Stream is changing

Posted on by digitaleducation

Microsoft is updating Stream on 10 July, moving from Stream Classic to Stream (on SharePoint). This will affect anyone using Microsoft Unit Teams to record teaching sessions.

The main changes are:

  • Recordings will now be stored directly in OneDrive or SharePoint
  • There will no longer be the ability to edit your video directly in OneDrive/SharePoint, but you can download it for editing in other tools, such as Camtasia
  • It is no longer possible to create an embed link to your recording, but you can get a link to the recording to share with people within the University.

Added features

There are some additional features to this update that may be useful to you in your teaching, including:

  • Support for chapters, to make it easier to move through a video
  • The ability to add and reply to comments alongside the video
  • Improved analytics – weekly viewership (unique & total) and viewership retention
  • Improved video thumbnails, with any point of the video able to be used as a thumbnail.

The Microsoft roadmap for Stream has more detailed information on the additional features.

Please note:

  • One-to-one or group calls and scheduled meeting recordings will be saved in the OneDrive account of the University attendee who started the recording. In order to make sure that this is not one of your students, you can set access and presenter options.
  • Unit Teams meeting recordings and files will be automatically stored in the SharePoint folder for the Unit Team.

Folder permissions:

  • All Unit Teams have been configured so that only owners can share files or recordings both externally and internally. Any attempt to share files by members of the team will send a request to the owners for approval.
  • Non-Unit Teams have been configured so that sharing files or recordings externally can only be done by an owner, but members can share files within the organisation.
  • Please also see the IT Services instructions on how to manage permissions.

Further information on the Stream changes can be found on the IT services web pages.

Questionmark scheduled maintenance Saturday 16 July 2022 09:00- 15:00

Posted on by Roberta Perli

Dear colleagues,

Questionmark Scheduled Maintenance: Saturday 16 July 2022 –  09:00-15:00

The purpose of the maintenance is to deploy system updates to ensure the ongoing reliability, security and up time of the platform.

During this time all users may experience service disruptions. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

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

Re/Play: updates and improvements summer 2022

Posted on by Suzanne Collins

This summer, we’re moving the Re/Play service to a new kind of integration with Blackboard, called Re/Play LTI. This is because Blackboard will no longer support the old ‘building block’ method of integration.  

There are a number of benefits of this new kind of integration. Re/Play will be more stable, with fewer outages. It will also improve the way Re/Play content is authenticated, so there should be far fewer incidents of students being unable to view materials you share with them. 

Alongside the LTI integration, additional updates and improvements will be introduced. These include a new media player which incorporates accessibility improvements – including the ability to change the font, size and colour of captions. The search engine should also be much better to use when finding and adding Re/Play videos to Blackboard using the ‘Add Content’ tool in the text editor.  

None of this work will require downtime of the Re/Play system. 

We have also re-designed the Re/Play guidance on our webpages, following feedback from and consultation with staff and students. We hope you will find it easier to find the information you need, when you need it.  

For updates on the summer work for all of our key tools, see the DEO Service Improvements page.  

 

2022-23 Blackboard course creation

Posted on by Hanrahan Highland

After August 1, new Blackboard courses will be created for the 2022-23 taught units. These will be a copy of the previous year’s course, where that exists, including any template.

New units, or units that have had a change of unit code or teaching block, will be generated as a copy of the school’s template, or as blank Blackboard course if your school does not have a template. Please contact the DEO if you are interested in adopting a school template for the 23/24 academic year.

Students are automatically enrolled onto the courses for the programme and units that they are registered to in SITS. Instructor enrolments are copied from the previous year’s course; instructors will need to be manually enrolled onto any new courses. Please contact your school office if you to be added to any new Blackboard courses.

Programme-level courses and organisations are persistent and do not roll over.

Details of the summer work being carried out by the DEO can be found on our Service Improvements page.

Qwickly Attendance updated

Posted on by Jenny Thistlethwaite

Qwickly Attendance has now received an essential system update. This has improved accessibility and replaced the main navigation menu with a new left-hand menu. The settings have also been updated to make the system easier to use. All documentation has now been updated to reflect the changes.

The update we previously announced for Qwickly Course Tools has now been postponed by the supplier and further details will be announced once they are received.

[Closed] ‘My Marks’ via Blackboard home page unavailable

Posted on by digitaleducation

An issue has been identified with the Blackboard ‘My Marks’ tool (which is accessed via the home page or the user menu at top right), so it has been made unavailable. Blackboard are working on fixing it. In the meantime, students should access marks and feedback in Blackboard via ‘My Grades and Feedback’ in the ‘Assessment, submission and feedback’ area. We apologise for any inconvenience caused. If you have any questions, please contact digital-education@bristol.ac.uk

Questionmark essential maintenance – Monday 25th July 7.15 – 7.45 am

Posted on by Roberta Perli

IT Services and the supplier need to perform essential maintenance relating to University user authentication to enable sign in to Questionmark. The maintenance work will be carried out on Monday 25th July from 7.15 to 7.45 and may result in a short interruption of service. There may be further service disruption until 10am.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused.”

No Blackboard downtime this year

Posted on by Hanrahan Highland

Unlike in previous years, there will be no summer downtime for Blackboard this year. This is because, last summer, we moved our Blackboard system onto a ‘cloud’ infrastructure. This means our system can automatically scale to meet demand, and can also receive bug fixes and upgrades more quickly, without any downtime.

Details of the summer work being carried out by the DEO can be found on our Service Improvements page.

System update for Qwickly Attendance and Course Tools, 29 June

Posted on by Hanrahan Highland

We will be receiving an essential system update for the Qwickly Attendance and Qwickly Course Tools in Blackboard on Wednesday 29 June. The update will improve accessibility and replace the main navigation menu with a new left-hand menu to make the system easier for instructors to use. The Qwickly settings have also been reconfigured to further simplify use. Details of the changes can be found on our Service Improvements page. Qwickly will remain available to staff throughout the update.

Campus Pack no longer available

Posted on by Jenny Thistlethwaite

The Campus Pack features in Blackboard have now been switched off, as the product is no longer supported by the supplier. This means it is no longer possible to add new Campus Pack items into courses.

If you already used Campus Pack within an existing course, you will still be able to view the content. Students will also be able to view and export existing items.

For further details on this change and instructions on exporting content, see our Service Improvements page.