Training Guide

Section 5: Assignments

Creating a New Assignment from the Question Bank


A. Click Add assignment from your section home page.
B. Select create new from question bank.

A. Select a question source from the list.

A. Next you may be asked to select which bank of questions you would
like to view, and make selections from. These options are typically
divided by type of activity or source.

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Training Guide

Section 5: Assignments

Creating a New Assignment from the Question Bank - Continued

A. Click rename and enter an assignment name.


B. Enter any student instructions.
Before you select questions to assign, there are several things to know about this page:

C. To change the question source, click select a different question source.


D. To create your own questions, click create a question.
E. To narrow the question pool, use the filters along the left side of the page.
F. To add questions randomly to the assignment, select add random
selection.

User Tip: Use a consistent naming convention to ensure easy navigation for
your students. For example Week 1Quiz and Week 1Homework. This
aids in identifying items in the reports that are displayed in alphabetical order.
Abbreviate where possible (e.g., CH for chapter) to allow for cleaner reports and
gradebook viewing.

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Training Guide

Section 5: Assignments

Creating a New Assignment from the Question Bank - Continued

A. Once youve found a question to add, select the checkboxes next to


the question.
B. Click add checked questions and choose to add as individual questions.

User Tip: Assignments are most effective with fewer than 50 items. Some
question types (e.g., true/false and multiple-choice) take less time for the student
to answer, while others (e.g., interactive questions) take more time.

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Training Guide

Section 5: Assignments

Creating a New Assignment from the Question Bank - Continued

Editing Question Point Values and Renaming Assignments


A. Once you have finished adding questions, adjust the point value
for each question or the assignment by clicking on the organize
assignment tab.
B. Adjust all point values at once by clicking on set all point values.
C. Adjust point values on an individual basis by selecting them one at a
time.
D. After you have completed your adjustments, click continue.

User Tip: Changes to the assignment cannot be made once students have begun
working on the assignment.

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Training Guide

Section 5: Assignments

Creating a New Assignment from the Question Bank - Continued

Overview of Policy-Setting Categories


Set the assignment start and due dates.

A. Select whether to make the assignment available once its assigned or


on a specific date. Selecting once its assigned will allow students to
begin work on the assignment as soon as it is assigned. Selecting
on this date allows you to set a specific date in the future when
students can begin work on the assignment. Then select the
assignment due date and time.
User Tip: Use the Auto-submit as is feature, which collects unsubmitted
student attempts of an assignment on the due date. This prevents students from
forgetting to submit an assignment that they saved prior to the due date.

B. Next select the assignment category.


C. After selecting the assignment category, click expand advanced
settings to see the expanded policy options for this assignment.

There are five basic policy-setting categories:

A. Basic policies: Indicate whether there is a time limit on the assignment,


whether students can print the assignment, and other basic settings.
B. Attempts: Set how many times a student can complete and submit an
assignment, whether they build off of previous attempts or start fresh
each time, and to enable student attempt after the due date.
User Tip: If you allow students multiple attempts where they will build off of their
previous attempt, it is recommended that you check the box allowing students to
revise their previous attempts, even if manual graded questions are not yet graded.

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Training Guide

Section 5: Assignments

Creating a New Assignment from the Question Bank - Continued

C. Tolerances: Specify whether students must match accents, spacing,


and punctuation, or whether they are allowed any numeric tolerance.
User Tip: It is recommended that you not require the correct spacing and
punctuation in the tolerances area. An extra space before or after a word can cause
a correct answer to be marked incorrect if you require correct spacing.

D. Resources: Turn various resources on/off for the students as they work
on the assignment. For example, control whether students can see hints.
E. Feedback: Set the level of feedback that students receive when they
complete an assignment with automatically graded questions.
Options include varying levels of feedback, from no feedback to
detailed feedback including solutions.
F. Click on review & assign to complete the assignment.

User Tip: It is best to keep your policy settings consistent throughout your
course to prevent confusion among students. Once you have set your preferred
policies, you will want to click on save as default settings to save these new policy
settings as the defaults going forward.

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Training Guide

Section 5: Assignments

Creating a New Assignment from the Question Bank - Continued

Assigning
A. On the review and assign page, you can select multiple sections within
the same course.
B. Click Assign when you are ready to finalize the assignment.
C. If youre not ready to assign, use the Save & Exit button on the bottom
to come back later.
D. If you dont want to keep the assignment, use the Delete Assignment
button.

