Re: [BB] Blackboard Up and Running

Bb Users,

 

Some people were still having problems after my message that Blackboard was back up. This issues should be resolved for everyone in the next 24-48 hours, but if you still see a message that Blackboard is down, here is a fix that should work:

 

I think we have a temporary fix that will work until everything is updated.  

You will have to type a command into the MS DOS command line.

1. Go to the Start Menu.
2. Choose Run.
3. Type "cmd" and click OK.
4. Type this in the MS Dos window that appears: "ipconfig /flushdns"
5. You should get a message that says: "Successfully flushed the DNS Resolver Cache."
6. Try to access Blackboard again: www.miami.edu/blackboard

 

I apologize for the inconvenience, and I will be in the office tomorrow to deal with any problems.

 

-Jennifer

 

___________________________

JENNIFER CLISTER

Blackboard System Manager

University of Miami IAC

305-284-3949

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: UM Blackboard Announcements [mailto:BB@LISTSERV.MIAMI.EDU] On Behalf Of Clister, Jennifer R
Sent: Tuesday, December 28, 2010 7:48 AM
To: BB@LISTSERV.MIAMI.EDU
Subject: [BB] Blackboard Up and Running

 

Bb Users,

 

Blackboard is up and running again. Blackboard upgrading our environment, and we had some issues making sure our URLs were pointing to the right places, but we believe the problem is resolved now, and I sincerely apologize for any issues caused by this extended downtime.

 

-Jennifer

__________________

JENNIFER CLISTER

Blackboard System Manager

University of Miami IAC

305-284-3949

________________________________________

From: UM Blackboard Announcements [BB@LISTSERV.MIAMI.EDU] On Behalf Of Vilberg, William R. [bill.vilberg@MIAMI.EDU]

Sent: Monday, December 27, 2010 5:17 PM

To: BB@LISTSERV.MIAMI.EDU

Subject: [BB] Blackboard still unavailable

 

The Blackboard system is still down. There are some issues that may not get resolved before tomorrow. We will keep you posted.

 

Bill Vilberg - bill.vilberg@miami.edu, 786-250-2255

 

http://vilberg.com - Spreading seeds of education, technology, and more

[BB] Blackboard Up and Running

Bb Users,

Blackboard is up and running again. Blackboard upgrading our environment, and we had some issues making sure our URLs were pointing to the right places, but we believe the problem is resolved now, and I sincerely apologize for any issues caused by this extended downtime.

-Jennifer
__________________
JENNIFER CLISTER
Blackboard System Manager
University of Miami IAC
305-284-3949
________________________________________
From: UM Blackboard Announcements [BB@LISTSERV.MIAMI.EDU] On Behalf Of Vilberg, William R. [bill.vilberg@MIAMI.EDU]
Sent: Monday, December 27, 2010 5:17 PM
To: BB@LISTSERV.MIAMI.EDU
Subject: [BB] Blackboard still unavailable

The Blackboard system is still down. There are some issues that may not get resolved before tomorrow. We will keep you posted.

Bill Vilberg - bill.vilberg@miami.edu, 786-250-2255

http://vilberg.com - Spreading seeds of education, technology, and more

[BB] Blackboard still unavailable

The Blackboard system is still down. There are some issues that may not get resolved before tomorrow. We will keep you posted.

Bill Vilberg - bill.vilberg@miami.edu, 786-250-2255

http://vilberg.com - Spreading seeds of education, technology, and more

[BB] Blackboard Maintenance

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</x-tad-bigger></bigger></fontfamily></excerpt>Blackboard users,

Blackboard is currently down, as scheduled, so that some maintenance activities can be performed. It went down on Sunday around 10:00 pm and is scheduled to be back up today, Monday, after 4:00 pm.

If you go to http://miami.edu/blackboard a web page appears that says the system "should be restored after 08:00 am on Tuesday, May 16th." This is the notice that was used last summer during our summer maintenance. We forgot to update it. Please don't be confused by the date. The system is really scheduled to be restored after 4:00 pm on Monday, December27th.

Bill Vilberg
bill.vilberg@miami.edu
786-250-2255
AIM: bvilberg

[BB] Blackboard Holiday Downtime

Bb Users,

 

Blackboard is doing some maintenance and upgrades over the holidays. Here are the dates and times you need to be aware of.

