If you have tried to link to a YouTube video in Blackboard, you may have noticed that it doesn’t open when clicked.
Quick Tip:
When creating the link in “Web Links,” make sure you check the box that says, “open link in a new window.” This will ensure that your YouTube video opens successfully.
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Posted in Blackboard, Troubleshooting
In my last post, I touched on the “Save as Draft” option in Blackboard. Most often, this comes into play by accident… a student thinks he/she is clicking “Submit,” but actually clicks “Save as Draft.” As mentioned in my previous post, this will result in the draft being auto-submitted once the cutoff date is reached for the assignment. However, Save as Draft also serves a purpose, and should be utilized by the student from time to time. A situation occurred recently where a student was completing an online assessment, clicked save, and her response disappeared. While we cannot be certain what happened, it is very likely that the student was typing a long response, thinking for a while, and/or stepped away from the computer at some point. Any combination of these things lasting for a period of 40 minutes or more will result in the Blackboard session becoming inactive. I would recommend that you pass this information on to your students, and urge them to use the Save as Draft feature to ensure that their work does not dissapear.
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Posted in Blackboard, Troubleshooting
Source: McHumor.com
When you ask students to submit assignments electronically, you will inevitably run into the situation where Blackboard shows that an assignment has not been submitted, but the student emphatically argues that it was submitted. So, what do you do?
First, check the tracking data. From the “Teach” tab, click “Tracking” under “Instructor Tools.” This will provide you with the option of generating a student report for a specified time range. Using this report, you can actually see when a student accessed Blackboard, and whether or not an assignment was submitted (among other things). So, for example, if the student tells you he submitted the assignment on March 7, but the report doesn’t even show that he accessed Blackboard on that date, then you can stand by your missed assignment policy. Or, even if Blackboard was accessed on March 7, if it doesn’t indicate there was a submission, you can also be assured that the assignment wasn’t submitted.
Let’s say that the student did access Blackboard on the date specified, but it only shows that he read the assignment. Further complicating the issue is that there is an assignment in the assignment dropbox, but it is marked by Blackboard as “Missed.” This means the student clicked “Save as Draft” instead of “Save.” When the cutoff date is reached, Blackboard will auto-push drafts and mark them as “Missed.” “Missed” is different from “Late,” which means the assignment was submitted after the due date, but before the cutoff date.
Ultimately, when faced with a student excuse, it will be up to you to use your professional judgment when deciding how to proceed. However, don’t hesitate to use Blackboard’s tools to assist in making a decision!
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Posted in Blackboard, Online Teaching, Troubleshooting
If your are one of those PC users who owns a newer desktop/laptop and are currently using Windows 7 as your operating system, you are now faced with a decision concerning Service Pack 1: when should I install it. First off, there is no urgency to install SP1 if you have been faithful in regularly installing the security updates that come out monthly. Most of SP1 is all of those previous updates rolled up into one big “fix all”. Windows 7 has been one of Microsoft’s most stable platforms so there has been no urgency to quickly deploy a service pack to fix a number of frustrating issues. My general rule is to wait a couple months until some of the kinks in SP1 have been discovered and repaired. No hurry to be one of those first few test cases where the service pack installation results in a non bootable unit. If you choose to install it, then I would suggest the following: 1. create a restore point 2. plug in your laptop (you will be warned about it later anyway) 3. do not run other applications while doing the installation 4. be patient after your first reboot following the installation, it takes longer for all those system files to get replaced.
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Posted in ITC, Troubleshooting
Several times this semester I have been asked by a very concerned student if there is anyway that they can get an attached Word document back that they had modified after opening it from their email. The first thing that I ask them is if they had saved the modified Word document to their computer or a flash drive. Most answer no but go on to explain that they had opened the Word document while still in the email program and assumed that all the changes that they had made to the document would have been saved back to the email attachment. Unfortunately that does not happen so they are very surprised, disappointed and frustrated when they later open the same email and the document has none of the modifications that they had done. They become even more anxious when they discover the loss a few minutes before class as they print out the document.
