IST eClass Support

eClass Known Issues

Tue, 06 Oct 2015 13:59:41 -0600

NOTICE: Please be advised that the content of this article may only be relevant for users concluding the final stages of course work on eClass or for users on the eClass External system. The eClass Learning Management System is currently in a read-only state that prohibits new courses, enrollments, and users from being added to the site. Credit courses and co-curricular courses at the UofA are now being delivered on Canvas, and full articles on how to use Canvas can be found here.

This article lists the current known issues and technical problems in eClass that have already been added to our product backlog for repairs or for which there is already development underway or completed by Moodle core.

Known issues for other tools:

eClass Known Issues:

Issue/Problem	Summary	Known Workarounds
Certificate activities sometimes fail to send email notifications	The Custom certificate activity fails to send all email notifications when that setting is selected.	eClass developers have investigated and have been unable to determine a cause. Workaround: instructors who do not receive their certificate notifications can obtain them manually by signing in to the activity.
H5P latest libraries cannot be added/updated	Changes to the h5p library versions are incompatible with the plugin version deployed on eClass. Due to this, users will not be able to import H5P content created in h5p.com or higher Moodle versions but they still be able to use, edit and create the content with old H5P content-type versions.	None. With the LMS transition to Canvas moving, major version upgrades to eClass are no longer planned. Users can use the older version of the h5p libraries or migrate their h5p content into Canvas as SCORM.
White on white text in Dark Theme gradebook	When viewing the User Report (or if viewing your own grades) on eClass under Dark Theme, text will be illegible as white text on white background.	Switch to Default or Light Theme.
Students see only a blank page when visiting a quiz or assignment page	The Yuja Verity chrome extension has been observed to interfere with eClass pages. Some students may still have it installed from pilot testing in specific 2023/2024 courses	You can check if it's installed by clicking the puzzle-piece icon in chrome's toolbar. Disable or remove the extension entirely by navigating to chrome://extensions
eClass app not functioning on Android	Users will encounter a white screen when attempting to log in.	Users can switch to a mobile web browser to access eClass (eg. Chrome, Safari). This is has been reported to Moodle.
User "____" was removed from the selection - message when editing selection of users on Participants list.	Users will experience issue when using additional self-enrolment methods and trying to edit more than one user in a batch. Issue does not affect the default, included self-enrolment method.	Go to the Enrollment Methods in the course and elevate the self-enrollment in question above the default enrollment method. Multiple selection edits/deletes can then be performed. You can do this for any other self-enrollment method that needs updating in such a manner. Issue is tracked on Moodle HQ: https://tracker.moodle.org/browse/MDL-66741
Display issues concerning access restrictions that display incorrect Boolean word	When creating an Access Restrictions with multiple nested rules, users entering rules containing the Must not condition will result in a Moodle display bug will show the opposite of what is intended in the setting specified (All vs Any). i.e. Choosing Must not and All will display as Any. Must not with Any will display as All.	No workarounds to the display issue for users to be aware of. The fundamental logic does work properly. If you have any questions about the logic of your Restrictions, contact eClass Support. https://tracker.moodle.org/browse/MDL-64620
Embedded images in quiz questions fail to load for students (or in quiz preview) when there's numerous questions on a single page	Due to system download rate-limits, if a quiz page has too many images, some will fail to load with the rest of the page.	Add page breaks to ensure that there aren't too many images on a quiz page. We already generally recommend repaginating quizzes (either in quiz settings, in the 'layout' section>>new page or from the button on the 'questions' page) to contain only one question per page, so that students' progress is automatically saved as they navigate through the quiz. If there is a functional need for multiple image questions on a page, we don't recommend exceeding 5 questions per page.
Uploading SCORM file gives error message	Some users will encounter the following error message when uploading SCORM files: Exception - array_keys(): Argument #1 ($array) must be of type array, null given Error appears when users try to upload SCORM packages larger than 100 MB in size.	Contact eClass for assistance with uploading on your behalf. (Issue is being tracked on Moodle HQ.)
Student assignment files are not downloadable (broken links)	Intermittent issue affecting student assignment submissions. Graders will reach a broken link when trying to download files submitted in eClass assignment activities. This issue will also impact operations using "Download all submissions" as the zip file created will attempt to include such file references but produced an incomplete zip file which cannot be opened.	Affected students should resubmit their assignments through eClass or agree upon an alternate method to submit their work for grading. Students should check if their submissions are downloadable after submitting by clicking on the file link after, (example here). If not, remove your submission if possible, and re-upload/re-submit. The eClass team continues to investigate the issue.
Cannot enter/override grade values above maximum grade value.	Users are unable to enter grade values from the Grader Report for values beyond the maximum grade setting.	Moodle HQ has classified issue as 'Wont fix' and prescribed the workaround to use Single View which will still allow grades higher than maximum to be entered in that interface.
Group overrides in assignments and quizzes do not display correctly in student's calendars	If Group override has a close date for an assignment or quiz set to a different month than in the activity's settings, students see both the original and their group's close times in their calendar, their timeline view, and course calendar or upcoming events blocks (if enabled).	This issue has been reported to the Moodle tracker. Currently, the only workaround is to set the original close date earlier before the start of term, and apply group overrides to all students, not just one group. This way students will only see the correct one as "upcoming".
Students with a period (.) only as either first name or last name, will not be included in Assignment zip downloads.	The special character causes issues with the zip compression/extraction and these are excluded from the zip file when downloading assignments as a zip.	Student should use Bear Tracks to change their preferred name from using a period to something else, i.e. (-) (dash)
