Blackboard assignment wait time message issue

Students and instructors may see a Download message saying “This file is being converted. The estimated wait time is __ seconds”, but the file does not show in the assignment window in the estimated time. The current work around is to refresh the browser so that the assignment will appear in the window. Blackboard support is working on this issue.

OIRA syllabus link tool error

Some instructors see an “Access Denied” error message when setting up the OIRA Syllabus Link tool in a Blackboard course. The workaround is to click “OK” on the error page, then click “Cancel” when the OIRA Syllabus Link tool reappears.  The link will be created at this point. This is most likely to happen for courses copied from courses in a previous semester that used the OIRA Syllabus Link.

Blackboard times out

The Blackboard system time out period for no activity is 3 hours. Some users experienced a Blackboard time out prior to the 3 hour limit. The recommended practice is to close the myBama tab or window after going to Blackboard from myBama. This will prevent a myBama time out from impacting Blackboard use.

Blackboard course menu disappears

We have heard of sporadic cases of students and faculty who open a Blackboard course and do not see the menu on the left side of the course. This appears to be related to opening Blackboard in a browser that has been sized under 1000 pixels which includes using a browser on a cell phone.  Clearing the browser cache or using a different browser will cause the menu to reappear. Students should use the Blackboard app instead of a browser on a cell phone to open Blackboard.

Observer access to a Blackboard course

The option to select not to allow observers for a Blackboard course changes to yes. The work around is to put items that observers should not view into content areas and to select “deny observers” for those content areas in the course menu.