We have added some new features to LearnCentrix which will be a first step in making us compatible with other browsers, such as Firefox, Apple and browser software for the visually impared. Coming very soon, you will see a few changes in the Course Explorer. Here's what it's going to look like:

At first glance it doesn't look a whole lot different ... so let us point out some of the new features!

• Notice that the Course Explorer window looks a little wider than usual in the above image. That's because it's now expandable. You can make it as narrow or as wide as you would like! This will allow for more room in the Content window or more room in the Course Explorer window; however it works best for you.
• Also notice the Roles button has been replaced so that you can see all of your roles at a glance. In the example above, the Developer in the course CE Testing also has two other roles as Instructor and Student. As a Developer, all of your roles in the course will be found in the Other roles folder. If you are one of our Developers that has a course with many offerings (where you may be an Instructor in over one hundred offerings) you will be able to see them all in this new folder.
• The Course Explorer still has the same "tree" structure that we're all used to and the same topic images. The only difference you may notice is that it loads a little faster. That's because, instead of loading the whole tree at once, we're loading the primary topics and then when you click on the expand topic (plus sign +) the children topics are loaded. So when you expand a topic you may see "Loading ... please wait." for a split second.
• In the grey bar at the top of both windows, you'll notice that we still have the "breadcrumbs" displayed along with the forward and backward arrows and page numbering. What you may notice is missing, is the full screen button. This button was only compatible with IE browsers, and in our effort to be compatible with other browsers, we have removed it. If this is a feature that you have built course material around, and you are a client with your own branded university with us, you may choose to keep it. We are recommending; however, that you don't, and instead tell your students to narrow the Course Explorer window so that the Content window is now larger.

We hope that you like the new Course Explorer improvements! If you have any questions or comments then feel free, as always, to email us (support@learncentrix.com) or add a comment at the bottom of this article!

Step 2 in browser compatibility

The next change that you will notice (implemented at the same time as the Course Explorer enhancement) is to the Home page. So that we may be compatible with other browsers and browsers for the visually impared, we are going to faze out the drop down menus in the header buttons. Our drop down menus are complicated Java script with functions that are Internet Explorer specific, so for other browsers to be able to read our menus, we had to design a new user interface (see step 3).

We will begin by taking My Most Recent Courses and removing it from the drop down menu under the MY LEARNING button and adding it to the Home page. The below Home page is an example of what this could look like:

Step 3 in browser compatibility

The second step in advancing our compatibility with other browsers is to redesign our header. The current buttons (My Learning, Tools and Reports) have drop down menus that are only compatible with IE, so we are looking at a tab format for the header to replace them. The below image is the current redesign that we are considering:

So, what do you think?

LearnCentrix University is adding some new features to improve the system's assessment capabilities.  The following is a brief overview of the upcoming enhancements and the target release date for production implementation:

• More complex scoring mechanism by allowing each question to be assigned a point value (2/24/06)
• Questions will have relative weighted value
• Scores will be determined by calculating total points received by correct answers divided by total points possible
• Creation of 'question databases' of an unlimited number or type of questions (1/27/06)
• Keyword search of question databases that return results ranked by most keywords matched
• Questions from the question databases may be shared or copied into course assessments
• Retaking assessments may be limited to a specific number of tries by students (4/1/06)
• Sections of assessments will allow groupings of questions for randomization within question categories (2/10/06)
• New types of questions will be available to assessment developers (4/1/06)
• Matching
• Ranking/ordering
• Likert scale
• Assign point values to each choice of a multiple answer or multiple choice question type (3/24/06)
• Allows students to receive partial credit for choosing less than the best answer
• Option for developer to disallow partial credit on multiple answer questions
• Item Analysis reporting (3/24/06)
• Shows each student's responses to each question and correctness indicator
• Calculates percentage of students that selected each choice
• Summary lines by month and quarter
• Report Wizard will have new fields of raw question response data to run custom reports for item analysis (4/1/06)

We are excited to offer these new features to our customers.  If you have any questions about the upcoming features, please contact support@learncentrix.com.

We are working on the design of significant improvements to the course evaluation functionality in LearnCentrix University.  Developers will be able to add questions of almost any type (e.g. multiple choice, multiple answer, ranking, comment, numeric, short answer, etc.).  The system only allows multiple choice and essay/open-ended comment now.

To accommodate these new question types, we must change how the Course Evaluation Summaries page displays the results.  Below is a first draft of a survey results page would look like for some of these question types.

The links for "view details" will take you to a page that shows the raw data in a spreadsheet format.  One row per respondent, one column per choice.  The details will be available for download in CSV for further analytical processing if desired.

So you're a first time user ... welcome! If you're like most people, you want to quickly get up and running without having to spend a whole lot of time fussing with a learning curve. Me too! Which is why I'm putting this Quick Tip together.  So here's your first tip: 

If you haven't taken the LearnCentrix Student Orientation course - you need to!  This will give you an overview of the system and then you will be set to develop your own courses.  You are automatically enrolled in this course when you get your User Name and Password so there is nothing stopping you.  Unless, you're like me, in which case just proceed with course development and go back later to the Student Orientation course!

As a LearnCentrix administrator, you can inactivate courses that you no longer need - instead of deleting the courses.  Students are not taking the courses, but management still wants the student data for reporting purposes.  Inactivating a course is the answer.  And it is simple to do.  Here are the steps:

1. Enter Course Administration
2. Click on the course name link for the course you wish to inactivate
3. uncheck the Active checkbox
4. Click the Save button

That's it! 

I just went into the User Admin to do some work and saw the search feature with the additional fields. That is so awesome! This is a wonderful enhancement.

Thanks so much!

Thanks!

Kelly A. Cutler
Alltel University
Training Specialist II

One of our clients complained about how long it was taking to load his "My Courses" pages.  He was enrolled as a developer or instructor in several hundreds of offerings, so his course listing was rather long.  But it shouldn't take a minute to load the page!  He said that at the beginning of the day he would logon, go to My Courses, and then go for a cup of coffee.  That's not good.

LearnCentrix programmers have rewritten the page to speed it up. In testing, it appears that it will run at least 10 times faster now.

And now the page has a slightly different look to it.  Here are the items you will see that have been changed:

New features scheduled for production release on 12/2:

1. Adding a Course Proctor<
2. New Course/Offering Selection Table
3. Proctor Functions
4. Additions to My Courses
5. Addition to User Information/Courses & Offerings
6. Addition to Remove User Roles

New features scheduled for production release on 12/16:

1. Changes to Course Score Report & Assessment Response Analysis Reports
2. New Proctor Pass/Fail Report