Files uploaded into eClass throw error	Filenames using certain reserved characters or special characters will create issues during upload and give an error message.	Avoid use of reserved characters in filenames fed into eClass.
Respondus won't connect to eClass	If you use the Respondus Quiz Authoring Tool, and you try connecting to eClass to publish exams or pull questions, it will say "Connection Failed".	Direct quiz publishing from Respondus into an eClass course doesn't work. There is a workaround where you can import the questions into your question bank by changing the personality from Moodle to Blackboard, and saving a file that you can manually import into back into the question bank.
Quiz close dates sometimes do not display in calendars	In rare cases, quiz close dates that are restored or imported into a course do not appear in the calendar block.	Instructors can save the assignment settings with the due date turned off, then re-enter the due dates, and they will then be displayed in the calendar.
Course completion certificates saved as PDF files do not display all elements when submitted	If users upload PDF certificates from courses as the file submissions for assignments, some elements of of the certificate are not displayed in the assignment grading view.	PDF certificates can be downloaded to view all information.
Display issues in the DemoStudent block view	Certain HTML/CSS syntax or styles do not appear when switched to the Demo Student view.	This issue is related to an underlying moodle bug and has been reported to the tracker. As a workaround, instructors can also use the 'Switch role to...' functionality to view content if they notice any discrepancies.
The ExamVis external tool integration does not function	The process ExamVis uses to pull questions from courses was broken by changes in the underlying question bank architecture changes. Any users accessing an ExamVis tool link will see a spinning 'Loading' icon indefinitely.	None at this time. Work is underway to repair the tool. Resolved.
Files with semi-colons in their names cause editing problems in content sections	Any files with names containing semi-colons will produce an error that says "error/filereferenceproblem" and will prevent any content edits to that section.	Instructors should avoid uploading files with semi-colons in their names. If one has been uploaded, please contact eClass support for a manual fix.
Instructors displayed in Card/List course format	The Card/List course format will show a preview of names of enrolled staff in the order of alphabetical First Name. i.e. it is possible that a TA may be displayed before the primary instructor, or instructors may not be displayed at all, etc.	None. Work has been completed to limit the display to only instructors enrolled in the course. This will be released during our next outage.
Completion progress bar in Card/List course format	The completion bar will always display when using the Card/List course format, regardless of the course's Completion Tracking state.	None. Work has been completed to only display the completion progress bar if completion tracking is enabled in the course. This will be released during our next outage.
Custom Certificate does not generate date information	Dates are not printed on certificates generated when using full Course Completion as a trigger.	Use another activity-based trigger within the course instead. This issue has been reported to the plug-in's developers: https://github.com/mdjnelson/moodle-mod_customcert/issues/484
Anonymous forums create a duplicate activity description	Regardless of whether the activity description is set not to show on the course page, the activity description is duplicated when the activity is clicked on to open.	No workarounds at this time.
PDF submissions in assignments show a blank page, or are missing substantial blocks of text in the assignment grader	There is a standing Moodle bug involving PDFs saved from Microsoft Word, if the document uses either Times New Roman or Arial fonts. The PDF can be downloaded but will not display in the grading interface for markup.	Students should be advised to enable the "ISO 19005-1 compliant (PDF/A)" setting as shown in this article.
Large question banks load slowly	Users encounter slow load times when accessing large and/or shared question banks.	A temporary fix has been put in place to resolve this issue by disabling question statistic calculations. The underlying bug has been repaired by moodle and will be released August 26th - question statistics will be re-enabled at that time. Update: the issue was not resolved by the moodle fix.
Can only "Move right" or indent once.	In a Topics course format, the "Move right" indent is now limited to one indent. In the Collapsed Topics with Collapsed Labels course format there can no longer be nested labels within nested labels.	No workarounds at this time. Moodle HQ is planning a long term solution for hierarchies https://tracker.moodle.org/browse/MDL-76892
Importing multiple columns from a spreadsheet is no longer possible	When importing grades from a spreadsheet, if multiple columns are selected to create 'New grade items', the system throws an error 'Mapping collision detected...'.	This issue has been reported to the Moodle tracker. As a workaround, instructors must import one column at a time.
A Collapsed Label in the last topic of a course will not collapse.	If your course is in the Collapsed Topics with Collapsed Labels course format, and you try to add a Collapsed Label to the last topic of a course, it will not render as collapsible.	Creating another topic at the bottom of the course should let the Collapsed Label display. The new topic can be blank and hidden from students. This bug will be repaired for the next upgrade of the course format.
The participant's page in older courses throws an error	Some older courses display an error when accessing the participant's page.	Instructors should contact eClass support if they need to make enrollment changes in older courses. The bug will be repaired in the August scheduled eClass outage. Resolved.
PDF exports from the syllabus tool cannot split session tables page	Selecting 'Split session tables on type' when exporting a syllabus PDF will return an error.	The only workaround is to leave this setting unchecked. This issue will be repaired during the August scheduled eClass outage.
File icons no longer display file type	The new icon for files on a course page looks the same no matter what the file type is.	It is possible to toggle 'Show type' in the appearance settings of a file so that will appear on the course page as more information for students. eClass support is working on a fix for this issue. https://tracker.moodle.org/browse/MDL-79188
Bear Tracks Grade export navigation problem	The Bear Tracks grade export functions but the navigation dropdown box is empty and does not display any other export types.	Instructors must navigate back to the grades main page of the course and re-enter the export area to use a different export type. This issue will be repaired during the August scheduled eClass outage.
Access restrictions using activity completion display issue	On narrow displays when selecting activities to restrict access with, the dropdown box overlaps the bounding box.	Awaiting core fix: MDL-77082
