Category: Announcements

Blackboard Collaborate Performance Issues

Tuesday, February 4, 2020 8:20 a.m. CST – Collaborate Original users may be experiencing trouble connecting to sessions or performance/latency issues while in sessions. If you have trouble connecting, please try again. Blackboard technicians are investigating the root cause of this issue.

Jan. 4, 2020 Panopto Update

Panopto will be updated with the latest features and improvements on Saturday, Jan 4th 2020. We expect up to 3 hours of downtime, with a target start time of 8:00 p.m. CST. During the update, users will not be able to access videos through Panopto, and any attempts to upload from recording clients will result in a “Server unable to connect” message.

Folder Uploads to Box via IE11 Not Supported After Dec. 27, 2019

With the End of Life of Oracle SE 8 , Folder Uploads on IE11 via the folder picker is no longer officially supported through the Box Web Application.  The folder picker option in IE11 will continue to be available to end users until December 27, 2019.  Following this date, users will still be able to select files from the picker, but will no longer see the folder option in IE11.  To continue leveraging folder uploads with Box, please upgrade to a supported browser or utilize another Box official application such as Box Drive .

Dec. 16-17 Blackboard Learn Mobile Apps Maintenance

The Blackboard app and Blackboard Instructor app will be unavailable starting December 16, 2019 at 9:30 p.m. until December 17 at 2:30 a.m. for a scheduled maintenance update. Please access Blackboard Learn in a web browser during this five-hour window.

Panopto Replaces Tegrity as UA’s Lecture Capture Software

The Center for Instructional Technology now offers Panopto as the University’s lecture capture software. Tegrity has been used for recording lectures at the University since 2007; however, the software will be discontinued in 2020. UA’s Center for Instructional Technology (CIT) selected Panopto as its replacement.

Like Tegrity, Panopto is a lecture capture software that enables students, faculty and staff to record and share videos. The more robust feature set is an easy tradeoff for the inconvenience of switching systems. Now with Panopto, users can combine recordings for easy storage and then download those recordings as MP4 files. Panopto also offers non-destructive editing so users will never lose valuable information again.

Many faculty and staff have already started using Panopto during the fall 2019 semester and are reaping the benefits.

“It’s quick and easy to start at the beginning of each class and then easy to post to a folder on my Blackboard course home page,” said Jil Chambless, a math instructor referring to MATH 121 lectures she recorded this semester. “Several students have told me they find these helpful, not only if they miss class, but also for reviewing after a class they attended. This semester’s videos will be helpful in case of the need for academic continuity in the future.”

CIT is working to migrate 10,000 hours of Tegrity content to Panopto. Once this process is complete, instructors will have the opportunity to request the inclusion of content that was not transferred during this initial migration. The CIT will continue to have access to Tegrity content through 2020.

The CIT encourages instructors to start using Panopto on the first day of class as a “record day one” initiative. Not only does this allow instructors to become familiar with the new software, but recording the first day of class allows instructors a way to share critical information with students who may not be in attendance on the first day.

“Students often sign up for additional classes after the first day of class begins,” said Rachel Thompson, director of the CIT. “Students who are not yet enrolled or do not attend the first day of class miss out on important information such as course requirements, expectations and schedules. Recording the first day of class allows instructors to have this information readily available to share with students.”

Panopto has been installed in classrooms across campus. Instructors can access Panopto via the desktop icon, or by visiting the application menu. Step-by-step guides and tutorials for using Panopto are now available on the CIT website. Additionally, workshops on Panopto best practices will be offered throughout the semester, check out the UA events calendar to see workshop dates and to register.

Faculty Technology Showcase – Call for Proposals Now Open

The 11th Annual Faculty Technology Showcase will be held on Friday, February 28, 2020 on the second floor of the Gordon Palmer Hall Annex. The call for proposals is now open. Please submit proposals by December 9, 2019.

The goal of the Faculty Technology Showcase is to provide an opportunity for our community to share how technology is used across campus. The Center for Instructional Technology, along with the Teaching and Learning Committee, invites administrators, faculty, staff, and graduate students who use technology in both innovative and practical ways to present and demonstrate. These uses of technology may enhance teaching and learning, assist with research, and/or increase professional productivity.

