Annoyance with school...

[lupo pazzesco]

mk, so, I'm taking two online classes this summer term. Everything is through the new and improved Blackboard Vista.

Well, today, I got up this morning, and tried to log in so I could do my labs and quizzes for the last two chapters for the week. This was at 8 a.m. I get to the log in page for the site only to find the following message.

Blackboard Vista is temporarily unavailable due to weekly maintenance. It will be available Friday, June 12th at 10 a.m.

Ok...so, I go make breakfast, water my plants, take a shower, lalalalala, go back at 10:30 and try to log in again...

Blackboard Vista maintenance has been extended. The site will be available starting at noon, on Friday June 12th.

What the hell is going ON here?? All right, fine, I'm going stir crazy at home, anyway, so I decide to catch a bus and head to a Starbucks, where I sit and finish readings and chapter summaries and notes for the next unit for one of my classes. Go me, getting ahead! I also do a little shopping, bop around for a bit, just for kicks because it's nice to be out of the house! (Bath and Body Works Big Semi-Annual Sale FTW!!!)

I get home around 4 and try once more to log in. and get the following:

# Blackboard Vista is unavailable until at least 11 pm Friday Evening. System administrators are working to resolve the problem as quickly as possible.

There's a problem now?! When did a problem happen? Why are there no details?!?!?

Grr. Fine, whatever!!

It is now 11:01. I am futilely attempting once more to log in, in the vain hopes that I can get work done!

# Blackboard Vista is unavailable until at least 6 am Saturday morning. System administrators are working to resolve the problem as quickly as possible. WebCT Vista is available and unaffected by this problem.

.... ....

Uh huh.

The true irony here? WebCT Vista is the program the school was using for freakin EVER. Sure it hiccuped, but it never went down for this long, not in the 4 years I've been at this school. They're transitioning over to Blackboard Vista because it's more reliable, more efficient, and more user friendly. (when the layout is pretty much exactly the same as WebCT, but with different screen colors!)

It's like the great PeopleSoft debacle all over again...and I'm still wondering WHY they're trying to do maintenance on a weekday, when classes are in full swing, during the first round of exams for the summer semester! They've already learned from using PeopleSoft, and then Oracle, that this is a Very Bad Idea, and maintenance for THOSE sites/programs occur early Sunday mornings. Same with WebCT. It goes down for routine maintenance on Sundays, from 8 am to noon.

I have no clue how maintenance and upkeep work, and I'm the first to say so. But, logically, having gone through this with 3 different incarnations of new program implementations, wouldn't someone have learned SOMETHING at this point? If it's still down tomorrow, I'm shooting off an email to the prof, and the IT department, because I really don't want to get knocked behind with my work. The classes are only 4 weeks to begin with, so taking 1 day away is the same as taking away a week of work during a regular fall or spring term...just gaaaah.



<Deep breath!> Ok, feeling a bit better. Needed to get that out. Thanks!!

[Amina516]

I F'ING HATE blackboard. It was useless at my school along with a program for "GRADES" named Sonis. they crashed at any given moment..

did u get it figured out ? And u didnt have an assignment due did u?

[lupo pazzesco]

It's still down.

and I have 4 chapters to complete this week. I had two left. Now, I THINK that the deadline is actually tomorrow, so I've got some breathing room, but I hate hate HATE scrambling last second to get stuff done.

[hinakiba777]

Sorry for not being present on YIM. I got called out.

Anyway, Blackboard is all I've ever known for university online stuff. The school I attend has been using at least since my second year, and first year I did a programme that didn't need the internet.

Anyway, Blackboard HATES me. It really likes to hiccup at the worse possible moments. It is one of the many reasons for my secret transfer to another school. By secret, I mean only my Italian class, my parents, 3 of my friends, and all the schools' administration know about it.

I do believe my friend has informed me that my new school does not have the evil Blackboard.

I have had professors who put EVERYTHING up on blackboard. Some who even tell you no to take notes in class because it will be on blackboard. Which makes it hard for a kid to want to go to lecture. I mean, if EVERYTHING is on Blackboard already. My favorite professor denied the existence of Blackboard. She was great.

[AdminAssistant]

I haaaaaaaate Blackboard.

Hate. Evil. Nasty. Blackboard.

[Gravekeeper]

They're calculating weekly Honor. >.>

[lupo pazzesco]

Time is now 11 am. I woke up at 8:45 and checked Blackboard, and got this message:

Blackboard Vista is currently unavailable. System administrators are working to resolve the problem as quickly as possible. WebCT Vista is available and unaffected by this problem.

Gyaaaaah.

So, I start cleaning up my house, and now that I'm taking a break from that, i check the site again. Aaaand

Blackboard Vista available for students and instructors as of 8:15 a.m. Saturday. Thank you for your patience

LIES!! ALL LIES!! I was online at 8:45! Unless they were referencing their own standard time zone, it was NOT available at 8:15... >.>

Oh, and this announcement window pops up when I finally get logged in.

Blackboard Vista technical problems resolved. The system is now available for all users.

Time stamped 9:27 a.m.



@_@ At least it's up again, but farkin' jeebus. The stupid. it buuuuuuuuuurns precious!! still no news on what, exactly someone did, but I"m betting they pushed the red button...

[Jester]

I have had professors who put EVERYTHING up on blackboard. Some who even tell you no to take notes in class because it will be on blackboard.

Those professors are fucking idiots. NOT for using Blackboard. (I know nothing about the system, personally.) Not even for telling students that everything will be on Blackboard. But for telling them not to take notes in class.

Are these seriously educators? Because even idiots like me know that when you takes notes about something, you retain it better, even if you never again refer to those notes. It is a proven fact in education that those who take notes do better. I know my personal experience bore this out, and there were literally times I took exams without ever referring back to my notes after taking them, but having taken them, I knew the stuff on the test.

I repeat: fucking idiots.

[blas]

Problems with Vista?

Gee...no, I've never considered throwing my laptop into the pool or running it over with a Deere.

[lupo pazzesco]

Those professors are fucking idiots. NOT for using Blackboard. (I know nothing about the system, personally.) Not even for telling students that everything will be on Blackboard. But for telling them not to take notes in class.

Are these seriously educators? Because even idiots like me know that when you takes notes about something, you retain it better, even if you never again refer to those notes.

I repeat: fucking idiots.

AMEN!!

that is all...

[technopoptart]

Any competent admin will never do maintenance from 2 weeks prior to until the week after exams, registration, or term beginning or ending. You never know when the "routine" work will level the system.

[AdminAssistant]

I have had professors who put EVERYTHING up on blackboard. Some who even tell you no to take notes in class because it will be on blackboard. Which makes it hard for a kid to want to go to lecture.

I can give an explanation for this (although I don't agree). Let's say that I'm lecturing on....Aristotle's Poetics and explaining his definition of tragedy. My powerpoint is projected on the big screen behind me, with a quote from the text. All the students immediately ignore whatever I'm saying to write down the stuff on the powerpoint. That's the rationale I've come across...not telling them not to take notes, just don't bother scribbling down every little thing on the PowerPoint, because, hey, it'll be on Blackboard later.

Personally, I despise Blackboard, putting things on Blackboard, and using PowerPoints...but you almost have to in these huge classes with hundreds of students. I also hate teaching giant classes with so many students that you can't even begin to get to know them. But until universities pry open their pocketbooks and start spending more on actual education instead of uniforms for the football team and a new student union and OMG we need a Chik-fil-a! It's not gonna happen.