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Instructional Technology News – July 7, 2022

Hello instructors,

I hope you’re enjoying the summer! This is Melissa from The Center for Instructional Technology with some instructional technology news and tips. There is much to share this time, and I encourage you to visit the links to learn more.

Blackboard Learn

Anthology Completes Merger with Blackboard, No Changes for UA Users

Blackboard’s parent company has merged with another edtech company, Anthology. The newly merged organization will be called Anthology with the Blackboard name continuing as part of its portfolio. There are no anticipated changes for UA users. More from Anthology: Anthology Completes Merger with Blackboard, Launches Next Chapter in EdTech

Blackboard Term Duration & Course Availability Update

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?

Blackboard Learn Ultra Course View Update – Fall 2022 live course pilot

UA instructors now have the opportunity to explore Blackboard Learn Ultra Course View. Ultra Course View offers a simple, modern, intuitive, and consistent interface across devices and a simpler, more streamlined experience for instructors and students. Learn more about Ultra Course View and apply to participate in UA’s Ultra Course View pilot: Blackboard Learn Ultra Course Pilot

CIT began piloting practice or developmental Ultra Course View courses in Spring 2022 and invites instructors to begin exploring by requesting an Ultra Course View practice course: Blackboard Learn Ultra Course Request

During the Fall 2022 semester, we hope to pilot 20 live course sections using Ultra Course View. Instructors interested in teaching with Ultra Course View this Fall should submit a request via the CIT portal: Blackboard Learn Ultra LIVE Course Pilot Request. CIT will help you determine whether your course meets participation requirements. Any course offered though UA Online (part of a fully online program offered through the College of Continuing Studies) is not eligible for the live course pilot.

Following the pilot period, instructors will be able to choose whether to use Original Course View or Ultra Course View for live courses. Pilot feedback will inform the timeline, along with feature and third-party tool availability.

Flip

Flipgrid is now Flip! Flip is the same product but with a new name and a new look. CIT resources will be updated with the new name. More from Flip: Learn about Flip

Turnitin

Known Issue: Turnitin Max Points must be greater than zero

Turnitin assignments must have at least one point assigned for Max Points during set up. 0/0, or any score out of 0 points, will continue to display as Needs Grading in the Blackboard grade center. Other errors may occur when the Turnitin assignment grade appears in the Blackboard grade center, including inaccurate scores.

Turnitin Scheduled Maintenance – July 8

Turnitin will have a scheduled system maintenance July 8, 2022 from 6:00 p.m. – 2:00 a.m. (July 9) CDT. Due to the maintenance, Turnitin will be unavailable between those times.

More news from CIT and OIT

We’re here to help

As you can see, a lot is happening this summer to improve and enhance your instructional technology experience. As you begin to prepare for fall, please remember that 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.

Turnitin Scheduled Maintenance – July 8

Turnitin will have a scheduled system maintenance July 8, 2022 from 6:00 p.m. – 2:00 a.m. (July 9) CDT. Due to the maintenance, Turnitin will be unavailable between those times.

Real-time information about Turnitin status, as well as updates about scheduled maintenance and past incidents, is available on the Turnitin status page.

Blackboard Learn Ultra Course View Update – Fall 2022 live course pilot

UA instructors now have the opportunity to explore Blackboard Learn Ultra Course View. Ultra Course View offers a simple, modern, intuitive, and consistent interface across devices and a simpler, more streamlined experience for instructors and students. Learn more about Ultra Course View and apply to participate in UA’s Ultra Course View pilot: Blackboard Learn Ultra Course Pilot

CIT began piloting practice or developmental Ultra Course View courses in Spring 2022 and invites instructors to begin exploring by requesting an Ultra Course View practice course: Blackboard Learn Ultra Course Request

During the Fall 2022 semester, we hope to pilot 20 live course sections using Ultra Course View. Instructors interested in teaching with Ultra Course View this Fall should submit a request via the CIT portal: Blackboard Learn Ultra LIVE Course Pilot Request. CIT will help you determine whether your course meets participation requirements. Any course offered though UA Online (part of a fully online program offered through the College of Continuing Studies) is not eligible for the live course pilot.

Following the pilot period, instructors will be able to choose whether to use Original Course View or Ultra Course View for live courses. Pilot feedback will inform the timeline, along with feature and third-party tool availability.

Updates from the Gradescope Team

An update from our vendor partners at Gradescope:

August Workshop Series

The workshop series is back! The Gradescope Team is hosting a series of back-to-school workshops during the first two weeks of August. All faculty are welcome, so please share this invitation (which includes the link to the registration page) before the series begins on August 2nd. We will send a reminder email about this series in July.

Product Updates

Check out some new and exciting Gradescope product updates, such as:

  • The Gradescope Student Mobile App is now live for U.S. iPhone and Android app stores. It will be available in Canada in July. The mobile app streamlines the process for students to upload handwritten work by cutting out third party apps and protects student privacy by keeping all work in Gradescope.
  • Online Assignment Randomization helps instructors protect the integrity of online assignments by randomizing the order of questions and/or answer choices.
  • Rubrics Before Submission helps instructors get a head start on grading by creating rubrics before students submit their assignments. This feature also creates a standardized grading rubric for classes with multiple graders.
  • Gradescope Knowledge Bot (Coming Soon) will allow you to search our Help Center and easily access resources within the Gradescope interface! Soon, all instructors using Gradescope will see an icon in the bottom right of their screen. Clicking this icon will show (1) a list of curated help resources and (2) an easy way to search our Help Center.

User Community Spotlight

We want to highlight some amazing Gradescope resources created by our partner institutions!

  • Check out UNC Chapel Hill’s comprehensive resource page with FAQ and user feedback
  • Learn about the transition to Gradescope bubble sheets at UT Austin with this step by step guide
  • Watch the User Summit recordings to hear fellow Gradescope users share their innovative teaching methods and approach to building better assessments

“I started using Gradescope a couple of years ago in my smaller classes to grade short answer/essay questions on paper exams. Now I use it in all classes, small and large, for almost all assignments. It’s easy for the students to submit to and makes grading easy & fast. My IAs have been able to grade 60 papers in a fraction of the time that it used to take on [LMS] and they’re really happy with it. It also makes just-in-time teaching far more reasonable in my small classes that have all open-ended assignments.” – Instructor at UNC Chapel Hill

Community Spotlight @ EDUCAUSE 2022

Do you love talking about Gradescope and sharing all the benefits with fellow instructors? If so we are looking for interested users to do just this at the 2022 EDUCAUSE Annual Conference. These will be “relaxed” sessions held throughout the week at our exhibit space so you must be planning on attending in person in Denver.

Known Issue: Turnitin Max Points must be greater than zero

Turnitin assignments must have at least one point assigned for Max Points during set up. 0/0, or any score out of 0 points, will continue to display as Needs Grading in the Blackboard grade center. Other errors may occur when the Turnitin assignment grade appears in the Blackboard grade center, including inaccurate scores.

Blackboard Term Duration & Course Availability Update

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?

Blackboard Learn Service Interruption

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.