Blackboard 9 Issues: Tips and Work Arounds

As we run into issues with Blackboard that might cause problems for instructor or students, those items will be noted here. If at all possible a work around or tip will be provided as well. This posting will be updated continually with issues being removed, expanded upon, or added. (Click on the images below to see a larger, clearer image. Use your web browser's back button to go back to this posting after you are finished viewing it.)

• 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.
  

Getting Started: Summer 2010 Courses and Blackboard 9

May 24th begins our Summer schedule of courses at Southside. The enrollment process to place students into their Blackboard course areas will begin on Friday, May 21st. This will be done for all online, hybrid, and seated courses.

There are a few things that should be checked as you prepare to start this new session.

1. Course Copy: If you still need to copy content from a previous course into your current course(s), here are instructions on how to do so. Please read carefully!! Remember that a course copy can take up to 24 hours or more to complete. DO NOT run a course copy a second time, you could end up with double content...this cannot be undone. Submit an IssueTrak ticket after 24 hours if you still have not received an email stating that the process has been completed. I can submit a request to the VCCS to check their logs. Click here for Course Copy Instructions (Read these instructions carefully!!)
   
   
2. Course Check: Did you check all content, assignments, and tests after the upgrade to Blackboard 9?
   
   
3. Duplicate Menu Buttons: Check your course menu, do you have duplicate buttons? When you copied over course content into your new course, you may have copied buttons that you didn't need. You need to either delete or hide those to clean up your course menu. For example: You should have a "Student Help" button, not "Help?". Delete "Help?" if you see this in your course menu. Click here for Organizing the Course Menu Instructions (Warning if you course copied Instructor Resources or Student Help, you probably duplicated the content within those areas. Those areas are automatically created for all courses in the template. You don't need to include them in the course copy. Check the Student help button. You should see 4 folders. If you see duplicate folders, please get rid of them.)
   
   
4. Invalid HTML Message in Blackboard 9: When you checked your course after the upgrade, within editing mode, you may have had some content items displaying an "Invalid HTML" message. You can use these instructions to remove that message. Click here for Invalid HTML Message: Removal Instructions
   
   
5. SafeAssignment Evaluation Option Missing: If you utilize Safeassign within Blackboard, the upgrade seems to have caused some courses to make that tool unavailable. Luckily it is an easy fix. These instructions will walk you through that. Click here for SafeAssignment Tool Availability Instructions
   
   
6. Course Availability: If your course is part of the first five-week session or the ten-week session, you need to make your course available by the morning of May 24th. Double check the status of your course within Blackboard and make any necessary modifications. Click here for Changing Course Availability Instructions (If your content is not quite ready to go on the 24th, either make your course available and post a welcome announcement with information for your students, or send an email to your students stating when they can expect access. Students become very concerned if they can not access their courses on time. Making your course available and posting the announcement is preferred...not all students check their email account. )
   
   
7. Enroll Yourself As A Student: Did you enroll your student account in your courses to check them out as a student sees them? I recommend that you do this, and take a close look at the student grades area. You might be surprised at what students see. Click here for Instructions
   
   
8. Grade Center: Remember that your grade center area will need to be either set-up or cleaned-up. If you course copy, you will need to go through your grade center and clean it up. Check your categories (they duplicate every time you course copy) and remove categories that you aren't using other than the default categories that can't be removed. (Click on Manage and then Categories within the Grade Center.) Double check assigned column categories and points possible by going to Manage and then Column Organization. Remove columns that you are not using. Look at "Student's Grades" when you are enrolled as a student. Are there any problems or columns that you don't want them to see? (There will be a grade center training in June to help with this.)
   

Create SafeAssignment Not Showing on Evaluation Drop-Down Menu

If you are utilizing SafeAssign with your students, when we converted to Blackboard 9, it seems that the tool defaulted to unavailable in some of our courses.

To add a SafeAssign assignment, within a content area you would go to the Evaluation menu at the top of the content area and select "Create SafeAssignment". If you don't see this option, then you are a SafeAssign victim of our upgrade. : ) Luckily this is easy to correct.

Step 1
Go to "Customization" on the Control Panel and click on "Tool Availability".

Step 2
Scroll down through the list of tools and click in the box beside "Safeassign" and Safeassignment. Each only have one box to check.

Step 3
Click "Submit".

Now you should have the "Create SafeAssignment" option on the Evaluation drop-down menu.

Want to view your Blackboard course as a student?

If you are teaching an online course, it can be beneficial to see the course from a student's perspective. All VCCS faculty and most staff have a student account based on his or her current user id and password. These accounts have been in place for a few semesters now. Unless you are new to Southside, this isn't anything new, but the instructions on how to enroll your student account in your course are a little different now that we are in Blackboard 9.

You can and should use your student user id to enroll yourself in your course as a student, and view the course as your students see it. I especially encourage you to view the student grades area, you might be surprised at what you see and how it is displayed.

Here is the formula for your student user id...add " _student" to your current user id (minus the quotation marks of course), and your password will stay the same. The user id just has the minor addition with no changes to the password.

You can find the directions below or click here for a handout with screen captures.

To enroll yourself in your course...

Step 1
From within the Blackboard course area, click on "Users and Groups" on the Control Panel and "Users" from that drop-down menu.

Step 2
Click the "Enroll User" button on the top left of the Users window.

Step 3
Type in your student user name in the user name box. username_student

Step 4
Change the role to "student" if necessary and enrollment availability should be yes.

