Sakai Question of the Week

Q. How can my students add photos of themselves to their blog posts?

A. Students can upload their photos to the Resources tool in their My Workspaces and make the folder with the photos “publicly viewable” using the Edit Details link in the Actions menu. They should click on the link to their photo that they created in Resources and copy the url that displays in the browser’s address window. Then they can go to your course and click on Blogs in the menu, click on Edit for their blog, click on “My blog Settings” at the top of the Blogs page and enter that url in the box “URL for my picture.” Then click Change Settings at the bottom of the page to save the change.

Q. I added my Adobe Connect room through Sakai and it works great! But I had two students who added the course after I created the room and they were not able to access the last session. How I can get them added to my Adobe Connect room?

A. Even if you select “allow access to all site users” when you create the meeting, the meeting roster will not update automatically to include students who add your course after you create the meeting.

To add students who enroll after you create the meeting, click the Edit button beside the meeting name in Sakai, then click Update. It’s good practice to do this immediately before the first day of class, even if you are unsure if any students have added your course after the meeting was created; it never does any harm and will automatically pick up those students and add them to the Adobe Connect roster.

If you selected “Allow access by group and user” when you created the meeting, you will have to click Edit and add the new students manually.

Q. Can I copy a lesson from one course to another?

A. You can copy lessons from one course site into another course site.  Keep in mind that you will want to ensure that you have at least one Lessons tool already in place in your destination course (it can be blank/empty).

To import content from one site to another, please follow our step-by-step directions as listed here Import from Site. There is not a way to import only a specific lesson; instead, you could  copy the lessons over and then delete the content you don’t want.

Additionally, if you are just hoping to copy resources (files, images, etc.) then you can copy/paste or move resources across course sites by following our directions here Editing Resources in Sakai.

Q. I added the statistics tool to my course and attempted to look at use by user.  But I am not seeing statistics for the whole course, only for today.  Could you advise on how to see the statistics for the whole course?

A. Unfortunately, the Statistics tool can only gather data starting from when it is added to the course; there isn’t a way for it to go back and gather data from before it was turned on for your course.

Q. I wrote a test in one course but I meant it for a different course.  Can the test be moved?

A. You can make a copy of a test or quiz by exporting it, and then importing it into the course where you want it. Here are the steps:

1. Click on Tests & Quizzes in the course where you created the test.
2. Drop down the menu for the test and select Export. Choose “Content Packaging” as the export type and save the zip file.
3. Go to Tests & Quizzes in the course where you want the test.
4. Under “Create an Assessment” click Import under “Import from file” on the right side of the screen.
5. Browse for the zip file you exported from the first course.
6. Click Import.
7. To remove the test from the first course, go back to Tests & Quizzes in the first course, drop down the menu beside the test and select Remove.

You can find more detail on exporting tests and quizzes at Backup Tests and Quizzes from Sakai.

Q. Is there a way I can play VoiceThreads from my Sakai course using my iPad app?

A. You can play VoiceThreads from your Sakai course using your iPad VoiceThread app if you set the app to log into the Loyola instance of VoiceThread.

1. Open the Settings app on your iPad.

2. Tap on VoiceThread.

3. Tap on Custom Domain.

4. Enter “luc”

Now you should be automatically redirected to your Sakai login page when you use the VoiceThread app. Then tap the three horizontal lines at the top of the screen and scroll through to find your course and its VoiceThreads.

Q. I need to move/copy files from one site to another. Is there a simple way of doing this?

A. You can copy or move content from one Sakai site to another using the Copy and Paste copied items, or Move and Paste moved items commands in the Actions menu in the Resources tool. For step-by-step instructions, please review our tutorial Editing Resources in Sakai.

Q. Is there a way to put a jpg image, like a cartoon, on the home page of my course?

A. Yes, you can post an image on your Sakai home page. Follow instructions for Customize Site Information Display. The icon in the toolbar for adding an image looks like a little painting and is in the third row down in the image in the tutorial.

Q. How can I backup my course in Sakai?

A. Backing up your course is a three-part process; there are separate procedures for saving a local copy of your course files, your tests and quizzes, and your gradebook.

Backup Sakai Course Content - Download content from your Sakai course by individual item or multiple items simultaneously.

Backup Tests and Quizzes‌ – How to create a local copy of your tests and quizzes from Sakai as a zip file backup.

Backing up Grades in Sakai‌ – How to create a local copy of your gradebook.

Q. In Adobe Connect breakout sessions, students are able to enter text into their individual group document, but are not able to bring them back into the main session to report to the entire class. What do I need to do to save these breakout report documents?

A. After ending a breakout session and returning all attendees to the main room, hosts can share the contents of any breakout room with everyone in the main room.

1. In the main room, click Pods > Breakout Pods.
2. Select an individual breakout room name and then select Attendee List, Chat, Share, or Whiteboard.  The selected content appears in a new floating pod. The contents are View Only and cannot be changed or edited.
3. (Optional) Make the new pod larger by clicking Full Screen or dragging the boundaries of the pod.
4. To remove the pod, click the Pod Options menu in the upper right corner of the pod and then “Hide”.