ALL CLEAR. myCourses is up and running

myCourses is back up after being down for planned maintenance. This is the ALL CLEAR announcement indicating that normal use of the system may resume.

During the downtime, Blackboard was upgraded to version 6.2.3 and a new Big IP F5 load balancer was installed. Both upgrades are expected to help resolve some past issues. Neither upgrade will cause any significant changes to the user interface or processes.

Updated workarounds posted for Chat Log issues- posted July 22, 2008

Some users' entries are not showing up in the chat logs. Technicians are working to resolve the issue.
Attendance by students who don't show up in the chat log is still visible in the Tracking function, though their chat entries are lost. Faculty and student entries that are lost cannot be retrieved within the system.

Workarounds:

1. Facultly, to help make sure you are showing up in the log, users are advised to please log onto a chat early, then while that chat window is still open, check the log IN ANOTHER BROWSER (not just another window in the same browser) to make sure your entries are showing. If not, try opening the chat session using another browser and/or restart your computer.
2. Faculty and Students alike may use this recommended workaround to preserve the chat session. Before the current chat window is closed, Select All [Control-A] and copy [Control-C] all the entries in the chat. Then paste [Control-V] what you have copied into a word processor document and save it. That copy can then be posted as a "log" in myCourses by pasting or attaching in the Discussion area. Note: What you are able to copy is determined by when you entered the chat session. So, in order to be able to copy the whole session, you must have been present in the chat at the beginning. Also, it doesn't hurt to perform this step a couple of times during the session so that if you get bumped off during the session you won't lose the beginning parts of the chat.
3. Another possible workaround would be to Create a screen shot of the log as the chat progresses by using [Control-Print Screen] which copies an image of the current window, then pasting that image into a word processor document. Note: With this workaround you will have to repeat the copy and paste steps several times to get the whole log. Plus the images in the word processor will be "images" and not text. They can still be read but are not as convenient to use.

FOR INSTRUCTORS: Change to the RED EDIT button - posted June 4, 2008

The new Luminis Platform for mySFA has made a minor change in the way instructors will allow access to myCourses. Instead of the red edit button, there is a new gray pencil icon to the left of the course names. The functionality remains the same.

1. Log on to mySFA at http://mysfa.sfasu.edu.
2. Click the myCourses tab
3. Choose the course schedule for the desired semester.
4. To the left of the desired course, click the edit box with the pencil icon on it. The Set Course Homepage window opens.
5. Select WebCT (use WebCT class homepage).
6. Click Save Changes. The selection window closes.
7. Click on the name of the course to be taken to the myCourses homepage (formerly WebCT, though the label has not yet been changed.)

Old bookmarks may not work - posted May 29, 2008

When accessing myCourses, avoid using the old WebCT address that you may have as a bookmark.  The previous webct.sfasu.edu address will not take you to myCourses.  The correct address to type into the URL address bar is http://mycourses.sfasu.edu.  Once you are at the new myCourses login page, you may may a new bookmark labled myCourses. 

No replies to forwarded mail - posted April 15, 2008

As a notification convenience to faculty and students, messages from myCourses Mail may be forwarded to an external email account such as Titan, SFA, or a commercial email account.

Please be aware, though, that replies to forwarded mail do not go back to the sender; they go directly to the address mycourses@sfasu.edu. Therefore, PLEASE DO NOT REPLY to forwarded mail using your external email program--instead, log on to myCourses to reply.

Regularly Planned Downtime on 4th Friday of each month

myCourses is usually taken off-line during the 4th Friday night of each month for routine backups and maintenance . This planned downtime lasts from 10:00 p.m. on the 4th Friday until 8:00 a.m. Saturday.

Planned Downtime after Summer II, 2008

myCourses is back up after being down for planned maintenance after Summer II. This is the ALL CLEAR announcement indicating that normal use of the system may resume.

During the downtime, Blackboard was upgraded to version 6.2.3 and a new Big IP F5 load balancer was installed. Both upgrades are expected to help resolve some past issues. Neither upgrade will cause any significant changes to the user interface or processes.

Brief Downtime at mid-night on June 4 - posted June 4, 2008

myCourses was down as announced for about two hours beginning at mid-night on Wednesday, June 4 in order to update licensing keys.

Planned downtime for May - posted April 23, 2008. Updated June 4..

myCourses was down for maintenance as planned from 10:00 p.m. Thursday night, May 29th until about 11:00 a.m. Friday morning, May 30th.

During the downtime upgrades were made to the software drivers in the cluster load balancer. The upgrades will not have any major effect on the user interface or user procedures.

Previous downtimes - posted April 29, 2008

myCourses is usually taken off-line during the 4th Friday night of each month for routine maintenance and backups. This planned downtime lasts from 10:00 p.m. on the 4th Friday until 8:00 a.m. Saturday.

Other than these regularly planned downtimes, myCourses has been up and running continuously since before the Spring 2008 semester began.

On rare occasions, myCourses will be unavailable due to Internet outages affecting the whole campus. Also on rare occations, myCourses may appear to be unavailable if mySFA is down. In either case, information about such downtimes will be posted here as soon as possible.

Updated workarounds posted for Chat Log issues- posted July 22, 2008

Some users' entries are not showing up in the chat logs. Technicians are working to resolve the issue.
Attendance by students who don't show up in the chat log is still visible in the Tracking function, though their chat entries are lost. Faculty and student entries that are lost cannot be retrieved within the system.

