Questions asked that are of general interest are periodically added to this list. Please review it to see if your question is already answered, and for extra insight into the system.
Question
I have never used Sakai before. How can I get into the system?
Answer
Your login is the same as your user's Bradley login for Bradley computers.
Students needing help should check with the help desk for instructions (677-2964).
1. Go to Sakai.bradley.edu
2. Click on your course name
3. Click on BU Login
4. Type user name (the same as the first part of their bradley email - EXAMPLE jsmith)
5. Type your password
6. This sequence leads to the Sakai page. Click the name of the selected course to access it.
If you experience problems with your login, please call the help desk at 1 309 677 2964
Question
If I experience technical problems with my computer, what should I do?
Answer
Contact the help desk at 677-2964. If you are using a notebook computer and the problem is serious you can take your computer
directly to the help desk in the library.
Question
I could not attend the first online meeting of this class. How can I catch up
with the material?
Answer
For all online meetings a recording is kept of the comments. You will find them
in the Chat Room. Click on the button that you find to read them.
Question
I accessed Sakai and wanted to take the first quiz. Can you let me know the
password for it?
Answer
Normally, there is no quiz password. Any time quizzes or exams are password
protected. You will receive your password in advance by direct e-mail. Be sure
to take the practice quiz first.
Question
Is there anything special I should do when taking a quiz?
Answer
YES! If it opens in a new window that occupies only a fraction of your screen,
maximize that window immediately. Click on the small square box in the upper
right window corner to maximize the window. Carefully maintain your focus exclusively
on the quiz. If you engage in extraneous activities such as accessing another
program, responding to an e-mail or an instant message, you may lose the Sakai
connection and the ability to complete that quiz. Even having your instant messager
on during a quiz can destroy your work.
Question
I would like to print a copy of the quiz so I can see it and work on paper,
is that possible?
Answer
NO! Quizzes are in a format that allows for an exclusive electronic presentation.
Attempting to print them will sometimes crash your system. You can easily retrieve
the completed quiz in electronic form as often as you wish. Use the electronic
results as you study for the final. Focus your attention only on questions you
missed. Ignore things you answered correctly and direct your study to areas
of the text that deal with questions you missed. Your finance experience after
you finish this class will seldom if ever involve answering multiple choice
and other simple questions. Hence, merely learning quiz answers is of dubious
value. Use questions you missed as a guide to identify topics requiring more
study.
Question
As I was taking a quiz my computer lost power and had to be re-started.
Then Sakai told me that I had already completed the quiz and would not let me
back into it. What should I do?
Answer
It is likely that everything has been lost. Contact the instructor by e-mail.
Remember to list the course name and number in the subject line. Explain exactly
what happened. If this occurs before the end of the quiz due date, your quiz
will be reset and you will be able to take it during the remaining time. After
the due date, you will have to replace the quiz with a makeup quiz. Be careful
that this problem does not repeat as the number of resets is limited.
Question
How can I review the quiz Questions for quizzes that I have already taken?
Answer
This is possible shortly after the required completion date of the quiz is passed
and certainly before the final is due. Within the Sakai system for this class,
select the "Gradebook option." Then select items as appropriate to
check your grade.You will need to research missed topics in the text for insight
to correct answers.
Question
I tried to get the answers for the quiz, but, it did not produce what I thought
it would. It lists the question, and the answer, if you got it right. But if
it's wrong, it lists the wrong answer and simply says "that's not correct"
or something similar to that. Is there anyway to obtain the correct answers?
Answer
You must use your book to find the correct answer and understand the material.
Your objective should be to understand the topic of the question in general.
Thus, although it is burdensome, in the long run searching through the text
should prove beneficial. Shortly after the quiz due date has passed you will
be able to reaccess your quiz to check if your research produced the correct
answer.
Question
When I attempted to print a quiz on my printer, the entire quiz disappeared.
Then when I was able to get back to the link to find the quiz I got the message
that I had already taken the quiz and I could not take it again. My score is
reported as a "?" or the picture of a small lock indicating that something
went wrong. What should I do?
Answer
Quizzes are designed to be taken electronically, they
are not printable. When you attempt to print them it is likely that
you will crash the system and receive a zero grade for that quiz. Any time you
lose a quiz you must contact the course instructor immediately. Send an e-mail
with a full explanation of what you were doing when the system crashed. Often
the problem is with the attempt to print. In most cases all of your work is
lost when the system crashes. However, it may be possible to reset the quiz
and you will be able to retake it upon presenting an explanation of the problem
as suggested here provided that the last available day has not been reached.
If this problem occurs during that "grace" day, you will have to take
the makeup quiz. Due to this possibility, you should plan to complete every
quiz at least one day before it is due. Finally, over the entire course each
participant is limited to three resets. After that number is exceeded, you will
need to take the makeup quiz.
Question
I use a different e-mail address for my activities than the one assigned by
Bradley. Do I have to periodically check the Bradley account for any reason?
Answer
Yes, unless you redirect the e-mail. Some things will be sent to the Bradley
address. Mail from the instructor and other students is automatically sent to
the Bradley address specified in Blackboard. To designate a different address,
contact the help desk 1 309 677 2964 or the computer administrators at Bradley.
You can modify e-mail message destinations to any e-mail account you designate.
