Turn every new pull request into a learning activity
Make real product work the starting point for hands-on learning.
Trigger
New Pull Request Created
Triggers when a new pull request is created in GitHub, matching the optional configured filters. Emits an event for each newly created pull request. Supports filtering by repository, owner/organisation, author, assignee, label, state, base branch, head branch, and draft status.
Action
Create assignment in course contents
Creates a new assignment within a specified blackboard course. this endpoint allows instructors to set up detailed assignments with customizable settings for availability, grading, and plagiarism detection. it supports rich text instructions using bbml, adaptive release for controlled content visibility, and integration with originality reporting tools. use this endpoint when you need to programmatically create assignments with specific requirements or to batch create multiple assignments. the endpoint provides extensive customization options but requires careful consideration of parameters to ensure the assignment is set up correctly for student access and evaluation.
Why this helps
Useful code changes appear faster than you can turn them into structured exercises.
- Converts live work into reusable learning
- Removes assignment setup overhead
- Keeps exercises connected to current code
Setup
Build it in a few focused steps.
- 1Connect GitHub and Blackboard to Notis once through the portal.
- 2Create an automation and write one instruction asking Notis to create a Blackboard assignment from each new pull request, including review guidance and the relevant link.
- 3Pick the GitHub new pull request created trigger and choose where Notis reports runs.
- 4Test with one new pull request.
Questions about this workflow
Can the assignment be drafted first?
Yes. Tell Notis to create it as a draft for review before students see it.
Can it focus on selected pull requests?
Use the natural-language instruction to describe which repository, branch, label, or type of pull request should become an assignment.
When this happens · Trigger
Do this · Action
Supported Triggers and Actions
Notis builds workflows that link GitHub to Blackboard. A trigger fires from one place; an action lands in another.
GitHub triggers
Blackboard actions
New Workflow Artifact Created
Triggers when a new workflow artifact is created in a GitHub repository. Monitors for newly created GitHub Actions workflow artifacts. Optionally filters by artifact name to restrict monitoring to specific artifacts.
Course Announcements Access
Retrieves a list of announcements for a specific course in the blackboard learning management system. this endpoint allows users to access important messages, updates, or notifications related to a particular course. it should be used when there's a need to fetch all announcements or check for recent updates in a course. the tool returns announcement data but does not provide functionality for creating, updating, or deleting announcements. keep in mind that the returned list may be paginated if there are many announcements, and additional calls might be necessary to retrieve all data.
Branch Changed
Triggers when a GitHub branch changes. Monitors a specific branch for: - New commits pushed (head commit SHA changes) - Protection status toggled (branch becomes protected or unprotected) - Protection settings changed, including: required status checks and their enforcement level, admin enforcement, required pull request reviews (dismiss stale reviews, code owner reviews, approving review count, last push approval), required linear history, force push allowance, deletion allowance, conversation resolution, branch locking, and fork syncing.
Get course announcement by id
Retrieves a specific announcement from a particular course in the blackboard learn system. this endpoint allows users to fetch detailed information about a single announcement, including its content, creation date, and any attachments. it is particularly useful for displaying announcement details in external applications or for retrieving updated information about a previously known announcement. the endpoint requires both the course id and the announcement id to ensure precise retrieval of the intended announcement. it should be used when specific announcement details are needed, rather than for listing all announcements in a course.
New Branch Created
Triggers when a new branch is created in a GitHub repository. Detects newly created branches. Deleted branches do not fire events.
Update child course in parent
This endpoint updates the relationship between a parent course and its child course in the blackboard learning management system. it is used to modify existing course hierarchies, allowing administrators to restructure course organizations or adjust course relationships. the endpoint should be used when there's a need to change the parent-child association between two courses, such as moving a sub-course to a different parent course or updating the hierarchical structure of courses. it's important to note that this endpoint only modifies existing relationships and does not create new courses or new child-parent associations if they don't already exist in some form.
