As we approach the assessment period, the Digital Education Office (DEO) would like to remind students and administrators of best practices for file preparation and assignment submission to keep in mind during the exam period. Please share this information with your students; we have also published this guidance on our DigiTalk blog if you would prefer to send them a link with the information.
Familiarise yourself with DEO’s guidance
It’s important for students to familiarise themselves, before their assignment deadline, with the guidance on preparing submissions in several formats, and with the assignment submission interface. You can do that now by looking at the three guides below:
For a list of assessment information relevant to students, please see our online submission guides for students.
How to avoid last-minute issues when submitting assignments
- Allow as much time as possible to submit before the deadline, so that if you experience any technical difficulties, you can receive advice and resolve the issue before the submission due date and time.
- Use a wired connection, as it tends to be more reliable than wireless connections, especially if the file to be uploaded is large.
- Always use a laptop or PC rather than a mobile device when submitting work to Blackboard. We do not advise using the Blackboard app for assignment submissions.
- Close any documents you are uploading before submitting them, as files being synchronised in the cloud may not save the latest changes until they are closed. It is also recommended to close any windows and programs other than Blackboard that could interfere with your submission.
- Use Microsoft Edge as it is the recommended browser for accessing institutional resources, such as Blackboard. Google Chrome and Firefox are also supported. Please avoid using Safari, as its default privacy settings may cause access issues.
- Always follow your school’s submission instructions. If you encounter issues, try switching browsers or clearing the cache; if problems persist, attempt resubmission or wait and try again later. For further assistance, contact your school office.
If you have any questions about this blog post, please message us at digital-education@bristol.ac.uk.