Latest entries from blackboard.blog-city.com

Blackboard - overnight issue resolved

roger.gardner — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 10:14:00 GMT

Blackboard was unavailable on Sunday night and early this morning due to a database issue, which has now been resolved. Apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused.

Adding content - earlier issues have been resolved

roger.gardner — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 15:06:00 GMT

The intermittent problem earlier this afternoon which affected some instructors when trying to add content to their Blackboard courses has now been resolved. Once again we apologise for any inconvenience caused. Please get back to us at bb-help@bristol.ac.uk if you experience any further difficulties.

Intermittent error when adding content - Monday 4th Oct 14.30

roger.gardner — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:44:00 GMT

Some instructors are currently experiencing an intermittent error when trying to add content e.g. upload files to their Blackboard courses. We are looking into this as a matter of urgency. In the meantime, if you have received this error please wait a few minutes and then try again. Apologies for any inconvenience caused.

How can I copy materials from one course to another?

roger.gardner — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 11:16:00 GMT

As long as you are an Instructor on both courses, you can copy materials as follows:

Click on the origin course (containing the materials you wish to copy)
Click on Control Panel
Click on Course Copy
Click on Copy Course Materials into an Existing Course
Enter the destination Course ID
Select the materials you wish to copy
Click on Submit

How can an instructor delete a specific post in a discussion thread?

roger.gardner — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 13:08:00 GMT

To delete a specific post in a discussion thread:

Click on the Forum
Click on Tree view in the top right
Click on Expand all to see all posts
Select the ones you wish to remove
Click Remove

Blackboard course access OK

roger.gardner — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 08:59:00 GMT

The earlier problem with accessing Blackboard courses has been resolved. Once again apologies for any inconvenience caused.

Tuesday 22nd Sept 09.15 - problem accessing Blackboard courses

roger.gardner — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 08:16:00 GMT

There is currently a problem accessing Blackboard courses. Our technical team are looking into this. Apologies for any inconvenience this is causing.

Automated student enrolment begins 15th September

Hilary — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 12:38:00 GMT

We will re-enable the automated enrolment of students onto Blackboard courses from Tuesday 15th September. Once this has been switched on you will no longer be able to remove last year's students from your courses, so please try to recycle your courses to remove last year's students before Tuesday. The automatic creation of new courses and users is already in progress.

Automatic enrolment (and the creation of new courses and Blackboard accounts) is based on data held in central databases (that you may view via MyStudents, for example.) If you expect your course to automatically enrol students but this does not appear to have happened please check MyStudents to confirm that the data to populate Blackboard has been added. Enrolment data is uploaded overnight, so it may take 24 hours to be pulled into Blackboard. If you have any questions or need help please email bb-help@bristol.ac.uk.

How can I hide users in the Grade Center?

roger.gardner — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 15:16:00 GMT

Once in the Grade Center move your mouse over Manage on the toolbar
Click on Show/Hide users.
Select the user or users you wish to hide, click on Hide users and lastly Submit.
You will see confirmation at the top of the screen
Look at the Grade Center and you should not see the hidden users

I'm resitting some exams and need access to Blackboard courses

Hilary — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 13:13:00 GMT

If you are resitting exams but can't see the courses you need on Blackboard you will be able to access them from our backup service:

wwwdev.ole.bris.ac.uk

How do I make my zip file of student submissions ready to upload to Turnitin?

Hilary — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 13:06:00 GMT

Once you have downloaded the assignments from the Gradecentre you may want to remove the small text files that are contained in the zipped archive and rename your file.

Download and save the zip file to your desktop
Right click on it to rename it (if necessary)
Double click to open the zip file
Delete the unwanted files
Close the file

Blackboard production service now available

Hilary — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 10:18:00 GMT

We are happy to say that Blackboard is now back. Apologies again for the disruption this has caused you.

Blackboard - work continuing

Hilary — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 10:00:00 GMT

The work to resolve the current problems with Blackboard may mean you are unable to log into the service for a short time. Apologies for the disruption this may cause you.

Blackboard course access

Hilary — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 09:18:00 GMT

We have been made aware of problems on Blackboard this morning, specifically when you try to open a course. IS teams are investigating. I will post when we have more information.

What's new in Blackboard 8 staff training

Hilary — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 13:34:00 GMT

We are running a series of demonstrations and training sessions on what's new in Blackboard to help you get the most of the new gradecentre and self and peer assessment tools.

A series of short *lunchbyte* presentations will be run throughout August and September. These hour long sessions will demonstrate the key features of the new tools, provide you with the chance to ask questions and direct you to more help and advice. Lunchbytes will be held in the Bergerac Room (F.16, 8 - 10 Berkeley Square). To book your place please email bb-help@bristol.ac.uk or book directly by the sign up list in the Lunchbyte section of the Blackboard Help course.

