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).
We are working on some behind-the-scenes changes to Blackboard’s course settings in an effort to provide a better user experience. Moving forward, courses will not have default course availability dates associated with their term. This means that courses will not become available/unavailable on a preset date unless manually set by the instructor or department.
If you need courses to become available/unavailable on a certain date, view the Course Properties section of this article in our knowledge base: How do I set course availability in Blackboard?
Some users may have experienced a Blackboard service outage from approximately 9:30 PM Central on June 9 to 12:30 AM Central on June 10. Service was restored around 12:30 AM. When the incident investigation is complete, we will share its results. Contact cit@ua.edu with questions or concerns.
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.
From Blackboard:
Date Published: May 26, 2022
We are pleased to announce the upcoming release of Collaborate version 22.10. We are continually evolving to improve the teaching and learning experience.
For a complete list of updates and additional details, please review our Collaborate v22.10 Release Notes.
When will the update take place?
All clients will be upgraded on Thursday, June 9, 2022:
- Asia Pacific (AWS Sydney: ap-southeast-2): Thursday, June 9, 2022 from 1:00 AM AEST (Australian Eastern Standard Time) UTC/GMT +10 hours to Thursday, June 9, 2022 5:00 AM AEST (Australian Eastern Standard Time) UTC/GMT +10 hours
- Canada (AWS Montreal: ca-central-1): Thursday, June 9, 2022 from 2:00 AM EDT (Eastern Daylight Time) UTC/GMT -4 hours to Thursday, June 9, 2022 6:00 AM EDT (Eastern Daylight Time) UTC/GMT -4 hours
- Europe (AWS Ireland: eu-west-1): Thursday, June 9, 2022 from 12:00 Midnight IST (Irish Standard Time) UTC/GMT +1 to Thursday, June 9, 2022 4:00 AM IST (Irish Standard Time) UTC/GMT +1
- US (AWS Virginia: us-east-1): Thursday, June 9, 2022 from 2:00 AM EDT (Eastern Daylight Time) UTC/GMT -4 hours to Thursday, June 9, 2022 6:00 AM EDT (Eastern Daylight Time) UTC/GMT -4 hours
Please note: We will try to minimize downtime and do not plan on using these entire maintenance windows, however we will use these entire maintenance windows if necessary. Collaborate clients will experience intermittent availability during these maintenance windows.
How will users access this release?
Users will automatically have access to Collaborate v22.10 after the update.What supporting resources are available?
To help you with the transition, new documentation and knowledge base articles will be published on the day of the release.
Real-time information about Blackboard status, as well as updates about scheduled maintenance and past incidents, is available on the Blackboard status page.
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.
Update 5/3/2022 8:49 a.m.: This issue has been resolved.
About 30 fully online UA Online courses had end dates erroneously indicated as April 29, denying access to enrolled students and limiting visibility for instructors. The courses have now been made available. Anyone still unable to access Spring 2022 courses should email cit@ua.edu.
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.
