Technology Assistance Center Newsletter
September 2022
A look at the upcoming changes and improvements to Brightspace that will take effect this month, Webex updates, I.T. news, and more!
I.T. News
Banner Web/MyInfo Scheduled Maintenance
Banner, Banner Web/MyInfo, and related services will be unavailable from Friday,
Sept. 23rd at 10 p.m. through Sunday, Sept. 25th at noon. Due to the
timing, it is recommended that all timesheets be submitted by Friday evening.
The purpose of this is to allow UIT to migrate the Banner Enterprise System to a cloud-hosted platform.
To read more, visit https://www.montana.edu/uit/news/22201/banner-moves-to-the-cloud
DUO Multi-Factor Authentication
Be on the lookout for additional information about the implementation of DUO Multi-Factor Authentication for Office365 and Banner Web/MyInfo.
eLearning News
Respondus Lockdown Browser and Monitor on Chromebooks
Respondus Lockdown Browser and Respondus Monitor can now be used on Chromebook devices. There are some important notes to be aware of.
- The Respondus Lockdown Browser extension for Chromebooks will only work on Chromebooks that are still able to receive ChromeOS updates. So, some Chromebooks that are more than a few years old may not be able to use the extension.
- There is a setting that MUST be changed before attempting to launch Lockdown Browser on a Chromebook for the first time. The student will need to open their normal Chrome browser and allow popups; either all popups or only popups from https://gfcmsu.desire2learn.com. The Brightspace page that shows the “Launch Lockdown Browser” button for each quiz has instructions for Chrome users in how to change this setting.
- We have already pushed the extension and necessary browser setting to all of the managed Chromebooks on campus that are capable of running Lockdown Browser. The Chromebooks that the library is able to check out to students are not capable of running Lockdown Browser.
Respondus Monitor New Functionality
Respondus Monitor has a new feature that can be enabled by instructors on a per quiz basis, called Show Your Work. If students have been given permission to use scratch paper for their quiz or exam, this setting will prompt the student to take a picture of their scratch paper at the completion of the quiz. These images will be available to instructors in their Lockdown Browser Dashboard.
Brightspace News
Assignments – Save time by copying assignments to other courses | Updated
Instructors who teach multiple courses can now copy assignments to other courses they have instructor-level access to.
The newly copied assignment folder will carry over the following attributes:
- Assignment folder and its properties, including instructions, assignment category, and visibility
- Assignment properties, including description and category
- Attachments (direct file attachments, uploaded from Google Workspace or OneDrive, and audio and video files)
- Grade item and grade category
- Availability dates
- Submission and completion information, including the Optional Grade item and the course scheme
- Rubric(s) associated with the assignment
The newly copied assignment folder will NOT carry over the following attributes:
- Instruction Quicklinks and attachment resources created with the Attach link to existing activity action
- Instruction images added using Insert Stuff that were saved to course files
- Availability release conditions and special access settings
- Submission and completion information including group assignment designation
- Evaluation and Feedback information, including Turnitin associations, competency, and outcome associations
- Content topic associations (for example, if the assignment is linked from content)
Note: In some cases, references to links and images that are not copied may result in broken links.
Google File Picker – Improved search capabilities and multi-select | Updated
To increase the value of the Google File Picker – Seamlessly access files from personal and Workspace Google accounts with a single file picker | Updated feature released in August 2022/20.22.08, the new File Picker now searches all user folders for any file that matches the search terms.
In addition to this update, users can now select multiple files to add (link) or upload to Brightspace.
Permission updates are applied to all selected files. If using a managed account, file permissions are updated to grant view permissions to anyone in the organization. If using a personal account, file permissions are updated to grant view permissions to anyone with the link. The number of selected files is shown on the ‘add’ button as a reminder to the user. If multiple files are added to content, each item becomes a separate content item.
Quizzes – Reduce test anxiety by creating quizzes without time limits | New
With this release, instructors have the option to create quizzes with no time limit. The No Time Limit option is now the default Timing setting for new quizzes.
Previously, instructors who wished to create quizzes with no time limit had to use the Recommended Time Limit option, which was selected by default and set to 120 minutes. This led to confusion for learners because the recommended time limit displayed on the quiz itself.
Instructors can create quizzes with no time limit using either the New Experience or the Classic Experience. In New Experience, under Timing & Display, click Manage Timing and select No Time Limit. In Classic Experience, in the Restrictions tab, under Timing, select No Time Limit.
Learners who take a quiz with no time limit now see No time limit under Time Allowed on the Quiz Summary page and Est. Length: No Time Limit on the quiz itself.
Release Conditions – Choose the last date of enrollment in the current org unit | Updated
To help users with more flexibility around course design, the release condition Date of enrollment in current org unit now includes the following options:
- Use first enrollment date
- Use last enrollment date
This feature can also be used to set an intelligent agent; e.g., for learners who have been enrolled more than once in the course, you can decide if the agent applies based on the first time or the last time they were enrolled.
