{"id":6992,"date":"2020-08-03T20:15:28","date_gmt":"2020-08-03T20:15:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel\/?p=6992"},"modified":"2020-08-03T20:15:28","modified_gmt":"2020-08-03T20:15:28","slug":"blackboard-upgrade-completed-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/tel\/2020\/08\/03\/blackboard-upgrade-completed-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Blackboard upgrade completed"},"content":{"rendered":"

The migration of our VLE to Blackboard SaaS (Software as a Service) is now complete. You can can log in at www.bb.reading.ac.uk<\/a>\u00a0and start using the system.<\/p>\n

We’ve talked about the advantages of Saas in an earlier post on this blog<\/a>, and also described some of the changes that would be coming<\/a>. This blog post provides an update with further information – particularly around the new way of logging in.<\/p>\n

Logging in to Blackboard<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The way you sign in to Blackboard has been brought in line with other University systems. You now sign on in exactly the same way as you do to access Teams and other Microsoft 365 systems.<\/p>\n

Please see Logging in<\/a> on our Staff help site for further details.<\/p>\n

Guidance for students can be found on the Student\u00a0 help site<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot<\/p>\n

Turnitin<\/h2>\n

Our Blackboard integration with\u00a0Turnitin has been updated. You should not notice any difference in how you access and mark work, but the upgrade introduces a number of enhancements and bug fixes.<\/p>\n

Blackboard Annotate<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Next week will see the introduction of\u00a0 a new – and much improved – interface for marking Blackboard assignments. For details, please see our guide: Blackboard Annotate<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This will provide a better interface when marking Group assignments, and should also benefit\u00a0 colleagues in subjects such as Maths, Economics and the Sciences who need to mark handwritten work online.<\/p>\n

Existing Blackboard assignments – and any feedback previously left on them – will be migrated to the new interface during week beginning 10 August. The migration may take all week to complete on all assignments.<\/p>\n

If you are providing feedback on work submitted to a Blackboard assignment during week beginning 10th August before it has migrated to Bb Annotate<\/em>\u00a0we suggest you Save regularly.<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot
Before migration – shows the Box logo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Screenshot
After migration – displays the new Annotate menu<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Tools which are no longer supported<\/h2>\n

Blackboard Drive<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Blackboard removed support for Drive in December, and it does not work with\u00a0 SaaS. Very few people have been using Drive, so this is unlikely to cause any issues.<\/p>\n

SignUp Lists<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The third party SignUp List tool was written for a much earlier version of Blackboard and has not been updated by its developers. The tool does not work with SaaS.
\nBlackboard Self-Enrol Groups<\/a>\u00a0offer similar functionality and may well meet your needs.<\/p>\n

Problems? Queries?<\/h2>\n

As ever, if you have any queries, or experience issues when using Blackboard, please contact us:<\/p>\n