Preparing your Blackboard course for the Spring 2018 semester

Stephen Kevlin

 

Preparing your Blackboard course for the Spring 2018 semester

Blackboard was upgraded on Wednesday, Dec. 20. Let us know immediately if you find anything that is not working as you expect it should. Please see the Known Issues Module on your Blackboard Home Tab for detailed information on issues that are in progress or pending.

The following Known Issues have been fixed:

  • SafeAssign Originality Reports
  • Discussion Board Subscriptions

The following Known Issues remain:

  • Course Names Changing intermittently on Course Imports (the new course shell will take on the name of the old course shell). If you experience this please contact the DLHelp Desk and we can do a quick fix.
  • Equation Editor – Editing existing math notations will not render an image of the notation and/or alt text is displayed instead. Creating brand new notations works.

New features and functionality:

There is one significant change for those who use Crocodoc. Crocodoc is at the end of life and is being replaced by New Box View. Please click on this link for more information: Transitioning from Crocodoc to New Box View | Blackboard Help

Prior to the start of the semester, training on transitioning from Crocodoc to New Box View will be available by contacting Mark Petersen (m.petersen@hvcc.edu).

Prepare Your Course for the Semester info can be found at: https://docs.hvcc.edu/dl/?p=1199

Remember as you are exporting and importing courses, the process may take a while depending on how many other courses are queued. Please DO NOT submit multiple times or it will take even longer. Call the Center for Distance and Online Learning if you need assistance.

Also, if you do not use Bb Collaborate Tools, please do not select them as items to export or import or else you will get a “failure” notice even though your course successfully imports.

Don’t Forget to Make Your Course Available

Once the semester begins, students will only have access to a course that has been made available by the course instructor. You must manually make your course(s) available in Blackboard in order for students to see them.

To set the course availability, follow these steps:

  • From the Control Panel of your course
  • Select Customization
  • Select Properties
  • Locate Step 3: Set Availability and select Yes, “Make Course Available”
  • Select Submit
  • A green confirmation bar will appear indicating that the properties have been updated

As always, please do not hesitate to contact the Center for Distance and Online Learning (629-7070 or DLHelp@hvcc.edu) if you have any questions! Have a great semester!

 

Published: Thu, 04 Jan 2018 18:08:59 +0000 by s.gallagher