Learning Management Systems Support

It is available in all myMason Organizations and Blackboard Courses. Instructors can use Collaborate to set up virtual conferencing for their classes, while students can participate in chat and discussion sessions from anywhere. Instructors can also share PowerPoint presentations and other content using a virtual whiteboard. Additional features include multi-person audio and video, screen sharing, chat, and breakout rooms.

Uses include:

• Holding virtual office hours
• Recording lectures
• Student group meetings
• Inviting guest speakers
• Connecting with remote students or interns
• Emergency proofing courses

These tools include discussion forums, student group areas, text-based and real-time chat, a grade book for securely distributing grades to enrolled students, and assessment tools for administering quizzes and exams.

Course Folders

All course folders are automatically created based on Faculty Assignments in Patriot Web. You will not receive a course folder in Blackboard until you are listed as officially teaching a course in Patriot Web or officially registered for the course.

Student Rosters (Faculty-only access)

Student rosters are updated for you. When students add/drop from Patriot Web, the changes are reflected in Blackboard Courses.

Faculty

Courses are created during the first two weeks of registration to allow faculty to develop their courses before the semester starts.

All Users

All Blackboard Courses users log in via mymason.gmu.edu. The username is the same as your Mason NetID. The password is the same as your Mason email account.

Blackboard Courses workshops are held periodically—sign up for these workshops at workshops.gmu.edu.

Walk-in assistance is available at the Collaborative Learning Hub lab. Additional information is available in the Teaching & Learning section of the Knowledge Base.

Getting This Service

All Users

 All users log in via canvas.gmu.edu using their Mason NetID and Patriot Pass Password.

Courses

Courses are created the day student registration opens for the term to allow faculty to develop their courses before the semester starts. When students add/drop from Patriot Web, the changes are reflected in Canvas courses within a few minutes.

 Read the Canvas Use Guidelines

Training

Canvas training is available through the Canvas Training Services Portal for self-paced training resources or to register for live training and webinars. Additionally, live workshops are held periodically–sign up for these workshops on MasonLEAPS.

Availability

Canvas is available 24/7. Any outages will be announced on the Alerts & Bulletins page.

Additional Information

Additional information is available in the Teaching & Learning section of the Knowledge Base.

 Blackboard to Canvas Integration List

 For questions and comments regarding Canvas, email courses@gmu.edu.

Honorlock is designed for assessments built in the Blackboard learning management system (LMS). It also works with third-party assessment tools such as publishers’ digital textbook content. The instructor can choose testing requirements such as audio, video, and screen recordings. Honorlock can also be used solely as a lockdown browser in cases where full, artificial intelligence-based proctoring is not needed.

• Search & Destroy – Automatically searches the internet for exam content that has been leaked on 3rd party websites and send takedown requests.
• BrowserGuard – Lockdown browser capabilities, which prevent students from opening up other webpages and applications during their exam.
• Live proctor with the Live Pop-In – A real-time monitoring system that allows instructors to monitor students taking exams remotely.
• Honorlock Artificial Intelligence – Uses AI technology, facial recognition to detect suspicious activity and behavior during online exams.
• Multi-Device Detection – Detect unauthorized secondary devices, including mobile devices.
• Real-time reporting – Honorlock provides a comprehensive analytics platform to monitor student performance and usage.
• Seamless integration with Blackboard learning management system.

Honorlock is available in Blackboard courses when enabled by the instructor. Students must use the Chrome browser and Honorlock Chrome Extension.

Honorlock Status

https://status.honorlock.com/

Honorlock Support Center

https://honorlock.kb.help/

Users upload audio and video directly to Blackboard using the Kaltura Media Mashup tool. Media uploaded resides in the user's My Media Library (a personal cloud-based storage area). In the My Media library, users can manage their media across all courses, create screen recordings, or capture webcam video. Kaltura is also available outside of Blackboard on the Course Media website.

IMPORTANT

Media is retained in the system until the video has not been played (by anyone) for four (4) years. An email will be sent to the owner 30 days before a video is deleted with options to stop the deletion and retain the video for another four years. For more information, please review the Kaltura Retention Guidelines.

Faculty & Staff

All Zoom recordings created by Faculty and Staff users are transferred to the Zoom session creator's MyMedia account. For more information, please review the Zoom Recordings knowledge base articles.

