What's New in Axio 3.0

Axio Learning Version 3.0 was released August 6, 2007. Many improvements to Axio Learning have been made in this release, and they are based on the feedback we have received from faculty and staff members, and students. Version 3.0 includes new tools such as Course Statistics, Attendance, Private Memo, Gating and Wimba Voice tools; an improved Course Organizer now called My Organizer; and upgrades to the Assignment Manager, Roster, and Message Board. Also updated is improved navigation for the instructor tools to make it quicker and easier to do the things you need to do.

Important updates to Axio Learning

• General
  • Axio users will benefit from a more robust Help section.
  • Navigational improvements have been made to make Axio more user-friendly and consistent. A navigation transition document (pdf) is available to assist you with the changes.
  • Footer navigation so you can access all tools without having to return to the Course Tools page.
  • Navigation in the instructor tools has been moved to a left side menu and allows you to get to any area within the tools with just a few clicks. You can also 'roll' the left menu up like a window shade, hiding certain links and giving yourself a little more valuable screen real estate!
  • A new section called "My Quick Links," where you can assemble your own set of frequently used links. To add a quick link, navigate to the page you want to quick link, and click the Add » link.
• Course Tools page
  • The Course Tools page has been reorganized for easier access.
• My Organizer
  • You can now reorder your courses within My Organizer.
  • Instructors and students now have the ability to hide courses on their My Organizer. This does not remove the course, but hides it for improved organization.
  • Users can add comments to each course (where the class meets or class times, for example).
  • My Organizer now features a new design, which includes My Notepad, a feature that lets you create and save notes to yourself. A My Links option is also available for you to place links to your frequently visited Web sites.
  • Also new in My Organizer is Recent Activity, which tracks and numerically reports changes within a course. Instructors can control if students see these activity reports, and users can customize the reports to show only relevant details.
  • Instructor reports include the following: new file dropbox uploads, new message board posts, assignments submitted, course visits and new calendar events.
  • Student reports include the following: new announcements, new message board posts, grades posted, new assignments and new calendar events.
• Course Statistics
  • Instructors will now be able to view statistics on the number of accesses for each file within a course.
  • Statistics include most frequently used tools, and usage activity by hours and days of the week
  • Course statistics are displayed in raw numbers and percentages, and in graphical format when possible, to help instructors track trends in course usage.
  • Assignment Manager
  • Instructors can now allow extra credit questions. Extra credit points are kept separate from the assignment points.
  • A new option for online assignments called Practice Assignments, which allows students to take the assignment and immediately see if they answered questions correctly or incorrectly. The Answer Key can be revealed when the instructor wants (including before the assignment expires) by setting a Key Posted date/time.
• Gating
  • Gating allows instructors to require students to access or complete specified course work before they are permitted to move on to other course work.
  • Instructors can gate files, folders and assignments.
  • Gated assignments are multi-take, and instructors can define the gating criteria by submission, percentage or points. For example, if you set your gate for submission, the students need only submit an assignment to pass the gate. With percentage or points, however, students must meet a minimum score or percentage set by you.
  • The Gating Progress tool allows instructors to monitor and manage students' progress through the gates.
• Integration of Wimba Voice Tools
  • Instructors can now quickly and easily create a voice recording (in MP3 format) right from within the Manage Files tool and publish the file for students.
  • A voice recording appears as a link to a recorded file, not the actual file.
  • Students can download and stream later.
• Manage Files
  • You can set a preference to have all unpublished files within a locked folder locked upon upload. However, you can still lock each file individually by editing the properties for that specific file. This is course specific (does not apply to all courses of the same user).
  • We have made many improvements to the File Dropbox based on user suggestions, including the ability to create as many File Dropboxes as needed and publish them in any folder or subfolder.
  • Instructors have a new option to allow publishing of the files submitted to the dropboxes for the students within the dropbox. This allows improved opportunities for peer review or sharing of dropbox files without needed to move them to another folder.
  • Other options added to File Dropbox are the abilities to restrict which file types are allowed to be uploaded and to limit the maximum file size that can be uploaded.
  • An Audio Dropbox can also be created using Wimba Voice Tools to allow students to record a voice audio file from within the dropbox and submit those audio clips. This will be very valuable for pronunciation, language and other assessments that require hearing students' voices.
• Roster
  • The addresses in the e-mail column are now links. Clicking an e-mail address will launch the e-mail tool so you can send mail directly to the user.
  • Create Terms has been renamed Semesters & Sections to make it easier to identify and has been updated for ease of use.
• Message Board
  • The Message Board now has an HTML Editor where you can select fonts, text and background colors, and the formatting style of your threads.
  • You can now delete archives on the Message Board using the Manage Archives tool.
  • Users can now print individual threads from the Message Board.
  • Archives can be renamed.
• Private Memo
  • Instructors can now create their own Private Memo, a one-way message from an instructor to a user.
  • A memo cannot be replied to or deleted by a student. Instructors can edit, delete, unpublish or publish sent memos at any time.
• Attendance
  • Attendance is a new feature that tracks students' attendance at pre-defined events. For each event, you can mark students as Present, Tardy, Absent (Excused), or Absent (Unexcused).
  • Events can be created arbitrarily, and don't necessarily have to match the pattern of your in-class meeting times. For example, you can create weekly or monthly attendance events.
  • Attendance marks can be sent to the gradebook as frequently (or infrequently) as you desire to be counted toward the final grade and for students to see in their Gradebook.

If you have any questions or would like to provide any suggestions or feedback, please contact the IT Help Desk at helpdesk@axiolearning.org or 866-282-8212.