[BB] SafeAssign Ignores Footnote Text in .docx Documents

Bb Users,

 

I have just confirmed a bug with Blackboard whereby SafeAssign does not recognize footnote text in student submissions when they are in .docx format (which is the newest version of MS Word 2008).

 

If your students are using footnotes, please ask them to submit their Word documents in the .doc format by choosing Save As:  “Word 97-2004 Document (.doc)”

 

This bug has been reported to Blackboard, and they will notify me when they have a fix (but that won’t help us get through the end of this semester).

 

I apologize, and if I can help you or you can help me communicate this message, please let me know.

 

Thank you for your continued patience,

Jennifer

 

_____________________________________

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

 

[BB] Important Blackboard Updates

Bb Users,

 

Here are some important updates for the upcoming weeks. Please read below for additional details.

 

1.      Blackboard will be DOWN for down for 12 hours the night of May 17^th.

2.      SafeAssign may be slow and cause some frustration due to end-of-semester high usage.

3.      Blackboard has a new mobile app that will be available for the iPhone, iPad, and Android this summer.

 

 

Here are the details on those updates:

 

1.      Blackboard Down from 8pm 5/17 to 8am 5/18
We need to do a small upgrade to our Bb system. The effects of this upgrade are mostly on the back end, so there won’t be any visible changes this time around. Blackboard must be down for 12 hours, however, from Monday, 5/17 at 8pm – Tuesday, 5/18 at 8am. I apologize for any inconvenience this causes being squeezed between submitting final grades for the Spring semester and the beginning of the first Summer session. I will send out reminders of this downtime as we get closer to it.

 

2.      SafeAssign May Be Slow
Since it is the end of the semester, a lot of people at a lot of schools are submitting papers via SafeAssign, and high volume usually means more problems. Processing times are slower, and sometimes submission attempts fail. Please encourage your students to not wait until the last possible minute to submit assignments so they have time to wait a few minutes and try again later. If they have problems, direct them to the Help Desk: 305-284-3949.

 

3.      Blackboard New Mobile Application
Blackboard currently has an iPhone application, but it has been so unpopular, they have created a new mobile application called “Bb Mobile.” This will be available for the iPhone, iPad, and Android and Blackberry phones on Sprint this June. The current unpopular iPhone application will also be retired in June. Once we complete the upgrade on May 18^th, I can install the new mobile application. If you have an iPad, you’ll be able to use it right away. If not, you will have to wait until the service is available to the other devices in June. Stay tuned for more information on this.

 

Here’s to a smooth of the semester.

 

-Jennifer

 

_____________________________________

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

 

[BB] Summer and Fall, 2010 Courses Available

Bb Users,

 

The Summer 1 courses are now “current” (which means they show up under “My Current Courses” on your Blackboard Home page).

 

Summer 2 and Fall, 2010 courses are also now available in Blackboard via the green “Courses” tab.

 

-Jennifer

 

_____________________________________

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

 

[BB] Tip of the Week

Hello BB User,

 

SafeAssign Originality Reports provide detailed information about the matches found between a submitted paper and existing sources. The SafeAssign report identifies all matching blocks of text. It is the responsibility of the teacher and student to investigate whether the matching text is properly referenced or not. Detailing every match prevents detection errors due to differences in citing standards.

 

How SafeAssignments work:

SafeAssign is based on a unique text matching algorithm capable of detecting exact and inexact matching between a paper and source material. SafeAssignments are compared against several different databases, including:

• Internet – comprehensive index of documents available for public access on the Internet;

• ProQuest ABI/Inform database with over 1,100 publication titles and about 2.6 million articles from 1990s to present time, updated weekly (exclusive access);

• Institutional document archives containing all papers submitted to SafeAssign by users in their respective institutions;

• Global Reference Database containing papers that were volunteered by students from Blackboard client institutions to help prevent cross-institutional plagiarism.

 

If you have created a safeAssignment and students have submitted their paper, here is how to read the report:

 

1.       Go to the “Control Panel”

 

2.       Click on “SafeAssing”

 

3.       Locate the Safe Assignment from the list

 

4.       Click on View to access results

 

5.       You now have access the result page

 

 

6.       Text

By clicking the text icon, the instructor will see the text of the safe assignment submitted.

 

7.       File

By clicking on the file icon, the instructor will be able to download the original filed submitted.

 

8.       Matching

The Matching column will inform the instructor the percentage of the submitted assignment matching other sources.

