Changes to Moodle Login Interface 9-10am on 2/26/24

LITS will be upgrading the Moodle login system for Bryn Mawr users on Monday 2/26 from 9-10am.

These changes will only impact the login process for Bryn Mawr users. Haverford logins will not be affected, and there will be no downtime or impact on the performance of Moodle itself.

For a brief period during the upgrade window, you will see an additional “Bryn Mawr test” button on the login screen when you log into Moodle. Once we have finished testing this new system and it is working correctly, we will remove the old option and this will become the “Bryn Mawr” button. The login screen you see after clicking that button will look slightly different, but function identically.

Bryn Mawr users experiencing difficulty logging in during or immediately after the upgrade window should wait a few seconds, clear their web browser’s cache, and try again.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Help Desk (drop-in at Canaday Library, help@brynmawr.edu, 610-526-7440.

Problems Scheduling Zoom Meetings through Outlook

We are currently troubleshooting an issue that is preventing some Outlook users from scheduling Zoom meetings through Outlook. Our system admins are troubleshooting this issue with Zoom and Microsoft support, but in the meantime:

If the Zoom option is still visible when you create an Outlook meeting, you are not affected and can ignore this notification.

If a Zoom option is not visible when you create an Outlook meeting, please use one of the following workarounds:

    • Use Teams for online meetings scheduled through Outlook. Teams is Microsoft’s native video-conferencing app and works the same way. You can include non-Bryn Mawr participants; participants join by clicking a link and do not need a Teams account or license. See Schedule a Microsoft Teams meeting from Outlook for more information.
    • Manually add Zoom links to Outlook meetings. To do this, you will need to schedule a Zoom meeting through the Zoom web portal, click Copy invitation next to the meeting link, and paste that information into your Outlook meeting invite.

Our apologies for any inconvenience this causes, and we hope to have a resolution soon. Please contact the Help Desk (help@brynmawr.edu, 610-526-7440) if you have any questions or concerns.

Potential disruptions to Zoom login on 1/29/24 at 4-6pm

Between 4 and 6pm on Monday, January 29, LITS will be upgrading the  authentication system for Zoom. You may be unable to log into your Bryn Mawr College Zoom accounts for brief periods during or immediately after this upgrade.

If you have Zoom meetings scheduled during this upgrade window, you can:

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Help Desk (610-526-7440 or help@brynmawr.edu).

New Accessibility Features in Moodle

Starting this semester, Moodle users may notice new accessibility icons next to course materials. These are part of a new accessibility platform called Yuja Panorama, which LITS and Access Services have integrated into Moodle in support of the College’s commitment to digital and course material accessibility, universal design for learning, and addressing structural barriers to equity and inclusion.

Help with accessibility: for technical issues or questions about Yuja, please contact the Help Desk at help@brynmawr.edu. If you have accessibility needs beyond what Yuja offers, please contact Access Services at accessservices@brynmawr.edu.

Panopto: Scheduled Maintenance 9:30-11pm on 11/2/2023

Panopto has announced that its cloud service maintenance scheduled for 9:30-11:00pm EDT on Thursday, Nov. 2 will involve a brief outage starting at approximately 9:45 pm and lasting up to 10 minutes.

The Panopto website, video streaming, and browser-based recording (Panopto Capture) will be unavailable during this outage.

If you need to record, use Panopto’s desktop app instead — it saves recordings in progress to the computer’s hard drive and will upload or resume uploading them to the Panopto site once it is available.

Contact the Help Desk with questions: help@brynmawr.edu or 610-526-7440.

RStudio Server access ends 5 January 2024

LITS will shut down rstudio.brynmawr.edu, the college’s RStudio Server installation, on 5 January 2024.

Please download any R projects, files, or data on rstudio.brynmawr.edu that you want to keep before this date. LITS will not save any content stored on rstudio.brynmawr.edu before shutting it down.

If you use the RStudio IDE for data analysis, it will continue to be available as a free download from Posit, on classroom and public library and lab computers, and remotely via LabStats and Apporto.

If you teach with R, we have replaced RStudio Server with an institutional license for a cloud-based alternative called Posit Cloud, which LITS successfully pilot-tested with faculty teaching in the data science program last year. Posit Cloud has features designed explicitly to facilitate teaching with R that were not available with our local RStudio Server install, such as collaborative projects, shared workspaces, and easier student account creation. See our AskAthena article on Teaching with Posit Cloud for more information.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us via the Help Desk (help@brynmawr.edu or 610-526-7440)

Moodle Maintenance Requiring Downtime at 8am October 12, 2023

We will be performing maintenance on Moodle on Thursday, October 12 at that requires a brief service outage.

