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 17th.
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 18th, 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
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