 

1.  Blackboard will be DOWN from Sunday, Dec. 26^th at 10pm through Monday, Dec. 27^th at 4pm.

2.  Blackboard may be subject to intermittent downtime during these timeframes:

o         Tuesday, Dec. 28^th from midnight until 9am

o         Thursday, Dec. 30^th from midnight until 9am

 

 

Hopefully this won’t interrupt anyone’s holiday Blackboard fun or festivities.

 

Best wishes for a safe and restful winter break,

Jennifer

 

_____________________________________

JENNIFER CLISTER Blackboard System Manager University of Miami IAC 305-284-3949

 

[BB] Bb 9.1 Live Demo

Bb Users,

 

We are planning on upgrading to Blackboard 9.1 this summer (2011). Blackboard is coming to give us a demonstration tomorrow (Dec. 7^th) in Learning Center room 184 at 11:00am. The session is scheduled for an hour, but the Blackboard people are planning on staying for another hour to cover more details and questions for those who want to stay.

 

This version of Blackboard has a lot more differences than we are used to seeing from one version of Blackboard to another, but Bb 9.1 has a lot of great features and functionality that many of us have waited on for a long time. This is a great chance to get a sneak peek and have Blackboard representatives available for questions.

 

Register here: http://www.iacmiami.org for the “Blackboard 9.1 Sneak Peek” event.

 

Hope to see you there,

Jennifer

 

_____________________________________

JENNIFER CLISTER Blackboard System Manager University of Miami IAC 305-284-3949

 

[BB] Blackboard training

Hello Bb Users,

 

We have two blackboard training coming up this month and if you are interested space is still available. The dates are:

 

Tuesday November 16^th, 2010

Introduction to Blackboard

10am – 11am

Richter Library room 305

 

Monday November 29^th, 2010

Grade Center training

10am – 11am

Richter Library room 305

 

To check for future trainings and to register please go to www.iacevents.org

 

Thank you,

 

Rick Ramos

Blackboard Help Desk Supervisor

305-284-3949

 

 

 

[BB] Archiving & Removing '07-'08 Bb Courses

Bb Users,

 

It is time to start the annual archival/removal of old courses from Blackboard.

 

Every year we archive and remove old courses. This time we will be removing the 2007-2008 (Fall 2007 – Summer 2008) courses from the Blackboard system (ending with 080, 081, 082, 083, 084). Courses from the 2008-2009 (090-094) school year will be made unavailable to students, but will still be accessible to faculty for another year. You can find your old courses in Blackboard by going to the Courses tab.

 

I will begin disabling these courses so that they can be archived and removed on Monday, November 22.

 

Attached is a document that explains how to archive and save your courses to your computer or disk if you would like to maintain your own archive. (We maintain an archive at the Instructional Advancement Center.)

 

QUESTIONS:

1. WHAT IS ARCHIVING?
   Archiving means we take your entire course and save it to a disk. Then we remove it from the Blackboard system. If we ever need to restore the course, we can, but it may take a while for me to dig it out of the archive since we maintain over 100,000 courses.
2. CAN YOU ARCHIVE AND SAVE YOUR OWN COURSE?
   Yes, you can! Attached is a document that explains how to archive your course and how to download a great tool that will make navigating archived courses easier. You can also access these instructions through the Support tab in Blackboard.

 

If you need any more information, please let me know or open a ticket: Blackboard Help Desk.

 

Best wishes for a smooth end-of-the-semester/year,

Jennifer

 

_____________________________________

JENNIFER CLISTER Blackboard System Manager University of Miami IAC 305-284-3949

 

[BB] Blackboard Updates: Maintenance, Slow SafeAssign

Bb Users,

 

On Friday morning from 2am-6am, Blackboard will be doing some preventative maintenance which *could* impact service intermittently during that time. Please plan accordingly.

 

Just a reminder, Safe Assignment is slow this time of year. They are experiencing very high traffic, and it could take longer than usual to generate the Safe Assignment reports.

 

Thank you for your patience.

 

-Jennifer

 

_____________________________________

JENNIFER CLISTER Blackboard System Manager University of Miami IAC 305-284-3949

 

Re: [BB] Blackboard Restart Fri. between 9:30-10am

Bb Users,

 

The last piece of the CAS integration is complete, and the Virtual Classroom tool is working again.

