Ally Update

Subject: Blackboard Ally maintenance, Saturday, 7/4/20 from 2:00 AM - 8:00 AM (CDT)

Synopsis: Blackboard engineers will perform maintenance on the Blackboard Ally service on Saturday, July 4, 2020, from 2:00 AM - 8:00 AM (CDT).

Details: Blackboard notified TTU that engineers will perform maintenance on the Blackboard Ally service on Saturday, July 4, 2020, from 2:00 AM to 8:00 AM CDT. Blackboard Ally integrates with Blackboard Learn and gauges the accessibility of the content within each course.  During this maintenance period, Blackboard Ally will be unavailable; note that Blackboard Learn and other services will not be impacted. During this 6-hour maintenance window, content uploaded into Blackboard Learn will be queued and processed automatically upon return of the Ally service. Please note Blackboard will make all efforts to limit service disruption to the defined maintenance window.

Should you experience any issues with Blackboard Ally outside of this maintenance window, please contact IT Help Central at (806) 742-4357 (HELP) or ithelpcentral@ttu.edu.

Blackboard Update

Subject:  Blackboard Learn Services Update beginning Sunday, 7/5/2020, at 5:30 AM (CDT) 

Synopsis: TTU Blackboard Learn Services will be unavailable beginning Sunday, July 5, 2020, at 5:30 AM until 12:30 PM (CDT) 

Details:  The TTU IT Division, working in cooperation with eLearning, the TLPDC, and Blackboard Managed Hosting, will update the TTU Blackboard Learn Service to a newer, more secure version, starting Sunday, July 5 at 5:30 AM and lasting no more than 7 hours. During this timeframe, all TTU Blackboard Learn services will be unavailable. While this update includes security and bug fixes, the navigation, functionality, and user experience will not change. Blackboard Support services will not be impacted.

 We have collaborated with colleges and areas to select the best possible time for this maintenance, resulting in the least amount of impact to instruction and semester preparation. Should you experience any issues outside of this maintenance window, please contact IT Help Central at (806) 742-4357 (HELP) or ithelpcentral@ttu.edu.

NBC Learn Discontinuation of Service

NBC Learn has recently notified TTU of their intent to discontinue their service beginning July 1, 2020.

NBC Learn, a digitized archive of images, primary source documents, and historic stories, was negotiated and brought to campus by the Office of the Provost and the Office of the CIO in May 2014. For the last six years, IT, eLearning and Academic Partnerships, the TLPDC, University Libraries, and colleges have collaborated to coordinate outreach to our campus. Since the inception of the service, TTU has used this resource to enhance online and face-to-face classes, and to provide a rich educational resource for faculty and students.  Many faculty have incorporated NBC Learn materials into their Blackboard courses. Unfortunately, NBC has notified TTU that they will no longer provide the service beginning July 1, 2020. The collaborative campus group is working together to locate alternatives and coordinate campus notification.

Attention Blackboard Faculty

• Due to the current national situation and the major shift to all online teaching, we are working diligently to monitor our limited online resources. In light of this, we are asking all faculty to utilize the Mediasite Presentation function within Blackboard, as opposed to only uploading videos into Blackboard directly. We have sufficient storage within our Mediasite lecture capture system, but limited storage in Blackboard. If you need additional assistance with linking to Mediasite within the Blackboard Learn system, please contact blackboard@ttu.edu. If you need assistance with Mediasite, please contact mediasite@ttu.edu.
  
  For all other issues please contact IT Help Central at (806) 742-4357 (HELP) or ithelpcentral@ttu.edu. Thank you for your partnership as we navigate through this pandemic, collaborating to conserve institutional resources where possible.
• Compliant with NCAA requirements, athletic academic advisors have "observer" access in Blackboard for their student athletes. Observer access provides limited view-only course progress and performance information. If you have any questions, please contact the Office of the Provost: eLearning & Academic Partnerships at elearning@ttu.edu.