Sakai 19 Known Issues

Known Issues/Solutions

Forums: Short description not displayed on Topic page

• Issue: When students click on a Topic in the Forums tool, or when they follow a link from Lessons to a Forum Topic, they do not see the "short description" that the instructor entered when setting up the Topic.
  • Students (and instructors) see the "short description" only on the main Forums page (the page you see when you click Forums in the course menu).
• Background info:
  • When an instructor creates a new Topic in Forums, it can have a "short description" and/or a longer "full description".
  • The "short description" displays to students (and instructors) on the main Forums page, along with a link to view the full description, if there is one.
  • Prior to Sakai 19, when the user clicked on a Topic, the "short description" also displayed there, on the "topic page".
  • On Sakai 19, the "short description" is not displayed on the "topic page". The link to view the full description is there, but the short description is missing.
  • If an instructor provides links from Lessons to Forum Topics, when students click these links, they go straight to the topic page, and will not see the short description.
• Workaround: For each Topic in Forums, if you have important info in "Short description" that you want to make sure your students see, put that info also in the larger "Description" box (aka full description). Students will need to click "View Full Description" to see the information, so you should probably tell them that.

Sakai documentation: SAK-41769

Audio files created with Text Editor record button will not import to another course site

• Issue: After Importing a course with audio files created using the Text Editor's "Record Audio Clip" tool; audio files won't play for students (but will play for instructors).
  • For example, in Lessons, if an instructor used the Text Editor-Record Audio Clip tool to create an audio file, both instructors and students can play the audio file.
  • BUT after using Site Info > Import from Site in a new course site, in Lessons, the students won't be able to play the audio files in the new course site.
• To see the issue: Create audio files in Lessons or other Sakai tools using the Text Editor > Record Audio Clip tool. Use Site Info-Import from Site in a new course site. Copy Lessons or appropriate Sakai tools containing audio files, and other Sakai tools as needed. Instructors can play the audio files in Lessons and in other tools in the new course site, but students in the course can not. Instructors can download the audio files, but can only upload to Resources, small audio files (<25MB), to their new course site.
• Solution: Please contact sakaihelp@durhamtech.edu.
  • We'll download the audio files, convert them to a smaller size (file type MP3) using Audacity, and upload your optimized audio files to your new course site's Resources area.
  • You can then link to the audio files located in Resources.
  • The audio files can be imported with your Resources files in future; both instructors and students will be able to see the audio player and play the audio files in new courses.
• To Avoid Future Issues: Create audio recordings using Vocaroo or another tool, such as Audacity.
  • In the Sakai Text Editor, click on the Source button. Paste the embed code provided by Vocaroo. Save the changes.
  • Note: Vocaroo does not keep recordings forever, sometimes not even for a whole semester! After creating a recording in Vocaroo, below the link/embed code, it states "Download as"; click on the MP3 link, to download the MP3 audio file on your computer.
    • Upload the MP3 file into your course's Resources area, with an easily identifiable name, as a backup to use in the future. If needed: Here's a refresher on how to upload a file to Resources
    • If the MP3 file is too large to upload to Resources, make sure the file is in a location you can easily find on your computer in the future.
  • Accessibility Recommendation:
    • Please upload a text transcript to accompany your audio clips.
      • It may be helpful to type a script before you record. This can be a useful strategy to help your audio clip remain focused, and the script can be uploaded to Sakai to serve as the audio clip’s transcript.
      • Not sure how to create a text transcript file? See How to create a text file using Windows Notepad

Sakai documentation: SAK-33674

Tips

Clear web browser cache

When using dynamic web sites like Sakai, web browsers might show you an outdated version of a page (what is called a "cached" version of the page).

• By default, browsers keep previous versions of a page to improve response time. But this behavior might prevent you from displaying the latest information.
• Here are the instructions for clearing your web browser cache for Firefox, Chrome or Internet Explorer

Lessons: Displays "Download file" when linking to a document

In Lessons, after adding a link to a document (such as a Word, PowerPoint or text file), a "download file" link and "message" appear, as shown below:
Why is this happening? If you click Add Content or on a "plus" sign (+), then click on:

• Add Content Links, a link will be created to your document or presentation, as desired.
• But if you click on Embed content on page, you are trying to display or show your document, like you would a video or image.
  • Important: Microsoft Word and PowerPoint files can't be displayed in a web browser; therefore, a download file link and "instructions" are provided.

What are the steps to add a link to a document? Watch this one minute video and/or do the following:

• In Lessons, at the top, click on Add Content or click on a "plus" sign (+) to the right or below your content
• Click on Add Content Links NOT Embed content on page
• Click on the Choose or Browse button to select a document or click on "Or select existing files from Resources"
• After selecting your file, either click Save or Continue, then Save. Your link to your document will now display correctly.

Turnitin

• If desired, you can allow students to submit multiple attachments on a single assignment, and all attachments will be checked by Turnitin.
• On the Assignment grading screen in Sakai, instructors will see a Turnitin column. Each document submitted will show an icon. Point to the icon to see additional information.
  • For example, a yellow triangle icon can mean a couple of different things:
    1. the attachment has been submitted and is pending review (wait 15-30 minutes for results to be returned) OR
    2. an error occurred and Turnitin could not process the document (contact sakaihelp@durhamtech.edu for assistance).
• When setting up a Turnitin-enabled Assignment, if you choose an option (e.g. "Inline and Attachments") that allows students to enter comments along with their attachment(s), those comments will be checked by Turnitin -- but only if the comment text exceeds 20 words.
  • This is a general rule for Turnitin: any documents or text containing fewer than 20 words are not checked, and will return an "error" stating that the content could not be processed.
  • This error is represented by a yellow triangle.
    
     
    

Favorite and Hide Course Sites

• You can favorite and unfavorite sites that display at the top of your Sakai page. Follow the instructions below:
  • In Sakai in the upper right corner, click on Sites, then click on the "gray" star to the left of a site you want to be displayed at the top of your Sakai page; the star will turn "yellow"
  • After you click on the "X" in the upper right corner of the Sites drop-down box, in the top middle of your page, you can click on a link to "reload" your page, to see your favorites listed across the top of your page
  • Also, in Sites, at the top right of your Sakai page, you can also "un-favorite" sites, by clicking on the yellow star to the left of the course site(s)