Rubric display issue	Text heavy rubrics will escape the modal and no scrollbars are produced.	Users can use the browser to zoom out until text is visible. Unfortunately, this may result in very small text until Moodle HQ resolves issue. MDL-75717
Zero scores in cloze questions cause scoring errors for quiz attempts	If a zero is added inside the cloze syntax as the score for a question, the entire quiz attempt receives a zero score.	Moodle's cloze documentation states that scores must be positive integers. If a cloze question needs to have no correct answer, the question can be zeroed out on the edit quiz page.
.png files are not converted into online grading format	When students submit .png files into assignments, these are not compatible with the online grader and will display the message 'Some of the files in this assignment can only be accessed by direct download.'	Instructors can download the submitted files and grade them offline or require that their students submit in other formats.
Smart Exam Monitor appears to work correctly for student, but records a black screen	Sometimes, instructors report receiving proctoring data showing black screens, and the exam video/screen recording are blank	According to the vendor, this is due to network/firewall conditions. In the past, using VPNs, guest wifi networks, or connecting from some countries have been the cause. Students should be directed to use a different wifi network or reach out to eClass support for further troubleshooting. If on a UofA campus, students should always connect to UWS to avoid troubles.
Chart and graph data for student course logs are displayed 1 day too early after DST ends	Instructors viewing student logs through Participants > Student profile > All logs will see activity listed one day too early if they are accessing after DST ends.	The list of logs below the graph and chart are correct so they should be used instead. This bug has been reported to moodle HQ. MDL-60839.
Revising a matching question (and regrading a quiz) results in student answers showing 'deleted choice'	If a quiz needs to be revised, and a Matching question is involved, the revision and regrade will result in a score deduction due to the revision showing 'deleted choice' as chosen by students.	There is no current way to correct the issue. Reverting the change and regrading will restore the answers and grades. The only option is to manually grade students who have been impacted.
Requesting a second Non-Credit course in a row causes the screen to go blank.	If you request a non-credit course in the Course Creation Request System, and you submit the request, if you click on "New Request" and try to request another non-credit course, the screen is blank with no information to add.	When you are requesting a second non-credit course, choose "Credit Course" first, and then go back to the previous screen, and then you should be able to choose "Non-Credit Course" with the fields to fill out there.
HTML tags in topic titles stalls course creation requests	A rare bug where accidental inclusion of html tags in a topic title will cause course creation to fail.	Remove the HTML tags from the topic headers.
Student image file submissions in assignments appear cropped in the PDF annotator for instructors.	Image file submissions taller than 2:3 ratio will be cropped, resulting in some lost image data which may prevent the grader from grading everything visible.	Download the files and view them off eClass. A better solution would be to advise students to send images that are within the 2:3 ratio. The simplest suggestion would be at request for square image files (i.e. 1:1 ratio). Issue has been submitted to Moodle HQ: https://tracker.moodle.org/browse/MDL-73150
Certificate does not render - no text (border only - if applicable)	Certificates containing broken image URLs automatically results in rendering blank. This was recently discovered during the Google Drive privacy update. Many image URLs became broken, resulting in certificates that do not render.	Remove the broken URL or link to a working URL in your certificate embed code.
eClass sometimes freezes for students when they have the Proctorio extension is enabled in Google Chrome	Sometimes when students are taking quizzes or other activities in eClass and they have the Proctorio browser extension enabled, eClass will entirely freeze. This issue can sometimes generate a high number of requests and cause user sessions to be rate-limited.	We have seen this happen predominantly when courses have a large question bank, such as 15+ pages worth of categories in the question banks. For students: Disable the Proctorio extension entirely when not using Proctorio.
If you change an answer in one part of a Matching Question, then that answer will be removed everywhere in the question.	If you have a question that is in the Matching question type, and you edit one of the answers (say it is originally "True" and it's meant to be "False"), then the original answer will be removed from the question, even if it's used elsewhere (so any answer that's set to "True" will be saved as "[Deleted answer]".	Unfortunately, this has been reported to Moodle HQ, and this issue looks unlikely to be fixed. https://tracker.moodle.org/browse/MDL-5560 You will either have to manually grade the question or regrade the question so that it is out of zero.
Special characters not displaying as desired for some users.	Certain characters, including Latin, may not display display properly for some users depending on their browser font settings. e.g. /ɪ/	It is recommended to do a display test for students prior to using special characters in exams, assignments, etc. For user configurations, e.g. chrome://settings/fonts - ensure that the sans-serif font is NOT set to Verdana as it has been known to impact the display of Latin characters.
Exported gradebook spreadsheets don't match Bear Tracks	Spreadsheets exported from eClass and Bear Tracks show slight differences in the sort of order of names including spaces, hyphens, and apostrophes.	Instructors should take care if trying to merge grades in spreadsheets exported from the 2 systems and/or use the eClass gradebook to calculate grades then export these in the Bear Tracks format for direct upload.
New course creations fail when based on courses containing Cloze questions.	eClass has detected the failure of courses created based on imports from courses containing Cloze questions.	(Re)Request courses excluding the import of quizzes/question banks and then rebuild quizzes in new target course. Issue affects previously built Cloze questions pre-upgrade.
Group Peer Assessment Report does not include comments during the export to spreadsheet.	The exported data from a Group Peer Assessment Report contains responses except the comments left by users.	Data would have to be manually transferred if need be. Issue has been placed in eClass backlog for development. 121444 PPP-213
Whole forum grading gives JSON error or fails to load (spins).	When accessing Whole Forum Grading, the interface spins and loads and/or gives a JSON error when accessing a non-student. This may be caused by special characters (including tab-characters, etc) in the subject of the post.	Removing the special character should resolve the issue. Moodle is aware of the issue: https://tracker.moodle.org/browse/MDL-68694
