Category Archives: Blackboard

Blackboard assignment display issue for Word files saved in Pages/LibreOffice

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We have had a very small number of reports of issues with Box view incorrectly rendering and displaying some files, especially tables. The file itself can still be downloaded without issue.

We have carried out testing and confirmed with Blackboard that the issue only occurs when the student uses a non-Microsoft application such as LibreOffice or Pages to write/edit their work but then saves as a Microsoft Word document.

Depending on the marking workflow there are two ways around this issue.
1. If using B1 or similar workflows which downloads the file, the Box view can be ignored as the download is functioning correctly. The student may need some reassurance that their file has uploaded correctly – they can download from the Review page and check the file is correct there.
2. If using B2 or similar workflows which mark using the Box view, the student can be instructed to save as a PDF (rather than as a Word document) which, when uploaded, will render correctly in Box view.

Due to the very specific circumstances in which this occurs, we anticipate this only affecting an extremely small minority of submissions.

Blackboard maintenance, 7am-8am Sunday 31 May

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UPDATE: Blackboard have informed us that this maintenance is not required on our system, so there will be no downtime.

In order to ensure the stability of Blackboard during the exam period, essential maintenance will be carried out on the system between 7am and 8am (BST) on Sunday 31 May. During this time, Blackboard will not be available, so please plan accordingly.

Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience this downtime causes.

Turnitin planned maintenance. Wednesday 22nd April: 08:00 – 13:00

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There will be a possible service disruption on Turnitin on Wednesday 22nd April from 08:00 to 13:00. This is due to Turnitin requiring time for emergency maintenance. Marking may be disrupted during this time and students using Turnitin may have to retry their submissions.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused, and for making you aware to this maintenance at short notice. Unfortunately Turnitin did not give us the usual amount of warning for this work. For more information please see the Turnitin Status page.

If you have any questions, please contact digital-education@bristol.ac.uk .

Collaborate maintenance, Wednesday 8 April, 11 pm – 3 am

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Blackboard will be performing scheduled maintenance for Collaborate between 11 pm on Wednesday 8 April and 3 am on Thursday 9 April. You will experience intermittent availability of the scheduler, sessions and recordings during this time. Blackboard will try to minimise downtime and will not necessarily use the entire maintenance window.

Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience this causes.

Blackboard Mobile App Planned Maintenance/Outage 17th December 3:30 AM

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Blackboard will be performing essential maintenance on the mobile app from 3:30AM on 17th December. The Blackboard app will be unavailable for around 5 hours during the maintenance; please access Blackboard using a web browser during this time.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused.  If you have any questions or concerns please contact the Digital Education Office.