Workarounds:

1. Facultly, to help make sure you are showing up in the log, users are advised to please log onto a chat early, then while that chat window is still open, check the log IN ANOTHER BROWSER (not just another window in the same browser) to make sure your entries are showing. If not, try opening the chat session using another browser and/or restart your computer.
2. Faculty and Students alike may use this recommended workaround to preserve the chat session. Before the current chat window is closed, Select All [Control-A] and copy [Control-C] all the entries in the chat. Then paste [Control-V] what you have copied into a word processor document and save it. That copy can then be posted as a "log" in myCourses by pasting or attaching in the Discussion area. Note: What you are able to copy is determined by when you entered the chat session. So, in order to be able to copy the whole session, you must have been present in the chat at the beginning. Also, it doesn't hurt to perform this step a couple of times during the session so that if you get bumped off during the session you won't lose the beginning parts of the chat.
3. Another possible workaround would be to Create a screen shot of the log as the chat progresses by using [Control-Print Screen] which copies an image of the current window, then pasting that image into a word processor document. Note: With this workaround you will have to repeat the copy and paste steps several times to get the whole log. Plus the images in the word processor will be "images" and not text. They can still be read but are not as convenient to use.

Respondus "browser authentication failed" message - posted April 17, 2008

A few faculty are experiencing a dialog box message that says, "browser authentication failed" when trying to publish a quiz from Respondus. In most cases the quiz is being published to the course in spite of the message. Please log on to the course and verify the quiz before trying to send it again. Contact mmcculler@sfasu.edu if the quiz does not publish correctly.

Studymate "browser authentication failed" message - posted April 17, 2008

A few faculty are experiencing a dialog box message that says, "browser authentication failed" when trying to publish a StudyMate activity .The workaround:

1. Create a folder on the desktop (or documents or wherever you want it) with the name of the activity (i.e. Phonics_ChallengeSM).
2. Create the StudyMate file as usual.
3. From the Publish tab, instead of publishing, choose to create “HTML + SWF files”.
4. Opt to save it to the folder you created; a set of eight or more files will be added to the folder.
5. Zip the folder (right-click and choose Send To/Compressed Folder.)
6. Upload the zipped folder to myCourses.
7. Extract the zipped file; a folder will be created with all the files in it.
8. Link just the HTML file in any folder or in any Learning Module in the course.

Error uploading file – Connection reset by peer:  socket write error”

Some users are unable to upload (attach) files in myCourses.  An error message appears that says, “Error uploading file – Connection reset by peer:  socket write error”. At this time the solution is to contact the Web Course Support Team at 936-468-1919 or 936-468-4633 or to send an email to sfaonline@sfasu.edu for further instructions and assistance in uploading the file. 

General Logon guidelines - posted January 30, 2008

Below are solutions to some of the log on issues experienced by users of myCourses (Blackboard/WebCT). Please follow these steps in an attempt to resolve your logon issues. Should you continue having problems logging on, please direct your help request to Distance Education (DE) Student Support at afloyd@sfasu.edu or 936-468-1919. Please provide your operating system, such as (Windows XP) and the browser version you are using, such as (I.E. 7.0, Mozilla Firefox).

LOGGING ON TO myCourses go to http://mycourses.sfasu.edu

Remember to always click "Check Browser" located in the upper right corner of the logon screen before logging on to myCourses (Blackboard/WebCT). This browser check will ensure that your browser is configured so the complete functionality of this application is available to you.

Invalid User Name and or Password...OR You have had myCourses (Blackboard/WebCT) bookmarked for several semesters and now it doesn't seem to work. - posted January 30, 2008

SOLUTION...

• In I.E. from the menu bar go to Tools, then Internet Options
• In I.E. 6.0 under to heading Temporary Internet Files, click Settings, then View Files, then from Edit, Select All, then Delete by using the red X or click Delete on your keyboard
• A prompt will appear asking you if you want to delete cookies, click Yes
• When the files are all gone click OK, and OK again
• In IE 7.0 under the heading Browsing History, click Delete, then Delete All, then click Yes, then OK
• Close the window and open a new browser window
• Enter the URL: http://mycourses.sfasu.edu by typing it in the field.
• Bookmark this site by clicking on Favorites and Add to Favorites in I.E.6 or 7, or Bookmarks and Bookmark this Page in Mozilla Firefox
• Next, on the myCourses (Blackboard Learning System) logon page click Log In and enter your User name and Password (your mySFA User name and PIN) then click OK

An unexpected error has occured while trying to Log on to myCourses - posted January 30, 2008

SOLUTION...

• If using an I.E. 6 or 7 browser, try using Mozilla Firefox. You may download it from the SFA Online Software Downloads

If you have discovered an issue or a problem, please e-mail mycourses@sfasu.edu.

Please give as much information as you can by answering the following questions:

• What operating system do you use? (Windows XP, Vista, Mac OS)
• What browser and version of browser were you using? (Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox)
• Who is your Internet service provider ?(Suddenlink, SBC Global, SFA)
• What you were trying to do?
• What problem are you experiencing?
• Did you get any error messages? What did they say?

Subscribe to the myCourses Status listserv

If you would like to recieve email messages pertaining to the status of myCourses, you may subscribe to the myCourses listserv by clicking this link. This link should open your email program and create the necessary message for you. Leave the subject line blank and do not include your Signature.