Step 5
Click "Submit"


To log-in and access your course as a student... (Remember a course must be available to access it using a student account.)

Step 1
Go to http://learn.vccs.edu/ This is a direct url for Blackboard. Your student account does not have an SIS or Gmail account, so you can not go through your MySVCC page. If you were already in blackboard, make sure that you actually click "log-out" before trying to login as a student.

Step 2
Log-in using you student user id and your regular password for accessing Blackboard.

Step 3
Once you have logged in, you should see a link to your course on the SVCC tab, as long as that course is available to students. Click the link to access the course. You should not see the control panel as a student, so if you do you are not logged in as a student. Click log-out at the top of your Blackboard window and try logging in again.

Invalid HTML Notation in Blackboard 9

Blackboard 9 has an HTML validation tool. HTML refers to HyperText Markup Language, that is the code used to create web pages. (Remember that your Blackboard courses are webpages that have this code running in the background. ) This automatically checks the content of your courses to hopefully catch problems with how your items display in web browsers.

Since we just transitioned courses from Blackboard 8 to version 9, you may come across "Invalid HTML" error messages on some content items. (See Image Below)


With editing mode turned off, the content still displays as normal, but to get rid of this error message within editing mode you need to...

1. Click the double down arrow beside the item name to display the menu for that item and then click "Edit".

2. Once in the editing screen, click on the "Markup validation" icon.


3. Click "Ok" to close the the Markup Validation Report window that appears, and then click "Submit".

This should clear the invalid html message from that item.

Blackboard 9 is Almost Here!!

Reminders and Updates:

• When: The upgrade to version 9 (9.0 Service Pack 3) of Blackboard will take place on Saturday, May 15, 2010. Blackboard will be unavailable to all users from 12:00 AM to 11:59 PM on May 15th to perform this upgrade.
  
  
• Where/Location: This upgrade will take place on our normal Blackboard area. After the upgrade, you will follow the same process as usual to access your Blackboard courses. The Explore site that we used during training was just for training purposes.
  
  
• Blackboard 9 Hotline: The VCCS will provide additional Blackboard 9 tech support from May 16th - May 23rd from 6:00 AM - 10: AM and 5:00 PM - 11:00 Pm. This hotline is to be used by faculty and staff if they need assistance with their course on Blackboard 9, and they cannot access their regular avenues of support. Directions on accessing this hotline have been posted below, and an additional email we be sent on Sunday just concerning this hotline. If Needed -- Meeting Number: 737 131 170 Meeting Password: samson
  
  1. Go to https://freetrial.webex.com/freetrial/j.php?ED=134073647&UID=926337867&PW=NNzMyNzkwOWY0&RT=MiMxMQ%3D%3D
  2. Enter your name and email address.
  3. Enter the meeting password: samson
  4. Click "Join Now".
  5. Follow the instructions that appear on your screen.
  Additional Note: (For Audio Only) Call-in toll number: 1-650-429-3300
  Access code:737 131 170
  
  
• Summer Course Content: Working on your summer courses before the upgrade is fine. This upgrade should not effect your content, but it is always a good rule of thumb to back-up. Back-up your content by exporting a copy of your course(s) before the upgrade.
  
  
• Training Materials: A variety of training materials have been developed on utilizing Blackboard 9. Click on "Train Materials" above to view a presentation on the differences between Blackboard 8 and 9 AND to access handouts and video tutorials.
  
  
• Checklist (Post-Upgrade Course Check): You will need to check your course(s) after the upgrade. Here is a checklist that may help you in your review.
  
  
• Web Browsers: Firefox is a better web browser to use with Blackboard 9, but you should go to the web page here concerning supported web browser and operating systems. (For example, if you are using Windows 7 as your operating system you should not use Internet Explorer 7. ) If you are using Internet Explorer 8 and run into problems, you may want to switch to Firefox or try IE 8 in compatibility mode. Versions of Internet Explorer before version 7 are no longer supported.
  
  
• Email Notifications: Blackboard 9 sends out email notifications when students are enrolled in a course (if the course is available), and if they are enrolled in a course that is unavailable they receive an email when the course is made available. If you make your course area unavailable and then available throughout the semester when making modifications to your course (this is with active courses in the current semester). Students will be inundated with emails during the semester. Keep this notification process in mind.
  
  

Removal of Spring 2009 Courses from Blackboard

It is time again for the normal clean-up of Blackboard. As you may have already noticed, Spring 2009 (SP09) course areas in Blackboard have been identified and marked for removal on April 30th. Although the VCCS does maintain an archive of your courses, it is recommended that you maintain a copy of your course by exporting out the course content. All archived courses will be available through the VCCS for about 1 year after they are removed from Blackboard.

If you have taught online, login to your "MySVCC" page and click on "Blackboard" to see which courses you are enrolled in as an instructor. You will need to click on the "pencil" icon found on the upper right corner of your "My Blackboard Courses" module. This will allow you to see all courses that you have taught that are currently in Blackboard, even if you have chosen to not have them displayed in your "My Blackboard Courses" module. You should export content from your SP09 courses and save the zipped files on your computer for future use.

Directions to Export Course Content
1. Go to the "Control Panel" within your course.
2. Click on "Export Course" within the "Course Options" box.
3. Click "Export" again.
4. Select all materials you wish to export...including "Grade Center Columns and Settings".
5. Click "Submit".
6. When you receive an email confirmation that this has been processed, go back to "Export Course", you should see the zipped file with your content. Click on the zipped file and save to your computer or flash drive.