PDF files not opening correctly in Blackboard from Chrome and Edge

Posted on by Joseph Gliddon

This issue only affects some types of PDF.

We have had reports from some users that they have experienced issues when trying to open a PDF in Blackboard.  The PDF opens but only the first page appears and a log in box also appears on the page.

We have looked into the issue and there is a known issue with Chrome where the “in site” cookies do not pass to PDFs when they open.  What this means is that the PDF does not know the student is logged into Blackboard.

Solutions
Enter username and password (sometimes works)
Right click and save as/download (always works)
Use Firefox (always works)
We will be looking into this issue and will provide an update if there is a better resolution.

Daily drop-ins and upcoming webinars

Posted on by Suzi Wells

We are still running our daily drop-ins (3pm on working days, no need to book, ask us anything).

In addition we have webinars coming up in the next couple of weeks:

  • 13 Oct, 11am – Advanced Blackboard course design
  • 14 Oct, 11am – Engaging online discussions
  • 14 Oct, 3.15pm – Introduction to Blackboard Annotate
  • 19 Oct, 1pm – Marking online using Blackboard marks and feedback extension
  • 20 Oct, 1pm – Introduction to creating and managing tests in Blackboard
  • 21 Oct, 11am – Advanced Blackboard course design
  • 21 Oct, 1.30pm – Blackboard basics

Details and booking on the DEO events page

Attendance groups now updating

Posted on by Joseph Gliddon

The integration that assigns students to attendance groups in Blackboard, based on timetabling data, has not been updating since Monday. (These groups are shown in Blackboard with “{S}” at the start of their name.)

The integration between Timetabling and Blackboard has been fixed.

You should now see the up to date list of students in your {S} groups in Blackboard.   Any changes to the timetabled groups in your unit this week will now be reflected on Blackboard.

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

“My Re/Play” tab restored; all services operating normally

Posted on by Hanrahan Highland

We are pleased to announce that the “My Re/Play” tab has been restored in Blackboard. All our services (including Re/Play, Blackboard and Collaborate) are available and working normally. We are continuing to closely monitor these services, along with our suppliers. Please accept our apologies for the issues that you experienced yesterday. Further information about the nature of the issues and the steps taken to resolve them will follow shortly.

Accessing Re/Play recordings while the “My Re/Play” tab is unavailable in Blackboard

Posted on by Hanrahan Highland

At the moment, the “My Re/Play” tab is unavailable in Blackboard, due to the issue that affected it earlier today. We are working to resolve this issue, and hope to make the “My Re/Play” tab available again in the near future. While it is unavailable, staff who need to access their recordings, or make them available to students, can use the following workaround.

  1. Go to https://mediasite.bris.ac.uk/Mediasite/MyMediasite/
  2. If you are asked to sign in, click on the “Authenticate” button and sign in using your University of Bristol ID and password
  3. You should now see the “My Presentations” screen, giving you access to all your recordings

To create a link that students can use to view one of your recordings:

  1. From your “My Presentations” screen, find the recording you want to share
  2. Click on the name of the recording, which takes you to a screen with that recording’s details
  3. Check that “WHO CAN VIEW?”, on the right-hand side, is set to “My Organization”
  4. Click on “Watch in New Window”, on the right-hand side towards the top
  5. In the new window that opens, copy the URL (select all the text in the address bar, eg https://mediasite.bris.ac.uk/Mediasite/Play/cb546ba353a4438eb363edb897ed46041d)
  6. Provide this link to your students, who can use it to view the recording

My Re/Play Tab unavailable

Posted on by Pete Herbert

In order to address slow running in Blackboard we have disabled access to the My Re/Play tab.

This will not affect playback of recordings embedded into Blackboard courses, but will stop playback of linked content, and will stop you adding new content to the service.

In-room recordings and uploading from the Desktop Recorder will not be impacted.

We will update as soon as we have more information. If you have any questions, please email digital-education@bristol.ac.uk

Blackboard issues

Posted on by Hanrahan Highland

You may recently have been experiencing difficulty in accessing Blackboard, or finding it running slowly. Blackboard are aware of this issue, and are taking steps to rectify it. This work should be completed very soon.

Collaborate sessions should not have been affected by this.

We will update you with further information when we have it.

Questionmark scheduled maintenance: Saturday 17th October

Posted on by Naomi Beckett
Questionmark Scheduled Maintenance
Questionmark have advised us that there will be scheduled maintenance taking place on Saturday 17th October from 07:00 – 19:00 BST. 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