Category Archives: Blackboard

Older operating systems and browsers may have trouble logging in to Blackboard

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A security update to our Blackboard system has meant that people using a few specific combinations of older operating systems and browsers may have difficulty logging in to Blackboard. In all cases, this can be addressed by using a different browser (eg Chrome, Edge or Firefox), or by updating your operating system or browser version. The affected parings are:

  • Internet Explorer 11 0n Windows 7
  • Internet Explorer 11 0n Windows 8.1
  • Internet Explorer 11 0n Windows Phone 8.1
  • Safari 6 on iOS 6.0.1
  • Safari 7 on iOS 7.1
  • Safari 7 on OS X 10.9
  • Safari 8 on iOS 8.4
  • Safari 8 on OS X 10.10

Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience this causes.

Resolved: Turnitin bulk download (anonymous assignments) issue

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The issue affecting some Turnitin bulk downloads has been resolved. The issue was first reported on Thursday 8th April and Turnitin informed us it was resolved at 17:00 on Wednesday 21st April. During this period, users may have been unable to bulk download through the Assignment Inbox for anonymous assignments, attempting to do so generated an error message. Our testing has confirmed this is now working again.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused. If you have any questions, please contact digital-education@bristol.ac.uk

Improvements to Collaborate Ultra video gallery

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Collaborate A preview of the improved video gallery.Ultra has recently been updated to provide a richer video gallery. Three new views are available:

  • Gallery – displaying 25 attendees, with arrows allowing scrollable pages for larger groups.
  • Speaker – current speaker displayed as a large window at the top with other users as smaller windows below.
  • Tiled – current speaker displayed as a large window to the left with smaller windows for other users to the right.

In addition to the visual improvements, Moderators can select an individual attendee’s video or avatar window, to change their role or send them a message.

The new gallery is currently only active for Moderators and Presenters but will be rolled out to students soon.

You can read advice and guidance on using the new video gallery and views here: https://help.blackboard.com/Collaborate/Ultra/Moderator/Moderate_Sessions/Video

 

Xerte upgrade and downtime Wednesday 14th April

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IT Services will be upgrading Xerte to version 3.9 between 8am and 1pm on Wednesday 14th April. During this time Xerte resources will be unavailable to staff and students.

This upgrade brings security updates, and improved functionality including:

  • Accessibility enhancements
  • Stand-Alone pages
  • Page enhancements
  • Media sub-folders

We will blog again when Xerte is available for staff and students.

 

Scheduled Maintenance – Blackboard Collaborate Ultra 8th April

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Blackboard Collaborate has advised us that there will be scheduled maintenance taking place on Thursday, April 8th, between midnight and 4 am. During this time, users will experience intermittent availability. The purpose of the maintenance is to update Collaborate to the latest version. The new version will provide an improved video gallery for instructors.

During the maintenance, you can check Blackboard’s service status page.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused. If you have any questions, please email digital-education@bristol.ac.uk.

Please check the IT service status page to see how the University’s systems and services are working and for planned maintenance information.

Interruptions to key University online services, 5.30-9.00 pm Mon 22 March

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IT Services will be completing their emergency upgrades to the University network on Monday 22 March between 5.30 pm and 9 pm. This will affect access to some of the services that the Digital Education Office manages, including Blackboard and Re/Play. Further information can be found in the IT Services status item about this work.

Interruptions to key University online services, evenings Fri 19 & Sat 20 March

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IT Services will be making emergency upgrades to the University network on Friday 19 March between 6 pm and 9 pm and on Saturday 20 March between 6 pm and 9 pm. This will affect access to some of the services that the Digital Education Office manages, including Blackboard and Re/Play. Further information can be found in the IT Services news item about this work.

Replacing feedback files in B1 workflow (bulk upload)

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This issue may affect you if you bulk upload feedback files using the B1 workflow.

We have had two reports of a bug which occurs when two (or more) feedback files of the same name are uploaded and released using the B1 bulk upload (for example, if uploading and releasing the same zip file twice). The bug causes two errors:

  1. It becomes impossible to remove both files.
  2. Removing one of the files breaks the link to access the other file.

If the content of the different file versions is identical, they can be left as they are and students will simply see two identical files. If you find yourself in a position where you are experiencing this bug and the content of the file versions is not identical (even if they have the same name), please contact the DEO.

In order to prevent this issue occurring, if you need to replace existing feedback files always remove them before uploading new versions, as per our instructions.

This issue has been reported to Blackboard and they are investigating. We will provide an update when we hear more from Blackboard. In the meantime, if you have any concerns or questions, please contact us. 

Scheduled Maintenance – Blackboard Collaborate Ultra 25th Feb

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Blackboard Collaborate has advised us that there will be scheduled maintenance taking place on Thursday, February 25th, between midnight and 4 am. During this time, users will experience intermittent availability. The purpose of the maintenance is to update Collaborate to the latest version.

During the maintenance, you can check Blackboard’s service status page.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused. If you have any questions, please email digital-education@bristol.ac.uk.

Please check the IT service status page to see how the University’s systems and services are working and for planned maintenance information.

Resolved: Blackboard app partial service disruption

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The partial service disruption that was affecting the Blackboard app has been resolved. From around 11.30 am yesterday, you may have experienced an error when attempting to log in to the app.

The root cause of the issue has been identified as an emergency security fix that was applied to one of the University’s authentication servers. We have now reconfigured the app so that it uses a different authentication server. However, the app will have cached your previous login method.

In order to login again via the Blackboard app, you need to uninstall and reinstall the app on your mobile devices.

If you are still unable to log in once you have uninstalled and reinstalled the app, please contact digital-education@bristol.ac.uk.

Please accept our apologies for the inconvenience that this issue has caused you.

Please check the IT service status page to see how the University’s systems and services are working and for planned maintenance information. You can also check the Blackboard status page.