Blackboard Issues
This table provides a log of Blackboard issues at UTC Online. If you are still having problems with an issue that indicates it's already been fixed, please contact the UTC Online administrator with the specifics of your Blackboard issue at utconlin@utc.edu
| Date | Status | Issue | Fix/Comments |
| 9/24/2009 | Open | Calculated Column Errors in Safari 4.x | Whenever an instructor attempts to create or edit any type of calculated column (weighted, total, average, max/min) in the Grade Center using Safari 4.x on either Mac or Windows, after clicking the Submit button the instructor receives an error that looks like this: java.lang.NumberFormatException: For input string: "". As a workaround, the instructor may either use Firefox or create an empty grading period (Grade Center > Manage: Grading Periods > Add Grading Period) which fixes this issue in Safari 4.x. |
| 7/9/2009 | Open | Attaching Assignment Files in Google Chrome and Safari 4.x | This issue was partially fixed 8/5/2009--for Windows users using Firefox 3.5. For Windows users using Google Chrome or Safari 4.x, there is an issue for students submitting an attached file using the Assignments tool and for instructors uploading grades using the Grade Center. In both scenarios, a popup window stating "Please enter a valid file" appears and prevents both students and instructors from successfully attaching a file. As a workaround, it is recommended for Windows users to use Internet Explorer or Firefox to successfully submit a file using the Assignments tool and to upload grades. Read more about this issue and alternate workarounds here. |
| 5/1/2009 | Closed | Announcement Emails Broken | This issue was fixed 5/21/2009. Instructors have previously been able to email an announcement posted in Blackboard to students (Course Tools: Announcements > Add Announcement > 4. Email Announcement: check "Email this announcement to all course users"). However, this functionality is broken in the current Blackboard version. As a workaround until this bug is fixed, please copy and paste the announcement text into the message body of an email to all students in your class (Control Panel > Course Tools: Send Email > All Users). |
| 3/23/2009 | Closed | Issue with Timed Tests in Internet Explorer 8 | This issue was fixed 4/17/2009. The newest version of Windows Internet Explorer (version 8) does not allow users to submit timed tests because the timer box fills the entire right hand side of the screen thereby blocking the submit button. Until a future fix is released, instructors and students must use one of the following workarounds for timed tests: Instructors: Require students use a browser other than Internet Explorer 8 (such as Mozilla Firefox) to take a timed assessment or disable the timed aspect from your assessment: Assessment > Modify the Test options > Test Availability: uncheck Set timer option Students: Take timed tests in a browser other than Internet Explorer 8 (such as Mozilla Firefox) or enable Compatibility Mode for UTC Online (Blackboard) within Internet Explorer version 8. |
| 8/25/2008 | Closed | Incorrect Download Assignments Link | This issue was fixed 9/3/2008. An issue was found with the Assignment Feature downloads link when the assignment title had spaces in the name. A workaround was developed by UTC Online, but this issue has since been fixed. |
| 9/2/2007 | Closed | Problems Opening Documents | You may experience problems opening documents if the document was created using Microsoft Office 2007. A saved file using Office 2007 will have an "x" as part of the file extension. For example, a Word file's extension would be .docx. Download the Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack/Converter if you are not using Office 2007 so you can open and save these types of files: Windows | Mac |
| 9/1/2007 | Open | Illegal Characters in Filenames can Cause Inaccessible Files | Blackboard allows files with illegal characters in the file name to be submitted to the instructor; however, the instructor often cannot access such files. The fix in this case is for the student to rename the file without the illegal character(s) and resubmit it. Allowed characters in file names are as follows: A-Z, a-z, 0-9, a "-" (dash), and an "_" (underscore). Do not use file names containing the following characters: #, %, ), (, or &. Also, it is highly recommended that file names with spaces, $, and @ characters not be submitted. |
