- Internet Explorer 8, 9 and Blackboard – Internet Explorer 8 and 9, when used with Blackboard, have some compatibility issues which are listed below. As a workaround, “Compatibility View” in IE8 or 9 can be used, which is under the Tools menu (Compatibility Mode). The website linked here has instructions on how to add a website to always be viewed in Compatibility Mode. If you go to that link, you must click on "Compatibility View" on the left vertical menu. The recommended workaround is to download and use Mozilla Firefox as your web browser for working in Blackboard.
- A security warning may appear when logging into Blackboard. This warning will say “Do you want to display only the webpage content that was delivered securely?” This error may also occur when accessing the Grade Center for Instructors.
- Students may experience an elongated timer that may cover the Save and Submit buttons. This will only be evident with certain exams in which the timer feature has been enabled.
- Students may receive an error saying “Please enter a valid file” while trying to upload a file using the assignment submission tool.
- Instructors attempting to upload a Grade Center file may receive “Please enter a valid file.”
- If using IE9, students will be unable to attach multiple files to an assignment upload area.
- ATTACHMENTS NOT OPENING WITH IE – There is a known issue between Blackboard 9, Internet Explorer and Microsoft Office files (.doc, .docx, etc.) that results in users not being able to click to open attachments in Blackboard. This impacts file attachments to content areas, files attached to the grade center, files attached to the discussion board, etc for both students and instructors. Click the link above for work around options.
- Blank White Screen After Closing Documents and/or External Websites - After opening and closing a document or external website linked in Blackboard, if there is a blank white screen and/or the course menu is gone, you must use the breadcrumb trail at the top of your course area. If you click on the course title, it will bring you back to the course entry page for your course, which is generally set to the announcements page, and the course menu is back.
- Course Duration Dates - Within course properties, you have the option to set the course duration in section 3. For now, this SHOULD NOT be utilized. Do not set start and end dates. Leave this option set to 'Continuous' and set course availability to 'Yes' at the start of the semester and 'No' at the end.
- Due Dates and Notifications -Students have the capablility to set blackboard to receive email notifications for a variety of things...past due notices are one thing. Instructors can also utilize module pages in their course(s) and add modules with past due notifications for students. If you create a grade column in the Grade Center, when you apply the due date to that column it doesn't let you apply a time. Blackboard automatically identifies the time as 12:00 AM, and Blackboard also identifies an assignment as late until you input the grade. If a student enables this notification or if you are using a module page with a due date module, students will have that assignment identified as past due at 12:00 AM of the day it is due.
- Grade Center Scroll Bar Missing in IE – When using Internet Explorer the Grade Center may not display correctly. The solution is to turn on Compatibility Mode in IE8. Under the Tools menu enable Compatibility Mode. The website linked here has instructions on how to add a website to always be viewed in Compatibility Mode. If you go to that link, you must click on "Compatibility View" on the left vertical menu.
- Setting Display or Due Dates and/or Times for Items - When setting these dates or times, use the calendar or clock icons to select the date and time. Don't type the date or time into the text boxes. If you type it in directly, it may not apply the date and time restrictions correctly.
- Course Menu Problems - If your course menu completely disappears, you may have simply hidden the menu. Look for a right arrow
on the left of your Blackboard window. Click it to display the course menu and click it again to hide it. If you or your students find that course menu items seem to disappear and reappear, you can try refreshing the menu or switching to folder view. Click on "Course Menu Problems" link above for assistance. - DO NOT Copy and Paste from Word Files into Blackboard - This has always been a problem, even with previous versions of Blackboard. The issue is more prevalent when copying and pasting from Office 2007 and 2010 programs like Word. There is a lot of background "code" that is copied from a Word 2007 file that when pasted into any web-based application, like Blackboard, it can cause many, many problems. It can cause issues that you never would have thought would be related to that. Follow the instructions below to copy and paste your text without copying over the code. (This is even better than saving your Word file as a text file. Even when you save it as a text file you still bring some coding over with it, and this will also give you a second file on your computer which could get confusing. The method below is better.)
1. Copy the text in Word that you want in Blackboard.
2. Open Notepad. (Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> Notepad)
3. Paste into Notepad. (Don't worry about what it looks like.)
4. Click on Edit and then Select All (In Notepad).
5. Click on Edit and then Copy (In Notepad).
6. Go to your course in Blackboard where you want the text and paste.
7. Format the text as needed within Blackboard. - Invalid HTML Warning in Course or Problems Formatting Text - There is an html validation button that when clicked will remove that warning and will sometimes help if you are having trouble formatting text when creating items in your course. The link above will take you to a handout concerning this.
- Entering Feedback on Assignments for Students - There is more than one location in which you can enter feedback for a student on a particular assignment, and it doesn't always display for students the way one would think. When entering feedback in the Grade Center for assignments set-up using the Assignment tool or for tests set-up in Blackboard, the best way to input feedback is through Overide in the Grade Details window. If you use feedback in the Edit area or through 'Open Attempt', students will have to click on their grade for a particular assignment in the student grades area to see the feedback.
*If you hover over a cell within the grade center, a double down arrow will display. When you click on that double down arrow this menu displays with the 'View Grade Details' option. (See figure above.)If you enter feedback for a column you created in the grade center or in a column created when you enabled 'Grade Forum' for a discussion board forum grade, you can use either Edit or Override within the 'View Grade Details' window. The comments display correctly.
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