 

J

 

___________________________

JENNIFER CLISTER
Blackboard System Manager
University of Miami IAC
305-284-3949

---

From: UM Blackboard Announcements [mailto:BB@LISTSERV.MIAMI.EDU] On Behalf Of Clister, Jennifer R
Sent: Monday, October 11, 2010 11:56 AM
To: BB@LISTSERV.MIAMI.EDU
Subject: [BB] Blackboard Restart Fri. between 9:30-10am

 

Bb Users,

 

The final tweak in our CAS (MyUM) login process must be done during business hours, and since there are no classes on Friday, we are going to do it Friday (10/15) morning at 9:30. It requires a restart, which should not affect availability EXCEPT for people who are in the middle of taking a test during that time.

 

I have put this message at the top of the Blackboard home page. If you or your students need to take a test on Friday morning, please wait until this message has been removed:

Blackboard will be restarted between 9:30 and 10:00am Fri. 10/15
There should be little to no service interruption but please refrain from taking quizzes during this time. If you are submitting text, please compose it using a text editor to protect your work.

 

This change should fix the problem with the Virtual Classroom tool (the one with the writeboard) we have been experiencing this semester.

 

I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

 

-Jennifer

_____________________________________

JENNIFER CLISTER Blackboard System Manager University of Miami IAC 305-284-3949

 

[BB] Blackboard Restart Fri. between 9:30-10am

Bb Users,

 

The final tweak in our CAS (MyUM) login process must be done during business hours, and since there are no classes on Friday, we are going to do it Friday (10/15) morning at 9:30. It requires a restart, which should not affect availability EXCEPT for people who are in the middle of taking a test during that time.

 

I have put this message at the top of the Blackboard home page. If you or your students need to take a test on Friday morning, please wait until this message has been removed:

Blackboard will be restarted between 9:30 and 10:00am Fri. 10/15
There should be little to no service interruption but please refrain from taking quizzes during this time. If you are submitting text, please compose it using a text editor to protect your work.

 

This change should fix the problem with the Virtual Classroom tool (the one with the writeboard) we have been experiencing this semester.

 

I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

 

-Jennifer

_____________________________________

JENNIFER CLISTER Blackboard System Manager University of Miami IAC 305-284-3949

 

[BB] Blackboard Virtual Classroom

Bb Users,

 

We need to make a small change to restore the Bb Virtual Classroom tool (the Chat tool is working fine). This change needs to be made during normal business hours and requires a Blackboard restart.

 

QUESTION: Is anyone missing the Virtual Classroom tool? Would it be better to restart* Blackboard at 4:30 on a Friday afternoon to restore the Virtual Classroom tool or wait until the end of the fall semester?

 

* A restart means that normal service will not really be impacted because we restart one server and then the other, BUT if students are in the middle of a discussion board or a test when the server they are working on goes down, they may lose their changes.

 

I appreciate your feedback on this.

 

Jennifer

_____________________________________

JENNIFER CLISTER Blackboard System Manager University of Miami IAC 305-284-3949

 

[BB] Synchronize Safe Assignments Reminder

Bb Users,

If you copy Safe Assignments from other courses, you need to click the "Synchronize this course" link on the SafeAssign page from the Control Panel. If you don't do this, then the assignment links try to connect back to your former course, and this causes problems for (and confuses) students.

-Jennifer

__________________
JENNIFER CLISTER
Blackboard System Manager
University of Miami IAC
305-284-3949

[BB] Blackboard Updates

Bb Users,

 

As of this moment:

 

o         The CAS (login) update is complete. (This was a tweak that should have no visible effect on anything.)

o         The Collaboration tools (virtual classroom and chat) are *almost working* again (we are still having a problem with the Virtual Classroom, but Chat is working)

o         The Blackboard mobile application will now allow you to login with your CaneID (though it may take up to 20 seconds for the mobile application to load after you’ve entered your CaneID) *

 

If you experience any login problems this weekend, please let me know.

 

-Jennifer

 

 

* I will be sending more information out about the Bb Mobile app in the coming weeks, but you can learn about the Bb Mobile Learn app right now, if you’re interested.

 

_____________________________________

JENNIFER CLISTER Blackboard System Manager University of Miami IAC 305-284-3949

 

[BB] Blackboard Restart Friday Afternoon?

Bb Users,

 

We have a couple of changes to make to our CAS integration (one of which will fix our Collaboration Tools) that require Blackboard to be restarted between 4:30 and 5:00pm on Friday, September 3.