This maintenance will begin at approximately 8:00am and last no longer than 30 minutes. You may lose access to Moodle during this window and/or experience slow or unusual behavior.

If you have questions or concerns, please contact the Help Desk (help@brynmawr.edu or 610-526-7440).

Zoom Activity in Moodle Error Message

In order to fix an issue preventing some instructors from scheduling Zoom meetings through the Moodle Zoom activity, LITS was forced to recreate the Zoom-Moodle connection at around 10:30 am on September 5.

If you see an error message (OpenID Connect Initiation URI is invalid) when accessing a Zoom activity created before this date and time, please delete the activity and create a Zoom (new) activity to your course in its place.

We are very sorry for the inconvenience this causes.

If you have any questions, please contact the Help Desk (help@brynmawr.edu, 610-526-7636).

Moodle Upgrade Successfully Completed

Our upgrade to Moodle 4.2 is complete and the site is now online.

To learn more what is new/changed: 

  1. Take the user tour the first time you log in.
  2. Watch our video tour.
  3. Read a summary list of changes for teachers or for students.

If you need help:

Where are my old courses?

  • Courses from Fall 2020 to the present are still on moodle.brynmawr.edu.
  • LITS has archival copies of fall 2017-summer 2020 academic courses and can copy them into new Moodle shells for instructors on request.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us via the Help Desk (help@brynmawr.edu, 610-526-7440).

FINAL REMINDER: Moodle Downtime and Upgrade August 14, 2023

Moodle will be down on Monday, August 14, 2023, while LITS completes the final steps of upgrading to Moodle 4.2.

Check out this video preview of the new interface!

The first time you log in after August 14, please complete the user tour to learn about changes to the Moodle interface. We will post links to additional guides and video demos immediately following the update. In-person support will be available by appointment or drop in to Canaday 315 on Monday, August 28, 10am-12pm and 1-3pm.

As a reminder, access to Moodle Archive ends on August 14. Teachers who want personal back-up copies of courses on this site must create and download them NOW. (LITS has archived back-up copies of fall 2017-summer 2020 academic courses and will continue to copy them into new Moodle shells on request after August 15.)

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us via the Help Desk (help@brynmawr.edu, 610-526-7440).

Microsoft 365 Accessibility Checker Now Enabled by Default

In support of the College’s commitment to accessibility, LITS has enabled Microsoft’s accessibility checker by default within college-licensed Microsoft 365 apps (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook). These apps are available to current students, faculty and staff online, on college-owned computers (including public lab computers), and on personal devices.

The accessibility checker works much like a spell checker, alerting you if elements in a document or email might be inaccessible and suggesting possible fixes, which you can often apply by clicking.

For more info, see:

Microsoft also offers online, self-paced training and video tutorials on making documents accessible.

For info about Microsoft 365 features that help you view, read and hear documents and email in more accessible ways, see Office 365: Immersive reader accessibility features (Ask Athena) and  Microsoft Outlook: Accessibility features (Ask Athena).

For more info on the College’s commitment to ensuring that all individuals, including individuals with disabilities, have equal access to courses, programs, and events, see Bryn Mawr’s Web Accessibility Policy, Accessibility Policy for Classroom Instruction, and Accessibility Policy for College Events.

Contact the Help Desk with questions: help@brynmawr.edu or 610-526-7440.

Reminder: Moodle Downtime and Upgrade on August 14, 2023

Moodle will be down on Monday, August 14, 2023, while LITS completes the final steps of upgrading to version 4.2:

  • The Moodle interface will be updated, but content on moodle.brynmawr.edu (including fall 2023 courses) and that URL will NOT change.
  • Access to Moodle Archive (moodlearchive.brynmawr.edu) will end. Teachers who want personal back-up copies of courses on this site should create them ASAP. LITS has archived back-ups of fall 2017-summer 2020 academic courses and will continue to copy them into new Moodle shells on request after August 15.

Want a sneak preview of the new interface? Log into our Moodle 4 sandbox using one of these username (password) combinations:

  • Student view sample course — lpalpantine (SithLord!83) or dvader (IAmYourFather!80)
  • Instructor sandbox – okenobi (JediMaster!77) or lskywalker (JediRule!83)

We will provide details about the changes, video demos, and user tours with the upgrade and in-person support will be available by appointment and at a drop-in event on August 28.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us via the Help Desk (help@brynmawr.edu, 610-526-7440).