Flipgrid is now Flip!
- July 6th, 2022
- in Announcements
Flipgrid is now Flip! Flip is the same product but with a new name and a new look. CIT resources will be updated with the new name. More from Flip: Learn about Flip
Flipgrid is now Flip! Flip is the same product but with a new name and a new look. CIT resources will be updated with the new name. More from Flip: Learn about Flip
Blackboard’s parent company has merged with another edtech company, Anthology. The newly merged organization will be called Anthology with the Blackboard name continuing as part of its portfolio. There are no anticipated changes for UA users. More from Anthology: Anthology Completes Merger with Blackboard, Launches Next Chapter in EdTech
An update from our vendor partners at Gradescope:
August Workshop Series
The workshop series is back! The Gradescope Team is hosting a series of back-to-school workshops during the first two weeks of August. All faculty are welcome, so please share this invitation (which includes the link to the registration page) before the series begins on August 2nd. We will send a reminder email about this series in July.
Product Updates
Check out some new and exciting Gradescope product updates, such as:
- The Gradescope Student Mobile App is now live for U.S. iPhone and Android app stores. It will be available in Canada in July. The mobile app streamlines the process for students to upload handwritten work by cutting out third party apps and protects student privacy by keeping all work in Gradescope.
- Online Assignment Randomization helps instructors protect the integrity of online assignments by randomizing the order of questions and/or answer choices.
- Rubrics Before Submission helps instructors get a head start on grading by creating rubrics before students submit their assignments. This feature also creates a standardized grading rubric for classes with multiple graders.
- Gradescope Knowledge Bot (Coming Soon) will allow you to search our Help Center and easily access resources within the Gradescope interface! Soon, all instructors using Gradescope will see an icon in the bottom right of their screen. Clicking this icon will show (1) a list of curated help resources and (2) an easy way to search our Help Center.
User Community Spotlight
We want to highlight some amazing Gradescope resources created by our partner institutions!
- Check out UNC Chapel Hill’s comprehensive resource page with FAQ and user feedback
- Learn about the transition to Gradescope bubble sheets at UT Austin with this step by step guide
- Watch the User Summit recordings to hear fellow Gradescope users share their innovative teaching methods and approach to building better assessments
“I started using Gradescope a couple of years ago in my smaller classes to grade short answer/essay questions on paper exams. Now I use it in all classes, small and large, for almost all assignments. It’s easy for the students to submit to and makes grading easy & fast. My IAs have been able to grade 60 papers in a fraction of the time that it used to take on [LMS] and they’re really happy with it. It also makes just-in-time teaching far more reasonable in my small classes that have all open-ended assignments.” – Instructor at UNC Chapel Hill
Community Spotlight @ EDUCAUSE 2022
Do you love talking about Gradescope and sharing all the benefits with fellow instructors? If so we are looking for interested users to do just this at the 2022 EDUCAUSE Annual Conference. These will be “relaxed” sessions held throughout the week at our exhibit space so you must be planning on attending in person in Denver.
Turnitin assignments must have at least one point assigned for Max Points during set up. 0/0, or any score out of 0 points, will continue to display as Needs Grading in the Blackboard grade center. Other errors may occur when the Turnitin assignment grade appears in the Blackboard grade center, including inaccurate scores.
UA’s instance of the Panopto Cloud was updated Saturday, June 25th 2022; full release notes are available on the Panopto Community site: 13 Cancun | Release Notes | June 2022
Here are some of the latest features and improvements (some features may not be immediately available in UA’s Panopto instance).
Hello instructors,
It’s June, and summer teaching and learning are underway! This is Melissa from The Center for Instructional Technology with some instructional technology news and tips.
On May 25, CIT updated the method used for connecting Cengage MindLinks with Blackboard. Instructors will follow the same process for adding Cengage content in Blackboard: Partner Content > Content Market > Cengage. Please see Cengage’s Integrate MindTap With Your Blackboard Course, and let us know if you have any questions.
