9.1SP5 vs 9.1SP7 Assessment Submission Details

Note: the following changes may have occurred in 9.1SP6 but we skipped that version.

In 9.1SP5, you got very little information about when a test was started/submitted.

Here is the Grade Details screen for a student.  We can see the Date Submitted (or Saved).  But we have no indication of how long they took on the assessment (Elapsed Time).  This has been an issue when a student has a problem on a timed test, and the instructor wants to know how much "extra time" to give a re-take.

If you go into the attempt, you have very little Test Information.

Now, in 9.1 SP7, we have the start (Date Created) and submission time on the Grade Details screen.

And, if you go into the attempt, and look at the Test Information, you have Time Elapsed, Started Date and Submitted Date.

Generating sessions

I needed a way to generate 1000+ sessions in the Bb sessions table in development. However, development doesn't garner that many active users. I hit upon using webdav to generate sessions via curl. Here's a simple bash script to do so. Assumption is there's at least one userid you have the password for.

for i in {1..1000};
do echo $i; 
curl 'https://bbserver/bbcswebdav/users/userid' -u userid:pw ; 
done

Yahoo Pipe for BbWorld tweets

I set up a Yahoo Pipe to aggregate the various phrases for BbWorld (bbworld, bbworld11, devcon11, bbcollab2011). It also filters out entries with the word "blackberry" (as that's the other common #bbworld).


http://pipes.yahoo.com/pipes/pipe.info?_id=bd193c390fbb87682b90e69a22559f7b

It is a bit poky to get going as it has to ask search.twitter.com for data. If there's a more efficient way to aggregate multiple twitter feeds, please do tell!

Things to do in Vegas

In preparation for BbWorld 11, some links that I found for things to do in Las Vegas if you don't gamble.

• 7 things to do in vegas besides gamble http://bit.ly/edoc2h
• what to do in vegas if you don't gamble? http://bit.ly/eu4uBM

Any other suggestions?

MathJax and VTBE Experiments

Our faculty are interested in putting equations into Blackboard. However, the current equation editor is old and flaky (works for some browsers, not for others). I heard from other schools about MathJax (http://www.mathjax.org) and started to play with it.

The easiest way to use MathJax is to link directly to the MathJax distributed network service (see Using the MathJax CDN). In that case, there is no need to install MathJax yourself, and you can begin using MathJax right away.

The only thing is you need to have a bit of script tag in each of your pages:

<script type="text/javascript"
src="http://cdn.mathjax.org/mathjax/latest/MathJax.js?config=TeX-AMS-MML_HTMLorMML">
</script>

I had the inspiration to throw that snippet into the googleAnalyticsSnippet.vm (see http://iangoh99.blogspot.com/2011/04/google-analytics-90sp5-91sp4.html)

That took care of including the script.

I took some of the TeX examples (see http://www.mathjax.org/demos/tex-samples/) and added them in via the VTBE.

To keep the VTBE from mucking with all the special characters like "{" "}":
* Turn the Text Editor OFF
* Choose "Plain Text"

And then cut-and-paste the TeX examples, e.g., Lorentz Equations

\begin{aligned}
\dot{x} & = \sigma(y-x) \\
\dot{y} & = \rho x - y - xz \\
\dot{z} & = -\beta z + xy
\end{aligned}

What it looks like in the VTBE:

Results:

Here is an example where I put MathJax TeX into a Test question. (Added 06/13/2011)

Here is an example where I put MathJax TeX into a Discussion post. (Added 06/13/2011)

What I typed:

Results:

Notes:

* I initially had trouble with some of the examples not showing (e.g., just seeing raw code), then it occurred to me that the examples that worked started and ended with

\begin{aligned}
:
\end{aligned}

so I added those to the non-working TeX examples and presto, they appeared properly.

* MathML examples - were not working for me, maybe conflicting with the VTBE's inherent handling of MathML (part of the built-in equation editor)

* Security concerns - including someone else's javascript in all your Bb JSP pages needs quite a level of trust. You can install MathJax locally on your server, and that's prob. where we'd be experimenting next. (And, it'd be friendlier to the MathJax CDN!)

