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Instructional Technology News – September 29, 2022

Hello from your colleagues in CIT! We hope that your semester is going well. Below you’ll find resources to help with your midterm grading, as well as announcements and workshops. If you need help with instructional technology, please contact cit@ua.edu. For IT-related needs, email itsd@ua.edu.  

Midterm grades due Wednesday, Oct 5 at 11:59 PM  

Midterm grades are required for 100- and 200- level courses. For more information, visit Grade Reporting – Registrar’s Office. If there are discrepancies between course rosters in myBama and in Blackboard Learn, contact cit@ua.edu. 

Grade Center Assistance 

Test and Exam Assistance 

Blackboard Instructor App Support ends September 30, 2022 

Blackboard instructor and student mobile functions in a single app: Download the unified Blackboard app now.

Explore Blackboard Ultra  

Learn about UA’s Ultra pilot and request a practice course: Ultra Course Pilot Information.

CIT-sponsored Workshops 

More Tech Events across UA   

  • UA Online presents Improving the Accessibility of Your Blackboard Course, 10/6, 10:00 am – Details and registration.   
  • UA Libraries present Open Access Week events, 10/24-10/25 – Event program  
  • OIT presents Live Cybersecurity Awareness Trainings, offered throughout October – Registration through UA LMS. This session is also an alternate form for the UA compliance eLearning assignment, and it will satisfy the 2022 cybersecurity training requirement for UA faculty and staff. 

 

Known Issue – Respondus Lockdown Browser on iPad

We are aware of an issue with students using the Respondus Lockdown Browser app on an iPad. Students may receive an error message, in Blackboard, that says

“Either you are not logged in or you do not have the appropriate privileges to perform this action. You may have access to other parts of the course.”

While we are working on a resolution for this issue, there are a couple workarounds:

  • You may need to disable Private Address for eduroam on your device. Visit this guide for more information: Turn Private Address off or on for a network
  • If you are unable to take the test with Respondus Lockdown Browser using the eduroam wireless network, connect to an alternate internet connection.
  • If you are unable to take the test with Respondus Lockdown Browser using the eduroam wireless network on the UA campus, register your mobile device to use UA-WPA-PSK as an alternate wireless network. Visit this article for more information: Housing Internet – UA-WPA-PSK

Known Issue – Respondus Lockdown Browser error on Mac

Students may encounter an error on a Mac computer regarding the “SSInvitationAgent”. The error message prompts users to go into their Sharing settings to uncheck boxes. This action may not resolve the issue.

Respondus Support posted alternative steps to resolve the SSInvitationAgent error. We have tested the linked steps and it resolved the issue.  Respondus Support – Close SSInvitationAgent on a Mac

Known Issue – Turnitin PeerMark issue for students

Turnitin engineers are aware of an issue where students are not able to access all the peer reviews they received from their assignment inbox. Turnitin will launch either the first peer review or self-review only. As a workaround, please launch the first peer review from the assignment inbox and use the navigation arrows at the top right to toggle between your peer reviews.

Please contact the Center for Instructional Technology if this does not resolve the issue or if the student is facing a different one.

Instructional Technology News – September 8, 2022

September 8 – Instructional Technology Update 

Hello, colleagues! Below you’ll find instructional technology reminders, resources, and learning opportunities that we hope will help you and your students. As always, please request instructional technology help at cit@ua.edu. For IT-related needs, email itsd@ua.edu.  

Respondus Lockdown Browser  

Respondus Lockdown Browser locks down a testing environment within Blackboard Learn. Students taking exams that require Lockdown Browser will not be able to access any other browser functions or applications on the computer being used until the exam is complete.  

Respondus Test Management 

Respondus 4.0 test management software is now located in the OIT software catalog. If instructors need the updated password, visit the Respondus campus-wide software page and click “Download Respondus”. Use. your myBama username & password to access the download files and installation instructions. 

Blackboard Learn Reminders and Resources 

  • Join Blackboard leaders as they provide an update on the Blackboard Learn Roadmap – September 12th, 1:00 pm – Original Roadmap  
  • Blackboard Ultra Office Hours – Join a Blackboard product management expert for an informal session of Q&A or feature demonstrations. – September 9th, 9:00 am; September 23rd, 1:00 pm – Ultra-Office Hours 
  • Anthology, makers of Blackboard, Collaborate, and Ally, are hosting their 5th Digital Teaching Symposium,  on November 10th, 2022. Past events have offered great resources, ideas, and presentations from peers across the globe! All Faculty, Instructors, Teaching Assistants as well as Instructional Designers, Academic Technologists, and Faculty Development staff are invited to submit proposals regarding a topic or best practice to share with others. Submissions will close Monday, September 12th at 5:00pm ET/4:00pm Central.  
  • Blackboard Instructor app support ended, download the Blackboard app – https://cit.ua.edu/blackboard-instructor-app-support-ending/. 
  • Instructors may now explore Blackboard Learn Ultra Course View. Learn more and apply to participate in the pilot: Blackboard Learn Ultra Course Pilot. 

Turnitin Reminders 

  • Creating Turnitin assignments in Blackboard Learn is now under “Build Content” and no longer under “Assessments.”  
  • PeerMark assignments no longer automatically generate or populate Blackboard grade center columns.  
  • Resources about 2022 Turnitin changes. 

Panopto Support 

Panopto offers 24/7 support for UA instructors and students. Contact Panopto directly at support@panopto.com or 855-765-2341. Answers to frequently asked questions are available on the Panopto Support website.  

