Perils of the Internet Explorer 7 Upgrade

JCCC currently has Campus Edition (CE) 6.0.2 in production. With that version, we've had sporadic problems with the new Microsoft Internet Explorer browser (Version 7) due out prior to November 1, 2006. The most common problem seems to be that the menu bar on the left side of the CE 6.0.2 interface collapses to the point where text and icons are not visible. This problem has been confirmed by other schools using CE 6.

Word from WebCT is that IE 7 is compatible with CE 6.1.1 (due to upgrades and hot fixes included by that version). Since we will not be at CE 6.1.1 until after the semester ends (at best), faculty members and students using WebCT are warned to not let your browser (IE) automatically upgrade to version 7.

Additional detail is available from Microsoft at the link above.

The easiest way to avoid the upgrade is to decline Internet Explorer 7 when Automatic Updates notifies you that the update is available to install. We suggest you inform your students to choose “Don’t Install” when prompted by the Internet Explorer 7 welcome screen. According to Microsoft, "Users will not need to take special action to receive notification, and all users will have the ability to decline installation."

We also understand that FireFox 2 may be released soon (http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/2.0/releasenotes/). We have not tested the new version with CE 6.0.2 and cannot recommend an upgrade at this time.

There's also a toolkit available to block automatic delivery of IE7. For more information, check out the FAQ at http://www.microsoft.com/technet/updatemanagement/windowsupdate/ie7blockertoolfaq.mspx

WebCT Service Pack 3 Testing Results

At JCCC, we tested Service Pack 3 (SP3) released by Blackboard for Campus Edition 6 (CE 6) for several days in early October. Our hope was to install SP3 (pending successful testing) during the Fall Semester rather than waiting for the conclusion of the semester. While many issues are resolved by the service pack, after consultation with the Ed Tech Center staff, the unanimous decision was that none of the fixes have addressed the major problems we’ve encountered and continue to report; e.g. system exception errors, course copy (CE 6 to CE 6) and course import (CE 4.1 to CE 6) problems.

So we've decided to upgrade our test environment to CE 6.1.1 with all hotfixes released to date and begin testing. If testing provides satisfactory results, we hope to do a single upgrade at the conclusion of the Fall 2006 Semester (to CE 6.1.1).

The results of our SP3 testing are available online in a PDF version of the testing checklist spreadsheet. Please note the following :

• Items in column 2 in bold are supposedly fixed in SP3 based on the "WebCT Campus Edition 4.0 [they really mean 6.0] Service Pack 3 Release Notes" dated July 31, 2006.
• Items in column 2 in bold purple are supposedly fixed based on correspondence and spreadsheet reports exchanged with Blackboard technical support over the past several months.
• Items with a grey background are supposedly fixed in Application Pack 1; we listed the items on the spreadsheet but did not expect to find them fixed. However, they do identify additional issues that we hope will be resolved when we upgrade to 6.1.1.
• Items in the last column on the right with a yellow background are issues where conflicting results occurred and we spent additional time verifying the results (e.g. making sure we’re talking about the same feature or bug). The notes in these columns may be informative.
• Items with a pink background to the row are items that were supposedly fixed in SP3, but our testing does not confirm a fix.
• Items in column 2 with the text in italics are control items (e.g. features that were not broken but which we assume should work routinely or were fixed in earlier releases).
• The columns that are headed with initials identify the Ed Tech Center staff member who reported the results.

As you review the results, you’ll see that many of the items that were supposedly fixed, do not appear to be fixed (or testing shows mixed results).

In the discussions among Ed Tech Center staff members, we’ve asked ourselves "Are the available bug fixes in SP3 at a level of significance that we’re willing to risk a mid-semester upgrade and the possibility of introducing new bugs (which has occurred with each upgrade to CE 6)?" Our answer was "no."