Current List of Blackboard CE 6.1.1 Bugs

Periodically I try to alert you to problems we’ve encountered with Blackboard CE so you’ll know it’s the system and not user error. This list is not complete but at least covers most of the more common and problematic issues we have open with Blackboard Support. By the way, for JCCC faculty members, if you have major issues not listed here, please alert your Ed Tech Center Designer.

We have experienced:

1. Cases where course content from one semester fails to copy successfully to the next semester’s course shell.
2. Unexpected System Exception errors that occur for a variety of reasons (opening a course, switching between tabs, and so on), none of which are clearly indicated in the server logs or displayed on the screen for the user’s benefit.
3. Problems for end users with:
   a. multiple versions of Java installed,
   b. recent versions of Java installed (you should be using version 1.5 with updates 6 or 7 installed, but not Java 1.6)
   c. Internet Explorer 7 or latest version of Mac Safari installed
   d. Windows Vista installed.
4. Search tool failures with incorrect or no results reported.
5. Failure of the Banner XML file to import Summer Non-Credit Courses.
6. Failure of the garbage collection routines to work so the database gets more and more bloated, which we believe contributes to slower access times.
7. Failure of the Media Library/Glossary tool if a single image is attached to an entry in one of the tool’s collections.
8. Crash with an exception error if a Learning Module has more than 20 headings or entries included.
9. Lose of embedded images in assessments when the assessment is exported and then imported into another course shell.
10. Calendar tool entries entered by an instructor for a specific course being displayed as institutional entries in all courses; which is very confusing for students.
11. A limit on the number of characters allowed (1333) when an instructor grades and adds comments to an assignment.
12. Failure of the mail forwarding feature to work when a student or an instructor wants email received in Blackboard CE to be forwarded to their external email accounts.
13. Confusion when the Submitted and Not Submitted tabs in the Assignment tool show the reverse information.
14. WebLinks that do not import when a Learning Module is exported and then imported into another course shell.
15. Course names that are truncated (so as to be indecipherable) or are not in alphabetical order throughout the application (e.g. when setting calendar dates, publishing content from Respondus, importing or copying content from another course and when setting the order of courses displayed or hidden on the My Blackboard screen).
16. No ability for the instructor to edit Assignment Drop Box comments posted for students after they are posted.

We know there are many more bugs, we currently have about 70 cases open with Blackboard support, but these seem to be the major items that effect students and instructors.

WebCT Good News/Bad News #4: The Media Library Tool Problems

One of the major problems we’ve encountered with CE 6.1.1 is related to Media Library collections. If you use the Media Library tool, by default, your course includes a glossary collection, but you can add other collections too. Media Library collections can include simple text entries (e.g. a text only glossary) or collections of other types of items such as text with images, images only, PDF files, audio and/or video files.

During our testing of CE 6.1.1 we discovered that Media Library collections are instantly broken if any item in a collection includes an attached image (JPEG, GIF, PNG or TIF file). Specifically, you can have a fully functional collection with images in 6.0.2 and as soon as the server is upgraded to CE 6.1.1 (in late December) the collection will be broken. Further, if a new item is added to a collection and you attach a JPEG, PNG, GIF or TIF image, the tool will be immediately broken. By broken we mean all or some of the items in a collection (which includes even a single image) will not be visible to either the student, instructor or course designer. Because you cannot see the item, you can’t detach the image or otherwise edit the collection.

Collections of other types of items (PDF files, audio or video files) do not cause the problem.

Blackboard is working on a solution; they’ve replicated the problem, and plan to provide a late January hot fix. However, once received we’ll need to test the hot fix on our test server and make a determination regarding whether it is safe to install mid-semester.

Here’s what’s happening to cause the problem:

1. When a media library collection is viewed, CE 6.1.1 inspects each entry to see if it has an image link. If it has a link, CE 6.1.1 checks for a thumbnail. If the thumbnail isn't present, CE 6.1.1 attempts to generate one. If thumbnail generation fails, CE 6.1.1 leaves the entry in its original state, and will try to generate a thumbnail again the next time the collection is accessed. All entries are in this state initially.
2. When a media library entry with an image link is added, CE 6.1.1 attempts to immediately generate a thumbnail. If thumbnail generation fails, the entry is still added, but the thumbnail is omitted. This leaves the entry in the same state as #1 above.

The error occurs when a “poorly designed SQL query” tries to generate a thumbnail for an attached image, which causes a database spike that severely effects server performance.

