[BB] Bb Updates: Summer1, Test Building Error, Safe Assign

Bb Users,

There are several updates in this message. Here is a summary. For more information, see below.

UPDATE SUMMARIES

1. The Summer 1 courses (-083) will be appearing on the Bb home page on Monday 2/25
2. IE browsers causing errors building tests/quizzes: WORKAROUNDS
3. Safe Assignments no longer have “resubmittable” option
4. Safe Assign reports display with missing spaces between words

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UPDATE DETAILS

1. Summer 1 Courses Under My Current Courses (2/25)
   To keep up with the eMBA course schedule, the first summer session’s courses will be added to the Bb Home page’s “My Current Courses” list on Monday, Feb. 25^th. Many departments’ staff assignments are still subject to change (significantly) between now and then. If you taught a course during the first summer session last year, there is a very good chance that you have been temporarily assigned to teach the same course. Departments often copy staff assignments from the previous year with the intention of editing them.
2. Error Adding Quiz/Test Questions
   Adding questions to an assessment (quiz, survey, test, etc…) in Blackboard using either IE 6 or IE 7 browsers, sometimes causes an “Object not found” error. We are working with Blackboard to correct this issue. In the meantime, we have the following workarounds:

o Download the Firefox browser. As far as we know, Firefox does not cause this problem. It is available for free at www.mozilla.com

o Send your test questions to the Blackboard Help Desk. While we work on correcting this problem, we would be happy to build your assessments for you.

3. Safe Assignments no Longer Have Resubmittable Option
   When setting up a Safe Assignment, there is no longer an option to make that assignment “resubmittable.” Blackboard removed this option after reports of abuse by students*. Bb is looking into a way for instructors to designate how many resubmissions are allowed. Until then, students will have to ask the instructor to clear their submission so that they can submit again.
4. Safe Assign Reports Display Missing Spaces
   If you look closely at a Safe Assign report, the text of the student’s paper will have a random handful of spaces between words deleted so that the words run together. Bb has assured us that this is a display issue and does NOT affect the content comparison or matching score. They are working on a fix, and hope to have one by the end of March.

Keep an eye on the Blackboard Updates for up-to-date information on these and other announcements.

-Jennifer

____________________________________
JENNIFER CLISTER
Blackboard Manager & Analyst
University of Miami IAC
305-284-3949

* Safe Assign Abuse Note
Since a student could submit an infinite number of papers to an assignment that was set to "resubmittable," some unscrupulous students would sell access to the resubmittable assignment, so other students could run their papers through the plagiarism detection process before turning them in for their own classes. Some students were also using the infinite resubmissions to test the plagiarism detection algorithm for weaknesses in an attempt to find ways to plagiarize without being detected.

[BB] The Blackboard Gradebook - Training Session

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: I will be doing a training session on the Blackboard Gradebook on Friday, February 15, 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM, in Memorial 203. Lunch will be served. Registration is limited and required. Go to http://129.171.43.14/ to register.

ADDITIONAL DETAILS: The Gradebook is a powerful component of the Blackbaord course management system. It can easily be used to let students know grades on specific assignments, or keep a record of all their grades. It can calculate course grades in a number of ways. With this power comes some complexity. This workshop will demonstrate both the simple and more powerful features of the gradebook. The session is appropriate to any instructor, even with no prior experience with Blackboard.

Lunch will be served. Registration is limited and required. The session will be a demonstration, not a hands-on session. Go to http://129.171.43.14/ to register. The session will be recorded an posted to the Web, for those people who cannot attend.

Bill Vilberg

[BB] Bb Down at Midnight for 20 Min.

Bb Users,

I have been working with Blackboard all week trying to troubleshoot the problem I described earlier this week regarding adding questions to assessments.

Blackboard has made a load balancer configuration that requires our load balancer to be restarted to accept the update. This process will happen tonight (2/1) at midnight, and service should be restored within 20 minutes.

I apologize for any inconvenience. Thank you, as always, for your patience.

Jennifer

____________________________________
JENNIFER CLISTER
Blackboard Manager & Analyst
University of Miami IAC
305-284-3949

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From: UM Blackboard Announcements [mailto:BB@LISTSERV.MIAMI.EDU] On Behalf Of Clister, Jennifer R
Sent: Wednesday, January 30, 2008 10:55 AM
To: BB@LISTSERV.MIAMI.EDU
Subject: [BB] Problems Generating Tests/Quizzes

Bb Users,

Have you been experience problems this week adding questions to an assessment (test/quiz)?

Problem Description:

When creating/building an assessment, people receive an “Object Not Found” error trying to submit a question adding it to an assessment. The problem is sporadic and does not necessarily happen every time they try to submit a new question.

If you are experiencing this problem, please let me know the details of your situation. I am currently working with Blackboard to troubleshoot and correct the problem, but the more information I can collect to shed light on what is going on, the better.

I will send out an update when I have more information.

Thank you for your help and patience,

Jennifer

____________________________________
JENNIFER CLISTER
Blackboard Manager & Analyst
University of Miami IAC
305-284-3949