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Posted in Microsoft Office, Troubleshooting
There are many publishers who offer test banks that can be imported into Blackboard. Often, instructors are confused, not about the steps for importing these test banks, but about the format that should be chosen. For example, an instructor today had to choose from the following TestGen formats:
Blackboard 5x, 6x, 7x
WebCT 3x
WebCT 4x
QT/WebCt6e, WebCTVIS
Most of our instructors would be tempted to choose Blackboard because, well, we use Blackboard! However, our version is actually a WebCT Vista version. Therefore, this instructor had to choose the last option. If a campus edition 8.0 option is unavailable, try 6 (as in this example), which usually works.
If you are unfamiliar with how to import test banks, here are the instructions:
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Posted in Blackboard, Online Teaching, Troubleshooting
Image: http://www.ixibo.com/2010/12/types-of-internet-browsers/
So, what is a browser? A browser is simply the application that you use to browse the Internet. Examples include Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Safari, etc. When it comes to Blackboard, there are certain browsers that are supported, and ones that aren’t. What does this mean? It means that some browsers have been determined to be functional with Blackboard, and some have not.
If you are having a problem in Blackboard and you contact me and/or HelpDesk, one of the first questions you will probably be asked is, “What browser are you using?”
It is always recommended that you (and your students) do a “browser check” to make sure that your browser is supported and configured properly for Blackboard (click here for a tutorial). Here is a run-down on browsers that are certified (fully tested and supported) or compatible (key applications areas tested). If your browser is not on this list, then it has not been tested and/or is not supported.
Windows XP (32-bit)
Internet Explorer 8 (Compatible), Firefox 3.5 (compatible)
Windows Vista (32-bit)
Internet Explorer 8 (Certified), Internet Explorer 7 (Compatible), Firefox 3.6 (Compatible), Firefox 3.5 (Compatible)
Windows Vista (64-bit)
Internet Explorer 8 (Certified), Internet Explorer 7 (Compatible), Firefox 3.6 (Certified), Firefox 3.5 (Compatible)
Windows 7 (32-bit)
Internet Explorer 8 (Certified), Firefox 3.6 (Certified), Firefox 3.5 (Compatible)
Windows 7 (64-bit)
Internet Explorer 8 (Certified), Firefox 3.6 (Certified), Firefox 3.5 (Compatible)
Mac OSX 10.5 “Leopard”
Safari 4 (Certified), Safari 3.x (Compatible), Firefox 3.6 (Compatible), Firefox 3.5 (Compatible)
Mac OSX 10.6 “Snow Leopard)
Safari 4 (Certified), Firefox 3.6 (Certified), Firefox 3.5 (Certified)
Chrome and Safari 5 users, notice that your browsers are not listed as certified or compatible. This does not mean that nothing in Blackboard will work for you, but some things might not. If you run into a problem, you will need to switch to a certified or compatible browser to see if that clears up the issue. If it doesn’t, don’t hesitate to contact me and/or HelpDesk.
Final Details:
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Posted in Blackboard, Online Teaching, Troubleshooting
If you use SafeAssign in your course, I highly recommend placing the following troubleshooting information in Blackboard.
In order to use SafeAssign, your browser should be set to accept cookies. If you do not know how to do this, please click on the following link for instructions: http://www.aboutcookies.org/Default.aspx?page=1.
You may receive the following error message when attempting to submit an assignment:
“Sorry, we do not think you are logged in to SafeAssign. Your session may have timed out. If you have received this message in error, please contact your system administrator. “
If you receive this error message, you will need to delete your cookies and browser cache. Please visit the following link for instructions: http://www.clickonf5.org/internet/delete-browser-cache-cookies/3347
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Posted in Blackboard, Online Teaching, Troubleshooting
