BlackBoard Question of the Week

Q. My students tell me they are submitting assignments, but sometimes I get an “HTTP 404″ error when I click on the filename.  What does this mean, and how can I view these student assignments?

 A. Files submitted on Blackboard should have names that include only alphanumeric characters, hyphen, and underscore. If your students use other characters in their filenames, it is possible that you will not be able to view or open their files.

The solution is for students to rename their files without special characters and then resubmit their assignments.

Q. For a couple of my assignments students have saved their work but either forgot to submit it, or didn’t know what the deadline was.  Is there any way I can view their saved assignments, or some way I can open up the assignments for only a few specific students so they can submit their material later?

A. There isn’t a way to view assignments that have not been submitted, but you can make the assignment available to only a few students so they can submit later. Here’s how:

1. Go to the content area with the assignment using the course menu.
2. Click the chevron next to the assignment and select Adaptive Release.
3. On the Adaptive Release page under Membership, browse for the student(s) you want to give access to.
4. Scroll down and click Submit.

Now the assignment will appear for the students you selected, but others will not see it.