Multiple quiz attempt windows can lose data	If students have multiple windows, tabs, or devices open on the same quiz attempt, the automatic submission at the quiz deadline or time limit may not submit their answers.	Keep online one view of a quiz open at a time and/or ensure that you submit the attempt manually from the attempt window that contains the saved answers.
NM Cloze questions ignore symbols or special characters and anything typed after in answer	Numeric Cloze questions will ignore inputs following a special character in a student response.	Communicate to test takers not to input such characters in their answers. Issue identified by Moodle HQ: https://tracker.moodle.org/browse/MDL-60711
Correct Answer tool-tip displays backslash in Quiz answers using special characters.	Quiz questions using reserved system characters may be used when preceded by a backslash (escaping character). However, if the upon reviewing quiz results, if enabled, the Correct Answer tool-tip will show the backslash which may cause confusion for students.	None currently. Instructors are to be aware of this issue and communicate this to students if they experience this scenario. Issue submitted to Moodle HQ: https://tracker.moodle.org/browse/MDL-71155
Some .rtf files won't display in assignment grading interface	When students use the google file repository to automatically pull files larger than 5MB from their drive into eClass as assignment submissions, the assignment grading page shows an error.	This issue is on the moodle tracker; students can download the file from their drive to their machine first and then drag-drop it into their assignment submission.
Malformed Cloze Questions/Answers	Making modifications to Cloze Questions results in broken questions/answers and/or corrupts order/answer data.	Do not: add or delete questions change the questions order in the text change their question type (numerical, shortanswer, multiple choice) We recommend that you make changes using the HTML text editor instead of the RTF editor in eClass to ensure that you do not accidentally inject new formats or behaviours into the Cloze question that you are modifying.
Unable to use ratings or grade Anonymous Forum activity.	The Anonymous Forum settings show functionality for Ratings and Grades, but when trying to rate or grade, there are no options available.	None - this is a misnomer. Anonymous Forums are fully anonymous and thus have no mechanism for receiving ratings or grades. These settings are to be ignored.
DemoStudents cannot see embedded videos.	When instructors log in as their DemoStudent, they are unable to see embedded content (i.e. YouTube, etc).	Switch role to Student from the user profile menu to see a more accurate representation.
PDF does not properly convert document - appears misformatted	Some student-submitted files become misformatted and appear shifted after conversion by the PDF annotator.	No workarounds. Please send examples to eClass SUP-592 126065
PDF's captured from some 3rd party apps are unloadable by the inline-grader's document converter.	Students sometimes use 3rd party image-capture (document scanner) apps to produce PDF files that they submit for assignments in eClass. The document converter in eClass will sometime stall on these files and prevent further activity in the same window.	Download the student's assignment file, and grade from the quick grading (view all submissions) screen. If an instructor encounters a file that stalls their session they should log out and then use the workaround above to access the problem file. This item is under investigation.
Some assignment submissions not viewable by inline-grader - document converter does not load and locks up browser session.	Some student-submitted files lock up the document converter in eClass when trying to view it using the inline-grader in the Assignment activity.	Download the student's assignment file, and grade from the quick grading (view all submissions) screen. Clear cookies and restart your browser if your session is locked. This issue has sometimes been associated with using the eClass Confetti Chrome extension.
Word limits and word counts are missing from quiz essay questions.	Users have reported the word count and limit tools are missing from quiz essay questions.	The word count feature exists in essay quiz questions when the standard text (ATTO) editor is selected, ie. students can see how many words they have written, but there is no option to limit essay submissions to a specific length. Instructors must use an assignment activity if they need to limit online submissions to a particular word count.
Student responses are unreadable if tables are used in the response template.	Essay questions using tables in their response templates cause visual issues for graders. During the grading process, student answers with the tables, become shifted and rows and columns no longer align to how they originally were presented.	There is no fix for this issue and complex tables should be avoided at all costs. Some users have copied and pasted answers into Word, Google Docs, etc, and have partially legible results.
Use group or secondary CCIDs to access eClass.	Users have requested the ability to send forum announcements within eClass using secondary or group email addresses.	Only primary CCIDs can access eClass due the user account requirements of the application. Group mailing and email management is possible using gmail.
Gradebook setting 'Show totals excluding hidden items' setting displays incorrect calculated grade items for students	Calculated grade items render incorrect values for students in the gradebook user report when the 'Hide totals if they contain hidden items' course grade setting is set to 'Show totals excluding hidden items'.	If you need to have calculated grade items, it is recommended to not use the 'Show totals excluding hidden items' setting at this time.
Quiz Calculated Questions - dataset settings ignored	Datasets generated for Calculated Questions in Quizzes will continue to produce values with decimal places despite setting values to contain no decimals.	Bug has been reported to Moodle HQ: https://tracker.moodle.org/browse/MDL-44495
No option to preview letter grades.	Provide an option to show letter grades to instructors but not to students when finalizing course assessments.	It is possible to hide the course total from students and set its display to 'Real (letter)' to have side-by-side view of the raw scores and resulting letters.
Badges require a unique name	Users cannot create a badge that has the same name as any other badge currently available on the site (each badge name must be unique).	We recommend appending your course name and the term/year to your badges to ensure that each name is unique. For example, a badge named 'Merit Badge' should instead be 'MATH 100 Merit Badge 2017'.
Grades are not displayed to students after disabling marking workflow filter	If students' assignment submissions have been graded with the marking workflow filter enabled, disabling the marking workflow filter will make feedback comments visible but not grades.	Rather than disabling the marking workflow filter to display grades, set the marking workflow state to Released to make grades visible to students. For more details, see Controlling Release of Grades to Students using the Assignment activity.