In June 2022, CIT will enable Student Preview for UA’s instance of Blackboard Learn. With Student Preview, you can experience your course exactly as your students do, submitting assignments, taking tests, view student tools such as My Grades, and more. Student Preview replaces Student View. Additional information and instructions for using Student Preview are available in the CIT knowledge base: How can I see what students will see when viewing my Blackboard course?
Blackboard will update UA’s instance of Blackboard Collaborate to Collaborate version 22.10 on Thursday, June 9 from 1:00 a.m. CDT to 5:00 a.m. CDT.: Blackboard Collaborate Scheduled Maintenance – June 9
Beginning June 10, Panopto recordings created more than 2 years ago will be automatically archived. To retrieve an archived recording, follow these steps: How to Restore Archived Content
CIT’s Panopto retention settings are in keeping with UA’s LMS Course Retention Policy, which states that courses are subject to removal from the system two years following the end of the semester in which they are taught: LMS Course Retention Policy FAQ.
OIT has made it easy to for faculty and staff to upgrade computer operating systems. Beginning in June, faculty and staff with OIT-supported Windows computers will begin receiving announcements on their computers to upgrade Windows 10 to the newest supported version, 10 21H2. Visit the OIT website for more information: Upgrade Windows 10 – 21H2
Your colleagues in The Center for Instructional Technology provide training, support, workshops, webinars, and consultations for UA’s instructional technologies and technology accessibility. Submit a help request or join us at an upcoming webinar.
Want more updates from CIT? Subscribe to our news updates and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
Hello instructors,
Melissa from The Center for Instructional Technology here with some instructional technology news.
On May 11, CIT updated the method used for connecting Blackboard to Turnitin. The new connection method allows for more seamless system updates in the future and offers an improved student submission process. While the update brings some user interface changes, the service retains the same features.
All Turnitin assignments need to be created with the new tool (see How do I create a new Turnitin assignment?). Assignments created with the old Turnitin tool are still available and viewable in courses, but they cannot be recreated by using the course copy process (see How do I view submissions for an old Turnitin assignment?). More information about the change and guides to using the new Turnitin are available in CIT’s instructional technology knowledge base: Changes to Turnitin in 2022.
On May 11, CIT updated the method used for connecting Labster with Blackboard. The new process for adding simulations in Blackboard is simpler and no longer requires downloading and re-uploading your desired sims; instead, you can link the sims directly from the Build Content page within Blackboard. CIT sent information about this change to instructors who have previously used Labster simulations within their Blackboard courses. Please see Blackboard – How to add Labster simulations to your course (LTI 1.3), and let us know if you have any questions.
OIT will decommission Crimson Google accounts on Monday, May 16. Unlike the May 2021 email migration, OIT will not migrate Google Drive content for students and alumni. Individuals are responsible for exporting or migrating all content they wish to keep. Faculty and staff who shared content with students using Google Drive should now use OneDrive. Visit the OIT website to see step-by-step guides for migrating content.
On May 17, CIT will disable access to selected courses in Blackboard Learn. Courses that begin with the following semester codes are subject to removal in accordance with UA’s LMS Course Retention Policy:
UA’s LMS Course Retention Policy states that courses are subject to removal from the system two years following the end of the semester in which they are taught. Students and instructors should save any materials they wish to keep. More information on the policy and instructions for backing up Blackboard content are available in the LMS Course Retention Policy FAQ.
Thursday, May 19 marks the 11th annual Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD). GAAD’s purpose is “to get everyone talking, thinking and learning about digital (web, software, mobile, etc.) access/inclusion, and the more than One Billion people with disabilities/impairments.”
As part of our campus-wide commitment to inclusive education, and in celebration of GAAD, we will participate in the Blackboard Ally “Fix your Content Day Challenge,” host a Fixathon, and share accessibility resources and offering live, online opportunities to learn about accessibility throughout the day. Save the date and learn more: Global Accessibility Awareness Day and Fix Your Content Day.
Your colleagues in The Center for Instructional Technology provide training, support, workshops, webinars, and consultations for UA’s instructional technologies and technology accessibility. Submit a help request or join us at an upcoming webinar.
