[CLOSED] Issues accessing other tools via Blackboard

Update: Normal access to tools accessed through Blackboard has been resumed. There were issues between 07.44 and 11.13 today. 

There is a global issue creating intermittent issues with accessing other tools and services through Blackboard. This is affecting, for example, access to Re/Play, Turnitin and Marks Extract. The Blackboard engineers have identified the issue and are working on fixing it. We will provide an update on this blog as soon as we have one.

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

Lecture Recording Issue – Friday 15th November 2024

We are aware of an issue affecting the automatic recording of some lectures on Friday 15 November 2024. While most scheduled recordings were successfully processed, some sessions were not recorded due to the recording ‘red light’ not activating. 

To avoid disruptions, we recommend checking that the red light activates at the start of your session. If it doesn’t, you can use the Record Now feature to manually start the recording. Instructions for using Record Now are available on our Lecture Capture pages. Manually started recordings will appear in your ‘My Re/Play’ area and can be added to your Blackboard course space in several ways. 

If you have been affected by a recording not being captured, and a recording from a previous year could serve as a useful substitute for your students, please contact us at digital-education@bristol.ac.uk for assistance in sharing it. 

We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused. Our team is actively working with the supplier to investigate and resolve the issue.

Problem with ‘Record Now’ ad hoc recording software

We have been made aware of reports of issues with the Record Now software that is used to manually create recordings in rooms.  This problem has not affected the recordings of scheduled activities but may mean that there was a delay in publishing these to Re/Play.

IT services have now resolved this issue. If students have reported that they are having problems accessing recordings they should be able to retry the service now.

Please see the IT service status pages for further information.

Re/Play Maintenance 12 April

As part of the DEO’s work to future-proof and improve the Re/Play service, we will be working with IT Services from 11 am on 12 April to implement an improved data service. This work will switch the data provision from legacy to current systems and introduce some improvements in the way staff are associated with recordings.

There should be no impact on the service and we will be monitoring activity prior to and during the start of term.

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

Re/Play video caption glossary

Automatically-generated captions appear on all video presentations recorded using Re/Play. There are many reasons captions may be inaccurate, especially when using subject-specific language. Inaccurate captions affect readability and could potentially provide misleading information. To reduce the frequency of these inaccuracies, a glossary of mis-transcribed words will be supplied to our caption provider and updated periodically. This glossary will be applied to all Re/Play presentations.

Please use the link to the form below to suggest words to add to the glossary:

https://forms.office.com/e/rfMtjR2Ygg

If you have any further questions, or would like to submit multiple words to the glossary as a spreadsheet, please email digital-education@bristol.ac.uk.

Getting Re/Play ready for Teaching Block 2

Re/Play As we enter 2024 and approach the start of TB2, we wanted to highlight how to get the best from Re/Play content that has been copied into Blackboard courses from previous years. During 2022 and 2023, we updated the way that Re/Play presentations are added to Blackboard and, as a result of that, content that was added prior to 2022 will not work for students when copied into new courses.

As part of your content preparation, we would recommend checking your Re/Play presentations and updating them where needed. If a presentation does not have the orange play icon, but has either four orange dots or a green play icon, it will need replacing.

To replace a presentation:

  1. Log on to Blackboard.
  2. In your Blackboard course, click on Build Content and Item or Blank Page (or edit an existing item).
  3. In the Blackboard editor, add any descriptive text required to support the presentation, position the cursor where you wish to add it, then click the ‘⊕’ button in the editor menu bar (if the button is not visible, click ‘…’ to expand the bar.)
  4. Choose Re/Play Content from under Additional Tools. If the presentation you want to add is already on Re/Play, in this Add Video section you can select it. If you can’t find it, use the Filters box to narrow down your search. You can filter by several parameters. First check for ownership – whether you created the video or if it was shared with you. Then you can filter by how the recording was created. Mediasite recorder is the in-room box for lecture capture, Mosaic (video showing installation and use) is the software you can use to create ad hoc recordings, and Media Upload is where you have manually uploaded a file from your device.
  5. Then select Embed Video.

For further support, please see our Re/Play guidance.

[Open] Re/Play issues with student access to embedded content

Some students are experiencing issues when trying to view Re/Play videos embedded in Blackboard, receiving an error message stating that there is a problem with the LTI launch due to not being authorised to view the content. Playback via the link in the left-hand menu of courses is not being affected.

The supplier is aware of this issue and is working to bring the service back to normal functioning. We will update this blog with any further developments.

You can add content via the ‘Build Content’ menu in your Blackboard course to mitigate the issue:

  1. In your Blackboard course, click on Build Content and Item
  2. Select RePlay Content
  3. Locate the presentation you wish to add and select Link Video.

If you have any concerns or questions, please contact us by emailing digital-education@bristol.ac.uk.

[Open] Re/Play intermittent folder search results

You may be experiencing intermittent issues with searching within Re/Play when adding presentations to Unit Collections, or searching for unit folders to locate presentations to add to Blackboard content areas. As these issues are intermittent, you may have success trying again at another time.

The supplier is aware of this issue and is working to bring the search back to normal functioning. We will update this blog with any further developments.

Student playback of videos is not affected by this issue.

If you have any concerns or questions, please contact us by emailing digital-education@bristol.ac.uk.

Re/Play updates and improvements

Re/PlayAs part of the ongoing work reviewing and improving the Re/Play service, the DEO has upgraded Re/Play over the summer to the newer, more robust LTI 1.3 version. The core service of automatic lecture capture will still work in the same way and there are many improvements, but there are some changes that may affect existing videos and your future work. 

The key changes are: 

  • Streamlined and improved workflows to add Re/Play content directly within Blackboard: You should ensure you are familiar with these workflows for adding content to Blackboard. 
  • Improved integration of permissions using Blackboard roles: Provided you follow the revised workflows, this will ensure your students get the best experience as it uses their Blackboard roles to grant the correct access to Re/Play content. In addition, it enables all instructors on a course to find and edit a unit’s recordings. 
  • Improved search functionality, allowing for filtering of search results: You should familiarise yourself with these changed filters as you may need to adjust them to find what you are looking for. 
  • Older content may need review: 
    • Make sure any older content added to Blackboard is working as expected, and re-add anything that isn’t playing for you. This is relevant for rolled over content which was added prior to June 2022.  
    • If you used the now out-of-support ‘iframe embed’ workflow (adding recordings using the html editor), replace those with the new ‘embedded player’ option wherever possible. 

We have updated our Re/Play guidance – Re/Play videos: upload, enhance, share to include more details on all of the above.

We recommend you bookmark this link to refer to as you get used to the changes. 


In addition, we have responded to the feedback and consultations we have had with staff and students in the Digital Learning Environment review focus on Re/Play and have made some further improvements to the lecture capture experience.   

  • Lectures will now be recorded by default in the higher framerate, meaning that they will capture handwriting or animations smoothly without the need to request a ‘screencast’ in advance 
  • Recordings will be made available to students after 24 rather than 48 hours 

Where to get more help and training 

You can find all of the guidance for getting the best from Re/Play via the DEO’s Re/Play webpages. Re/Play | Digital Education Office | University of Bristol  

There are also a number of Re/Play related workshops and training sessions planned for the start of term. 

DEO have new Re/Play training which you can find and book via Develop. https://develop.bristol.ac.uk/ilp/pages/description.jsf?menuId=1108#/users/@self/catalogues/1464674/coursetemplates/3160151/description  

IT Services have user guides and run sessions on the audio visual equipment in rooms.