Sakai Question of the Week

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”.

Q. I am trying to create a quiz in Sakai that requires images.  How can I add images to my questions?

A. The text box for test questions has a rich text editor in which you can insert an image.

1. Upload your images into a folder in Resources in the course – you can find step-by-step instructions for that at Adding/Removing Content in Resources.
2. In your test, when creating or editing a question, in the Text Editor box, click on the image icon in the menu to open the Image Properties box.
3. In the Image Properties box you will need to specify a URL for the image: Click on the Browse Server button and Sakai will list all the courses you are teaching.
4. Choose the course in which you are creating the test and navigate in the Resources folder to the location of the image.
5. Select the image file, adjust the sizing, and click on OK.

Q. I want to import Articulate lectures from some of the lessons I used last semester. I do not want to import all materials, just some of the narrated lectures. How can I do this?

A. You can copy individual items or folders from one course to another; in the case of Articulate, you will have a folder with the appropriate files and will need to copy the whole folder.

To copy Articulate files from Resources in one course to Resources in another, follow instructions in Editing Resources and select the entire Articulate folder. Note that to copy your folder to other sites, you will need to scroll down the page and click on Show other sites – your other courses are listed here.

Or if you still have the Articulate .ZIP file in Resources, you can copy that file into Resources in your new course and use the Actions menu to”Expand  ZIP archive.” You will still need to link to the player.html file from a Lesson, or tell your students to go to Resources, expand the Articulate folder and click on player.html.

Q. I noticed that every forum post in my Sakai course is forwarded to my email. Is there a way to stop the forum discussions from going to my email?

A. You can control whether/how to receive emailed posts from Forums by following these steps.

1. From your site’s Tools menu, click Forums.
2. At the top, click Watch. You will see options for:
   - having an email sent whenever a new message is posted
   - having an email sent when a conversation you have contributed to receives a new message
   - no notification
3. Select your preferred option.
4. Click Save.

Q. Is it possible for either instructors or students to post pictures in the Blog entries in Sakai?

A. Yes, they can post pictures using the image icon in the text box menu. They have to choose a source location where the picture has already been uploaded. There are two ways to do this:

• Students can upload their pictures 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. Then they can use the Link option in the blog’s text box menu and “Browse server” to browse to their My Workspace > Resources and the appropriate folder, and pick the photo from that source. If they don’t make the folder with the photo(s) “publicly viewable” then no one else will be able to view the photos.
• You could create a folder in Resources giving students permission to upload files to that folder only. They could upload the photos and then link to them in the blog from that Resources folder.