User Tip: If teaching multiple sections with the same assignments, but different
due dates, it is recommended to create the first section and all assignments. Once
completed, duplicate your section to create additional sections and adjust due
dates as necessary.

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Training Guide

Section 5: Assignments

Assigning LearnSmart Achieve


From the section home page,


click on Add assignment.

B. Select LearnSmart Achieve.

A. You will need to choose


between the comprehensive
Adaptive Study Plan or
B. Customized Study Plan.

Adaptive Study Plan


A. Choose the categories and
subtopics you wish to be
covered.
B. Adjust the depth of coverage.
C. You can see how these
adjustments affect the learning
objectives covered and the
average time this will require of
your students.
D. You can also adjust the point
value for the assignment.
E. Click next: assign.

A. Set the available and due dates


for the assignment.
B. Click assign to make the
assignment visible to students.

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Training Guide

Section 5: Assignments

Assigning LearnSmart Achieve - Continued

Customized Study Plan


A. Click assign next to the
topic module that you wish
to assign.

A. Adjust how much content


is covered with your
students on this topic.
B. Uncheck any subtopics you
do not wish to be included
in this assignment.
C. Estimated average amount
of time required for your
students to complete this
module will be displayed as
you make adjustments.
D. Click on next: Assign.

A. Set the available and due


dates for the assignment.
B. Click assign to make the
assignment visible to students.

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Training Guide

Section 5: Assignments

Creating a Writing Assignment


From the section home page,


click on Add assignment.

B. Select writing assignment.

Next you will be taken to the assignment


setup page.

A. First name the assignment


and then enter the directions
or topic that you are
assigning to your students.
B. Set the assignment's point
value, when it will be available,
and how students will compose
and submit the assignment.
C. Set the number of drafts
students can complete
for review prior to final
submission.
D. Select whether you will be
using the learning outcomes
for assessing your students'
writing.

A. Select Assign to complete


this assignment and make it
visible to students.

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Training Guide

Section 5: Assignments

Creating a Blog Assignment


A. From the section home page,
click on Add assignment.
B. Select blog assignment.

A. Name the assignment.


B. Enter the student topic
or directions for the blog
assignment.
C. Set the basic settings, such
as the point value for the
assignment, whether it is
available now or later, and
the due date.
D. Once you have customized
the assignment, click next:
review & assign.

A. Select Assign to complete


this assignment and make it
visible to students.

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Training Guide

Section 5: Assignments

Creating a Discussion Board Assignment


A. From the section home page,
click on Add assignment.
B. Select discussion board assignment.

A. Name the assignment.


B. Enter the student topic
or directions for the
assignment.
C. Set the basic settings, such
as the point value for the
assignment, whether it is
available now or later, and
the due date.
D. Once you have customized
the assignment, click next:
review & assign.

A. Select Assign to complete


this assignment and make
it visible to students.

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Training Guide

Section 5: Assignments

Editing, Managing, and Organizing Assignments


Some basic assignment edits/management can be done from the assignment list on the section
home page.

A. Check off the assignments you want to manage and select the action
you want to take (BG).
B. To change the start and due dates for the assignments, click Manage dates.
C. To copy or share an assignment to another section in your course or to
a colleagues course, select Share or Copy.
D. To show or hide the assignments on the student side, select Show/hide.
E. To move several assignments into a group you have created, click Move.
F. To delete selected assignments, click Delete.
G. New assignment groups (folders) can be created by clicking Add
Groups after clicking on the folder icon.

User Tip:

Align groups with syllabus weeks/language and, if possible, try to create groups
prior to creating the full semester of assignments.

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Training Guide

Section 5: Assignments

Extensions and Adjusting Point Values


A. From your section home page, check the box next to the assignments
for which you want to add extensions.
B. Click Manage dates.

A. Click the extensions tab.


B. The in bulk option is automatically selected.
C. Select the students whose extensions you want to add or edit.
D. Click edit next to each category and enter the new information.
E. Click save.
Note: If you set the student extension due date beyond a previously set date of delayed feedback
for the assignment, you will be prompted to confirm or change that feedback date. This will prevent
the student with the extension from receiving answers from other students to whom feedback has
already been revealed.

User Tip: Students


need to have at
least one attempt
remaining in order to
complete their extension.