Learning Opportunities from OIT 

  • Creating an Online Portfolio with Adobe – Tuesday, 9.13.2022, 1:00 – 3:00pm  Join OIT for a special in-person Adobe Portfolio session as part 2022 Adobe Celebration Week, Sept. 12-16. Adobe Portfolio is available to all UA students, faculty and staff. Portfolio enables students to build a website and showcase their work. No web design knowledge required!  
  • AI with MATLAB Seminar – Wednesday, 9.21.2022, 1:00 – 3:00pm – Join MathWorks to learn more about AI and machine learning capabilities in MATLAB! Where: Room 2006, North Lawn When: September 21, 2022 from 1-3pm. Please register here. 

Please let us help! 

We’re here to help. Reach us at cit@ua.edu or 205-348-3532. Join us at an upcoming webinar or schedule a consultation with us.  

The Center for Instructional Technology exists to help with your instructional technology and accessibility needs. We provide training, support, workshops, and consultations for UA’s instructional technologies which include Blackboard Learn, Blackboard Collaborate Ultra, Flip (formerly Flipgrid), Gradescope, Hypothesis, Panopto, People.ua.edu websites, Respondus, Turnitin, PointSolutions responseware (formerly Turning Tech TurningPoint clickers) and Zoom.  

CIT and our vendor partners regularly host workshops and webinars on UA’s instructional technologies and technology accessibility. Explore offerings on the UA Events Calendar, and build an event digest email to receive notice of upcoming events (Department > Center for Instructional Technology).  

Learn more about each of these technologies on our website. Want more updates from us? Subscribe to our news updates! 

Classroom Support 

Most classrooms across campus are supported by OIT’s Audio Visual Solutions (AVS) team. Use the classroom help phone (Dial 2) to reach the AVS help desk for immediate help with classroom technology. You can also contact AVS at 205-348-3453 or email avsolutions@ua.edu. 

Support for Information Technology needs 

Visit oit.ua.edu for more information about IT services including email, internet, account access, and more. You can also reach us at the IT Service Desk itservicedesk@ua.edu or 205-348-5555.  

About the Blackboard Instructors listserv 

OIT uses this list to communicate essential information about instructional technology updates and resources. All members of the UA community who are currently instructors in Banner or Blackboard Learn are subscribed to the listserv. Messages are sent at the most weekly unless a service interruption or ongoing issue merits more frequent communications. 

Troubleshooting Respondus Lockdown Browser for Students

Troubleshooting for “You have not logged in yet or your session expired,” or other connectivity and IP address error messages:

“Forget” non-Eduroam networks

How to forget a Wi-Fi network on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Mac
How to forget a Wi-Fi network on your Windows 10 PC

Disable MAC Randomization in Windows

Some versions of Windows have a feature that randomizes the MAC address for different WiFi connections. When using Respondus Lockdown Browser, disable this feature to avoid filling multiple device slots on your account. If you do not see the option for ‘use random MAC address’ it is likely that your version of Windows does not have this feature.

  • Select the ‘Start’ button in the bottom left corner of the screen
  • Select the gear icon to go to ‘Settings’
  • Select ‘Network and Internet’
  • Select ‘Wifi’
  • Set ‘Use random hardware addresses’ to ‘Off’

Most issues with Lockdown Browser are related to connectivity or firewall settings. To minimize issues, students should use a hard wired Ethernet connection when possible, or be as close to the router or access point as possible. We also recommend restarting the computer and shutting down all other programs running on the computer. Also shut down anything else running on the network, such as gaming consoles or video streaming services. It may also help to restart the modem/router.

Other Common Issues:

Cannot Detect or Configure Webcam
Spinning Wheel During Webcam Check
Video Connection Timed-Out Error
Update Check Failed: Error Code a4
Unable to connect to Respondus Server (AWS)
Respondus Support

Many library computers are equipped with Respondus LockDown Browser and web cameras. Students may use an available library computer or reserve an appropriate computer through the UA Libraries website.

Resolved – Blackboard unavailable

Update: @12:42 PM: Blackboard is now available. If you experience any issues accessing Blackboard, please submit a request with the Center for Instructional Technology.

We will post any new information when we receive it.

Blackboard is experiencing unplanned downtime. We are working with Blackboard Support to resolve this issue and we will update this post with any new information.

Resolved – Panopto Errors

Update September 7, 2022 @ 4:04 PM: Panopto Support resolved the issue. Users should no longer receive error messages while recording/viewing content.

Panopto Support is aware of an issue that is impacting Panopto recorder webcasts on roughly half of all customer sites. Customer webcasts using a Panopto recorder may fail to start or fail to continue streaming. However, all Panopto experiences may encounter errors.

Panopto is working on a resolution to this issue. We will update this post with any new information.

2022 Adobe Celebration Week – Sept. 12-16

Join OIT for a kick-off event on the Quad Sept. 12 from 12:00 – 4:00 pm as part of the 2022 Adobe Celebration Week, Sept. 12-16. All week we’ll feature guest presenters and host workshops focused around the Adobe Creative Cloud Tools.

During the 2022 Adobe Celebration Week, we’ll dive into new Adobe offerings that utilize some of the most exciting trends in emerging technology: interactive design, on-the-go video storytelling, and more. As a reminder, Adobe Creative Cloud is available to all UA students, faculty and staff. This event is designed to spur creativity and encourage the use of Adobe Creative Cloud software across campus. We hope you’ll join us!

See a full list of the 2022 Adobe Celebration Week events and virtual workshops!

Adobe Celebration Week September 12 through September 16, 2022