After applying the future hot fix (now in development by Blackboard) these issues will no longer occur. While the Media Library tool could be disabled system-wide (to prevent the problem), that action would mean that all collections (whether they included images or not) would be unavailable. So we plan to leave the Media Library tool enabled system-wide.

Here’s what you need to know and do:

1. If you have Media Library collections that do not include any images, do nothing. You and your students have dodged the bullet.
2. If all or some of your Media Library collections include images, then you have several (not very satisfactory) options. You’ll need to chose some combination of the following:

• Disable/Hide the Media library tool and don’t use it until the hot fix is installed (could be February or not until after Spring 2007 semester).
• Hide the Media Library collections with images (you can hide specific collections, but not specific entries).
• Convert all your images to PDF files, which don’t break the tool.
• Temporarily delete all images (might work if your collection is a glossary and you can temporarily do without the images—but you’ll need to re-add the images later).
• Create a series of web pages (HTML) that include the images and text from your collection(s) and create a Learning Module that serves as the repository for the collection.

We’re trying to produce a report of all Media Library collections that will be adversely effected by this bug, but you may need to just check your course(s) yourself and select a course of action. If you have questions or need help with any of the above solutions, contact your Ed Tech Center Designer.

WebCT Good News/Bad News #3: Announcements & Media Library

These daily “Good News/Bad News” messages after meant to inform you of what works and what doesn’t in CE 6.1.1. Even though you may not have time to test, this should give you a sense of what the upgrade will “do to your course.” If you have comments, you’re invited to email me directly (jbacon@jccc.edu) or share on the dlfaculty@jccc.edu list.

CE 6.1.1 Good News: Announcements

1. You can now change pages when viewing lists of announcements that span multiple pages. However, if you change the Paging Preferences (accessed by clicking the three dog-eared sheets icon in the bottom right corner of the WebCT Announcements window) to increase the “Number of records per page” setting (10 is the default) the increase in visible announcements may not display immediately. You may need to jump to another tool or tab and then return to the Announcements tool for it to take effect.
2. Images in announcements now correctly display.
3. The Delete button now deletes Announcements (but only if you were the instructor who created the announcement)

CE 6.1.1 Bad News: Announcements & Media Library

1. When you create an announcement by default it goes to all students, instructors, auditors and teaching assistants. There’s a bug that prevents you from sending an announcement to just one of these groups of course participants.
2. Media Library collections (such as the Glossary) are broken if the imported collection includes an attached JPEG, GIF or TIF file. Further if a new JPEG, GIF or TIF image is added to a new or existing Media Library collection, the tool is broken. The only work-around is to not use JPEG, GIF and TIF images in the Media Library. Blackboard is working on a solution; they’ve replicated the problem, and are trying to provide a late January hot fix to address the issue.

WebCT Good News/Bad News #1: Assessments & Media Library

By the end of next week, we’ll know whether JCCC will upgrade to Blackboard Learning System CE 6.1.1 (e.g. the new name for WebCT) over the Holiday Break. The decision to proceed or not will be based on:

• Feedback from faculty and staff CE 6.1.1 testers
• Comments we receive over the next few days from the JCCC WebCT users list,
• Feedback from the Distance Learning Coordinating Council, and
• Input from two campus-wide committees: the Academic Technology Advisory Council (ATAC) that meets on Monday, December 4, 2006 and the Academic Information Management (AIM) Committee that meets on Friday, December 1, 2006.

This is a first of the daily “Good News/Bad News” messages I'll post to inform JCCC faculty of what works and what doesn’t in CE 6.1.1. Even though JCCC faculty may not have time to test, the daily posting will indicate what the upgrade will “do to your course.” If you have comments, you’re invited to email me directly (jbacon@jccc.edu) or share on the dlfaculty@jccc.edu list.

CE 6.1.1 Good News -- Assessments

1. The Assessments screen as viewed by students now lists start and due dates for all assessments (tests and quizzes).
2. The Item Statistics report for students in the lower 25% of a class now calculates correctly.
3. Performance reports can be generated even when an assessment has submissions that are not yet graded.
4. Calculated questions that do not require units of measure are graded correctly.
5. Courses imported from Campus Edition 4.1 to CE6 now properly display images referenced by inserting the HTML image tag in the General Feedback field.

CE 6.1.1 Bad News – Media Library

1. If you import Media Library collections that include JPEG images or you add JPEG images after a course is imported or copied, the Media Library tool becomes broken; e.g. after you select the View All Media Library entries option, existing and new entries cannot be viewed, deleted or edited by the designer/instructor and students cannot view the entries. We’re working with Blackboard support to get this fixed or find a work-around.