Learning Environments Learning Management System

LMS Known Issues

 

LMS ISSUE 015: Emailed announcements are garbled

When an LMS announcement is created, teaching staff may choose to also send the announcement as an email to all students enrolled in the subject. If the announcement was created in the Visual Text Box Editor and uses formatting such as bold or italicised text, the email to students will also contain the same formatting.

Not all email clients will be setup to accept such formatted text resulting in a message which does not display as intended and will also show the HTML formatting as part of the message text. This makes the email announcement virtually unreadable.

The LMS guide Announcements - Incorrectly formatted emails explains how to correctly set up student webmail so as to view formatted text.

 

LMS ISSUE 014: LMS assignment submission advice

There have been some recent cases of corrupted assignment files in the Grade Centre. Investigations with Blackboard have revealed that the cause is an interruption to the file upload when a student has accidentally clicked the 'Back' button in a browser, or the 'Cancel' button, or the 'Back' button on a mouse.

If you are unable to open a file from the Grade Centre you will have to make an arrangement for the student to supply the original, either by email, or by clearing the attempt to allow resubmission in the LMS.

The following advice for students has been inserted into the assignment submission pages in the LMS.

At point of submission:

WARNING TO STUDENTS:
When submitting your assignment, click 'Submit' and wait until a receipt page is shown. Do not click anywhere on this screen until the process is complete. If the upload process is interrupted, your file will not be available for staff to assess.

Post-submission receipt page:

WARNING TO STUDENTS:

If you have saved (not submitted) your file(s) and intend to submit later, be sure to return and submit it before the assessment task due date.

If you have submitted your file(s) for assessment:

  1. click OK,
  2. click the assignment link again to download your file, and
  3. confirm it has been uploaded successfully.

If you cannot download and open your file(s), neither can your teaching staff. If this occurs, contact your subject coordinator by email immediately so they can delete the corrupted document and allow you to resubmit.

 

LMS ISSUE 013: Firefox 3 – Removal of Discussion Board Posts

RESOLVED - 15 Oct 2009
When using the Firefox browser discussion board posts cannot be removed using the Remove button adjoining the post, only by using the Remove button at the top of the page.
To remove unwanted posts:

  1. Navigate to the thread level in the Forum by clicking on the name of the thread.
  2. Switch to the Tree View display (this option appears at the top right of the page).
  3. Click Expand All Messages.
  4. Click the check box to the left of the post you want to remove.
  5. Click the Remove button at the top of the page.

 

LMS ISSUE 012: Firefox 3 compatibility

RESOLVED - 30 Sept 2009
This issue has now been fixed, students are now able to upload assignments and Portfolio artefacts, and staff able to upload tests and surveys, and grades into the Grade Centre.

Firefox 3 users are unable to fully use the LMS with any attempt to upload a file resulting in the error message "Please enter a valid file".

 

LMS ISSUE 011: External user accounts

RESOLVED - 29 Sept 2009
The external user account process has been improved to warn users if they enter a password which does not meet the LMS requirements. This warning, at password creation time, improves the workflow of LMS external user account registration by reducing confusion for external users by proactively preventing login problems, and reducing subsequent enquiries to staff.

As part of the LMS external user account authentication process a new password needs to be provided. The LMS external user interface allows entry of more than the prescribed number of characters but only recognises the first 8. This is a problem for users who have unwittingly typed more than 8 characters, so when they try to use their password it's not regconised by the system.

 

LMS ISSUE 010: Firefox 3 - The font 'Symbol' is no longer supported

Firefox 3+ does not support the use of the font 'Symbol' and requires use of Unicode characters to present glyphs in web pages. This affects all websites, and is NOT an LMS generated issue. However, this notification is posted so users are aware of the browser-specific differences when presenting information containing glyphs.
The most common scenario where this may affect the LMS is where a Word document or HTML content is pasted into the Visual Text Box Editor (VTBE) for an item or test in a subject. Use of Unicode characters is recommended to ensure correct presentation of characters as intended on all browsers.

