Just a quick note that there will not be any new blog content during the upcoming period that the University is closed for Easter, the Royal Wedding and May Day. More blog posts to come in May of course! Meanwhile enjoy this image which tries to encapsulate the spirit of the break: a posh wedding…
Each separate cohort taking a module should have its own Blackboard module site. The majority of modules from the 2010/11 academic year will be taught again in 2011/12 with a new cohort, so we have an automatic copy process which copies the content of 2010/11 Blackboard sites into a 2011/12 version. This automatic copy process…
Recently the latest version of the Internet Explorer browser (IE9) was released by Microsoft. IE9 is not fully compatible with Blackboard, so you may encounter some errors if you try using it to access Blackboard. Therefore we are recommending that staff and students not upgrade their version of IE on their personal computers yet. We expect this to be resolved by…
We’re delighted to see that in the October 2010 International Student Barometer, 96% of our international students were satisfied with the virtual learning environment (VLE), Blackboard. The International Student Barometer tracks the opinion of international students and measures their satisfaction with arrival, learning experience, living experience and student support. This is the 6th year we have participated in…
Our e-learning blog has been a popular source of information for staff around e-learning. We’ve noticed that some students have been checking it to find out the latest news on such topics, so we thought it was worth starting a blog aimed more directly at student needs. We’re proud to introduce the launch of the shuTech blog. Of…
In December we announced that SHUgo, the university’s mobile app, would be released shortly. The release took longer than expected due to unforeseen complications in releasing the app. However, we’re pleased to say that it is now available for use by staff, students and visitors at the University. For everyone who got a new smartphone for…
As the Refreshing e-learning initiative draws to a close this month, we’re going to restructure both the Bb-support tab in shuspace and this blog. For the last year we’ve focused on supporting staff through the initiative’s changes, such as introducing Blackboard version 9.0. Now that the initiative is ending, we’re looking at how we can improve these tools to best support…
Each year the University has an upgrade period for Blackboard, normally the second Friday of July. This year the upgrade period will start 8 July at 17:30. During the upgrade, there will be no access to shuspace or Blackboard sites. It is predicted that the upgrade period will end late on Friday evening, leading to a total downtime of…
Once your site has been set up for use with your students: site menu organised, content added, interactive features ready, etc., then there is one crucial step left that a lot of staff members forget. That step is making your site available to students. If you don’t do this then all that hard work will go to waste as your students…
Since April we’ve introduced a series of changes to our e-learning provision aimed at enhancing the student experience online including the upgrade to Blackboard 9. Another important change is being implemented in September, giving students access to module sites after they have completed them. What will happen to module sites? Module sites will no longer…