Missing Blackboard Courses
- January 13th, 2021
- in Known Issues
Today, Jan. 7, OIT will be enabling the new Box user interface for all UA users. The new interface features a sleek design and provides users with the ability to better organize content. Learn more on the Box Website.
Turnitin is currently experiencing an unexpected service degradation. During this time, you may find that you are unable to view submissions and/or Similarity Reports. If you would like to track Turnitin’s progress in resolving this issue, please visit the Turnitin status page at https://turnitin.statuspage.io.
Resolved 12/9, 6:00 pm CST – Degradation was encountered between 9am – 1:30pm CST.
On December 22, 2020 at 8:00am CST, VoiceThread will be making a low-risk change to the Content Delivery Network configuration. This should not have any impact on VoiceThread availability or service speed, but we are letting you know in the unlikely event that you do experience some slowness of media loading at that time.
Date: December 22, 2020
Time: 8:00am CST
Impact: No impact expected
In Blackboard app version 5.8 on iOS devices, the question text in tests is repeated every few questions resulting in duplicated questions and mis-matched answer choices. This issue was resolved in Blackboard app version 5.8.1 (iOS only), which was released on October 26, 2020. Update your Blackboard app if using an iOS device to avoid this issue. CIT recommends taking high-stakes tests on wired, non-mobile devices for best performance.
Students who have used the Honorlock Chrome browser extension for test proctoring at other colleges or universities may receive an error message when taking tests in Blackboard. These users should uninstall the Honorlock extension to avoid this issue. If the extension is still needed, reinstall to get the updated version which does not cause this issue.
How to uninstall Chrome browser extensions
Honorlock Support
Update 10/20 10:47 am, Turnitin believes the issue to be resolved. Users may experience slowness while using the service as the system recovers.
Turnitin is currently investigating and working to resolve a major outage. This known issue will be updated when the issue is resolved.
For more information, visit the Turnitin Status Page.
Trouble shooting for “You have not logged in yet or your session expired,” or other connectivity and IP address error messages:
How to forget a Wi-Fi network on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Mac
How to forget a Wi-Fi network on your Windows 10 PC
Some versions of Windows 10 have a feature that randomizes the MAC address for different WiFi connections. When using Respondus Lockdown Browser, disable this feature to avoid filling multiple device slots on your account. If you do not see the option for ‘use random MAC address’ it is likely that your version of Windows 10 does not have this feature.
Most issues with Lockdown Browser are related to connectivity or firewall settings. To minimize issues, students should use a hard wired Ethernet connection when possible, or be as close to the router or access point as possible. We also recommend restarting the computer and shutting down all other programs running on the computer. Also shut down anything else running on the network, such as gaming consoles or video streaming services. It may also help to restart the modem/router.
Cannot Detect or Configure Webcam
Spinning Wheel During Webcam Check
Video Connection Timed-Out Error
Update Check Failed: Error Code a4
Unable to connect to Respondus Server (AWS)
Respondus Support
Many library computers are equipped with Respondus LockDown Browser and web cameras. Students may reserve an appropriate computer through the UA Libraries website.
Chromebook devices that are unable to update the Google Chrome browser to version 79 or higher will be presented with an error when attempting to join a Blackboard Collaborate Ultra session using the Google Chrome browser. The user will be unable to join the session and the error will reference the version of Google Chrome installed on the device.
Resolution/Workaround:
First, make sure that you are indeed unable to update to a more recent version of Chrome. Chrome Update Instructions
If you are unable to update, impacted users may still be able to join Blackboard Collaborate Ultra sessions from their Chromebook device by using an alternate browser.
Chromebook devices that support installing and running apps from the Google Play Store can install one of the following for use with Blackboard Collaborate Ultra:
Join us for an online workshop Tues. Sept. 29 from 1pm – 2pm, to learn how instructors use Gradescope! The workshop will offer guidance on how to deliver assessments remotely and outline various assessment options to meet your immediate needs, including:
We will also cover the grading and rubric-building workflow on Gradescope and walk attendees through both the instructor and student interface for creating and submitting assignments and viewing feedback.
Tuesday, September 29, 1pm – 2pm
The workshop is free; however, registration is required: https://info.gradescope.com/alabama-workshop.
A recording of the session will be shared with all registrants. So please feel free to register even if you can’t make it to the live session!
Gradescope is a feedback and assessment tool that dramatically reduces the pain and time associated with grading exams, homework, and other assignments. Gradescope is widely used for delivering assessments remotely. It enables instructors and graders to give better and more timely feedback, resulting in improved learning outcomes. Dynamic rubrics help streamline the tedious parts of grading while increasing grading consistency. AI-assisted Grading allows instructors to automatically group similar answers and grade all the answers in each group at once. Gradescope also helps with grading programming assignments at scale and can automatically grade printed bubble sheets. You can learn more and create an account at www.gradescope.com. The Gradescope team is happy to help, so please let them know if you have any questions at help@gradescope.com.