 

LMS ISSUE 009: Turnitin - receipt emails do not contain text of submitted assignment

RESOLVED - 27 Oct 2009
Students receive an emailed receipt after submitting an assignment to Turnitin. This email should contain the body of their assignment but it is currently not included.
Turnitin are aware of the problem and working to restore the functionality.

 

LMS ISSUE 008: WebDAV - Current issue for PC Users

RESOLVED - 14 Sept 2009
Currently the WebDAV functionality is not activated for PC users unless a reference to port 80 is used in the url.

Standard process states URL should be in this format:
http://app.lms.unimelb.edu.au/bbcswebdav/courses/123456_2005_2

PC users should add :80 into the URL, as per this example:
http://app.lms.unimelb.edu.au:80/bbcswebdav/courses/123456_2005_2

 

LMS ISSUE 007: "Saving..." icon in Grade Centre spins indefinitely

Following the LMS maintenance on Sat 8th August 2009, staff using the Grade Centre may find that entering grades causes the spinning "Saving..." icon to display indefinitely. This is because your web browser may continue using an older version of the Grade Centre from your browser's cache instead of the updated version. To fix this problem, you must clear your browser's cache to force your browser to view the most updated version of the Grade Centre.

Internet Explorer 7

  1. Once your browser is open, click the Tools menu and select Internet Options.
  2. Make sure the General tab is selected.
  3. Under Browsing History click Delete.
  4. In the new window, click Delete Files in the Temporary Internet Files section.

Firefox

  1. Once your browser is open, click the Tools menu and select Clear Private Data.
  2. Make sure that Cache is checked.
  3. Click Clear Private Data Now.

Safari

  1. Once your browser is open, click the Safari menu and select Empty Cache.
  2. Confirm the action by clicking Empty in the pop-up window.

 

LMS ISSUE 006: Timed tests and Internet Explorer 8

Internet Explorer 8 is not compatible with timed LMS tests - the timer stretches vertically down the screen, covering the "submit" button.
BEFORE attempting a timed test students should either change to a different browser, OR click the "compatibility view" button (just to the right of the web address bar at the top of the browser). This will simulate Internet Explorer 7 use, which does not have this problem in the LMS.

Image of IE7 simulator button

 

LMS ISSUE 005: Incorrect calculation of variables in "Calculated Formula" questions

RESOLVED - 11 Aug 2009
If the last variable specified in a calculated formula question is greater than or equal to 1000, only the first digit in the the variable is used in the calculation. For example, where x = 200 and y = 1500, the sum of x + y is incorrectly calculated as 201. A temporary workaround is to ensure the last variable specified is less than or equal to 999. For example, where x = 1500 and y = 200, the sum of x + y is correctly calculated as 1700.

 

LMS ISSUE 004: Permissions displayed in the 360° View

360° view is a new summary of the details of each item in the Content Collection. The permissions summary does not include any public access to files or folders.

 

LMS ISSUE 003: Blog, Wiki and Podcast menu items

Some blog, wiki and podcast menu items may appear in a different order. The correct order can be restored by going to the Control Panel and selecting Manage Subject Menu.

 

LMS ISSUE 002: Removal of staff from Communities

You may not be able to remove staff from a community. If you receive an error message stating that the user cannot be removed please supply user and community details via http://servicedesk.unimelb.edu.au/itsc/lms/ .

 

LMS ISSUE 001: Using Firefox 3 or Internet Explorer 8 for Windows XP/Vista on the LMS

RESOLVED - 11 Aug 2009
Users receive the error message "Please enter a valid file" when performing the following actions in the LMS using Firefox 3 or Internet Explorer 8 for Windows XP/Vista:

These issues will be addressed in a future application development. In the meantime, Internet Explorer 6, Internet Explorer 7, or Firefox 2 should be used for these actions.

 

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