Important update on marks extract from Blackboard to eVision/SITS

Posted on by Cleo Benedetto-Rea

We are currently working on enhancing the marks extraction tool that transfers marks from Blackboard to eVision/SITS. During this time, you might encounter issues with transferring marks for assessments that have due dates/times. We are actively working with our service provider (Anthology) on resolving these problems and expect to have them fixed by September 6. Marks for assessments with a due date/time that need to be transferred out of Blackboard before September 6 should be manually entered into eVision/SITS.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

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

DEO drop-ins and webinars for staff

Posted on by Jenny Thistlethwaite

To support you in teaching and assessment online, the DEO is continuing to run daily drop-ins as well as subject-specific webinars for colleagues who teach or support teaching.  These can be found by logging into Develop and using the topic “Learning and Teaching” or by entering “Digital Education Office”  in the search box.  Alternatively, if you are interested in a specific course simply enter the name in the search box.

Upcoming sessions include:

  • Blackboard basics
  • Re/Play: managing video content
  • Turnitin for administrators

We also run a number of self-paced courses.  These include:

  • Digitally Ready for administrative staff
  • Mentimeter – learn how to engage your audience and create exciting presentations
  • Multiple Choice Questions: principles and practice
  • Multiple Choice Tests in Blackboard: uses, ideas and hands-on practice

You can find details on how to access drop-ins on our Events page.

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

SafeAssign Maintenance, Monday 26 August

Posted on by digitaleducation

On Monday, 26 August, between 10:00 and 13:00, SafeAssign will undergo a maintenance update.

SafeAssign users may experience disruptions for up to two hours while the service is temporarily unavailable. Once the maintenance is complete, Blackboard submissions using SafeAssign will be processed with a delay. However, no data loss is expected.

This downtime is necessary for a backend infrastructure update as SafeAssign transitions to a new system.

If you have any questions about this update, please refer to the Blackboard status page, or email us at digital.education@bristol.ac.uk.

 

[Resolved] Turnitin AI detection interruption of service

Posted on by digitaleducation

Earlier this month, we discovered that some AI writing detection reports in Turnitin had not been generated. Upon investigation, Turnitin confirmed that this was due to an error at their end, and that the issue occurred between 31 July and 5 August.

Today, Turnitin engineers reported that they have regenerated the AI reports for submissions made during that period.

We have spot checked some of the affected submission points and can confirm that the AI reports have now been successfully generated.

We apologise for the inconvenience caused and are grateful for your patience while we were working to resolve this issue. If you have any queries, please contact digital-education@bristol.ac.uk.

[Resolved] Turnitin service incident, 9 August

Posted on by digitaleducation

The service has now been restored.

Between 7 August at 21:00 and 9 August at 17:15, Feedback Studio users may have experienced intermittent access to Similarity Reports, encountered issues with downloading copies of the reports and/or digital receipts, or noticed that Similarity Reports were stuck in processing. Further information is available on the Turnitin status page.

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

[Closed] Turnitin service incident, 9 August

Posted on by digitaleducation

Turnitin has informed us that the Feedback Studio is currently experiencing an unexpected service incident.

During this time, users may intermittently find that Similarity Reports are stuck processing or encounter issues when attempting to download a copy of a Similarity Report and/or digital receipt.

Further information is available on the Turnitin status page.

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

[Open] PowerPoint files with grouped images display incorrectly in Blackboard Annotate

Posted on by digitaleducation

An error has been identified in Blackboard Annotate that can affect the display of submitted Microsoft Power Point (PPTX) documents containing grouped images. The error rearranges the images displayed in the Annotate interface, affecting the marker’s view of the document.

Blackboard developers are aware of the error. However, they cannot fix the issue, as it depends on third-party software beyond their control.

This error affects the DEO’s “Blackboard Online” workflow, and we have updated the recommendations in our EMA – Blackboard Online Workflow guidance to remind users that Blackboard Annotate works better when files are submitted in PDF format. While students can still submit documents in other formats, we cannot guarantee that footnotes, grouped images, and styling will be displayed correctly.

[Closed] Turnitin AI detection interruption of service

Posted on by digitaleducation

It has come to our attention that the AI writing detection reports in Turnitin LTI were not generated for submissions made between 1 August and 5 August. We are currently investigating this issue with the supplier and will provide updates as soon as we receive further information from their support team.

In the meantime, if your course has been affected and you need to regenerate these reports, please contact us at digital-education@bristol.ac.uk, providing a list of the affected courses and their respective submission points.

Timestamp column in Turnitin Feedback Studio

Posted on by digitaleducation

Turnitin has resolved a formatting issue that was affecting the display of information in the assignment inbox. This improvement has resulted in the removal of timestamps from the ‘uploaded’ column. Submission timestamps are now visible only when hovering over the submission date or by downloading the Grade Report from the assignment inbox.

Please note that late submissions will still be highlighted in red.

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