Known Issue – Simple Syllabus syllabi status error

Simple Syllabus is experiencing a bug on their end that may cause the following issues:

  • Some users may experience an issue with the status of their syllabus showing Complete but not Published.
  • When attempting to publish, users may receive an error message that states, “This syllabus will be published when the following component is created: Contact Information.” However, all of the syllabi have a Contact Information component by default.

Simple Syllabus Support is aware of the issue and is working on a resolution.  We will keep you updated on their progress.

Resolved – Turnitin Service Incident 10/28

Update: Issue Resolved

The incident occurred between 9:30 AM and 2:05 PM on 10/28/24. Visit Turnitin’s status page to view the incident report.


Turnitin is experiencing an unexpected service incident. Users may experience slowness and/or error messages when accessing the tool or submitting and accessing reports.

This incident began around 11:52 AM on 10/28/24.

We will keep you updated as we receive new information.

Known Issue – Blackboard email notifications issue

CIT received multiple reports of issues with the Send Email tool and issues with Blackboard email notifications. Anthology Support is aware of this issue and they are working to resolve it.

This issue began around 9:30 AM on October 7, 2024.

Update, 10/8/24: Anthology’s investigations identified the issue was due to email notification infrastructure becoming unresponsive. The email infrastructure has been restarted to resolve the issue.

If you are still experiencing issues sending email notifications through Blackboard’s email tool, or through copies of an announcement or course message, please contact CIT.

October 2024 Instructor News from The Center for Instructional Technology 

Greetings from your Center for Instructional Technology! CIT provides training, support, and consultations for UA’s instructional technologies and technology accessibility. Visit cit.ua.edu to find step-by-step guides with pictures, discover upcoming workshops and webinars, or book an appointment. You can also reach us at cit@ua.edu or 205-348-3532 or visit us in A203 Gordon Palmer Hall.​

This month’s CIT Instructor News features information and resources to support teaching and learning needs, with a focus on People.ua.edu changes, Blackboard Ultra, and Blackboard, Qualtrics, and Simple Syllabus highlights.

People.ua.edu platform and branding update

UA’s people.ua.edu sites, including faculty profile and some research websites, are moving to a new platform and will have refreshed branding by the end of 2024! CIT is shepherding sites from the older Weebly platform to CampusPress, an accessible and flexible service provider that aligns more readily with UA’s web policies and provides expanded site capabilities. Faculty and staff who manage people.ua.edu sites will be contacted when the newly migrated sites are ready for review. More information will be shared with individual site owners by Oct 31.

Explore – and teach with – the new Blackboard: Blackboard Ultra

‌‌Blackboard Ultra Course View (“Ultra”) offers a simple, modern, intuitive, and consistent interface across devices and a more streamlined experience for instructors and students. All Blackboard courses will be designed and delivered in Ultra by Spring 2026, and instructors of non-OTIDE-supported courses can teach with Ultra now (OTIDE-supported courses are designated as OL or OLM). Visit the CIT site to learn more about Ultra and UA’s plans, join or watch a recorded demonstration/information session, or request a practice course: Blackboard Ultra Course View

Ultra course Messages options now available

Instructors can now adjust message settings in Ultra Course View. They can set the following limits on messages within the course:

  • Students can message anyone in their course
  • Students can only message staff and students in their groups
  • Students can only message staff
  • Students can only reply to messages
  • Turn all messages off, which sends all messages by email only

Check out this CIT knowledge base article for more information: How do I edit course Messages settings in Ultra?

Ultra Good Features

Check out these recent additions to Blackboard Ultra!

Send a copy to email when scheduling announcements

Instructors often plan certain communications in advance. Now instructors can schedule an Announcement for a future date and select that it will send an email copy. The announcement tool will send the email copy on the day and time the announcements are posted. This change was introduced  with the July 2024 Ultra release.

Ultra new announcement page
When composing an announcement in Ultra, “Send an email copy to recipients” and “Schedule announcement” options appear below the editor.

CIT KB: How do I create a course announcement in a Blackboard Ultra course?
Blackboard Instructor Help: Announcements
Video: Announcements in Blackboard

Content Designer: Enhanced Documents

Ultra’s Documents feature can be used to combine a variety of materials to view together, such as text, multimedia, and attachments. The August 2024 Ultra release introduced new options for content design, such as resizing and dragging/dropping blocks into columns and rows and the ability to convert PDF, PowerPoint, and Word files to Documents.