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Training Guide

Section 5: Assignments

Extensions and Adjusting Point Values- Continued

A. Edit extensions for assignments separately by selecting the


individually tab.
B. Select add under the extensions column for each assignment you want
to edit and fill in the appropriate details.

Adjusting Points for All Students


A. From your section home page, click the assignment for which you
would like to adjust credit.

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Training Guide

Section 5: Assignments

Extensions and Adjusting Point Values- Continued

A. Click the preview tab of your active assignment.


B. Click Adjust credit in the question that you want to adjust.

In the adjust credit screen, you can award full credit, drop the question and its points, or flag the
question for manual grading.

A. Click adjust to apply your changes.


These changes will apply to all students for all attempts, including those in shared or copied
assignments and courses, and cannot be undone. Dropping the question will change the assignments
total point value, even if you have locked the points.

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Training Guide

Section 5: Assignments

Extensions and Adjusting Point Values- Continued

Adjusting Points for Individual Students


To edit a particular student's assignment grade, access the student performance report for a
particular assignment.

A. Enter the name of the student whose assignment grade you need to
change.
B. Click the score link under the assignment you want to edit and the
student performance assignment detail page opens.

From the student performance assignment detail page, you can edit the score for each
individual question.

A. Click Award to apply the new score.

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Training Guide

Section 6: Library Resources


E-book Access
The interactive e-book allows students and instructors to quickly access different parts of the
textbook, take notes, highlight important terms, and more.

A. To access the e-book, click Library.


B. Click ebook in the navigation bar or on the left menu.

E-book Highlight and Note Functions


A. Switch sections within a chapter by clicking the blue arrows.
B. Go to a specific page by entering a page number.
C. Navigate the entire book contents with the drop-down menu.
D. Highlight text, add your own notes, add a bookmark, or print the
content on the current page.
E. Click the gear icon to adjust font size.
F. Search the book content by using keywords in the search bar.
User Tip: Assign e-book exercises directly through the e-book. As students go
through the text, assignments will appear along the way.

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Training Guide

Section 6: Library Resources

E-book Highlight and Note Functions - Continued

A. Any highlights and notes made in the e-book can be found in my notebook.
B. To share your highlights or notes with students, click the eye icon.
Sharing notes and highlights can be helpful to guide students to the
most important parts of the book.
C. To delete a highlight or note, click the trash can icon.
D. Print highlights or notes by checking the box next to what you want
to print
E. and clicking print checked items.

You can print any section of the e-book by going to the section you
want to print and clicking the print icon.

F. Clicking on a note or highlight will take you directly to that section of


the e-book.

A. To add a bookmark from a page within the e-book, click the bookmark icon.
B. Click add bookmark to create a bookmark. All bookmarks will be listed
here and can be accessed from anywhere in the e-book.

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Training Guide

Section 6: Library Resources

Additional Instructor Resources


A. Any additional media resources available such as PowerPoint
presentations will be found in the library under instructor resources on
the resource menu.

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Training Guide

Section 7: Reports
Locating Reports
The variety of reports, described below, will help you to assess student performance in your class.

A. From the section home page, click on the Performance tab and hover over
Reports. Click on the report you wish to view or click on View all reports to
go to the reports home page.

Instructors can also access Reports on the My Course page.

Connect Reports
Assignment Results

The Assignment Results report shows your entire classs performance across all of
your assignments. Each student attempt is listed along with the score, organized by
columns, for each assignment. You can look more closely at a particular students
work by selecting the students name and choosing an individual assignment attempt.

Assignment Statistics

Assignment Statistics reports will give you quick data on each assignment including the
mean score, high score, and low score, as well as the number of times it was submitted.

Student Performance

Tailor your lecturesand office hours. The Student Performance report helps you search for a
specific student in your class and focus on that students progress across your assignments. You
can view assignments that have been submitted and any assignments the student currently has
in progress, so you are able to provide guidance or feedback during or after an assignment.

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Training Guide

Section 7: Reports

Connect Reports - Continued

Item Analysis

The Item Analysis report is the best way to get a birds-eye view of a single
assignment. You will be able to tell if students are improving or if the concepts are
something you want to spend additional time on in class. When you want to see
what your class is struggling with on a particular assignment or quiz, this report will
help by providing you with the average score for each individual question across all
students attempts, the average of best scores, and the average of the most recent
attempts on the question.