Errors when importing grades over 100	Spreadsheet uploads into the gradebook do not function when any scores are over 100.	Grades over 100 can be manually added to the eClass gradebook. This is a known issue at Moodle HQ. (https://tracker.moodle.org/browse/MDL-50650)
PDF files set with the 'Embed' display setting do not render on iOS devices	If an instructor uploads a PDF file and changes the Display setting to 'Embed', the file will not embed or display properly on iOS devices.	This appears to be an issue with iOS devices being unable to display the embedded file. Instructors are advised to not use the 'Embed' display setting for their PDF files. If using the embed setting is required, you may need to advise students that accessing the embedded files will only be possible on non-iOS devices.
Duplicating rubric criteria containing 2 levels introduces a 3rd 'undefined' level	Using the duplicate mechanism for rubric criteria does not function cleanly when rubrics are set up with only 2 levels.	The only workaround is to delete the unwanted 3rd level. This issue has been reported to Moodle HQ. (https://tracker.moodle.org/browse/MDL-62000)
Greater duration for forum edits.	Provide more than 30 minutes for students to make changes to forum posts.	The forum editing time limit is required since forum posts can be submitted for assessment. Replies with corrections are possible after the editing deadline has passed and it is also possible for students to compose their posts in a separate tool, for example google docs, and post them to eClass after drafting.
Images within labels in the Collapsed Labels course format.	Images and longer blocks of text are not displayed in labels in the Collapsed Topics with Collapsed Labels course format.	This is expected function of the Collapsed Topics with Collapsed Labels course format. This format is a locally-developed custom tool that only operates under very specific conditions - please see here for instructions for how to use the Collapsed Topics with Collapsed Labels course format.
Videos embedded with the Google File Embed activity aren't carried over when transferred from one course to another.	When transferring content from one course to another, the videos added to a Google File Embed activity do not transfer over, leaving an empty Google File Embed that needs to have a video added to it again.	Either add the video again, or avoid this by sharing the URL for the video hosted on Google Drive, as per the last note in this article.
Students cannot see Marking Guide criterion descriptions when used with Whole Forum Grading	When using a Marking Guide with Whole Forum Grading in a Forum activity students are not able to view the Criterion descriptions before or after being graded.	Bug has been reported to Moodle HQ: https://tracker.moodle.org/browse/MDL-70008 Include a PDF file with the criterion and descriptions in the Forum description or on the main eClass page so students are aware of what the criteria for the forum post are - please see here for instructions on adding a file. You can also post the criterion and descriptions in the description of the Forum.
Instructors cannot (or can only partially) publish quizzes from Respondus that use Random Blocks	Instructors may receive error messages such as: - "Errors, unrecognized response" - "Errors, unable to complete"	Upload your quiz without Random Blocks. Then, create/organize your question bank categories accordingly and build the randomized questions in your eClass quiz. See Using the Question Bank at this link. See Adding quizzes at this link. See Add a random question at this link. (Part 3)
Whole Forum Grading doesn't save grades if you are using both an advanced grading method like a Rubric or Marking Guide and a Grade scale at the same time	If, when setting up the grades for Whole Forum Grading, you use both a scale, such as the Improved Letter Grade Scale, and an advanced grading method such as a rubric or scale, then the grades will not save.	You have to choose whether you want an advanced grading method or a scale. If you want to use a scale, you have to use Simple direct grading. If you want to use a rubric or a marking guide, you have to use point grading, not a scale.
A Random Question made from a category of Descriptions will not pull any of the descriptions into the quiz	If you have a category that is entirely made up of the Description question type, a random question in a quiz based on that category won't pull any of the descriptions, and if there is only descriptions in that category, will cause an error.	Instead of using the Description question type, use another question type, such as the Essay question type. You could then set the random question to be out of 0 marks.
Whole Forum Grading doesn't save the grade when you grade with decimals	If you try to grade a student in Whole Forum Grading with a mark that has a decimal in it (e.g. 5.5, 75.25), then the grade won't save	Either adjust your grading so that you only grade with whole integers (e.g. 100, 10), or override the grades for the Whole Forum grading in the Gradebook.
Specific quizzes won't download excel or .csv reports when viewing results- the downloaded file has a broken filetype and a name ending in "amp."	If a quiz has an ampersand (&) in the title, chromium-based browsers (Chrome, Edge) will rename the downloaded file, resulting in a file that doesn't seem to open.	The resulting file will open if you append ".csv" or ".xlsx" to the file name, as appropriate. You can also just rename the quiz without using an ampersand.
When creating an assignment, selecting the "AutoCAD" file types as accepted file types on the settings screen gives an "unknown file type" error	For most file types, selecting the category will select all of the file types contained within. In the case of "Autocad", the word autocad is counted as a file extension and is invalid.	Instead, when choosing from the list, click "expand" and manually select the .dwt and .dwg extensions without checking off "autocad" itself. Alternately, you can type the extensions into the field manually.
Feedback activity gives an error screen when trying to download .csv or excel reports of responses	Similar to quiz reports, ampersands or commas in the activity's title trigger an error in Chromium based browsers (Chrome, Edge)	Edit the activity's title to remove commas, ampersands, or other special characters
Using the Collapsed topics course formats with the course setting Hidden sections = "Hidden sections are shown as not available," text in content section descriptions will be visible to students.	Hidden topics do not by default hide the text included in a topic.	Change the setting in Hidden topics to "Hidden sections are completely invisible" or move the content heading text into a label at the top of the section.
Graded forum post shows as overdue when it was submitted on time	When submitting a graded forum post with a due date, it shows as overdue in the dashboard after the due date, even if it was submitted on time.	Bug has been reported to Moodle HQ: https://tracker.moodle.org/browse/MDL-79505