 

Unfortunately, this has to be done during normal business hours. We will do a rolling restart, so there shouldn’t be a service interruption unless:

o         you are in the middle of a test

o         you are in the middle of submitting a lengthy discussion board post you haven’t saved

o         etc...

 

I apologize for the inconvenience, and if this is absolutely unacceptable to anyone, please let me know right away.

 

Thank you,

Jennifer

 

_____________________________________

JENNIFER CLISTER Blackboard System Manager University of Miami IAC 305-284-3949

 

[BB] Email Announcements Fixed

Bb Users,

 

The “Email Announcement” feature that automatically sends an email to students when the box is checked is working again. If you create an announcement in Blackboard and check the box next to “Email this announcement to all course users,” the Email will be sent out as expected.

 

Thank you so much for your patience. We do not underestimate how important that feature is during this time of year, and I apologize for the inconvenience.

 

-Jennifer

 

___________________________

JENNIFER CLISTER
Blackboard System Manager
University of Miami IAC
305-284-3949

---

From: UM Blackboard Announcements [mailto:BB@LISTSERV.MIAMI.EDU] On Behalf Of Clister, Jennifer R
Sent: Tuesday, August 24, 2010 11:45 AM
To: BB@LISTSERV.MIAMI.EDU
Subject: [BB] Important Blackboard Updates

 

Bb Users,

 

Please be aware of the following:

 

1.      Announcements can not be emailed automatically at this time
Faculty can email students via Blackboard and can also post announcements. The “Email Announcement” feature that automatically sends an email to students when the box is checked is not currently working. We are working with Blackboard to resolve this issue as quickly as possible.

 

2.      The Collaboration Tools (chat) are not currently working
The virtual classroom and office hours tools are not currently working. The tools never finish loading. We are working with Blackboard to resolve this issue.

 

3.      Freshmen (and new students) have been added to Blackboard
New undergraduate students do not have access to Blackboard until their schedules are made available to them. These students should all have access to Blackboard now.

 

4.      Course adds/drops are only processed once a night
When a student adds or drops a class, that adjustment is not made in Blackboard in real time. That data is passed to Blackboard once a night and is usually processed between 12-4am. *

 

Thank you, and we will send out an update as soon as the announcements and collaboration tools issues are resolved.

 

-Jennifer

* Please keep in mind when you manually add students to your course that they will NOT be removed if they drop the course. Faculty have the right to manually add any student to their Blackboard course, but that creates a condition where the Registrar’s data feed can’t undo that manual add. If your students can’t wait until night when their enrollments will be processed, you can call the Blackboard Help Desk, and we can add them in a way that they can still be removed should they drop the class. (You can also manually remove any students that you added should you discover they are no longer participating in your course.)

 

___________________________

JENNIFER CLISTER
Blackboard System Manager
University of Miami IAC
305-284-3949

 

[BB] Important Blackboard Updates

Bb Users,

 

Please be aware of the following:

 

1.      Announcements can not be emailed automatically at this time
Faculty can email students via Blackboard and can also post announcements. The “Email Announcement” feature that automatically sends an email to students when the box is checked is not currently working. We are working with Blackboard to resolve this issue as quickly as possible.

 

2.      The Collaboration Tools (chat) are not currently working
The virtual classroom and office hours tools are not currently working. The tools never finish loading. We are working with Blackboard to resolve this issue.

 

3.      Freshmen (and new students) have been added to Blackboard
New undergraduate students do not have access to Blackboard until their schedules are made available to them. These students should all have access to Blackboard now.

 

4.      Course adds/drops are only processed once a night
When a student adds or drops a class, that adjustment is not made in Blackboard in real time. That data is passed to Blackboard once a night and is usually processed between 12-4am. *

 

Thank you, and we will send out an update as soon as the announcements and collaboration tools issues are resolved.

 

-Jennifer

* Please keep in mind when you manually add students to your course that they will NOT be removed if they drop the course. Faculty have the right to manually add any student to their Blackboard course, but that creates a condition where the Registrar’s data feed can’t undo that manual add. If your students can’t wait until night when their enrollments will be processed, you can call the Blackboard Help Desk, and we can add them in a way that they can still be removed should they drop the class. (You can also manually remove any students that you added should you discover they are no longer participating in your course.)