Category Analysis

The Category Analysis report is the place to go to find out how your students are
performing relative to specific learning objectives and goals. Run customized reports
on the content in your assignments to determine performance across aspects like
learning objective, difficulty level, Blooms taxonomy categories, and even your
own criteria if you have taken the time to edit questions in your assignments with
individual learning objectives for your course.

At Risk

The At Risk report provides instructors with one-click access to a dashboard that
identifies students who are at risk of dropping out of a course due to low engagement
levels. Connect looks for patterns of online student activity to determine the
engagement level of the student, including such events as the frequency of logins
and assignment submission. Other factors that may affect prediction include special
events or manual grading.

Running and Exporting Connect Reports


Creating Assignment Results Reports
A. Select the Performance tab.
B. Hover over Reports.
C. Click Assignment results.

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Training Guide

Section 7: Reports

Running and Exporting Connect Reports - Continued

A. Select section(s) of your courses to be on the report. Choose from


the current section, sections within the same course, and secondary
instructors shared sections (if applicable).
B. Select assignment(s) to be on the report. You can filter the assignments
by clicking Filter by and then using the checkboxes next to each type of
assignment you want to appear in the select assignment(s) list box.
C. Select and deselect assignments by using the Ctrl key while clicking
assignment names in the list box. Use the select all and clear all buttons
available at the bottom of the list box.
D. Select attempt to specify how the student assignment score is
calculated and displayed when your students are allowed multiple
attempts for an assignment.
a. Best displays the best score of all submitted attempts.
b. Last displays the score of the most recently submitted attempt.
c. All displays scores from all submitted assignment attempts.
d. Average displays the average score of all submitted assignment attempts.
Exclude attempts submitted after the due date: Checking this option removes
any scores from assignments that were submitted after the due date.
Drop assignments with the lowest scores: Checking this option allows
you to remove assignments with the lowest scores from the report.
This option is not available if you selected Best attempt.
E. Specify report date range for the report. Select a From and To date
using the calendar icon.
F. Select your score style allows you to choose how your scores will be
displayed: either points, percents, or both.
Click Customize Report Information, to further customize the report.
G. Click View report to generate the report.

Additional detail can be found by clicking the help link at the top of the screen.

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Training Guide

Section 7: Reports

Running and Exporting Connect Reports - Continued

The Assignment Results report will display with a list of your students in the first column and a
subsequent column for each assignment with corresponding student scores.

A. Customize or turn off optional grade range highlights in the highlight


ranges menu.
B. To export the report, click Export, select the format, and then click
Export again to download.
C. You can also Print the report.

Note: If you have a Blackboard integration and the option to export to Blackboard is not appearing,
you have not yet inserted your students' Blackboard IDs into the student roster. The total score will
be located in the last column in the report. You may need to use the scrollbar to reach it.

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Training Guide

Section 7: Reports

Running and Exporting Connect Reports - Continued

Creating Student Performance Reports


The Student Performance report displays individual student performance across all assignments. To
view a report for a specific student, type the students name in the search text box on the page. You
will see the matching student names in the current section by default.

A. Select the Performance tab.


B. Hover over Reports.
C. Click Student performance.

A. To view a report for a specific student, type the students name in the
search text box in the page.
B. Customize the list of assignments by choosing the assignment category
you want to view.

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Training Guide

Section 7: Reports

Running and Exporting Connect Reports - Continued

Creating Assignment Statistics Reports


A. Select the Performance tab.
B. Hover over Reports.
C. Click Assignment statistics.

A. Select which sections will be on the report.


B. Select which assignments will be on the report.
C. You can filter assignments by type using the checkboxes next to each
type of assignment you want to appear in the select assignment(s) list box.

Select and deselect assignments by using the Ctrl key while clicking
assignment names in the list box. Use the select all and clear all buttons
available at the bottom of the list box.

D. Click view report to generate the report.

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Training Guide

Section 7: Reports

Running and Exporting Connect Reports - Continued

Creating Item Analysis Reports


The Item Analysis report provides statistics on each question within a single assignment.

A. Select the Performance tab.


B. Hover over Reports.
C. Select the Item analysis drop-down menu.

Available report options:


A. Select section(s)Select which section(s) will be on the report.
Choose from the current section, linked sections within the same
course, and secondary instructors linked sections.
B. Select one assignmentSelect one assignment to be displayed in the
report. Your choice of sections determines the assignments listed here.
Note that only question bank assignments can be used for this report.
C. Click Filter by to filter specific assignment types (homework, quiz, etc.).
D. Select an assignment attemptFirst and last assignment attempt
scores are always included, but you can select whether you also want
to see the best or average assignment attempt score.
E. You can also check the box to exclude attempts submitted after the
due date.
F. Last, select if you want to show scores in percentages or points.
G. Click View report.

