In order to load all lab and lecture hall computers with our standard set of software (known as an "image"), all requests for additions/changes for Spring or Winter 2013  must be received by Wednesday, Oct. 31. Software requested for the fall semester will be carried over to the spring semester.

To be added to the lab & lecture hall image, DoIT must have the following:

• Licensing documents such as End User License Agreements (EULA)
• Technical support documents with technical requirements (including specific version of software requested), and installation and configuration instructions
• Testing script for assessing correct installation and configuration of software
• Provide documentation showing the number of licenses purchased and any additional installation codes or instructions provided by the vendor

Please submit an RT ticket containing the required information or contact 410.455.3838 and a Technology Support Center (TSC) staff member will assist you. If the request is not received by the deadline, there is no guarantee the requested software will be made available.

For an instructor-only demo of software, please use a laptop. If you don't have a laptop, you can reserve and pick up one at AV Services (020 ENGR Bldg).

If you need software installed on the lab image for a one-time purpose (for example, a 2-day workshop in which all users need access to the software), the request should be submitted no less than six (6) weeks prior to the first lab reservation for that class. The software will be removed once you are done.

An e-mail will be sent to the requester once the software is installed, typically 1-2 week(s) before the first use of the software; faculty/instructors need to then test the software to ensure everything is working as expected for class. Support for the software is the responsibility of the instructor or department who requested that the software be installed.

Again, proof of purchase and/or license must be provided for as many copies as will be needed for the students in the class. We cannot install software without appropriate proof of licensing.

Although DoIT will make a reasonable effort to get all software packages to work, we can not guarantee that they will. Some packages may not function because of the network, computer hardware, and lab setup. DoIT cannot be held responsible for software that does not work by class time. Please contact the TSC at 410.455.3838 if you have any additional questions.

In accordance with the Blackboard Course Retention Policy, all Blackboard courses older than Fall 2006 will be deleted. DoIT has scheduled this removal for Friday, August 24, 2012.

Instructors are encouraged to download and keep a copy of the Grade Center for any affected courses. Instructors may also archive an entire course, and keep a local copy for their records. Be aware though that only DoIT system administrators can "restore" an archived course on the UMBC Blackboard production server.

Blackboard has posted the following announcement regarding maintenance of their plagiarism detection utility: The SafeAssign service will be unavailable on Saturday, August 4th, 2012 from 12:01 AM US Eastern (GMT-4) to 9:00 AM US Eastern. SafeAssign is being taken offline for capacity expansion and proactive maintenance in preparation for the upcoming academic term. End-users will not be able to submit papers through SafeAssign during the planned downtime and will receive an error message if they attempt to do so. SafeAssign Originality Reports will not be available to Instructors or Students during the planned downtime, nor will instructors be able to access SafeAssign DirectSubmit. Please make end-users aware of these limitations. Use of SafeAssign can continue as normal after the planned downtime is complete.

Bb course shells for FA 2012 were created on July 5, and will continue to be updated daily. Bb shells are available for all courses (designated as lecture, lab, field or discussion) listed in the UMBC Schedule of Classes (SOC), provided that there was an instructor of record listed. The addition of new course sections and instructors will result in new Bb shells being automatically generated each morning. Student enrollment in Bb will continue to mirror the official registration in SA, and will update hourly.

If you are an instructor, and your name is not associated with the course you are teaching in the SOC, please see your departmental scheduling coordinator to get that issue resolved.

Additionally in situations where one instructor is teaching multiple sections of the same course, by default all sections will be combined into one Bb course shell. If you want to have separate shells for different sections, or if you need a shell for for a research or independent study course, please submit a new course request or submit an RT ticket with your request.

DoIT is offering Blackboard Drop-in Sessions to assist and help faculty prepare for fall courses.

Virtual Sessions:

This fall, DoIT will be piloting several virtual drop-in sessions using Bb Collaborate, a web-conferencing tool. Any faculty members with Bb questions may participate in these online sessions. Dates and times are listed below. For more information on accessing these online sessions please visit http://umbc.edu/go/bbdropin

Face to Face Sessions:

The following F2F sessions will be held in ENGR 025.  A DoIT staff member will be available to work one-on-one with users who show up during the designated times.  Please note that this is not a formal Blackboard training class.  Users may show up or leave at any point during these sessions. Additional dates and times may be added as demand warrants.