The prefix used to identify a Group for a Blackboard module in Microsoft Stream is changing. This is being updated on Monday 19th April.
The update will take place over several hours during the day. MS Stream and the videos will still be available during whilst this takes place.
What does this mean?
- The Group name is what you search for when you want to add permissions to a video and share it with a Blackboard module so students can view it. (The Sharing Stream video with your Blackboard module help guide shows this process.)
- After the 19th April, you will need to type something different into the Permissions search field to find the Group for the Blackboard module you want to add.
- You don’t need to make any changes to videos with existing permissions.
The new prefix
Currently, Group names for Blackboard modules appear in MS Stream in the following format: COURSE_blackboard-course-id.
For example: COURSE_ABC123-20-1MOD
Following the update, the new format will be: BB**_blackboard-course-id
The prefix ‘COURSE_’ is being replaced with ‘BB**_’ where ** corresponds to the start of the relevant academic year for the module.
For example: COURSE_ABC123-20-1MOD becomes BB20_ ABC123-20-1MOD.
| Academic year | Blackboard year code | New Stream Group name prefix |
| 2020-21 | 20-1 | BB20_ |
| 2021-22 | 21-2 | BB21_ |
The prefix for Blackboard Organisations is also being modified to the format:
BBORG_Blackboard-organisation-id
Why is this being amended?
The prefix has been shortened to make it easier to search for and identify Group names in MS Stream, when additional instances of a module are available for the coming academic year.
The prefix can now be used to distinguish the academic year of the module.
The place where the Stream Group name is least visible is when you are looking at which Groups a video is already shared with, under Permissions. You can only see 18 characters, so being able to see the year at the beginning will help.
What happens to existing MS Stream Group names?
The new prefix will be applied retrospectively to all existing MS Stream Group names for Blackboard modules.
Any group names already added to videos will be updated with the new prefix automatically.
The amendment will not break the MS Stream integration with Blackboard – students will still be able to access the videos you had previously shared with them.
Important reminder:
- Do not change the name of the MS Stream Group. This breaks the Blackboard-MS Stream integration for that module.
- Do not delete a MS Stream Group. This deletes the entire group for everyone, and removes access to any videos that had been shared with it.