User
Tip: Only

questions
from the question
bank can be used for
the Item Analysis
report.

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Training Guide

Section 7: Reports

Running and Exporting Connect Reports - Continued

A. Here you will see your selections from the previous screen and the
report below.
B. Click a question to preview it.
C. Click the plus sign to view individual student scores.
D. Next to each question/student name you will see the first, last, and
best or average assignment attempt score.
E. You can export
F. or print the report.
G. Edit your report options at any time by clicking Show options.

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Training Guide

Section 7: Reports

Running and Exporting Connect Reports - Continued

Creating Category Analysis Reports


A. Select the Performance tab.
B. Hover over Reports.
C. Click Category analysis.

A. Select the section(s) to include.


B. Select the assignments to be analyzed. Select more than one
assignment by using the Ctrl key while clicking assignment names.
C. Click Filter by to filter specific assignment types (homework, quiz, etc.).
D. You have to select at least one category to use to evaluate students
performance.
You can also further customize the report by selecting:
E. Which assignment attempt you want to show.
F. Whether or not you want attempts submitted after the due date excluded.
G. A report date range.
H. Whether or not you want to see individual student names and scores.
I. Click View report.

User Tip:

These
categories
vary based on
what section and
assignments you
choose. A category
or category group is
only available when a
selected assignment
contains a question
with content related
to this category or
group.

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Training Guide

Section 7: Reports

Running and Exporting Connect Reports - Continued

A. At the top you will see a summary of the settings you selected in the
last screen.
B. Click the blue arrow next to the title to see the assignment details.
C. Listed next to each category you can find the number of questions
assigned that relate to the topic, the number of students who have
submitted answers out of the total number of students, and the
average percent of how students are doing in that category.
D. You can also export
E. Or print the report.
F. Edit report options at any time by clicking Show options.

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Training Guide

Section 7: Reports

Running and Exporting Connect Reports - Continued

Creating At Risk Reports


A. Select the Performance tab.
B. Hover over Reports.
C. Select At risk report.

A. You will be able to see the online engagement indicator score that
shows which students are at risk and allows you to e-mail those
students directly.
B. You can see your entire class and how many students fall into each
category.

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Training Guide

Section 7: Reports

Running and Exporting Connect Reports - Continued

Creating LearnSmart Reports


A. Select the Performance tab.
B. Hover over Reports.
C. Click View all reports.

A. Select LearnSmart Achieve under Adaptive Assignment Reports.

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Training Guide

Section 7: Reports

LearnSmart Achieve Reports


Performance Summary
The Performance Summary report functions as the overview report for LearnSmart Achieve. This is
the best report to use to see all of the results for all of the students in your course.

It can be accessed by clicking on the Performance tab located at the


top of your Connect home page, and then clicking on View all reports.
Next, scroll down to the bottom of the Reports page and click on
LearnSmart Achieve under the Adaptive Assignment Reports category.

All of the available LearnSmart Achieve reporting options will be


presented. Click on Performance Summary.

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Training Guide

Section 7: Reports

LearnSmart Achieve Reports - Continued

Within the Performance Summary report, you will be able to view


every student enrolled in that section, their overall progress for all
assigned LearnSmart modules, time on task, question count, current
unaware level (the metacognition element in LearnSmart that shows
how many times a student responds I Know It but gets the question
wrong), the date the student last accessed LearnSmart, and a details
option to see more specifics for a particular student.

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Training Guide

Section 7: Reports

LearnSmart Achieve Reports - Continued

Student Progress by Topic


The Student Progress by Topic report allows you to see how all of your students did in a specific topic.

It can be accessed by clicking on the Performance tab located at the


top of your Connect home page, and then clicking on View all reports.
Next, scroll down to the bottom of the Reports page and click on
LearnSmart Achieve under the Adaptive Assignment Reports category.

All of the available LearnSmart Achieve reporting options will be


presented. Click on Student Progress by Topic.

