This from Laura Wittern-Keller: Ensemble videos were not loading properly this semester, although they loaded fine last semester. Turns out that the files need to have the .mp4 extension on them. So, rename the file, adding the .mp4 extension, and they should load on Perusall.
When you type something in the "Instructions for students" box of your assignment, it will look like this:
O.K., I thought, but how do the students see that? The answer is that they see it twice. First, it is on the opening page.
That's fine, but remember that if you're linking to the assignment through Blackboard students won't see that opening page. They'll be taken directly to the assignment.
Second, it pops up in a window when they open the assignment:
Notice that the top is what I wrote. The bottom part, about the number of comments, was added by Perusall because I unchecked this box in the course scoring advanced settings:
So, if you uncheck this box, there is no need to separately type the number of comments required in the "instructions for students" box.
I had a student who submitted a bunch of comments late, but Perusall labeled them as "on time." In this case, I had a 24 hour window after the deadline which allowed for replies. Turns out that if a student creates a comment after the deadline AND THAT COMMENT IS A REPLY, the system calls it "on time." However, this is more or less irrelevant because I also have a 24 hour window for late submissions with diminishing scores. In the end, the student didn't much credit for her work, but she did accidentally find the loophole that would let her submit "late" material and get some (meager) credit for it. If I closed the late scoring window, then the loophole would close. I'm not going to do that midstream, but will keep it in mind for future semesters.