Overall score is an indicator of what percentage of the submitted paper matches existing sources. This score is a warning indicator only and papers should be reviewed to see if the matches are properly attributed.

•        Scores below 15 percent: These papers typical include some quotes and few common phrases or blocks of text that match other documents. These papers typically do not require further analysis, as there is no evidence of the possibility of plagiarism in these papers.

•         Scores between 15 percent and 40 percent: These papers include extensive quoted or paraphrased material or they may include plagiarism. These papers should be reviewed to determine if the matching content is properly attributed.

•        Scores over 40 percent: There is a very high probability that text in this paper was copied from other sources. These papers include quoted or paraphrased text in excess and should be reviewed for plagiarism.

 

9.       SA Report

The SA Report will provide a complete report for the instructor to review.

 

10.   SA Report

 

a.       Paper information

 

This section lists data about the paper, such as the author, percent Matching, and when it was submitted. This section also includes options for downloading the report, emailing the report, or viewing a printable version.

 

b.       Suspected Sources

This section lists the sources that have text that matches the text of the submitted paper. Users may select sources, exclude them from the review, and process the paper again. This is useful if a source is a previous work from the same student for the same assignment, or if there is some reason that lengthy sections of a particular source appear in the paper. Processing the paper again will generate a new value for the percent matching without using the excluded sources.

 

c.       Paper Text

 

This section shows the submitted paper. All matching blocks of text are identified. Clicking a matching block of text will display information about the original source and the probability that the block or sentence was copied from the source.

 

 

You can always review other tips by clicking the help button on the top middle of your blackboard page, then click on “Setup your Course”, or click here: http://umblackboardhelp.helpdeskconnect.com/

 

If you have any question please feel free to contact us at 305-284-3949 or email us at blackboardhelp@miami.edu, we are here to assist you with any question.

 

Thank you,

 

Rick Ramos

Blackboard Help Desk Supervisor

305-284-3949

 

 

 

[BB] Tip of The Week

Hello BB Users,

 

Creating assignments is a great way to receive work from students but sometimes we would like a little bit more from it. For example, wouldn’t it be great to verify if the work submitted by students is original?

 

If you are not familiar with SafeAssign, it is a plagiarism prevention service. This service helps educators prevent plagiarism by detecting unoriginal content in student papers. In addition to acting as a plagiarism deterrent, it also has features designed to aid in educating students about plagiarism and importance of proper attribution of any borrowed content.

 

How to create a Safe Assignment

1.       Go to the control panel

 

2.       Open a Content Area, such as Course Documents or Assignments, from the Control Panel.

 

3.       Select Add “SafeAssignment” from the Action Bar and click on Go.

 

4.       Enter the Name and the Points Possible

**Make sure it is set to be available to the students.**

 

5.       Select Draft if you don’t want the assignment to be added to the database. Which means it can be resubmitted in the future without matching it to the draft already submitted.

 

6.       Select “Yes” for “Student Viewable” if you want the students to see the results. If you select “No”, only the instructor will have access to the results.

 

7.       Click on Submit

 

8.       A new column will be added to the grade center with the Safe Assignment name.

 

9.       To Submit it or to view results, students will have to access the folder where you created the Safe Assignment and click the “View/Complete” button.

 

 

Next tip, we will review the SafeAssignment report. Please feel free to contact me if you have any question about this tip or about anything else you need assistance with. Our Blackboard help desk number is 305-284-3949 and our email is blackboardhelp@miami.edu.

 

Thanks,

 

Rick Ramos

Blackboard Help Desk Supervisor

305-284-3949

 

 

 

[BB] New Sign Up Tool

Bb Users,

 

I just installed a new tool that will allow you to create sessions that students can sign up (and un-sign up) for. They can not remove another student from the list.

 

You can decide how many students can sign up for each session and whether you want to maintain a wait list (which will automatically promote the first student if a signed-up student withdraws him/herself). You can implement this tool in your course by going into any content area in the Control Panel. “Sign-Up Lists” is the last option in the Select menu (where assignments, blogs, surveys, etc… also appear).

 

You can find more details by clicking the Blackboard Support Tab and following the link to “Instructor handouts.” Here’s a shortcut to the Sign-Up Lists handout.  
<https://www6.miami.edu/bb/demos/handouts/Sign-Up%20Lists.pdf>

 

-Jennifer

 

_____________________________________

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