• Videos will be streamed. Students will not have to download the video files, and students with slower connections can see the videos.
• Videos will work on any computer, tablet, or mobile device with any bandwidth connection.
• Videos are easily managed and reusable in other courses.

Kaltura Knowledge Center https://knowledge.kaltura.com/

Please note:

• Do not upload media with interactivity. Kaltura cannot accept packages of files (e.g., Camtasia, iSpring, Adobe Presenter) with interactive elements (e.g., menus, quizzes).
• Kaltura and Blackboard do not limit the upload size; however, the maximum file size your browser will allow you to upload is 2 Gigabytes.

Organizations is a unique feature of myMason that allows any and all groups—from the smallest club at Mason to the largest—to stay informed and receive information specific to their organization. You can search through the existing organizations and select those from which you would like to receive information. You can also request your own organization and publish content for your members. (Note: Student organizations need to be recognized by the university.)

Additionally, users with a faculty and/or student role will see the Courses and Content tabs. Access to these tabs is for faculty and students enrolled in courses through Patriot Web.

Users also have links to email (mail.gmu.edu), and Patriot Web. 

This service is available to all Mason faculty, staff, and students. Visit mymason.gmu.edu or click on Log In to myMason on this page.

Instructors can choose to require the Respondus LockDown browser for any existing deployed test in their course. When a student uses Respondus LockDown Browser, they are unable to print, copy, go to another website, or access other applications on their computer. When an assessment is started, students are locked into the test until it is submitted for grading.

Respondus Monitor is an additional option that records webcam audio and video of the student taking the test. This ensures student identity and that the instructor's requirements, such as a closed book or working alone, are followed. By default, Respondus Monitor will record both video and ambient sound. Instructors can review the video after the test is complete.

• The Respondus Lockdown Browser application is a separate browser that instructors may require to take a test in Blackboard. If the test in Blackboard states, "Requires Respondus LockDown Browser," the test cannot be taken using a standard browser such as Safari, Firefox, Chrome, or Microsoft Edge.
• Once a test has been started with Respondus LockDown Browser and Respondus Monitor, students cannot exit until they click Submit.
• To utilize Respondus Monitor, students must have access to both a computer and a functional webcam.

Students using their own computer must download the Respondus LockDown Browser from myMason. Instructions can be found in the Respondus Tools module in the Courses tab on the myMason website.

Students taking tests in the Testing Center do not need to download the Respondus LockDown Browser as it is already installed. Instructors must make separate arrangements to use the Testing Center.

You can create documents to convert to text files and upload them directly to your Blackboard folder. 

Respondus must be installed before use. Windows computer users can install Respondus on their computers, while Mac users will need to use Virtual Computing Services.

Instructions to install Respondus Test Creation Application are available in the Knowledge Base.

• Download the Respondus Quick Start Guide
• View a Respondus video on publishing to your Blackboard course
• See the instructions for How to Send a Test to Blackboard Using Respondus and How to Import a Paper Test into Blackboard Using Respondus

It supports a multi-faceted approach to teaching and learning about plagiarism. While some plagiarism may be deliberate, often it is unintentional and occurs for many reasons, including:

• Forgetting to keep track of sources
• Lack of clarity about how to cite sources
• Not understanding the distinction between quoting, paraphrasing, and expressing original ideas
• Differences between generations about what constitutes plagiarism
• Cultural diversity may also factor into views on plagiarism

Submissions are checked against public websites, ProQuest article research databases, Mason's institutional document archive, and a global reference database to help prevent cross-institutional plagiarism.

• Instructors must log into Blackboard/Courses, open a course, and choose the location to place the SafeAssign link each time students are to submit a paper or assignment. The Originality Report on each submission can then be viewed by the instructor or teaching assistant in SafeAssign or the Grade Center.
• Instructors may also directly submit a paper to receive an Originality Report or submit it to the Institutional Search Database using the SafeAssign Course Tool.

Additional Information

• By submitting papers, students agree to enter their document into the SafeAssign database and the SafeAssign terms of use.
• SafeAssign only accepts files in .doc, .docx, .odt, .txt, .rtf, .pdf, and .html file formats.
• For more information, contact Learning Support Services at 703-993-3141 or email courses@gmu.edu.