Panopto will be unavailable on Wednesday, June 19, 2024 from 3:30 AM CT – 6:30 AM CT for a scheduled maintenance. Panopto is our supported lecture capture and course videos system. This maintenance will not affect other instructional technologies during this time.
We will update this post with any information regarding the maintenance window and its progress.
Gradescope will undergo a scheduled maintenance on Saturday, June 29, 2024 from 8:00 AM – 10:00 AM. During this time, all features of Gradescope will not be accessible.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Center for Instructional Technology.
Panopto discovered an issue with video playback statistics beginning on May 30th and 31st.
What is the issue?
Video playback statistics for the minutes delivered are not recorded if the browser tab loses focus of the window containing the viewer [user switches tabs or rearranges windows in a way that hides the browser window containing the viewer]. Even if the viewer is only hidden for a brief period of time, playback statistics will no longer be recorded for that user’s view of the video unless the video is refreshed by reloading the page.
A view will still be recorded in this scenario but the playback minutes are not. Unfortunately, all affected viewing data will be lost.
When will this issue be resolved?
Panopto is releasing a hotfix to address this issue at the end of business hours on June 6, 2024.
Starting July 1, 2024, the Flip platform will no longer be available in mobile app stores, and the Flip website (Flip.com) will transition to view-only mode. Users will still have access to download existing Flip videos until September 30, 2024.
CIT is currently assessing how these modifications will impact UA instructors. Additionally, they are exploring alternative tools that can offer instructors similar functionality to what Flip provided.
If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to reach out at cit@ua.edu.
Turnitin is experiencing a service incident. Users may experience slowness when uploading submissions, and there may be a delay in Similarity report generation.
Turnitin Support is working to identify the issue and a resolution. We will update this post with any new information.
We have received reports of issues accessing Simple Syllabus through the Google Chrome browser. Users may receive an error message that says “Checking proxy and firewall” or ” This site can’t be reached.”
Solution: Update your Google Chrome browser to the latest version. Visit Google’s help site for instructions to update your browser.
Hypothesis will be unavailable through Blackboard on Saturday, May 25, 2024 from 2:01am – 10:00am. Hypothesis will be enhancing their systems with a scheduled maintenance.
We will send out another reminder closer to this date. If you have any questions, please contact CIT for more information.
Please plan to join us on May 13 – 17, 2024 as we celebrate advancements in accessibility at UA! Let’s build knowledge, skills, and community together. Visit accessibility.ua.edu/GAAD for more details about the week’s activities and to register for an accessibility learning session. Thank you for being an ally; your dedication makes UA better for all!
Academic courses in Blackboard Learn are subject to removal two (2) years following the end of the semester in which they are taught per UA’s LMS Course Retention Policy. For example, courses taught in Spring 2023 will be removed after May 2025. Fall 2022 and prior courses are being removed in May 2024. Non-academic courses, referred to as non-integrated courses, are subject to removal following two (2) years of inactivity.
Instructors should save any needed course content or student grades. Students should save any necessary coursework as well. Steps to save content are linked below.
More information on the policy and instructions for backing up Blackboard content are available in the LMS Course Retention Policy FAQ.
The current Eduroam certificate expires on Thursday, May 2, and must be replaced. If your computer prompts you to accept a new Eduroam certificate on Thursday, please accept/trust the new certification to continue an uninterrupted Wi-Fi experience.
For more information and assistance, please contact UA’s IT Service Desk.
All Blackboard courses will be designed and delivered in Blackboard Learn Ultra Course View (“Ultra”) by Spring 2026, and instructors of non-OTIDE courses can teach with Ultra now. Ultra boasts a simple, modern, intuitive, and consistent interface across devices and a more streamlined experience for instructors and students. Learn more about Ultra on the CIT site and by exploring Blackboard Ultra for Instructors and Blackboard Ultra for Students in the Instructional Technology Knowledge Base.
Summer is a great time to explore Ultra or prepare to teach with Ultra in the fall! Request a live course or request a practice course if you need a space to build or play, and follow along in our Ultra Team as we share tips, tricks, and things to try in Ultra this summer. We’ll invite you to the Team when we create your course.
Anonymous posts for Discussions
Discussions play a pivotal role in nurturing peer-to-peer interaction and critical thinking. Instructors can now make Ultra discussion posts anonymous to help students feel more free to share their thoughts without judgment. You can turn anonymous posts on and off, and any posts made while anonymous keep their anonymity. You can’t grade anonymous discussions. Try it out — select the Discussion Settings button to begin!
Ultra Accessible
In celebration of Global Accessibility Awareness Week, explore Ultra features you can use to make course content more accessible and usable for all: the Ultra Accessibility Checker and Ally. Both automatically scan your original content, identify accessibility issues, and offer explanations so you can make your content more accessible. Ally also generates alternative formats for students to download so they can access the information they need in the way they need or want it.
Learn how Ally can help faculty and students in the short video below:
Introducing Anthology Ally for LMS
The Anthology Ally team is also joining the celebration! Register for their free Accessibility and Inclusivity in Technology webinar (5/14) and check out their upcoming Accessibility Fundamentals course (coming soon): Anthology Ally – Global Accessibility Awareness Month.
CIT will update the Panopto integration the week of May 14, adding the ability to use content and folders with Ultra. We’ll share more information after the update, but, for now, you can see a preview here: How to Add Panopto to Your Blackboard Ultra Course
Turnitin
Turnitin plays a pivotal role in preventing plagiarism. It compares student-submitted work against various sources, including student papers, web content, and academic journals. Upon submission, Turnitin generates a detailed report highlighting text matches and relevant data. Instructors benefit from grading tools like rubrics, voice comments, and mobile grading. Grades entered in Turnitin automatically reflect in the Blackboard grade center, and it also facilitates peer reviews among students. Overall, Turnitin enhances academic integrity and streamlines the grading process for educators.
New to one of our instructional tech tools? We would love to guide you step-by-step or provide tips and ideas for using technology in your class. Just let us know how we can help!
05.02 | Teaching with Gradescope: Gradescope Basics webinar
05.02 | Build a digital portfolio and personal website
05.02 | Teaching with Turnitin: Understanding Similarity Reports and Scores webinar
05.03 | Teaching with Blackboard: Using Groups in Learn Original webinar
05.06 | Live Polling with Microsoft
05.07 | People.ua.edu Workshop
05.21 | Introduction to Panopto
05.22 | Simple Syllabus Information Session
05.23 | Meet the new Blackboard: Blackboard Learn Ultra Demo and Info Session webinar
As always, we are available Monday-Friday, 8:00 AM – 4:45 PM to help you. We look forward to working with you soon.
Email – cit@ua.edu | Phone – 205-348-3532 | Website and Knowledge Base
The current Eduroam certificate expires on Thursday, May 2, and must be replaced. If your computer prompts you to accept a new Eduroam certificate on Thursday, please accept/trust the new certification to continue an uninterrupted Wi-Fi experience.
For more information and assistance, please contact UA’s IT Service Desk.
Resolved April 23, 2024 at 2:37 PM CT.
The Similarity Report service has been restored.
The incident occurred between the following times:
Central Time: April 21, 12:20 AM – April 23, 1:45 PM
Turnitin experienced a service incident around 1:00 AM on April 22, 2024. Turnitin Support has put in a fix and they are monitoring the results.
There may be delays in Similarity report generation while they work through a backlog caused by the incident.