Creating an eClass Sandbox Course

Fri, 23 May 2014 14:56:59 -0600

An eClass sandbox course is useful for any instructor or staff member who wants to explore the system, try out various activities, or do some practice course construction. Note: You can only have one sandbox per account.

You can create an eClass sandbox course using eClass' automatic course request system.

To create a sandbox:

Visit the eClass Course Request System to get started.
Alternatively, to access the eClass Course Request System:
1. Navigate to the U of A home page, click the magnifying glass icon at top right () and click the eClass link under "Quick Links".
2. Then, click on the Request your course in eClass button underneath the heading 'Instructors' in the left hand column.
If you have not already authenticated to any U of A service using your CCID and password, you will be redirected to the standard login page. Enter your CCID and password and click Login to continue.
Next click on Request a Course.
Then, click on the Sandbox course tile and click Next:
Check the box to confirm 'I want to create my Sandbox' and click Finish to create the course request. You will receive an email with a link to the course once it is created.

If you have any questions about what can be done with a sandbox course or about the request process, please call IST eClass Support at 780-492-9372 and we will assist you.

eClass 101

Tue, 24 Mar 2015 12:51:26 -0600

eClass 101 is a self-paced walkthrough course demonstrating the main functions of eClass using short screencast videos and examples.

Every instructor who requests an eClass sandbox course is automatically enrolled in the course and it will appear in their 'Course Overview' list.

You can also access the course directly as a guest through the following link: https://eclass.srv.ualberta.ca/local/eclass/landing/guestlink.php?cid=1421

Adding the Territorial Acknowledgement and Commitment to Concilia...

Fri, 22 Dec 2023 19:12:55 -0700

This Territorial Acknowledgement and Commitment to Conciliation, with the video of the Sweetgrass Teachings from Elder Fernie Marty, Papaschase First Nation, is a resource available for all instructors to add to their courses in eClass.

This page was created in partnership with Indigenous Programming & Research, Online Learning and Continuing Education, and pipikwan pêhtâkwan and created in consultation with the Indigenous Advisory Council. In the interest of maintaining the intended message, kindly refrain from making edits to the wording or title of this page. For questions regarding the use of this page in eClass, please contact online@ualberta.ca.

This documentation is for teaching staff how to import this content into their course shells.

Content can be previewed here.

To Copy the Territorial Acknowledgement and Commitment to Conciliation Into Your eClass Course:

Navigate to your Course
Click the More tab at the top of your course page and click Course Import/Export:
The page will automatically display courses that you have previously taught on eClass to import from. Navigate to the search field below and search for: Territorial Acknowledgement and Commitment to Conciliation. Press ‘Search’ and select the course in the table, then click the ‘Continue’ button.
The next step allows you to select content types from the course you are importing from. In this case, we want to just leave the defaults and click ‘Next’.
We now get another option to select specific content from the course we are importing from. We only have one item to copy, so we can leave everything selected and click the ‘Next’ button.
The final page is just a summary review of what we have selected to import. Press the ‘Perform import’ button and you are all done.
You will receive a confirmation that the import is complete. You will also see a red error on the page, this is normal and you can ignore it. To finish, click on the ‘Continue’ button.
The Territorial Acknowledgement and Commitment to Conciliation resource should now be visible in the first topic of your course. You can activate edit mode in your course to move the resource to the desired location.

U of A eClass Feature Requests and Custom Development

Fri, 14 Nov 2014 17:22:35 -0700

Since the eClass Learning Management System (LMS) is based on an open-source product (Moodle), the IST eClass support team has the opportunity to make local customizations and improvements. Where possible, these changes are accomplished by creating new plugins or integrations - as opposed to making core moodle modifications (which can impact our ability to keep pace with the application's regular upgrades.) The following steps outline the IST eClass team’s general process for intake, assessment, and prioritization of new feature requests for eClass.

Submitting Feature Requests

Requests for new features or improvements in eClass can be made at any time by contacting the IST eClass team at eclass@ualberta.ca or by phone at 780-492-9372. Requests can also be contributed by the IST Executive and eClass teams, the IST Director of Learning Technologies Jeff Rawlings, as well as our governance bodies: the Information Technologies Steering Committee - Teaching and Learning (ITSC-T&L) and the Information Technologies Advisory Board (ITAC). (For more information on IT Governance for Teaching and Learning, please see here.)