Blackboard Instructor Help: Create Documents
Video: Create Document – Blackboard
What’s New in Blackboard – August 2024

Content Designer: Knowledge Check in Enhanced Documents

The September 2024 – 3900.10 Release brought additional enhancements to Documents, including the addition of Knowledge Checks. Knowledge checks test student comprehension of a document by asking a multiple choice or multiple answer question. Knowledge checks include:

  • Feedback: You can pre-populate correct and incorrect answer feedback
  • Student interaction: Students receive immediate feedback on whether their answer is correct or incorrect. Knowledge checks allow unlimited attempts.
  • And Metrics: You have access to detailed metrics about how students are engaging with the knowledge check.

Blackboard Instructor Help: Create Documents
Video: Knowledge Checks in Blackboard Documents
What’s New in Blackboard – September 2024

Student Activity Log

A couple more highlights from the September release:

The Student Overview page now has a Student Activity Log instructors and other higher roles can use the to check what a particular student did in a course. The Activity log can be filtered by event type and can look to the past 140 days. Any information older than that won’t be stored in this report. The log can take up to 20 minutes to update from the last time a student performs an action.

Ultra Student Activity Log
Student Activity Log listing several items with dates, times, and events

Blackboard Instructor Help: Student Activity Log

View items that need grading and posting in the new Overview tab

And also in the September release: The Gradebook’s new Overview tab displays grading tasks for you to complete.

  • Needs reconciling lists all items ready for reconciliation. Select Reconcile now to open the Submissions tab for the item. Then review grades and feedback from others before determining the final grade.
  • Needs grading lists submissions ready for grading with the oldest ungraded submissions at the top of the list, allowing you to prioritize grading tasks. Select Grade now to open the submission and begin grading.
  • And Needs posting lists graded assessments that are ready to be posted. Select Post now to immediately post the graded assessment.
Ultra Gradebook Overview tab
Gradebook Overview tab view displays grading tasks: needs reconciling, needs grading, and needs posting

Blackboard Instructor Help: Ultra Gradebook
Video: Gradebook – Blackboard

Award Course Badges with Achievements

Finally, a preview of the October release, coming to production on October 3. The release brings some badging capabilities, including course badges! Instructors can create course badges and set criteria for students to earn the badges.

Ultra Achievements
Instructor view of the new course badge screen. You can set the title, description, badge image, and earning requirements.

Blackboard Instructor Help: Achievements
What’s New in Blackboard – October 2024

CIT Technology and Tool Highlights

Blackboard

  • The Blackboard Learn App is Now the Blackboard App – As part of Anthology’s ongoing rebranding, the Blackboard Learn App is now known simply as the Blackboard App. The name change is complete, and an icon update is scheduled for the October release.
  • Digital Teaching Symposium – A full day of free, peer-led virtual sessions on digital teaching strategies from Anthology.
  • Known Issue – Sporadic invalid format error for third-party tools– Some student users are receiving an “Invalid locale format: false” error when accessing third-party tools in Blackboard. Visit the knowledge base for a workaround.

Qualtrics

Simple Syllabus

News from OIT

These Office of Information Technology updates are of particular interest to instructors.

Upcoming Learning Opportunities

Learn with us! CIT regularly hosts workshops and webinars on UA instructional technologies and technology accessibility. We are also pleased to offer individual consultations and group instruction by request.

10.3 | Blackboard Learn Ultra User Group (partner event)

10.3 | Social Annotation Strategies: October 2024 (partner event)

10.3 | Panopto Weekly Q&A (Office Hours) (partner event)

10.4 | Meet the New Blackboard: Blackboard Ultra Course View webinar

10.10 | Getting Started with Panopto webinar

10.10 | Social Annotation Strategies: October 2024 (partner event)

10.10 | Panopto Weekly Q&A (Office Hours) (partner event)

10.17 | Meet the New Blackboard: Blackboard Ultra Course View webinar

10.17 | Blackboard Learn Ultra User Group (partner event)

10.17 | Social Annotation Strategies: October 2024 (partner event)

10.17 | Panopto Weekly Q&A (Office Hours) (partner event)

10.17 | Social Annotation Strategies: October 2024 (partner event)

10.24 | Teaching with Turnitin: Turnitin Basics webinar

10.24 | Panopto Weekly Q&A (Office Hours) (partner event)

10.31 | Blackboard Learn Ultra User Group (partner event)

10.31 | Panopto Weekly Q&A (Office Hours) (partner event)

About This Message

All UA instructors of record are automatically subscribed to updates about Blackboard and other instructional technology. UA community members who would like to be added to the communications list for CIT news can contact us.

