Below are updates and reminders related to resources posted on the Instructional Continuity portlet on the CUWAA portals (mycuw.edu, mycuaa.edu). Updates are divided by Blackboard and Zoom and are in date order, most recent on top.
Blackboard and Respondus
March, 2021
On April 20, 2021 all Blackboard courses in the terms 201710 (Fall of 2016) and older will be archived and then deleted from Blackboard (concordia.blackboard.com). Students will not be able to access those courses.
What to do now: Prior to April 20th, please copy anything you still need from those Blackboard courses to an external location. This can be an external hard drive or an online cloud service. What to backup would be any assignments or work done within a course you would like to save for future use. This maintenance is part of our process of remaining within our Blackboard size limit. If you have questions or problems related to courses that will be deleted on April 20th, please send an e-mail with that information to blackboardsupport@cuw.edu
November, 2020
New Content Editor in Blackboard: This will result in a few different and better ways you can upload content into Blackboard. You will see this change whenever you are adding text in Blackboard, such as posting in a discussion board, writing an essay answer to a test, or for faculty, creating or editing an item or writing a test question. This change will affect how faculty add content as well as student submissions.
April 14, 2020
Respondus Help Center for Students
The Respondus Help Center is in addition to the technology assistance provided by the Concordia IT Help Desk.
Once Respondus LockDown Browser is installed on the computer, students have access to the Respondus Help Center that includes an option for live chat with Respondus Technology Support (available 24/7).
Before beginning a test, or after submitting a test using Respondus, the Help Center icon appears at the top of the Respondus Browser. Please see document below for details. Please share with students.
Respondus Help Center for Students
April 3, 2020
Time Zone Adjustments Needed in Blackboard
The Blackboard servers use the Central Time Zone. If an instructor is located in a different time zone, such as Ann Arbor (Eastern Time Zone) and needs to set a specific time that an assignment or test is due, opens, or closes, the instructor must take into account their time zone and adjust accordingly. Please see this document with examples that show how to make the needed adjustments: Time Zone Adjustments Needed in Blackboard
Zoom
March 3, 2021
Automated transcriptions available during Zoom sessions
With a recent Zoom update, Zoom hosts can now enable automated transcriptions for Zoom sessions. To do this:
- Click on the Live Transcript button
- Then click on Enable Auto-Transcription
November 17, 2020
Zoom cloud recordings retention and Zoom messages on deletions
When you record to the Zoom cloud, these are temporary recordings the system will delete. Last spring we thought we could only keep the temporary cloud recordings for 90 days. We did not max out the storage limit, so we expanded the retention period to 180 days.
Zoom emails you are now receiving should be about recordings from the Spring term, (April and May) 180 days ago. Let them expire, they were not designed to be permanent.
Recordings you want to use semester to semester should be recorded to your computer and then uploaded to Panopto. Watch this Recordings session for more information.
April 13, 2020
Zoom Product Updates: New Security Toolbar Icon for Hosts, Meeting ID No Longer Displayed
The next time Zoom is opened, faculty and staff will be prompted to update the Zoom app. Most faculty/staff will be able to complete the update without assistance. Contact the IT Help Desk if you are unable to complete the update.
After faculty/staff update Zoom on their computer, meeting hosts will see is an option in the Zoom meeting controls called Security. This new icon simplifies how hosts can quickly find and enable many of Zoom’s in-meeting security features.
Visible only to hosts and co-hosts of Zoom Meetings, the Security icon provides easy access to several existing Zoom security features so you can more easily protect your meetings.
By clicking the Security icon, hosts and co-hosts have an all-in-one place to quickly:
- Lock the meeting
- Enable the Waiting Room (even if it’s not already enabled)
- Remove participants
- Restrict participants’ ability to:
Various security settings in the Zoom client, while extremely useful, were also extremely scattered. The addition of this persistent Security icon helps augment some of the default Zoom security features in your profile settings and enables Zoom users to more quickly take action to prevent meeting disruption.
The Security icon replaces the Invite button in the meeting controls. The Invite button has been moved to the Participants panel, and hosts can add additional guests there.
April 1, 2020
Issue: Participants Cannot Hear Audio When a Video is Played
Solution: When you share your screen, make sure to click Share Computer Sound (see bottom left of image).
Note: When showing video based content, i.e. YouTube, Vimeo, etc., also check “Optimize for Full-Screen Video clip”. By doing so, you will increase the frame rate of the video playback and will allow for smoother playback.
March 30, 2020
Update to Zoom Default Setting for Screen Sharing
Zoom has recently adjusted the default setting for screen sharing, so that only hosts can screen share. If you want participants to share their screen (such as for a student presentation), when you are in a Zoom Meeting, follow these steps:
- Click on the up arrow at the right of the “Share Screen” icon in the Zoom controls.
(If you do not see the arrow, share your own screen, then click stop share.) - Click on “Advanced Sharing Options”
- On “Who Can Share” click on “all participants.” Keep the third setting at “only host.”
- Click the x in the upper right of the dialog box to close it.
If desired: You can also change this setting in your CUWAA.ZOOM.US profile by following these steps:
- Log into your profile at CUWAA.ZOOM.US
- In the navigation panel, click Settings.
- Under In Meeting (Basic), scroll down to Screen Sharing heading
- Switch on the option for All Participants.
Downloadable PDF with screenshots: Update to Zoom Default Setting for Screen Sharing