Month: August 2016

Resolved: Cursor and screen jumps to the last question on test

This issue has been resolved. Please contact blackboard@uvm.edu if you experience further trouble.

Problem:  When composing and answering items on a test that is presented with questions all at once, the cursor and screen jump to the last question, on the bottom of the screen, while the user is only partially complete with the test.

Solution:  This is an identified bug in Bb.  While a patch is being evaluated, instructors can prevent this from happening to students by delivering a test one question at a time.  Students can alleviate some of the frustration by composing essay questions offline in a word or text processor and pasting into the text boxes of essay questions.

Resolved: Last Access, Retention Center, Performance Dashboard inaccuracies

This issue has been resolved, following a patch from Bb. Please contact blackboard@uvm.edu if you continue to have trouble with this feature.

Problem:  The “Last Access” column entries for some students are appearing blank or inaccurate in the Grade Center, Performance Dashboard, and Retention Center however those students have recorded activity in the course.

Solution:    We are working with Bb to find a solution to this problem as soon as possible, and have been told a patch is in development.  In the meantime, instructors can check student activity by using the course reports feature. This can be done by going to Control Panel -> Evaluation -> Course Reports, clicking on “Overall Summary of User Activity”, and selecting all students and a date range. There is a section of that which that shows a student’s access per day.

Group member lists not sorting on group set editing page

Problem:  When editing a group set, the list of students will not sort by last name (or other criteria) as expected.

Solution:  This is a defect, but Blackboard has not indicated a future release in which it may be fixed.  In the meantime, a workaround is to open the Grade Center in a separate tab or window, select the students in the Group Set using a smart view, and sort them as needed. In the other browser window, the group set can be managed normally.

Discussion forums display “Access Denied” when date restriction is set

Problem: Instructors attempting to access a discussion forum are prevented from entering, and an “Access Denied” error appears.  This happens when a date restriction is set on the forum, with the goal of making it unavailable to students.

Solution: Blackboard has identified this as a bug, and we are waiting on a solution.  There is no workaround for this, other than making the forum available temporarily while working on it.

Resolved: Publisher tools unavailable, displaying error

This issue has been resolved. Please contact blackboard@uvm.edu if you experience further trouble.

Problem: Publisher tools, such as Macmillan and WileyPlus, are currently experiencing issues which are causing them to be inaccessible.  We are working with Blackboard to find a solution to this issue, and hope to have this resolved shortly.