Feature requests are classified as any request for improved or missing functionality in eClass. Requests can include, but are not limited to:

Improvements to existing features/plugins within eClass
Open source components such as Moodle plugins or LTI modules
Third party services that could be integrated into eClass

The IST eClass team works on a case by case basis directly with each requester, and will contact the primary stakeholders for each feature request to inform them of progress and status changes throughout the process.

Request Approval

Once a feature request has been submitted, the IST eClass team contacts the requester to document and validate some initial details. During this phase, we work with the requester to gather basic information and answer the following questions:

Does the requested feature attempt to address a known issue that is already in development with moodle.org?
Does the requested feature have an achievable and reasonable workaround?
Does the requested feature require core code modifications in eClass?

If a feature request has already been identified and worked on by core Moodle developers, or if it requires changes to core Moodle code, the requested feature will likely be rejected to prevent duplication of effort. Similarly, if a requested feature has a reasonable and achievable workaround (ie. a workaround that requires less resources to implement than the requested change), it is unlikely that the request will be approved.

Whether a particular feature request is accepted or rejected depends on the evaluation by the team, approval by the IST Director of Learning Technologies, and alignment within the Teaching and Learning strategic direction established by our governance bodies (see above).

Request Prioritization

Successful feature requests that have gone through the intake phase are then triaged and prioritized by the IST eClass team in conjunction with the IST Director of Learning Technologies against all other pending and backlogged feature requests. It should be noted that new feature development is also balanced and prioritized against operational tasks and strategic projects/initiatives.

Custom External Development

Units and individuals on campus are welcome to develop their own custom solutions to meet course and department needs but are encouraged to get in touch with the team as early in the process as possible. We are often able to suggest valuable existing workarounds, provide details on relevant upstream or related work, suggest best development practices, and even identify potential contractors to complete coding. We have participated in this manner in the success of several TLEF projects, notably the Analytics plugin and Syllabus tool now available in eClass.

If you have any questions about this process, development for moodle in general, or if you wish to request or suggest a new feature in eClass, please email eclass@ualberta.ca.

Adding a Clickable Link into eClass Content

Wed, 24 Sep 2014 14:08:10 -0600

This article will explain how to add simple web links into any editable content area where the HTML editor is available. For instructors the main places would be: the content section headers of their course home page, as content within page resources, in descriptions of activities or resources, and in forum posts. For students, the main places for this would be in the content of online text assignment submissions and in forum posts.

This example will show how to create a link in a forum post as this action is common to both instructors and students.

First, go to the forum where you wish to post your link and click Add discussion topic or click Reply within a post
In the message area for the discussion topic, go to the HTML Editor (the content area), and click on the Link icon.

Or, to create a hyperlink, highlight the text you would like the link to display, then click on the Link icon
The Create link window will open; enter the text to be displayed in the "Text to display" box, paste your URL in the "Enter a URL" box and then click Create link.
Your link will now show in colour in the Message editor
Click Post to forum at page the bottom of the discussion post page and you will now have a link connecting to the website in your forum post.
Once you are finished, you can click on your link in your forum post to confirm that it works.

Adding Images to eClass

- NA - — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 15:59:56 -0600

You can add images into any editable content area on eClass. If you are a student, you would normally be doing this in a discussion forum, an online assignment submission (not an assignment requiring a file upload), or a collaborative page such as a wiki or glossary. If you are an instructor, you might be doing this in any of the course construction areas of eClass: topic headers, pages, forums, activity/resource descriptions, etc.

This article explains how to add an image to a forum post as this use case is relevant to both students and instructors.

Enter the discussion forum, then click on Add discussion topic; or enter an existing discussion topic and click Reply.
Add a subject, then in the message body area, click on the 'Insert/edit image' icon (small mountain) in the toolbar as shown below.
Click on Browse repositories.
Then, click on Choose File.
Once you found your file, click on Upload this file and you will see a new window open with a preview of the image you have just uploaded.
Next enter a description for the image (also known as the alt-text) - adding a meaningful, accurate description is an essential part of accessible course design and should be standard practice when uploading images. If the image is not meant to relay information, check the box "This image is decorative only". Then click on Save image to finalize your upload of the picture file.
Complete your message and scroll to the bottom and click Post to forum to submit your message containing the image.

Finding Your Anonymous ID in eClass

Thu, 01 Mar 2018 14:09:49 -0700

Students who are required to sign in to any 3rd party services using their Anonymous ID can now find that information in their eClass profile:

Click on your initials in the top-right corner of your page. From the drop-down menu, select Profile.
You will be brought to your profile page where you can find your anonymous ID under the User details section.

Using the eClass Mobile App

Thu, 03 Jan 2019 11:25:26 -0700

The eClass mobile app allows iOS and Android users on-the-go access to their courses whenever they require. The app features:

Easily access course content - browse the content of your courses, even when offline.
Connect with course participants - quickly find and contact other people in your courses.
Keep up to date - receive instant notifications of messages and other events, such as assignment submissions.
Submit assignments - Upload images, audio, videos and other files from your mobile device.
Track your progress - View your grades, check completion progress in courses and view feedback,
For a full list of what the app can (and can’t) do, please see Detailed features of the eClass Mobile App.

To access the eClass Mobile app:

Please note that in addition to functional differences listed above (and in the linked article), the mobile app may display course content differently based on the file type or display mechanism. If any issues are encountered accessing specific pieces of content, these problems should be validated on the desktop version before contacting eClass support or the instructor.