You change the e-mail destination to your preference from within the Bradley
account. Be certain that the account you redirect mail to is capable of handling
any mail you might receive.
Question
I understand that you cannot access quizzes after their designated expiration
time. However, if I start a quiz shortly before its expiration time will I be
allowed to continue working on it?
Answer
You may work ONLY until the quiz expiration time! For example if the quiz is
scheduled to be 30 minutes long and its availability expires at 11:59 pm, you
may start it at 11:55 but you will only have four minutes to finish it. You
are encouraged to NOT work this close to the deadline as many other extraneous
problems can occur and disrupt your plans.
Question
If I have browser problems of some sort and I exceed the stated time limit for
a quiz briefly will I be penalized?
Answer
No, there is no penalty for going overtime. Rather, Sakai automatically submits
your exam when time expires. You must not make a practice of going overtime.
Question
I did not receive a syllabus for this course. Where can I get one?
Answer
You can download and print a copy from the "Syllabus" section of Sakai
within this course's website. Alternately, the electronic form always remains
available there so you have no need to download a copy.
Question
I noticed that makeup quizzes are available for some of the quizzes. If I am
dissatisfied with my grade can I replace it with a makeup quiz?
Answer
No, the makeup quizzes are exclusively available for people who totally missed
taking a quiz. For example, if you are out of town with no access to the Internet
or if you are ill and unable to take a quiz you may take a makeup in place of
the regular quiz. To insure the availability of a makeup quiz you must immediately
notify the instructor of your interest in the makeup quiz by e-mail. They will
only be available for a specified period following the regularly scheduled quiz
that was missed. If a person who has already taken a quiz takes a makeup quiz
for the same material, the LOWER score of the two will be recorded. Note that
makeup quizzes can be somewhat more challenging than regular quizzes and you
are limited to a maximum score less than possible on the original quizz. Their
purpose is simply to allow you to remain with the course even though you may
have to miss a quiz or two.
Question
I sent e-mail to the instructor several days ago and did not receive a reply.
Is there any way to insure that my e-mail is not lost?
Answer
Nothing is perfect with e-mail. Notably, there is an incredible amount of junk
e-mail delivered to most any address. Often they are erased without being opened.
To limit inadvertent erasure of an e-mail message you send, put your course
number in the subject line. For example, list Fin ___ to indicate which course
you are taking. Normally responses are sent within one day. If you do not get
a response, and it is well over one day since sending a message, assume that
something went wrong and resend the message, being certain that the subject
line includes Fin___ .
Question
I tried to take the quiz during its scheduled time, but Sakai was down during
the whole time. When I finally accessed Sakai the quiz was not available. Is
there anything that can be done?
Answer
You should always take the quizzes at least one day before they are due. However,
you will not be penalized due to the rare event of a system failure. When the
entire system crashes, the quiz availability will automatically be extended.
Of course it is not a good idea to wait until the last minute to take these
quizzes as there are many things outside of your control that may present problems.
Question
My syllabus says that I have a one day grace period to finish a quiz. What does
this mean?
Answer
You should always plan to complete your quiz before its scheduled due time as
shown on the syllabus left margin. However, if something goes wrong during a
quiz the parameters for that quiz may need to be reset. You must immediately
e-mail the instructor an explanation of the problem encountered. I will always
check my e-mail the morning after quizzes are due and if you experienced a problem
that requires parameters being reset I will do that before noon during the grace
day. You can then still complete the regular quiz without any penalty providing
you do so before the end of the grace day. After that you will need to take
a makeup quiz in place of the problem quiz.
Question
A question requires the use of an Excel spreadsheet function that my computer
does not have. What should I do?
Answer
You must insure that any functions you may need from Excel or other external
programs are operational before you begin your quiz. In the Tools menu select
Add-Ins... and enter a check beside the functions you will need, for example
Analysis ToolPak. Then click the OK button. If the Add-Ins are not available
you will need to install them from your Excel installation disk or have your
system administrator install them on a networked machine. These Excel add-ins
are unnecessary in many courses. Use a Baker computer lab or the library if
your computer is inadequate.
Question
I answered the first question or two and my screen will not scroll down to the
next question. What should I do?
Answer
Sometimes the cursor gets stuck on a question. That may be a question with a
single word fill in the blank or an essay. Usually you can simply click in any
random area within the quiz that is outside any submission box and the scrolling
will resume.
Question
I am searching for the quiz due dates, where can we find them?
Answer
The bottom of the syllabus includes an assignment schedule. Each topic is listed
by chapter number and on the left most part of the page you will find a date.
By midnight on that date the quiz should be completed.
Question
Are the quizes typically the same length in time or is there a way to find out
how long the quiz is before we take it?
Answer
Yes quizzes are typically the same length of time.
Question
How do I know if I must complete a research project or submit some other assignment
to complete the requirements for this course?
Answer
All course requirements are stated in the syllabus. If something is not included
in the syllabus, it is not requred. Conversely, everything listed in the syllabus
is required.
Question
I noticed while looking at my grade some other entries such as 001m. I have
not done any of those and wanted to make sure I was not missing points.
Answer
Those are merely place holders for reduced credit makeup exams. You can safely
ignore them if you take all exams ontime. Everything required for the course
is listied in the syllabus.
Question
Answer
10/17/11