IT Services worked over the weekend and have fixed the problem with importing groups from the timetabling system, Syllabus+, into Blackboard. All groups should now be available.
Author Archives: Hanrahan Highland
[Closed] Imported groups missing for Qwickly Attendance
There has been a problem with importing groups from the timetabling system, Syllabus+, into Blackboard. IT Services has been investigating the problem and hopes to have a solution soon. In the meantime, staff will not be able to take attendance with Qwickly using these imported groups, although manually-created groups will be available for taking attendance as usual. There is also the option to take attendance using the ‘All Students’ option in Qwickly:
Alternatively, you can take a paper record of attendance and use the ‘Past Time’ option in Qwickly to enter the attendance at a later date.
We apologise for the inconvenience caused by this. If you have any questions, please contact digital-education@bristol.ac.uk.
2023/24 Blackboard “parent” courses available
The annual “rollover” of Blackboard courses has been completed, and the 2023/24 Blackboard courses are available to access now, including “parent” courses.
The courses are copies of the previous year’s courses, where those exist, including any template. New units, or units that have had a change of unit code, will be generated as copies of the school’s template, or as a generic template if your school does not have its own template. Copied courses will need to be refreshed for the new academic year.
If you have any questions or concerns, please email digital-education@bristol.ac.uk.
2023/24 Blackboard courses now available
The annual “rollover” of Blackboard courses has been carried out, and the 2023/24 Blackboard courses are available to access. We are now working on building “parent” courses, where these are needed, and they should be ready by the end of the week.
The courses are copies of the previous year’s courses, where those exist, including any template. New units, or units that have had a change of unit code, will be generated as copies of the school’s template, or as a generic template if your school does not have its own template. Copied courses will need to be refreshed for the new academic year.
Students are automatically enrolled onto the courses for the programme and units that they are registered for in SITS. Instructor enrolments are copied from the previous year’s courses; instructors will need to be manually enrolled onto any new courses. Please contact your school office if you need to be added to any new Blackboard courses.
Programme-level courses and organisations are persistent and do not roll over.
The Assessment, Submission and Feedback areas of the new courses will be cleared of assessments, along with the Grade Centres, ready for the coming year’s assessments. Guidance on setting up assessments can be found on BEAM.
If you have any questions or concerns, please email digital-education@bristol.ac.uk.
Blackboard Deep Link Generator update
When you would need to create a Deep Link
Staff and students must be logged into Blackboard to open direct links to Blackboard courses or organisations. Our Deep Link Generator adapts these direct links to prompt users to log in prior to accessing a page.
Deep links are intended primarily for short-term use; for example, emailing links to specific areas of Blackboard to students and staff. If you are planning to use them more extensively, please contact the Digital Education Office for advice.
It is not necessary to use deep links within Blackboard (eg linking from a course to an organisation), as the user will already be logged into Blackboard. You can use direct links within Blackboard, or use Course Links. (Please note: direct links will need to be updated each year, as they do not automatically update when the courses are rolled over.)
Changes for 2023/24
Prior to the 23/24 academic year, each page of a Blackboard course or organisation had a unique URL, so it was possible to link directly to a specific page. However, the navigation within Blackboard Ultra Base Navigation will only display the URL for the ‘entry page’ of a course or organisation (usually the Announcements or Welcome section).
If you need to direct users to a specific section of a course or organisation, we recommend creating a deep link to the entry page and then providing guidance on where to find the section within the site.
Any deep links created prior to the upgrade to Blackboard Ultra Base Navigation will still direct the user to the correct page in Blackboard; however, the navigation away from the page will not be visible, and the user will have to go to www.ole.bris.ac.uk to access other areas of Blackboard.
How to use the generator
To create a deep link, copy the URL from the address bar of the page that you want to link to:
Go to the Deep Link Generator page, paste the URL into the box, then click on the ‘Encode’ button:
The updated URL can now be copied and shared as needed.
Blackboard upgrade completed
The Blackboard upgrade to the new Ultra Base Navigation has been successfully completed. You will see the new-look Blackboard the next time you log in. Your courses haven’t changed, but the way you navigate around Blackboard should now be easier and more intuitive, whatever device you’re using.
“I really like the ease of navigation of the updated Blackboard.”
– University of Bristol student
You can find more information and guidance in our Blackboard Ultra Base Navigation guide.
If you have any questions, please contact digital-education@bristol.ac.uk.
Blackboard upgrade time change: 3.45 pm – 6 pm
The Blackboard upgrade on Wednesday July 5 is moving to slightly later in the afternoon. We will be carrying out the upgrade starting at 3.45 pm, with a projected finish time of 6 pm. All other details remain unchanged. Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience caused.
If you have any questions, please contact digital-education@bristol.ac.uk.
Blackboard upgrade, Wednesday July 5, 3.45 pm – 6 pm
On July 5, we’re updating Blackboard to use the new Ultra Base Navigation. This update will give Blackboard a modern look and feel and provide easier access to important information.
Ultra Base Navigation has a modern, intuitive navigation menu that sits outside of courses and is always available.
Your courses will not change. They will look and operate exactly as they do now.
The benefits of Ultra Base Navigation include:
- A modern, intuitive user experience.
- Improved accessibility.
- It works well on mobile devices. This navigation is designed to work well regardless of what device you’re using.
- Just one click away. No matter where you are, UBN provides clearer paths to where you want to go, minimizing clicks and saving time.
To enable Ultra Base Navigation, Blackboard will be unavailable for a short time on the afternoon of July 5, between 3.45 pm and 6pm. After this, you will see a redesigned login page for Blackboard and can use the new navigation as soon as you log in.
You can find more information, with screenshots, on the project webpage: Blackboard Ultra Base Navigation. If you have any questions, please contact digital-education@bristol.ac.uk.
New app launched to request teaching software
IT Services has launched a new software request app for teaching staff. The app has been designed to streamline the process of requesting software for the start of the upcoming academic year and enables you to see previous software requests made by your school.
To ensure your request is ready for the start of teaching in September, please submit your request as soon as possible. The deadline for submission is 16 June 2023.
Access the app and find out more on the Teaching and Student Software SharePoint page.
If you need technical support with the app, please contact the IT Service Desk using the self-service site.
[Resolved] Intermittent issue loading Re/Play videos
The supplier of the Re/Play service has fixed the issue that was causing some people to have intermittent difficulty accessing videos.