Large Files in Blackboard - Understanding and Avoiding Performance Issues

We are excited to see more instructors using audio and video contents in their Blackboard courses each semester. However, the growing use of those multimedia elements does introduce some issues that need to be addressed. In our team’s blog and support documents, we’ve written before about the importance of NOT directly uploading audio and/or video files directly into a Blackboard course, whether by the instructor or by students. As previously mentioned, there are known performance issues when an instance of Blackboard Learn becomes bloated with a significant number of large multimedia files. These may include:

• Increased number of transactions, or communication jobs, that must take place between Blackboard courses and the database server, significantly slowing down the overall performance of the entire system;
• Increased resources needed by UCT to manage the nightly backup of the entire Blackboard system; and
• Additional time needed (system “downtime”) by UCT to perform both scheduled and unscheduled maintenance tasks, such as the weekly Sunday morning maintenance period.

UCT staff already take steps to keep the Blackboard system and its database server running as efficiently as possible. These include the following:

• Annual purging of Blackboard semester offerings (shells) that are older than three years; and
• Weekly maintenance period, every Sunday, from 7AM-9AM. During that window, UCT’s database administrators performing a variety of tasks to ensure that the database runs as efficiently as possible.

For more detailed information about the Blackboard system, database limitations, and multimedia use, we have provided the document Understanding Multimedia File Size in Blackboard, which you are welcome to review.

Even with these steps, UHCL’s Blackboard system does occasionally become overwhelmed, causing the system to be slow to respond to user commands and resulting in an increase in the number error messages seen by users. In many cases, these performance issues can be minimized if we can all be better custodians of file space, especially when it comes to the following types of files:

• PowerPoint (.ppt/.pptx) presentations that include audio and/or video elements within them
• Audio recordings (.mp3, .wav, .wma)
• Video recordings (.mp4, .mov, .wmv, .flv, .avi)
• High-definition Images (.jpeg, .png, .gif, .tiff)
• Other documents in which audio and/or video elements are embedded (.pdf, .doc, .docx)

UCT’s instructional designers are available to answer your questions about and assist you with using multimedia effectively and deploying it in your course(s) without negatively affecting the Blackboard system. Some of the strategies that we use and on which we provide training and support include the following:

• Creating Videos (MP4s) from Narrated/Annotated PowerPoint Files
• Using Collaborate to Record a Video Lecture/Presentation
• Storing and Deploying Audio/Video (A/V) Files from UHCL’s Streaming Media Server or from YouTube
• Compressing Images/Pictures
• Effective Instructional Use of A/V Files in Blackboard
• Using Student-Created A/V Files for Assessment in Blackboard

Please contact the Support Center or your college’s designated instructional designer directly if you have questions about or would like assistance with audio and video files for your Blackboard courses.

Tools for Creating Videos for Blackboard

As more faculty embrace the use of user-created videos in their Blackboard courses, our team has updated our resources and support documentation to help instructors select and use the tool(s) that best suit their needs. Please review the following new and/or updated handouts on supported video solutions at UHCL:

• Options for Faculty-Created Video Contents
• Creating a Video (MP4) from a Narrated PowerPoint
• Using Collaborate to Record a Presentation - Instructor Guide

If you would like you students to record and share video presentations, either as individuals or in small groups, you may want to set up a Collaborate space for those sessions and then provide your students with the following document:

• Student Guide: Using Collaborate to Record a Presentation

If you have any questions about these options, or about how to best use video in your Blackboard courses, please contact the Support Center or your designated instruction designer. In addition, once you create a video, please do not directly upload the MP4 using the File tool in Blackboard. Doing so may impair the performance of your course and of the Blackboard system as a whole. Either deploy your video as a link from an online source (e.g., YouTube), or contact your instructional designer for assistance with deploying your video(s) from the university's streaming media server.

Broken Videos in Blackboard Courses?

As our Course Development & Support Team gradually moves videos from the university's older streaming media server to our newer one, you and you students may encounter an embedded video in your course that no longer functions. The fastest way to get broken videos fixed is to use our team's Report Broken Video link, which may be accessed from our team's Blackboard Faculty Support and Blackboard Student Support pages. Once you report a broken video, our team should be able to restore it within 1 business day.

Video Playback Issue in Chrome

Our team has recently become aware of an issue that can occur when users are using the Google Chrome browser and attempt to access videos in a Blackboard course. After some investigation, one of our instructional designers identified the setting in Chrome that was causing the problem and he documented how to adjust that setting to enable videos. We have created a short demonstration video, Resolving Video Playback Issue in Chrome, that demonstrates how to correct this issue on your computer. If this procedure doesn't resolve your problem, please contact the Support Center so that a member of our team can explore other possible issues and solutions.

You can contact the Support Center either by email at supportcenter@uhcl.edu or by telephone at 281.283.2828. In either case, please provide the following information in order to expedite your request:

1. Your contact information
2. The Blackboard course and the location within that course at which you experienced the issue
3. The type of device you were using (e.g., desktop computer, laptop, tablet, etc.)
4. Your operating system (e.g., MacOS 10.10, Windows 10, Windows 8, etc.)
5. The web browser that you were using to access Blackboard (e.g., Firefox, Safari, Chrome, Edge, etc.)

Audio/Video Grading Feedback in Blackboard

One of the great new features that was added to UHCL's Blackboard system during the winter upgrade is the ability to provide up to five minutes of audio or video to each student as a form of grading feedback. Instructors who have been using this new feature in their classes have reported that students really appreciate this "personal touch" and getting see and hear their instructor as they comment on their work, offer words of encouragement, and describe steps they can take to improve their performance. Although Blackboard has some useful self-help information about this new feature on their support site, our team has also created a short (ca. 6 minute long) video demonstration of how one instructor uses the tool in her own class. If you have any questions about the recorded feedback feature and/or how to use it, please contact your designated instructional designer (ID) for assistance. You can also simply contact the Support Center and a help ticket will be created and assigned to your ID, who will then contact you to see how they can help.

Audio/Video Feedback When Grading - Now Available!

UHCL's annual Blackboard upgrade in December made available a new feature for faculty. When grading most activities/assignments in Blackboard, you now have the option to include up to five minutes of embedded audio or video feedback for each student. Our team has already received reports from some early adopters of this new feature that many students appreciate this more personal interaction from their instructors. Information about and instructions on how to use the Record Feedback feature are available on the Blackboard Help site page, Record Audio and Video. Of course, you can always contact your designated instructional Designer (ID) for information about or assistance with this, or any other, Blackboard feature/tool.

User Profile Pictures (Avatars) in Blackboard

An increasing number of instructors and students are interested in adding a picture of themselves to their Blackboard personal information. Blackboard refers to such images as avatars and, when they are used, your picture will appear next to your name in notifications, journals, discussions, blogs, wikis, and other areas in a Blackboard course. Blackboard provides a short video tutorial, Adding an Avatar, that demonstrates how to add an image to your Blackboard profile.