Thursday 27/08/2009 11.30 - 12.30
Monday 07/09/2009 12.30 - 1.30 pm
Thursday 17/09/2009 12.30 - 1.30 pm
Tuesday 22/09/2009 1.00 - 2.00 pm
Tuesday 29/09/2009 1.00 - 2.00 pm

We are also running a *What's new in Blackboard* workshop, this will cover the new features in more depth and give you the chance to try out the tools for yourself with support from us.

Wednesday 16/09/2009 1.30 - 4.00 pm
Wednesday 04/11/2009 9.30 - 12.00 noon

To book your place on one of the workshops please contact staff development:http://www.bris.ac.uk/staffdevelopment/

Blackboard service now available

Hilary — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 11:11:00 GMT

The testing of Blackboard has been completed and the service is now fully functional. Due to the significant nature of the work undertaken we will be tuning Blackboard over the coming weeks to hone its performance. If you encounter any issues or problems with Blackboard please email bb-help@bristol.ac.uk.

We are aware of issues with accessing Blackboard using Firefox 3.5.1 / 3.5.2 and Internet Explorer 8 but will apply the fix for the issues associated with these browsers this week.

Blackboard update

Hilary — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 09:13:00 GMT

Final testing of Blackboard is currently taking place, we hope to have a full service available by 12 noon today. Please use the service but do not change or add data until our checks are complete. We will be finished by 12 noon today.

This downtime sees the completion of a major and long running project to make the Blackboard service more stable and reliable. It has been completed well ahead of schedule thanks in the main to the exemplary endeavours of our colleagues in Information Services.

Blackboard status: Tuesday August 4rd

Hilary — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 09:14:00 GMT

Reminder: Blackboard downtime Monday August 3rd - Thursday August 6th

Hilary — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 08:32:00 GMT

Blackboard will be unavailable from 9 am on Monday August 3rd to 9 am on Thursday August 6th. The aim of this work is to ensure that our Blackboard service is more able to cope with the significantly increased demands being placed upon it. We hope this work will result in a more reliable service, less prone to unscheduled unavailability. In future we will also now be able to undertake some of the necessary maintenance work without having to withdraw your access to Blackboard completely.

This is the final scheduled downtime arranged for this summer. We apologise for any disruption this may cause you. If you would like more information please email bb-help@bristol.ac.uk.

This downtime was scheduled using the information you have forwarded to us about the times when it is essential to you that Blackboard is available. If you are a member of staff and would like to forward information on your critical dates for Blackboard availability please email bb-help@bristol.ac.uk

Blackboard access via portal

Hilary — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 09:39:00 GMT

Blackboard has been available and fully functional since just before 1 pm on Friday, however over the weekend there was a problem accessing Blackboard via the portal. We apologise for the disruption this may have caused you. We are working with the portal team to ensure that in future portal problems are identified more quickly and alternative arrangements put in place for portal users who need access to Blackboard.

How can I view the results of a Blackboard survey in the Grade Center?

roger.gardner — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 14:15:00 GMT

Find the survey in the Grade Center
Click on the Double down pointing arrows to the right of the survey name
You should see a menu (see screenprint below)
Select "attempts statistics"

How do I add a self and/or peer assessment activity to my Blackboard course?

roger.gardner — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 13:55:00 GMT

The self and peer assessment (SAP) activity in Blackboard 8 manages the process of student self and peer assessment of work, which is outlined in the flow chart below

The guide below covers the Design stage in which an instructor sets up the assessment.

designing_a_self_and_peer_assessment_in_blackboard_8.doc (Word, 350KB)

Blackboard service available

Hilary — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 11:17:00 GMT

We are very happy to be able to let you know that Blackboard is now back and fully functional after the upgrade to version 8. Please accept our apologies for the delay in restoring the service.

If you would like any additional information please email bb-help@bristol.ac.uk

What is the early warning system?

roger.gardner — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 15:47:00 GMT

The early warning system allows lecturers to set up automated early warning "rules" to notify them of various danger signs with regard to student performance or participation , whether it be grades, submission lateness or last Blackboard login.

To add an early warning rule:

Go into the relevant Blackboard course
Click on Control Panel
Click on Early warning system
Select either Grade Rule, Last Access Rule or Due date rule
Fill in the form to set the criteria and then click Submit
Select the rule and click the refresh button to update the rule
Click on the rule to view users’ status for that rule

How can I allow participants to keep updated about discussions in a forum?

roger.gardner — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 14:07:00 GMT

In Blackboard 8, it is now possible to subscribe to a discussion thread or forum. This means that whenever a new post is made in a forum or as part of a particular thread, you are notified by email. See http://blackboard.blog-city.com/how_can_i_stay_informed_of_whats_happening_on_a_forum.htm for details of how to subscribe.

This can be enabled by the instructor in the discussion forum settings, as shown in the screenprint below. To edit the settings find the discussion board page and click on Modify to the right of the relevant forum.