Within the Student Progress by Topic report, you will be able to select
a specific unit and topic to examine. Once the topic is selected, you
will be able to see every student enrolled in the course, their progress
on that particular topic, time spent on that particular topic, and the
students e-mail address.

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Training Guide

Section 7: Reports

LearnSmart Achieve Reports - Continued

Section Averages by Topic


The Section Averages by Topic report allows you to view a detailed breakdown of how the entire
section performed on specific topics and learning objectives. This is the best report to use when you
want to examine which elements of certain topics or skills students do not understand. This report
can be used to help modify face-to-face lectures or to help narrow down more difficult learning
objectives for this particular section.

It can be accessed by clicking on the Performance tab at the top of


your Connect home page, and then clicking on View all reports. Next,
scroll down to the bottom of the Reports page and click on LearnSmart
Achieve under the Adaptive Assignment Reports category.

You will be presented with all of the available LearnSmart Achieve


reporting options. Click on Section Averages by Topic.

Within the Section Averages by Topic report, you will be able to select
a specific unit and topic to examine. Once the topic is selected, you
will be able to see a learning objective breakdown by each topic that
includes the average student results across the section.

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Training Guide

Section 7: Reports

LearnSmart Achieve Reports - Continued

Metacognitive Skills
The Metacognitive Skills report allows you to view a detailed breakdown of each students
metacognitive skills and responses within LearnSmart Achieve. This report should not be used for
grading purposes, but may be helpful for instructors looking to identify at-risk students or students
who are struggling within their coursework in LearnSmart Achieve.

It can be accessed by clicking on the Performance tab at the top of


your Connect home page, and then clicking on View all reports. Next,
scroll down to the bottom of the Reports page and click on LearnSmart
Achieve under the Adaptive Assignment Reports category.

All of the available LearnSmart Achieve reporting options will be


presented. Click on Metacognitive Skills.

Within the Metacognitive Skills report, you will be able to see a list of
all the students enrolled in your section and a breakdown of their selfawareness and responses within LearnSmart Achieve. The categories are:
Correct & Aware: Students answered the question correctly and knew
they would.

Correct & Unaware: Students answered the question correctly but were
not sure they would.

Incorrect & Aware: Students answered the question incorrectly but knew
they did not know it.

Incorrect & Unaware: Students answered the question incorrectly but


thought they knew the right answer.

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Training Guide

Section 7: Reports

LearnSmart Achieve Reports - Continued

Student Progress by Unit


The Student Progress by Unit report allows you to view students overall progress in each available
unit within LearnSmart Achieve. This is the best report to use when you want an overall assessment
of how far along students are in completing certain sections of LearnSmart Achieve.

It can be accessed by clicking on the Performance tab at the top of


your Connect home page, and then clicking on View all reports. Next,
scroll down to the bottom of the Reports page and click on LearnSmart
Achieve under the Adaptive Assignment Reports category.

All of the available LearnSmart Achieve reporting options will be


presented. Click on Student Progress by Unit.

Within the Student Progress by Unit report, you can see all the
available units in LearnSmart Achieve, the amount of time each
student has spent in LearnSmart Achieve, each students overall
progress for all assigned LearnSmart material, and a progress score
for each unit within LearnSmart Achieve.

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Training Guide

Section 8: Support
What If I Have Questions?
Sales
Representative

Class test
request

Purchasing
issue

Product
questions
Product demo

Digital Success
Academy

Easy access to
videos, tips/
tricks, how-tos
and frequently
asked questions

http://www.
connectsuccessacademy
.com/

Digital Success
Consultants

One-on-one
training via
WebEx

Product
walkthrough

How do I
contact

Customer Experience
Team (Tech Support)

Technical support

Student support
(access codes and
registration questions)

Password resetting

Learning Management
System (LMS) support

Blackboard pairing
issues

Direct phone:
800-331-5094
http://mpss.mhhe.com/
products.php

Self-Service Resources (Success Academy)


Digital Success Academy: http://www.connectsuccessacademy.com/

Topics to Cover on the First Day of Class


http://www.connectsuccessacademy.com/fdoc-first-day-of-class/

Tech Support Contact Information


Phone Support: 800-331-5094


Monday Thurs 8 am 11 pm CST
Friday 8 am 6 pm CST
Saturday 10 am 4 pm CST
Sunday 12 pm 6 pm CST

Chat Support: http://mpss.mhhe.com/

E-mail Support: http://mpss.mhhe.com/contact.php

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Training Guide

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