 

___________________________

JENNIFER CLISTER
Blackboard System Manager
University of Miami IAC
305-284-3949

 

[BB] Blackboard announcement

Hello Bb Users,

 

If you have noticed discrepancies between the number of students enrolled in MyUM and the number of students enrolled in Blackboard for the same class, it is because first semester students will not be added to any courses in Blackboard until the day before classes begin (August 24^th).

 

If you have any questions, please contact the Blackboard help desk at 305-284-3949 or email blackboardhelp@miami.edu.

 

Thanks,

 

 

Rick Ramos

Blackboard Help Desk Supervisor

305-284-3949

 

 

 

[BB] Email Announcments Not Working

Bb Users,

 

The Email Announcement feature is not working right now. If you create an announcement and check the box to email the announcement, no email is sent (and no error is produced to inform you that no email has been sent).

 

I am currently working with Blackboard to figure out what is causing this problem. In the meantime, you can still send email via Blackboard, and you can still post announcements. It’s only the automated “email this announcement” feature that is not working at this time.

 

I’ll let you know when it’s resolved, and I apologize for the inconvenience.

 

-Jennifer

 

_____________________________________

JENNIFER CLISTER Blackboard System Manager University of Miami IAC 305-284-3949

 

[BB] On the lookout for a CaneID Blackboard Login Issue

Bb Users,

 

We have discovered a very rare instance where once people make the choice to login to Blackboard using CaneID, and enter the CaneID and password, Blackboard never loads. The page remains blank.

 

Currently I am aware of only 3 people who are affected by this, and I think I know what condition causes the problem, but I am still collecting data to make sure we understand how to fix it. If you have this problem (or talk to anyone else who does), please let me know right away. You can still access Blackboard with your old Blackboard login while I work on finding a fix.

 

Again, please encourage anyone who has this problem to contact me directly so I can inform them when it is fixed.

 

As always, thank you for your cooperation.

 

-Jennifer

 

_____________________________________

JENNIFER CLISTER Blackboard System Manager University of Miami IAC 305-284-3949

 

[BB] Blackboard announcement

Bb Users,

 

Here are a few announcement and reminders for Fall 2010 semester:

 

1.    Log into Blackboard using your CaneID

2.    TA enrollment

3.    Course Merges

4.    Join the Bb Mailing List

5.    Blackboard Training

 

Log into Blackboard using your CaneID

If you have tried to log into Blackboard you may have noticed since August 11, 2010 we have changed the way we log into Blackboard. We are now required to enter the CaneID in order to gain access to our courses. For instructions on how to log in go to the Blackboard log in instruction page (Or copy and paste this URL: http://www6.miami.edu/bb/demos/handouts/BlackboardLogin.pdf )

 

TA enrollment

We offer assistance enrolling TA’s for you so if you need help and would like us to do it for you, contact the Blackboard help desk at 305-284-3949 or email blackboardhelp@miami.edu.

 

Course Merges

If you would like to collapse your Blackboard sites into one course site or would like to add an additional site that include all of the students in your courses, let us know. Here’s a shortcut to filling out a Course Merge Request Ticket.( Or copy and paste this URL:  http://www6.miami.edu/bb/forms/combine_courses.htm )

 

Join the Bb Mailing List

Do you know someone who should be receiving these emails? Please pass this information on to them. Join the Bb Mailing list. .( Or copy and paste this URL: https://listserv.miami.edu/scripts/wa.exe?SUBED1=BB&A=1 )

 

Blackboard Training

New to UM? New to Blackboard? Join us for these introductory training to set up your Blackboard course. There will be time after each session for additional questions by people who stay. Please try to arrive early if you need assistance logging in to Blackboard.

Here are the dates and time:

 

Event: Introduction to Blackboard

Dates: Friday, August 20^th, 2010

Time: 10:00AM to 11:00AM

 

Event: Introduction to Blackboard

Dates: Tuesday, August 24^th, 2010

Time: 10:00AM to 11:00AM

 

Event: Blackboard Grade Center Training

Dates: Tuesday, September 14^th, 2010

Time: 10:00AM to 11:00AM

 

Event: Blackboard Grade Center Training

Dates: Friday, September 17^th, 2010

Time: 10:00AM to 11:00AM

 

To Register and to look at all trainings we offer, go to the IAC site at http://www.iacmiami.org/ and click on the “Events” page

 

Please let us know if you have any questions, Thank you for your patience and feedback, and we look forward to work with you throughout the fall semester.

 

Sincerely,

 

Rick Ramos

Blackboard Help Desk Supervisor

305-284-3949