Known Issue – Respondus tests and Mac Keyboards

There is a known issue where pressing the function key that leads to the emoji menu can cause a freeze for the keyboard (Mac users).

This issue will be resolved by Respondus within the next few weeks. Until then, students must perform a hard shut down on the device, then start LockDown Browser again.

Contact CIT with questions – cit@ua.edu or 205-348-3532.

Ultra course Messages options now available

Instructors can now adjust message settings in Ultra Course View. They can set the following limits on messages within the course:

  • Students can message anyone in their course

  • Students can only message staff and students in their groups

  • Students can only message staff

  • Students can only reply to messages

  • Turn all messages off, which sends all messages by email only

Navigate to our knowledge base article for more information: How do I edit course Messages settings in Ultra?

Known Issue – Qualtrics Maintenance Oct 5

Qualtrics will undergo a maintenance on Saturday, October 5, 2024 from 1:00 PM to 2:30 PM.

What is affected? Qualtrics dashboards, results reports, and printed reports.

  • Users will not be able to create, modify, or delete dashboards, results reports, or printed reports.
  • Users should not attempt to make changes to dashboards, results reports, or printed reports during this maintenance.
  • Surveys will not be affected in any way.

September 2024 Instructor News from The Center for Instructional Technology 

Greetings from your Center for Instructional Technology! CIT provides training, support, and consultations for UA’s instructional technologies and technology accessibility. Visit cit.ua.edu to find step-by-step guides with pictures, discover upcoming workshops and webinars, or book an appointment. You can also reach us at cit@ua.edu or 205-348-3532 or visit us in A203 Gordon Palmer Hall.​

This month’s CIT Instructor News features Ultra Course Content page changes and summer Ultra happenings; Blackboard and Turnitin highlights; and other information and resources to support teaching and learning.


Get on Blackboard Day

Thanks to the UA Student Government Association and Cassidy Matwiyoff, SGA VP of Academic Affairs, for hosting Get On Blackboard Day on Tuesday, August 27 in The Student Center Forum. Targeted to new students who need assistance on how to access vital academic resources, the event offered information about Student IT Resources, instructional technologies and support, and instruction on Blackboard Basics for Students.

CIT Instructional Technologist Melissa Fortson presents at Get on Blackboard Day


Meet the Simpler, More Modern Blackboard – Blackboard Ultra

‌‌Blackboard Ultra Course View (“Ultra”) offers a simple, modern, intuitive, and consistent interface across devices and a more streamlined experience for instructors and students. All Blackboard courses will be designed and delivered in Ultra by Spring 2026, and instructors of non-OTIDE-supported courses can teach with Ultra now (OTIDE-supported courses are designated as OL or OLM). Visit the CIT site to learn more about Ultra and UA’s plans, join or watch a recorded demonstration/information session, or request a practice course: Blackboard Ultra Course View

Ultra Course Content Page Changes

Ultra’s latest update includes some exciting user interface changes to the Course Content page that serves as the home page and entry point for all Ultra courses. The most apparent change is that areas previously on the left side of the page -Course Faculty, Details & Actions, etc. – have shifted to the right.

Student view: Course Content page

Other improvements include:

  • ‌Greater visual depth – subtle gradients and softer edges, a more cohesive color palette, intuitive navigation which reduces cognitive load
  • ‌Improved page structure
  • ‌Differentiation among course elements – improved differentiation among learning modules, folders, and content items
  • ‌An enhanced presentation of top-level and nested content

‌Learn more about these improvements by reading Anthology’s release notes: Course Content Page Enhancements– 3900.100

Ultra Good Summer

Summer is a great time to explore or prepare to teach with a new technology! This summer, we shared tips, tricks, and things to try in Ultra in a dedicated channel of the Ultra Team (a Microsoft Team that serves as a community of practice for those teaching or working with Ultra). Here’s an abbreviated list.