Adding YuJa Videos into Content Areas of eClass

Wed, 02 Mar 2022 21:03:38 -0700

This article outlines how YuJa videos can be added through the standard eClass editor available in most content areas in the system.

Contents:

1 Introduction
2 Adding a video to a content area (example)
3 Uploading media
4 Recording media
5 Adding media to a course

For instructors, common spots for adding media would include content section headings, labels, or page resources.

For students, media would most commonly be added to forum posts or in assignments requiring online text submissions. This article will show the process from a student's point of view when adding a video to a forum post, but the process is common to all of the different content entry locations.

Adding a video to a content area (example)

To add YuJa videos in a forum post, for example, click add Add a new discussion topic, add a subject, open the content editor, click the top left expander icon to expand the additional rows of icons, then select 'YuJa for atto':

Uploading media

The first time a student accesses YuJa through, no media will be available to select so they should select Upload media or Record content:

When uploading, it is possible to drag and drop or browse to upload existing video files. Once selected, these will appear in a progress bar below the uploader while they are in progress:

Recording media

If students do not have their own media content to add, they can record content.

To record, students will first need to download the YuJa desktop capture application and should select the desktop recording option (browser recording is recommended only if a user is working on a machine that does not have the desktop capture application installed):

Once launched, the capture application allows users to select the video, audio, and screen feeds:

More information on recording videos in YuJa can be found in Recording Videos Using YuJa and on the YuJa support portal.

Adding media to a course

Once they have uploaded or recorded a video, students will need to re-launch the Yuja Media Chooser from the forum post editor. They should now see the media they have added which can then be selected and inserted:

Once the YuJa video title appears in the discussion topic content area, it can be posted into the forum or assignment by clicking Insert Content.

The resulting Forum post will look like this with a hyperlink to the video stored by YuJa:

eClass Dark Theme

Sat, 19 Dec 2020 18:09:03 -0700

Users can switch to a dark-themed version of eClass similar to dark modes found in various modern apps and operating systems. Dark mode can be used to reduce eye strain and improve sleep through lower levels of blue light, improve device battery life, or simply for aesthetic appeal.

To enable the dark theme:

1. Access your profile from the top left drop-down menu:

2. Select Edit profile (Click here for a link to your own profile.)

3. In the General category, Choose 'Dark theme (beta)' from the Preferred theme dropdown and click Update profile at the bottom of the page.

Notes:

The dark theme has been in beta release since 2021 and we have received much user feedback regarding how it looks in some areas of eClass. In the event something is unclear in the dark theme, please switch back to the default Light theme if it becomes an issue. If you find issues with viewing content in the Dark theme, please contact eclass@ualberta.ca or forward your concern to your instructor.

eClass Category Access

Thu, 01 Jun 2023 14:46:02 -0600

This article describes how approved users can access all the courses on eClass that relate to their particular Faculty or Department without needing to be enrolled directly in those courses. Some example uses for this type of access are departmental administrators who oversee programs, subject area librarians who can add reading lists to courses, and administrative staff who assist instructors.

All category enrollments will require the approval of a manager, chair, or dean at the appropriate level before being granted access.

Contents:

1 Obtaining Approval
2 Accessing Category Courses
3 Adding a Category Access block
4 WARNING

Obtaining Approval

Users who need this type of access can download the Terms of Use and Authorized Approver form, complete it, have a departmental authority sign it, and email the completed forms to eclass@ualberta.ca. These enrollments can only be made by eClass staff. Once approved, all enrollments will be reviewed annually to ensure access is still required.

There are a range of different roles available for category enrollment depending on specific use cases - users can contact eClass support for more information about any of the different possibilities.

Accessing Category Courses

Category users can view their list of categories and search for courses within them by accessing the url https://eclass.srv.ualberta.ca/course/index.php:

On this page users can search for any of the courses within their categories but with the new searching tool, courses that are outside the category where the user is enrolled may be returned. While these are returned by the search, if a category user clicks on a course they should not have access to, they will see an alert advising that they cannot access:

Selecting a category from the dropdown will limit the search to those specific courses:

Building Permanent Category Access

The June 2023 version of eClass no longer features a left nav drawer so if users wish to have permanent access to their Category Access page, this can be added as a custom block onto their home page. To do this:

1. Go to your dashboard, toggle editing mode at the top right, and open the block drawer (if closed):

2. Click Add a block:

3. Click on the Text block type from the 'Add a block' overlay:

4. Scroll to the bottom of the right hand block column and locate the new block titled '(new text block)', then select Configure (new text block) block from the gear icon dropdown list:

5. On the configuration page for the new block, give it a meaningful title like 'Category access' (or the name of your specific department or faculty), then click the link icon:

6. Enter text to display for the link, then paste https://eclass.srv.ualberta.ca/course/index.php into the url field, and click Create link:

7. After clicking Save changes, the new block will appear on the dashboard:

WARNING

Once granted Category Manager access, a number of permissions will be available that allow you to have a much greater oversight to courses, which includes some system administrator functions that eClass is not able to specifically prohibit without hindering the role.

As Category Manager:

Do Not add any users in the Student role to credit courses
- These are managed automatically by cohort sync automations.
- Overriding the automations may expose the course to unwanted access or sync issues.
Do Not alter the course Short name in the Settings
- The course Short name is used for eClass automations, including course indexing, archive operations, and search functions.
- Changing these may impede eClass Support efforts during troubleshooting or cause confusion concerning course creation search.