Want more updates from CIT? Subscribe to our news updates and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
CIT has learned of an issue where a small number of folders on our Panopto site had the incorrect users/groups added to the share page as part of a copy process. This bug that caused this issue was fixed in March, and Panopto is removing the incorrectly added permissions on Tuesday, May 17.
From Panopto:
We discovered an issue where a small number of folders on your site had the incorrect users/groups added to the share page as part of a copy process.
What is the bug?
When a subfolder that was inheriting access from its parent was copied and subsequently moved, users who had access to the copied folder, via inheritance, retained that access after the folder was moved. The users would have been visible on the share page of each folder but creators and admins may not have noticed the additional users after moving the folder. See the below diagram to help explain:
How long was this bug active?
This bug was discovered on February 24th and was active from the release of v12.0 (January 7th – 8th) and was fixed in v12.5 (March 24th and 25th).
When will this bug be fixed?
This bug was fixed on March 24th and 25th. We apologize for the delayed notification of this email. Due to the complex nature of this bug, it took a large amount of effort to track down the folders that might be impacted.
What do I need to do?
Nothing. We will remove the incorrectly added permissions for the users/groups. These changes will be made on Tuesday, May 17th.
How will Panopto prevent future recurrence of this bug?
We’ve added automated tests to ensure that permissions are not copied when folders that inherit access are copied.
We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. Our Engineering leaders are standing by to meet with your team if you would like to discuss this further.
Real-time information about Panopto status, as well as updates about scheduled maintenance and past incidents, is available on the Panopto status page.
Hello instructors,
This is Melissa from The Center for Instructional Technology. I can’t believe the end of the semester is already here! We have some instructional technology news and tips to help you finish strong.
Some users have reported that certain Spring 2022 courses are no longer available in Blackboard Learn. Please report to cit@ua.edu any courses that should be available and no longer are listed or are denying access. CIT is investigating the issue. This announcement will be updated when more information is available: Known Issue: Some Spring 2022 Blackboard Learn courses missing from user course list
If you administer final exams via Blackboard Learn, you might share these testing tips with your students:
Additional tips for being prepared and getting connected: Testing Tips for Students.
Final grades are due Tuesday, May 10 at 11:59 p.m. Any missing grades as of the 11:59 p.m. deadline will result in grades of “N” being assigned as placeholders. Instructors will then be required to submit grade change requests to correct all “N” grades.
Helpful grading information:
Reporting a non-attendance grade? Find the date the student last accessed your Blackboard course using the Performance Dashboard or by viewing the Last Access column in the Grade Center grid.
A Turnitin change coming on May 11 will alter how instructors access the Turnitin tool; the tool will be located under a new menu, but its functionality will remain the same. CIT suggests instructors wait until after this transition to build summer and fall Turnitin assignments. More information about the upcoming update: Changes to Turnitin in 2022.
On May 17, CIT will disable access to selected courses in Blackboard Learn. Courses that begin with the following semester codes are subject to removal in accordance with UA’s LMS Course Retention Policy:
UA’s LMS Course Retention Policy states that courses are subject to removal from the system two years following the end of the semester in which they are taught. Students and instructors should save any materials they wish to keep. More information on the policy and instructions for backing up Blackboard content are available in the LMS Course Retention Policy FAQ.
Thursday, May 19 marks the 11th annual Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD). GAAD’s purpose is “to get everyone talking, thinking and learning about digital (web, software, mobile, etc.) access/inclusion, and the more than One Billion people with disabilities/impairments.”
As part of our campus-wide commitment to inclusive education, and in celebration of GAAD, we will participate in the Blackboard Ally “Fix your Content Day Challenge,” host a Fixathon, and share accessibility resources and offering live, online opportunities to learn about accessibility throughout the day. Save the date and learn more: Global Accessibility Awareness Day and Fix Your Content Day.
Your colleagues in The Center for Instructional Technology provide training, support, workshops, webinars, and consultations for UA’s instructional technologies and technology accessibility. Submit a help request or join us at an upcoming webinar.
Want more updates from CIT? Subscribe to our news updates and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
