United States Zone – Semi-Monthly RC20190208 Released

We have successfully pushed an update to all physical zones residing in the United States. Please note that this release will be pushed to Canadian and European Union zones next week. This release includes over 60+ new features and improvements.

  1. Media Chooser for Blackboard Extension Now Supports Video Quiz Insertion and Multi-Column Gradebook Integration
    Similar to the Canvas implementation introduced in the last release, we have rolled out Blackboard support for Video Quiz insertion within the Media Chooser. This includes deeper native LMS-specific integration for Video Quizzes that expand upon the more limited LTI-based Gradebook integration (which we still support). The result is that users can create video quizzes, insert them virtually anywhere in the LMS and better track the results with multi-column gradebook integration. We’ve implemented it for all LMS’s, however we are releasing it in stages. Now that Canvas and Blackboard have been released, D2L Brightspace and Moodle are next.

    Note: Depending on your Blackboard Building Block plugin version, you may need to request an update from your assigned Customer Success Manager.

  2. Video Editor Supports Auto-Save to Prevent Accidental Loss Due to Refreshing the Page or Navigating Away
    As users are performing video edits, the Platform now tracks draft edits in situations of user or web-browser error such as accidentally navigating away from the editor. This feature stemmed from user feedback interviews which indicated that, though rare, losing an edit is a very frustrating and time-consuming experience. Now – we hope! – it should be a thing of the past.

  3. Video Editor Now Offers Advanced Capabilities to Increase Audio Levels
    Content where, perhaps, the audio track is too soft can now be improved with advanced support for audio amplification and re-encoding. Users can choose to amplify audio by 1.25x, 1.5x, 1.75x, 2x and 4x for any recording or uploaded media.

  4. Video Editor Supports Additional Video Insertion Options
    Content owners now have more flexible options to perform video insertions, video overrides, as well as bumper and trailer video insertions. This extends upon the, more limited, Current Time (Override) mode.

  5. More Modern Chat Capabilities within Video Conferencing Application
    Mirroring the modern look-and-feel of our Live Stream chat capabilities, we’ve introduced a better chat that includes Platform avatars, a more responsive look-and-feel, as well as support for sending URLs.

  6. Improved Ability to Customize Thumbnail Displayed for Audio Files
    Custom thumbnails for audio-only files are now used within the in-player experience while listening to the audio file. Previously, the thumbnail only showed up in the Media Library view.

  7. Visual Analytics and Courses & Groups Sections Now Show Sub-Channel Relationships and Hierarchies Within Drop-Downs
    Drop-downs and filter fields within the Visual Analytics and Courses & Groups now provide a better visual indication of Sub-Channels contained within parent Media Channels.