Author Dr. Rachel Thompson


Instructional Technology News – August 18 – Welcome to Fall 2021 and Happy #FirstDayUA

Dear instructors, Welcome to the fall 2021 semester at The University of Alabama! Your colleagues here in The Center for Instructional Technology are available to help with your instructional technology and accessibility needs. We provide training, support, workshops, webinars and consultations for  UA’s instructional technologies which include Blackboard Learn, Blackboard Collaborate Ultra, Flipgrid, Gradescope, Hypothesis,…


Instructional Technology News – August 16

Hello instructors, Melissa here from The Center for Instructional Technology. As you may know, our team recently migrated UA’s instance of Blackboard Learn to the cloud. While the migration was successful, there are a couple of Blackboard-related Known Issues I’d like to make sure you’re aware of. I also ask your patience as your colleagues…


RESOLVED – Known Issue: Banner Event Processing

As of Monday, August 16, at 4:25 PM, CIT is aware that certain Banner events – users getting added to or dropped from courses, instructor course assignments, etc. – continue to process. Until this issue is resolved, your Blackboard course and user lists may not reflect the same data that is in myBama.


RESOLVED – Known Issue: Section Maintenance Tool

Update, Tuesday, August 17 at 4:15 PM: The Blackboard Learn Section Maintenance tool is now functioning. Instructors wishing to combine two or more Blackboard courses should clear their browser’s cache before using the tool and contact CIT with any remaining questions or issues (please include the course registration number (CRN) of each course you are…


Instructional Technology News – August 13

Hello instructors,   I am pleased to let you know that UA’s instance of Blackboard Learn has successfully moved to the cloud! Blackboard Learn, and the other affected instructional technologies, are now available. Thank you for your understanding and patience as we performed these necessary upgrades!  Notes and next steps:  I invite you to log into Blackboard Learn and check…


Continue Learning While Blackboard is Down

Looking for ways to prep for the fall semester while Blackboard is unavailable for scheduled upgrades? Check out the following resources to connect with other instructors and get inspired! Flipgrid Intro Workshop Thu. Aug. 5, 10am – 11am UA is transitioning from VoiceThread to Flipgrid during the Blackboard Learn upgrade. Flipgrid offers a modern, fun…


Instructional Technology News – August 3

It’s here. After more than one full year of preparation, the CIT is moving Blackboard Learn to the cloud! We’ve been buzzing about this upgrade since April, and we appreciate your patience as we perform the upgrade to make UA’s instance of Blackboard Learn a more flexible, scalable and resilient platform. In case you missed it, Blackboard…


Blackboard Learn SaaS upgrade information – and a new way to navigate Blackboard Learn

Blackboard is moving to the cloud! August 5 – 13, Blackboard Learn will be unavailable while UA’s instance of Blackboard Learn moves from being hosted in Blackboard’s data centers to being hosted in the cloud, also known as software as a service (SaaS). Moving UA’s Blackboard Learn instance to SaaS allows for flexibility, scalability, resilience…


Panopto Mandatory Recorder Update – July 15

Thursday, July 15 Panopto will require Panopto for Windows and Mac to be upgraded. When prompted, please update your software. Step-by-step guidance and instructions for upgrading on both Mac and PC are available on Panopto’s website.