BOLT Experiencing Performance Issue

BOLT and its D2L counterparts at other PASSHE universities are currently experiencing performance issues. During this time, students and faculty may experience slowness and an intermittent response time from the MyCourses widget. You can still access your courses by using Select a course… at the top of the BOLT homepage.

D2L is actively working to resolve this issue. Please email bolthelp@bloomu.edu if you have any questions.

Thank you for your patience. We will continue to provide updates.

#Assignments!

Follow this advice and save the #hashtags for Twitter.

Don’t log in at 11:58 to submit something due at 11:59.
Do give yourself enough submission time.

Don’t use special characters, punctuation marks, or extra spaces in your assignment filenames. #nohashtag

Don’t hesitate to ask for help if you encounter an issue.
Do contact BOLT Support right away if you can’t upload a file.

Do watch for your submission receipt from BOLT in your BU email. Save it in case you need proof of submission later. This is your only proof of submission!

BOLT assignment submission receipt

Secure Quizzing Tools in BOLT

BOLT comes with several tools instructors may require you to use to take quizzes online.

Your instructor may require you to use Respondus LockDown Browser, Respondus LockDown Browser and Monitor, or Examity.

  

If your instructor requires LockDown Browser (or LockDown Browser and Monitor) for a quiz, we suggest

1. Downloading the LockDown Browser using our download link here: http://www.respondus.com/lockdown/download.php?id=666246493
2. Taking any practice quizzes your instructor has provided to make sure you are comfortable with how the browser works
3. Launching LockDown Browser from your desktop and logging into BOLT to take the quiz

If your instructor requires you to use Examity to take an online quiz, we suggest you
1. Go to the Examity dashboard (click the examity link in your course) right away to create your profile
2. Schedule your exam at least 24 hours prior to the posted exam start time (This is required!)
3. Arrive 15 minutes prior to the start of your exam to allow time to connect with the proctor and do any troubleshooting necessary.
4. Make sure your pop-up blocker is disabled.
5. Make sure your internet connection speed is 3 Mbps or higher.  Check here: http://www.speedtest.net/
6. Schedule then take any practice exam your instructor provides.

For step by step guides to using these tools, please go to http://www.bloomu.edu/imdc-bolt-quizsurvey

BOLT Tips: Taking Quizzes

Tips for Successful Quizzing in BOLT (part 2)

	Take the practice quiz. If your instructor provides a practice quiz , take it. This helps resolve any issues with the tools prior to a high stakes exam.
	Give yourself enough time. Make sure you give yourself enough time to take or schedule (if required) your quiz.
	Avoid interruptions. Close other applications and make sure your connection to the Internet is strong.
	Exit and re-enter the quiz. Screen freeze? Exit the quiz and quickly re-enter using another browser (if not in RLDB).
	Contact BOLT Support NOW. If you encounter problems, contact us right away so we can give you the timeliest troubleshooting possible. Call us at (570)389-2888.

Search our blog for more tips on successful quizzing!

BOLT will be unavailable Sunday, November 13 between 1am and 7am EST

Every month, BOLT undergoes a maintenance window. This month’s maintenance window is on Sunday, November 13, 2016 from 1:00am to 7:00am ET. BOLT will be unavailable during this time. Please plan accordingly. 

Maintenance Window FAQ

Q: Where are the maintenance dates announced?

A: Maintenance dates are announced here on our BOLT Students blog, our BOLT Blog for faculty, and in the News items on your My Home page in BOLT.

Q: What will happen if I try to log in during a maintenance period?

A: A page will load that says Desire2Learn is unavailable due to scheduled maintenance.

Q: Why am I still seeing a page that tells me D2L is unavailable after the maintenance window?

A: If you tried to login to BOLT during the maintenance window, your browser may be loading the scheduled maintenance page from its cache memory. If you encounter this page outside of the maintenance window, please clear your browser cache before trying to login to BOLT again.

• Clear your browser cache in Internet Explorer
• Clear your browser cache in Firefox
• Clear your browser cache in Chrome
• Clear your browser cache in Safari

Q: This is a bad time for BOLT to be unavailable. Can maintenance be rescheduled?

A: We understand frustration when BOLT downtime occurs during busy times of the academic year. Unfortunately, we cannot reschedule the maintenance windows. The IMDC has no control over the regularly scheduled maintenance windows. They are scheduled by our vendor and are necessary to keep BOLT working optimally. 

BOLT FAQ for Students During the Strike

Do I still have access to BOLT and my courses during the strike?

Yes. Students will continue to have access to BOLT and to courses available in BOLT during the strike.

I was able to access a course in BOLT but now I don’t see it. What do I do?

If you had access to a 2016Fall course in BOLT but no longer see the course in your MyCourses widget in BOLT, please contact BOLT Support.

My course used to have content but now it is missing. What do I do?

If you had access to content in a 2016Fall course in BOLT but no longer see the content in your course in BOLT, please contact BOLT Support.

How can I view my assignments feedback if it is now missing from BOLT?

If you had feedback from an instructor in a 2016Fall course in BOLT but no longer see that feedback in your course in BOLT, please contact BOLT Support.

If I submit an assignment to BOLT, how will my instructor know when I submitted it or if it was submitted by the due date?

If you are submitting the assignment in BOLT to an Assignment submission folder in your course, it will be stamped with the date and time of submission. Your instructor will be able to see this when they access the course. 

Students have also been asked to submit hard copies of assignments to their Dean.

Students also receive a submission receipt in their Huskies email which has the date/time the assignment was submitted to BOLT. You should keep this email as proof of submission.



Any other questions?

http://www.bloomu.edu/negotiations

Contact BOLT Support: 
Monday through Friday 8am to 5pm
(570)389-2888 or bolthelp@bloomu.edu 

BOLT will be unavailable Sunday, October 9 between 1am and 7am EST

Every month, BOLT undergoes a maintenance window. This month’s maintenance window is on Sunday, October 9, 2016 from 1:00am to 7:00am ET. BOLT will be unavailable during this time. Please plan accordingly. 

Maintenance Window FAQ

Q: Where are the maintenance dates announced?

A: Maintenance dates are announced here on our BOLT Students blog, our BOLT Blog for faculty, and in the News items on your My Home page in BOLT.

Q: What will happen if I try to log in during a maintenance period?

A: A page will load that says Desire2Learn is unavailable due to scheduled maintenance.

Q: Why am I still seeing a page that tells me D2L is unavailable after the maintenance window?

A: If you tried to login to BOLT during the maintenance window, your browser may be loading the scheduled maintenance page from its cache memory. If you encounter this page outside of the maintenance window, please clear your browser cache before trying to login to BOLT again.

• Clear your browser cache in Internet Explorer
• Clear your browser cache in Firefox
• Clear your browser cache in Chrome
• Clear your browser cache in Safari

Q: This is a bad time for BOLT to be unavailable. Can maintenance be rescheduled?

A: We understand frustration when BOLT downtime occurs during busy times of the academic year. Unfortunately, we cannot reschedule the maintenance windows. The IMDC has no control over the regularly scheduled maintenance windows. They are scheduled by our vendor and are necessary to keep BOLT working optimally.