Bb Down - Jan. 21, 2005 - 12:30pm to 1:30pm
The Bb system crashed and was down from approximately 12:30pm to 1:30pm. The problem was resolved.
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The Bb system crashed and was down from approximately 12:30pm to 1:30pm. The problem was resolved.
Subject: Blackboard Assessments and Locks in Gradebook (Bb Recommendation)
The latest version of Blackboard that was installed on January 12, 2005 is suppose to help with performance issues related to Bb Assessments locking when students take a Bb created test.
Bb Recommendation
Bb made the following recommendation to help with the problem of "locks" occurring in the gradebook related to students taking Bb quizzes. The recommendation is to use the option to display the questions "One at a time" instead of the option "All at once." The "One at a time" option will display one question (one page), the student will answer, click submit, and answer the next question.
To Modify a Test to Display "One at a time:"
1. Click on Control Panel
2. Click on the area where the assessment is deployed
3. Click on Modify
4. Click on Modify Test Options
5. Toward the bottom of the screen (4. Test Presentation) there are two options: "One at a time" and "All at once" click on One at a time
6. Click on Submit
Subject: Powerpoint Issue related to Blackboard Update (January 2005)
Since the Blackboard system was updated on January 12, the following problem has been report:
PROBLEM:
Powerpoint Presentations will not open in Blackboard courses in some versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer. When the .ppt file is clicked on it appears that nothing is happening. When using Microsoft Internet Explorer and Blackboard the version of Microsoft Office Powerpoint has to be newer then version 2002 Service Pack 2. To see what version you are using you can open Powerpoint, click on Help, Click on About Microsoft Powerpoint.
SOLUTION:
The solution to the problem is to update Microsoft Office. To do the Microsoft update, do the following:
1. Open Microsoft Internet Explorer.
2. Go to the top menu bar and click on Tools > Windows Update.
3. Click on Office Family located on the menu bar just below Window Update at the top of the screen.
4. Go to top/center blue box labeled Office Update and click Check for Updates.
Follow the installation instructions.
Note: If you installed the Windows Service Pack 2 Update on your computer, you may need to do a right mouse to allow for pop ups to continue the installation.
Blackboard Downtime (Tuesday Jan 11 – 1pm and Wednesday Jan 12 – all day)
This is a reminder that the Bb system will be taken down Tuesday January 11 at 1pm and will be down until Wednesday, January 12 at midnight.
This downtime is to perform Operating System updates and to install updates to the Bb system.
Semester Reminders - 2005 Spring
Making your 2005Spring courses available
This is a reminder to make certain that you have made your Spring 2005 course "Available" in the Blackboard system when you are ready for your students to see the course. All courses are initially set to be "Unavailable" when you first create them. Courses that are "Unavailable" are not visible to the students in the course. To set your course to be available to students, please do the following:
1. From the Control Panel of the Course, choose Settings.
2. From Settings, choose Course Availability.
3. Set the course to be Available and Submit.
Combining course rosters for multiple sections or cross-listed courses
If you are teaching multiple sections of a course or a course is cross-listed and you would like to have the enrollments for all of the sections combined into a single Blackboard course, please submit an online help desk ticket at http://www.at.vcu.edu/helpdesk/. In the email, please tell us the name of the course that you have created in Blackboard and the specific course sections that you would like to have directed into that course. For example:
"Please combine sections 001, 002, 003 and 004 of PSYC-101 into the Blackboard course PSYC-101-001-2005Spring."
Or
“Please Combine WMNS-101-001-2004Fall into the Blackboard course PSYC-101-001-2005Spring”
It usually takes a business day for the roster to update after you have made your request for combined sections or cross-listing, and after you have created the course in Blackboard.
We will set 2004 Fall courses to Unavailable status the week of January 24
Please be aware that we will set all Fall 2004 courses to an "Unavailable" status. This is done so that the Fall 2004 courses will no longer be available to students. The courses will continue to be accessible to instructors. If you wish to ensure that your Fall 2004 course remains available to students, you may send email to sdchandl@vcu.edu prior to January 24 with the courseid (e.g. PSYC-101-001-2004Fall). This will ensure that the availability of your course is not modified.
If you have any questions concerning any of these issues, please submit an online help desk ticket at http://www.at.vcu.edu/helpdesk/.
Thank you,
Blackboard Team