Minerva Monthly Update - December 2023
The December update brings some improvements to the Gradebook and assessment tools. Support for adding images via the content editor is also expanded.
The latest updates on developments across digital education systems are detailed below along with service information on our dedicated Downtime and Maintenance page.
You can also find status updates from Digital Education Systems on Bluesky at desystemsleeds.bsky.social and at the IT service status page for wider University IT updates.
You can also get these updates directly to your inbox by subscribing to the mailing list. Monthly summaries which provide an overview of the new features, bug-fixes, and improvements made to Digital Education Systems can also be found on the Monthly Digital Education Systems Updates page.
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The December update brings some improvements to the Gradebook and assessment tools. Support for adding images via the content editor is also expanded.
Gradescope have advised that the issues that affecting some users when accessing Gradescope have been resolved.
Users of Gradescope may be experiencing issues when accessing the service due to an unexpected service issue.
User experience improvements released.
From the end of 2023 MathJax content added to Minerva will no longer render. This will typically affect modules from 21/22 and earlier.
Some Academic Personal Tutors may be unable to login to StREAM@Leeds. They may notice the screen flashing when they attempt to do so.
Microsoft have advised that issues accessing Microsoft 365 services have been resolved.
Microsoft have reported an issue where some users may have trouble accessing Microsoft 365 services.
PebblePad was affected by an issue at approximately 11.30am on 6 November, which resulted in users experiencing saving and login difficulties.
Turnitin will undergo a 30-minute scheduled maintenance period on Saturday 18 November 2023.
The November update brings some improvements to the content editor (for adding images), the Gradebook and Assessment tools, and a new feature in Turnitin allowing assignment settings to be copied. A known issue relating to progress tracking is also resolved.
The Turnitin issues reported earlier today have been resolved. Staff and students should be able to access Turnitin as normal.
Users may be unable to access Turnitin. Turnitin are aware and are working to restore the service to optimal levels.
Labster, our 3D laboratory training software, now has a custom quiz editor added to its simulation platform.
New release includes rich content editor going live.
Athena TDM will be unavailable due to maintenance on Wednesday 25 October from 5:00pm until 7:00pm BST
Ally will undergo maintenance between 07:00 and 14:00 on Saturday 21st October.
LinkedIn Learning’s old access link in Minerva is being retired on 31st December 2023, and content that has been added to Minerva using this method will no longer work after this date.
Links to some of the most commonly searched for and viewed guides on this site, this month.
This online training session is aimed at staff and postgraduates who are new to Minerva and need to use it to deliver or support learning and teaching.
Turnitin will undergo scheduled maintenance on Saturday 28 October 2023, from 9:00am to 9:30am BST.
Staff and students should now be able to access Minerva as normal.
Staff and students may be unable to access Minerva. The issue began at approximately 10.20am.
Staff and students may be unable to access Minerva.
Following on from the service disruption first reported on Monday, 2nd of October, scheduled lecture recordings should now automatically start as expected.
The October update to Minerva introduces updates to Blackboard Assignments, Tests and improved functionality to send reminders to students for Turnitin assessments. Changes have also recently been introduced to the grading interface for Blackboard Assignments and Tests.
The issue with Inaccuracies with automatically created Minerva Groups in School and Faculty organisations has now been resolved.
We have been notified that some scheduled lecture capture recordings are not automatically starting as expected. Record Now is unaffected.
A new 'flexible grading' interface is now available for Blackboard Test and Assignment.
Find out how you can get involved in the 2023/24 Noteable computational notebook pilot.
We have become aware of inaccuracies in the membership of student groups (specifically made for communications) within School and Faculty organisations. Whilst these are investigated we advise that staff should not use these groups.
In Minerva, Progress Tracking is not working for Web Link content.
Our vendor has released a new grading interface which we will enable in Minerva w/c 18th September. This will affect the marking of Blackboard Assignments and Tests only.
We have been notified of a planned maintenance period for Vevox, which is scheduled to start at 8:00am BST on Sunday 24 September and will last approximately one hour.
New Minerva module areas for the 2023/24 academic were made available for population in June, and staff are now reminded to build their modules before teaching begins in the new academic year.
The September update to Minerva introduces updates to Learning Modules, Module Banners, Batch Editing and Progress Tracking. Additionally, a Recording Tool has been enabled and there is now the option to remove Blackboard Collaborate from the Details & Actions menu.
A thirty minute scheduled maintenance window is taking place on Gradescope on Saturday 23 September between 15:00 to 15:30 BST
The University and the IT Service Desk will be closed during the Bank Holiday on Monday 28 and Tuesday 29 August 2023. During this time, you can get IT support in several ways.
Attend our Noteable computational notebook information event on 6 September and find out about taking part in our 2023/24 Noteable pilot.
Academic Personal Tutors who would like to learn about the systems that support APT meetings can benefit from attending the APT Essentials course running in 2023/24.
Padlet has released a whole host of new functionality available in the tool including polls, being able to schedule posts, autosave and more.
An eight-hour scheduled maintenance will take place on the Turnitin and Gradescope systems on Saturday 12 August 2023, between 15:00 to 23:00 BST.
The August update to Minerva introduces updates to Learning Modules, Messages, Gradebook and Groups. A known issue relating to Calculated Numeric Test questions is resolved.
Vevox is our new institutional polling tool designed to enhance participation, engagement and feedback within a variety of settings.
A software update will take place on Mediasite, the University's Lecture Capture and Media Management System on Saturday 29 July 2023.
Sharing good practice: how module builders could enhance their Minerva Module Content Area by considering students' perspectives.
Improvements to PebblePad this month include: PDFs now viewable directly within PebblePad; Activity Log and Collections features now enable a specific tempate as the criteria - this template will automatically be reportable on, without the need to create an assignment for it.
There will be an eight hour scheduled maintenance window taking place on the Turnitin and Gradescope systems on Saturday 12th August 2023 between 15:00 and 23:00 BST
Learn more about what we're doing to get Vevox ready for you to use.
Essential maintenance will take place on Mediasite and VideoLeeds on Saturday 15 July 2023 between 12:00AM – 6:00AM BST.