The Faculty Technology Showcase follows a digital poster presentation format, with several presenters stationed around a room, and multiple 50-minute time slots. Presentations are conversational and interactive, with opportunities for questions, networking, and demonstrations. This is a come-and-go event, so attendees may drop by for an hour or stay for the whole thing. Programs and pictures from previous showcases can be found at https://cit.ua.edu/news/faculty-technology-showcase/

Please share this information widely. We look forward to reading this year’s proposals.

For questions regarding the Faculty Technology Showcase, contact Mo Fiorella at CIT:
cit@ua.edu
205-348-3532

Welcome to Fall 2019!

Hello and welcome to fall semester 2019! The Center for Instructional Technology (CIT), formerly the Faculty Resource Center, is here to support your use of The University of Alabama’s enterprise-wide instructional technologies. For Fall 2019, there are some notable changes to our supported technologies:

Blackboard Learn

  • You may get a Privacy User Agreement checkbox when logging into Blackboard Learn for the first time since our May 2019 upgrade. This user agreement is Blackboard’s notification of compliance with the GDPR privacy regulations.https://cit.ua.edu/blackboard-learn-privacy-notice-2/
  • UA’s Blackboard theme/color scheme was recently updated, so some colors may display differently for you. If some of your course text is less legible, visithttps://cit.ua.edu/black-course-menu-text/

Tegrity Lecture Capture

  • McGraw Hill, Tegrity’s parent company, has announced that they will discontinue support for Tegrity in 2020.  Panopto (https://cit.ua.edu/technologies/panopto/) has been chosen to replace Tegrity as UA’s primary lecture capture solution.  Fall 2019 is the last semester that Tegrity will be available. Panopto is available now in most of our multimedia classrooms. The workflow for Panopto is similar to Tegrity and it offers new features as well. Instructors can download the Panopto recorder to make recordings on their office or home computers. We will migrate some frequently used and newly created Tegrity content into Panopto this Fall.  Users will have an opportunity to request that recordings be transferred into Panopto. If you have any questions about this transition, contactcit@ua.edu.

Turning Technologies Clickers

  • We have updated the Turning Technologies clicker connection with Blackboard to make the tools synch more successfully. Instructors MUST click on the clicker registration link in their Blackboard course BEFORE using clickers in class. Please see the updated tutorials on our website to view the new process for downloading a course list and other changes. https://cit.ua.edu/technologies/turning-technologies/

Campus WIFI

  • This summer, the wireless network WPA2 was decommissioned. Eduroam is now the official wireless internet network at UA. Connect with your mybamausername@ua.edu email address and myBama password. More information is available at https://oit.ua.edu/service/wifi/

Adobe Creative Cloud in Labs

  • Adobe has changed how it licenses its software. Now all students, faculty and staff that access Adobe products in a computer lab will be required to login with an AdobeID. Faculty and staff will login with an Enterprise Adobe ID provided by UA. To create this ID, visit https://oit.ua.edu/adobe/. Students will login with a free Adobe ID. To create this ID, students can visit https://www.adobe.com/.  More information is available at https://oit.ua.edu/adobe/

The CIT also supports the technologies that integrate with Blackboard – Box, Turnitin, Collaborate, TurningPoint (clickers), and VoiceThread, to name a few. Please visit cit.ua.edu and accessibility.ua.edu to explore our instructional technology and accessibility support offerings. We have a full schedule of workshops and webinars for the Fall semester, as well as our tutorials, on our website. We can also assist you with setting up your professional website via people.ua.edu. Visit the People site to request a website and schedule a workshop. To check on the status of our technologies, visit our Known Issues page at https://cit.ua.edu/category/known-issues/.

Contact us via email at cit@ua.edu.

Have a great semester!

New Drop-In Sessions for Instructors and Students

Instructors and students are invited to stop by on one of two scheduled sessions at the Center for Instructional Technology in Gordon Palmer Hall for help preparing for the Fall 2019 semester.

On Tuesday, August 20th, between 9am and 2 pm, instructors can stop by A232 Gordon Palmer Hall for assistance in setting up their Blackboard course. Bring your laptop or flash drive and make sure your course is available, and upload your syllabus. Learn some basics, set up your grade center, and find out about other instructional technology tools available to UA instructors.

On Tuesday, August 27th, between 9am and 2 pm, students can stop by A232 Gordon Palmer Hall to get familiar with Blackboard, customize their notification settings, learn how to submit assignments, and register their clickers.

And, of course, walk-ins are always welcome. Come see us and chat about your instructional technology needs and wants.