Dec 13 Instructional Technology News

• December 13th, 2022
• in -Instructional Technology News, Announcements

Hello from your colleagues in CIT! We’re wrapping up Fall 2022 with final grades due tonight by 11:59 PM. Below, you’ll find resources to help you close this term and prepare for the next.  

Resources for Final Grading:  

• Grading in Blackboard, including downloading and managing submissions and grades. 

• Grade Reporting at UA to import grades into myBama, locate last activity dates, and review Registrar information. Final grades are due Tuesday, Dec 13, by 11:59 PM. 

Explore Blackboard Ultra  

Curious about Blackboard Ultra Course View? Learn about UA’s Ultra pilot and request a practice course: Ultra Course Pilot Information. 

Supe Store Access Granted changes + new social annotation tools 

UA’s Access Granted program is changing its primary vendor from RedShelf to VitalSource. To facilitate this change, the Supe Store will help with necessary changes to the Access Granted course materials links in Blackboard Learn courses. In some cases, links to VitalSource in Blackboard Learn courses may now be labeled Access Granted. (learn more about the change).  

This change enables the creation of Hypothesis assignments in Blackboard using documents from VitalSource’s extensive collection of texts and ebooks. In CIT’s Knowledge Base article, Hypothesis & Access Granted e-books, you can learn to:   

• Access VitalSource 
• Find the VitalSource bookshelf URL of the text you will be assigning 
• Create Hypothesis assignments in your Blackboard course 

Cleaning Out Older Blackboard Courses 

Retention Policy Reminder: 

Academic courses in Blackboard Learn are subject to removal two (2) years following the end of the semester in which they are taught in accordance with UA’s LMS Course Retention Policy. Courses taught prior to Fall 2020 are now eligible for removal. Instructors should save any needed course content or student grades. Students should save any necessary coursework as well. Non-academic courses, referred to as non-integrated courses, are subject to removal following two (2) years of inactivity. Steps to save content are linked below. 

• Save content – Students 
• Save content – Instructors 

 More information on the policy and instructions for backing up Blackboard content are available in the LMS Course Retention Policy FAQ. 

Faculty Prep Days 

Need assistance setting up your course(s) for Spring semester? Need a cup of coffee to kick start 2023? We can help. Drop by the CIT for instructional technology guidance on Friday, Jan. 6 or Monday, Jan. 9. Our doors will be open, and refreshments will be served.  

Aside from the CIT staff, additional representatives from OIT Security, Research, and AVS (classroom support and more) will be on hand to answer your questions. Space will be available to help you focus and prepare your course for the semester. 

Friday, Jan 6, 9-11AM and 2-4PM 

Monday, Jan 9, 9-11AM and 2-4PM 

Gordon Palmer Hall, Room A232 

As always, we are available Monday-Friday, 8:00-4:45 to assist you.  

Email – cit@ua.edu 

Phone – 205-348-3532 

Website and Knowledge Base – http://cit.ua.edu 

Instructional Technology News

• December 1st, 2022
• in -Instructional Technology News, Announcements

Hello from your colleagues in CIT! Below you’ll find resources to help with finals and grading. If you need help with instructional technology, including assistance with your exam and grading setup, please contact cit@ua.edu. 

Resources for Exams and Grading:  

• Testing Tips for Instructors, including ways to avoid common issues 
• Add Accommodations to a Blackboard Test, to allow extended time or other accommodations 
• Testing Tips for Students, including setup and tech guidance 
• Grading in Blackboard, including downloading and managing submissions and grades 
• Grade Reporting at UA to import grades into myBama, locate last activity dates, and review Registrar information. Final grades are due Tuesday, Dec 13, by 11:59 PM. 

Explore Blackboard Ultra  

Curious about Blackboard Ultra Course View? Learn about UA’s Ultra pilot and request a practice course: Ultra Course Pilot Information. 

Qualtrics will require Duo after Dec. 15

• November 22nd, 2022
• in Announcements

Beginning Thursday, Dec. 15 Duo will be required to access Qualtrics accounts. Users will receive a Duo prompt after logging in with myBama credentials at Qualtrics.ua.edu. Duo is required for many other applications including Box and Microsoft 365.

For more information about Duo, visit OIT’s Duo two-factor authentication page.

Access Granted Changes for Spring 2023

• November 15th, 2022
• in Announcements

New Version of Mac Respondus Lockdown Browser

• October 5th, 2022
• in Announcements

LockDown Browser for Mac, version 2.0.9.02, has been released.  This release contains improvements to security and minor bug fixes.

Existing installs of LockDown Browser will NOT be auto-updated at this time. To obtain the latest version (2.0.9.02) use the “Check for Update” feature or run the full installation program.

Respondus Lockdown Browser can be downloaded from the “Download Respondus Lockdown Browser” link on the Institution page in Blackboard.

New Version of Windows Respondus Lockdown Browser

• September 29th, 2022
• in Announcements

LockDown Browser for Windows, version 2.0.9.04, has been released.  This release includes accessibility improvements, a new search function, and security improvements.

Existing installs of LockDown Browser will be auto-updated shortly. To obtain the latest version (2.0.9.04) run the full installation program.

Known Issue – Turnitin PeerMark issue for students

• September 15th, 2022
• in Announcements

Turnitin engineers are aware of an issue where students are not able to access all the peer reviews they received from their assignment inbox. Turnitin will launch either the first peer review or self-review only. As a workaround, please launch the first peer review from the assignment inbox and use the navigation arrows at the top right to toggle between your peer reviews.

Please contact the Center for Instructional Technology if this does not resolve the issue or if the student is facing a different one.

Troubleshooting Respondus Lockdown Browser for Students

• September 8th, 2022
• in Announcements

Troubleshooting for “You have not logged in yet or your session expired,” or other connectivity and IP address error messages:

“Forget” non-Eduroam networks

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

Disable MAC Randomization in Windows

Some versions of Windows 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 does not have this feature.

• Select the ‘Start’ button in the bottom left corner of the screen
• Select the gear icon to go to ‘Settings’
• Select ‘Network and Internet’
• Select ‘Wifi’
• Set ‘Use random hardware addresses’ to ‘Off’

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.

Other Common Issues:

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 use an available library computer or reserve an appropriate computer through the UA Libraries website.

Resolved – Blackboard unavailable

• September 7th, 2022
• in Announcements

Update: @12:42 PM: Blackboard is now available. If you experience any issues accessing Blackboard, please submit a request with the Center for Instructional Technology.

We will post any new information when we receive it.

Blackboard is experiencing unplanned downtime. We are working with Blackboard Support to resolve this issue and we will update this post with any new information.

Blackboard Instructor mobile app reminder

• August 30th, 2022
• in Announcements

Support for Blackboard Instructor ends on September 30, 2022. Download the unified Blackboard app now!

Blackboard has updated their mobile app experience. The new unified Blackboard app is available for instructors and students. Users get the same modern and intuitive experience in any device​, in a single app, with the features Learners and Instructors use the most.