About IDDL
eLearning For
- Students
- Instructors
- Services and Support
- Guides to Teaching at a Distance
- Software for eLearning Instruction
- Custom Instructional Tools
- Course Evaluations
- Testing
- Alumni
- IVC Schedulers
*IVC - Interactive Video-Conferencing
Frequently Asked Questions
Support Resources
Request Assistance with Technical Problems
- pid/password/sign-in, hardware, software, blackboard, realplayer, centra, downloads, etc
- 540-231-5004 (M-F, 8:00 am-5:00 pm EST)
Request Assistance with Enrollment, Registration, or Admissions
- online forms, tuition/fee payments, deadlines, refunds, etc
- 540-231-1264 (M-F, 8:00 am-5:00 pm EST)
- Request Information or Ask a Question
- eLearning Resource List for Students
- Software Tutorials for eLearning Instructors or eLearning Students
- Orientation Materials for eLearning Instructors or eLearning Students
Frequently-Asked Questions
Note: these FAQs are targeted to eLearning instructors. For student FAQs, go to VTOnline
Blackboard
- Who should I contact if I have problems using Blackboard?
- My students cannot access some of the webpages and services that Blackboard provides.
- How do students access Blackboard?
- How do I combine multiple sections (CRNs) into one Blackboard course?
- What is Blackboard?
- When I try to link to some Blackboard pages, I get an "Access Denied" error message. What's going on?
- How do students get enrolled into my Blackboard course?
- How do I get a Blackboard username and password for someone who is not part of the Virginia Tech community?
- How do I manually enroll students in my Blackboard course?
Centra
- When I click on attend it brings me to a page that has the Virginia Tech heading but no content on the page.
- Why can't I get Centra to function at work?
- How do I install Centra on my PC computer?
- Why is the audio so choppy in session? I'm losing several words from each sentence.
- During a live session, my graphics take forever to download. I can tell others can see what the instructor is looking at by what they say, but I can't see anything.
- I'm in session and suddenly I can't hear anyone speaking anymore. The yellow equalizer bar tells me that they are speaking but I can't hear them.
- Centra Playback Does Not Work
- Why can I hear everyone speaking but they can't hear me?
- Why am I having trouble attending events when I use Netscape?
- How can I check my system to determine if it will work with Centra?
- While running Centra "System Check" my browser passes, but when it runs the network check the check just stops and gives no indication of whether it passed or failed.
- When I click "Attend", instead of the automatic download, I get a dialog box "Could not execute applications.rendezvous.client.Applicatio The system cannot find the file specified". Is there another way to get the client software?
- How can I view Centra sessions that have already occurred?
- How do I get a Centra account so that I can participate in the Centra sessions for my Virginia Tech online class?
- I lost my VT PID and Password, how will I connect to Centra and who do I contact?
- When I click "Attend", instead of the automatic download, I get a dialog box "You have chosen to download - Attend.jhtml from location "centra.iddl.vt.edu". Is there another way to get the client software?
- How do I request a Centra meeting time for my class group work assignment?
- Can I use Windows Vista with Centra?
- Can I use Centra on a Mac?
Distance Learning
- What is distance learning?
- How can I get more information about distance learning at Virginia Tech?
- How can I get help developing and teaching a distance learning course?
Evaluation
- How do I get the results of my course evaluations?
- How do I do my course evaluations if I am teaching an online class?
- How do I do my course evaluations if I am teaching a videoconferencing class?
- How do distance learning courses compare with face-to-face courses in terms of quality of instruction?
- I would like my students to have their exams proctored.
Library Services
- Is there any way to get books and articles from the library without coming to Blacksburg?
- Why am I denied access to use some library materials such as online databases?
- Is there someone at the Library who can help me find what I need?
Online Media
- I have the most recent player but the video is garbled and erratic.
- I cannot open a PDF file because I receive the following error: File does not begin with '%PDF-'. How can I view this PDF?
RealPlayer
- I have the most recent player but RealPlayer freezes when I try to play the video.
- I have the newest player but all I get is a black screen when I try to play the video.
- I have the newest RealPlayer but it just buffers continuously without ever starting the video.
- Why do I receive a "Cannot connect to server", "Connection to proxy server could not be established" error, or similar error?
- Why does the presentation stop midway through?
Scheduling Distance Learning Courses
- How do I request scheduling for a videoconferencing classroom?
- Who is responsible for submitting requests for videoconferencing classrooms?
- I submitted a request for a videoconferencing classroom, but I need to make a change. What do I do?
- I need a videoconferencing classroom for a special event, not a whole course for a whole term.
Software
- Is there someone who can help me learn how to use the software I want to use in my course?
- I need some software for my course. Where do I go?
Student Services
- My students think my online class will be easier than a face-to-face class. How can I make sure they are better informed before they enroll?
- My students aren't getting some emails or course announcements.
- Who do my students contact if they have hardware problems?
- Who do my students call if they don't have a Virginia Tech PID?
- My students can't get access to some of the Library's services.
Windows Media Player
- The video stream images are distorted, fuzzy, and sometimes disappear altogether.
- My Windows Media Player v 7.1 won't play on my Windows NT 4.0 or Windows 95 machine.
- When I try to view a Windows Media stream I get "Visual C++ Run Time Error:Abnormal Program Termination" and the player locks up/freezes/crashes.
- The video stream freezes. ( I have an NVidia Riva TNT video adapter.)
- Text is unreadable when I'm viewing lectures with Windows Media Player. How can I fix this?