Check Run Status / Conclusion Changed
Triggers when a specific GitHub check run changes its status or conclusion. Monitors a single check run for changes to: status (queued, in_progress, completed, etc.), conclusion (success, failure, neutral, cancelled, skipped, timed_out, action_required), started_at, and completed_at.
Upload file to attempt in gradebook
This endpoint allows for the upload and attachment of files to a specific attempt within a course's gradebook in the blackboard learning management system. it is used to associate submitted work, supporting documents, or any relevant files with a student's attempt on an assignment, quiz, or other assessable items. the endpoint should be called after the initial file upload process, using the generated uploadid to link the file to the specific attempt. it's particularly useful for instructors or system integrators who need to programmatically attach files to student submissions, or for building custom submission interfaces that interact with blackboard's backend. this endpoint does not handle the actual file transfer; it assumes the file has already been uploaded to blackboard's system and is now being associated with a specific attempt.
Check Suite Status / Conclusion Changed
Triggers when a GitHub check suite changes its status or conclusion for a given ref. Monitors all check suites associated with a git reference (branch, tag, or commit SHA) for changes to status (queued, in_progress, completed, etc.) and conclusion (success, failure, neutral, cancelled, skipped, timed_out, action_required, startup_failure, stale). Optionally filters by GitHub App ID.
Get oauth2 authorization code
Initiates the oauth 2.0 authorization code flow for the blackboard api. this endpoint is used to obtain an authorization code, which is a crucial step in the oauth 2.0 authentication process. the authorization code can later be exchanged for an access token, granting limited access to user resources on the blackboard platform. this endpoint should be called when an application needs to request permission from a user to access their blackboard data. it's important to note that this endpoint does not directly provide access to user data; it only initiates the authorization process. the response will typically include a redirect url containing the authorization code, which the client application must handle appropriately.
New Code Scanning Alert Created
Triggers when a new code scanning alert is created in a repository. Fires an event for each newly created code scanning alert detected in the configured repository. Alerts can be filtered by Git reference, scanning tool, state, and severity. The payload includes the alert number, rule details, tool information, state, severity, and the location of the most recent instance.
Get user gradebook for course
Retrieves the gradebook information for a specific user within a particular course in blackboard. this endpoint allows instructors or authorized personnel to access individual student grade data, including assignment scores, overall course grade, and any custom gradebook columns. it should be used when detailed grade information for a single student in a specific course is needed, such as for progress monitoring or grade reviews. the endpoint does not modify any data and is read-only. note that this tool only provides grade data and does not include other course or user information beyond what's directly related to the gradebook.
New Repository Collaborator Added
Triggers when a new collaborator is added to a GitHub repository. Monitors the full list of collaborators on a repository and fires an event for each newly added collaborator. The payload includes the collaborator's GitHub username, account ID, profile URL, avatar URL, permission flags (pull, triage, push, maintain, admin), and assigned role name.
Copy course with specific options
The coursecopytool allows you to create a copy of a blackboard course with fine-grained control over which elements are included in the copy. this endpoint is used when you need to duplicate a course, either creating a new course or overwriting an existing one, while selectively choosing which components to transfer. it's particularly useful for course administrators or instructors preparing for a new semester or creating variations of an existing course. the tool provides extensive customization options, allowing you to include or exclude specific course elements such as content areas, assessments, gradebook settings, and more. however, it does not handle enrollment of students or instructors in the new course - this must be done separately after the copy is complete.
Commit Event
Triggered when a new commit is pushed to a repository.
Copy course by courseid
This endpoint creates a copy of an existing course in the blackboard learning management system. it allows instructors or administrators to duplicate course content, settings, and structure into a new or existing course. use this endpoint when you need to replicate a course for a new semester, create a template from an existing course, or backup course content. the operation copies all copyable elements of the source course into the target course specified by the courseid. note that this process may take some time for large courses, and certain elements (such as student data or time-sensitive content) may not be copied. the endpoint does not provide real-time progress updates on the copying process.
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