Group File Exchange; Bb8 -> Bb9 missing link name

Just ran into an issue with trying to restore Group File Exchange files from a Bb8 archive. After the restore the file was there, but filename was not being displayed in the Bb9 Group File Exchange UI. There's no link to "click" on.

In Bb8.0SP5 Hotfix2, Group File Exchange:

In Bb9.1SP5, after restoring the Bb8 archive:

I tracked it down to a difference between how Bb8 and Bb9 added files.

In Bb8 (8.0SP5 Hotfix 2), when you add the file to the Group File Exchange, the name was optional. So link name could be blank.

In Bb9 (9.1SP5), when you add the file to the Group File Exchange, the name is required. So link name can never be blank.

The Bb9 Group File Exchange UI expects a link name, so when it is blank it displays nothing there.

The fix I did was to update the bb_bb60.dbo.files table

update [bb_bb60].[dbo].[files]
set link_name = file_name
where link_name = '' and file_name != '' and file_action='LINK'

Once I did that, I could see the links in the Group File Exchange UI.

Bb Mobile Learn Analytics

Reference: the Mobile Learn Analytics User Guide (which I've suggested be posted somewhere on Behind the Blackboard)

Getting Started

To access Blackboard Mobile™ Learn Analytics, you must have Blackboard Mobile Web Services Building Block version 9*.2.9 (or higher). To upgrade:

1) Go to the System Administrator panel in your Learn instance
2) Under the Building Blocks module, click on the Building Blocks link
3) Click on Installed Tools
4) Click on the Settings button next to Blackboard Mobile Web Services Building Block
5) Click on Server Registration Settings
6) Click where prompted to upgrade to the latest Building Block
7) Once the Blackboard Mobile Web Services Building block appears, change “Unavailable” to “Available” in the drop-down menu under the “Availability” column

Accessing the Analytics tab

To access the Blackboard Mobile Learn Analytics page:

1. Go to the System Administrator panel in your Learn instance
2. Under the Building Blocks module, click on the Building Blocks link
3. Click on Installed Tools
4. Click on the Settings button next to Blackboard Mobile Web Services Building Block
5. Click on Mobile Analytics

Metrics

* Total Logins

The Total Logins graph will show the total volume of app usage at your institution.
Specifically, it will show you the total number of visits to the Blackboard Mobile™ Learn app from all app users at your institution, by day, within the specified time frame (Week, Month, Year).

Logins are broken out by device type (color coded): Blackberry, HP webOS, iOS (iPad, iPod touch, iPhone), Android

* Logins by Day of the Week

The Logins by Day of the Week graph will show when the app is most heavily used at your institution, by day of the week. Specifically, it will show you the total number of visits to the Blackboard Mobile™ Learn app from all app users at your institution on each day of the week, cumulative for every day of the specified timeframe.

* Logins by Hour of the Day

The Logins by Hour of the Day graph will show when the app is most heavily used at your institution, by time of day. Specifically, it will show you the total number of visits to the Blackboard Mobile™ Learn app from all app users at your institution over each specified hour of the day, cumulative for every day of the specified timeframe.

* Logins by Platform

The Logins by Platform graph will show which Mobile platforms are most frequently used to access the app at your institution. Specifically, it will show you the total number of visits to the Blackboard Mobile™ Learn app from all app users at your institution, by type of device used to access the app, within the specified timeframe.

* Unique Users by Platform

The Unique Users by Platform graph will show how many individuals are using the app, and which devices are most popular for accessing the app at your institution. Specifically, it will show you the total number of individuals that have downloaded and successfully logged in to the Blackboard Mobile™ Learn app at least once within the specified timeframe, by type of device used to access the app.

Sharing Analytics

Metrics can be shared with other members of your institution using the “Share This Page” button at the top of the page.

Note: there is no authentication required for this shared link. Anyone who has it can view all the same metrics you see.