‌Ultra Good Summer Tip #1: Favorite your Ultra course(s)

View your Ultra course(s) quickly: If you access a course frequently, select Add to your favorites, represented by a star icon that turns purple. This will pin the course at the top of your course list.

A favorited course at the top of the Blackboard course list

‌To “un-favorite” a course, select the same star button so that it is no longer purple. This will unpin the course from the top of your course list.

‌This tip comes to us from CIT’s Instructional Technology knowledge base: How do I organize my list of courses?

Ultra Good Summer Tip #2: Set up a banner for your Ultra course

Instructors and administrators can upload an image to be the course banner inside courses in Blackboard. The course banner also appears in the grid view of the Courses page of Blackboard’s base navigation.

Course banner for the Introduction to Humanities course

‌Course banners have many uses:

  • Improve the way your Ultra Course View landing pages appear
  • ‌Provide a visual identity for your course for students who are visual learners
  • ‌Bring consistency between what the base navigation displays and the actual course
  • ‌Help your students to identify your course and locate course details

‌Ready to give it a try? Follow these step-by-step instructions, with pictures, to set up a banner for your Ultra course: Set up a banner for your course

‌Ultra Good Summer Tip #3: Navigate inside your Ultra course

Ultra boasts a simpler, more modern course experience for students and instructors. Workflows and tools are easy to find and use in Ultra. Learn more about the Ultra environment by watching a video and exploring specific features.

Video: Navigate Inside a course – Blackboard

‌Explore:

Ultra Good Summer Tip #4: Create a Document

Ultra users can create Documents that combine a variety of materials to view together, such as text, multimedia, and attachments. Select the plus sign to create a Document and design it by selecting from a variety of block types, including Knowledge check (a multiple choice/multiple answer question to check comprehension) and Convert a file (converts PDF, PowerPoint, and Word files to Ultra Documents).

Video: Create Document – Blackboard

‌Explore:

Ultra Good Summer Tip #5: Copy Content from Other Courses

In the Ultra Course View, you can copy content from other courses you teach. You can copy entire courses and/or select individual items from other courses you’re teaching or have taught in the past. You can also combine items from multiple courses with a full course copy or individual item copies by selecting the checkboxes. Try copying an item to your Ultra course!

Video: Copy Content in Blackboard

Explore:

Panopto in Ultra

You can now use Panopto content and folders with Ultra Course View! From the CIT Knowledge Base:

‌You can also Embed a Video into a Blackboard Ultra Course anywhere you have access to the text editor. Additionally, you can allow students to record videos by creating a video assignment in Blackboard Ultra or using assignment folders. Panopto’s complete guide is available here: How to Use Panopto with Blackboard Ultra for Instructors

Turnitin Now Available for Blackboard Ultra Assignments

Instructors can now enable the Turnitin Originality Report when creating or editing a Blackboard Ultra assignment, allowing student submissions to be matched against the Turnitin database. When grading assessments, the Turnitin Originality score will appear in the Assessment Content panel of a student submission.

‌From the CIT Knowledge Base:

‌Blackboard Help resources:


CIT Technology and Tool Highlights

‌Blackboard

‌Turnitin


Upcoming Learning Opportunities

Learn with us! CIT regularly hosts workshops and webinars on UA instructional technologies and technology accessibility. We are also pleased to offer individual consultations and group instruction by request.

‌09.10 | Getting Started with Panopto webinar

‌09.10 | People.ua.edu workshop

‌09.19 | Meet the New Blackboard: Blackboard Ultra webinar

‌Partner events include offerings from Blackboard (Ultra User Group), Panopto (Weekly Q&A, Basic Training Webinar), Respondus (Lockdown Browser, Respondus Monitor, Respondus 4 and the Test Bank Network), and more. You can find a complete list of CIT and partner offerings on the CIT website and UA Events Calendar.


Additional Faculty Development Resources at UA

Known Issue – Simple Syllabus Deadline Reminders

Update: The notifications error from Simple Syllabus is an issue within the syllabus management system. UA has reported this to the vendor, and  Simple Syllabus support is working on a resolution.


CIT has received reports that instructors and faculty received notifications about unpublished syllabi in error. We are looking into this issue and will keep you updated.

If you are having technical issues accessing or publishing your syllabus, please contact the Center for Instructional Technology for assistance.