Release Notes
Blackboard releases updates on a monthly basis. Each release contains new features or feature enhancements as well as maintenance items/bug fixes. Additional maintenance releases occur more frequently. For a full list of feature releases and bug fixes, visit Blackboard's Release Notes for Learn SaaS.
- February 2022 (v3900.32.0)
Instructors:
- prohibit late submissions and new attempts after a due date
- granular course copy in an Ultra course now includes content from Original courses
Instructors and students:
- add text guidance and a short audio clip for name pronunciation
- March 2022 (v3900.34.0)
Instructors:
- forced sequence and other improvements to learning modules
- automatic grades release for 3rd party tools using LTI Advantage
Instructors and students:
- Microsoft OneDrive Integration - Blackboard contains a new LTI integration for OneDrive. Once enabled, this integration can be accessed within Original and Ultra courses. This allows instructors to add OneDrive files to the course content area, learning modules, and folders.Students can submit content from OneDrive using the text editor.
Students:
- New header on tests to improve their testing experience. The new header provides students with key information including: a progress bar, the number of questions answered out of the total questions, and the time remaining if the instructor has set a time limit.
- April 2022 (v3900.37.0)
Instructors:
- flexible question presentation including one question at a time
- duplication of content from within a learning module
- improved control over when students see assessment results
- choice and control for grades auto-posting
- addition of the calculated numeric question type
- ability to download assessment results
- expanded submission receipt functionality (Original and Ultra Course View)
- improved display of and access to the Course Activty to Grades report icon
Instructors and students:
- addition of code snippet tool in content editor
- session timeout warning (Original Course View)
- May 5, 2022 (v3900.39.0)
Instructors
Weighted overall grade calculation improvements
Instructors will be able to configure weighted overall grades that include empty grade categories. An option to auto-balance weights and lock values has also been added.
Prohibit late submissions - usability improvements
When "prohibit late submissions" is selected and students have submitted attempts, the instructor cannot change the due date to a date in the past. If the due date has passed, the instructor will not bale to select "prohibit late submissions".
Support "undo" and "redo" capability in BB Annotate
This release adds the functionality to "undo" and "redo" within BB Annotate. The "undo" and "redo" does not apply to comments.
Granular Content Copy improvements
- Instructor-created gradebook categories will no longer cause duplications in the destination course.
- No longer copy unrelated gradebook data into destination course.
- Instructors will be able to copy into an Ultra preview course.
Instructors and Students
Journals display more than 50 entries
- Students may make unlimited journal entries.
- Students and instructors have improved navigation with pagination on the entires page and can decide the number of items that appear per page.
Session time-out warning improvement
When a user is idle for over three hours the session end and must login again to continue. Users will receive a warning before the session times out.
Students
Test question filtering
Students may complete questions they know first and skip harder ones. They can filter to quickly return to skipped questions.They can also use the filter to find essay questions. If a student submits a test with unanswered questions, a warning will alert the student.
- June 2, 2022 (v3900.41.0)
Instructors
Enhancement to Overall Grade Weighting
Both items and categories can have weight int he overall grade calculation. This allows instructors to weight individual assessment items as well as categories.
Instructors and students
Multiple Attempts in Group Assessments
Instructors can now provide multiple attempts in group assessments allowing for iterative feedback.
New Overall Grade Calculation Options
In this release, instructors can calculate the overall grade as earned points divided by possible points. This calculation is not a running total.
Attachments Render Inline
Instructors can set the behavior for attachments including: view and download, view only, download only. View and download will be the default. The view option renders the file directly in the web browser without the need for native applications(s).
LTI Items Name Changed to Content Market
In the rich text editor, the "LTI item" option has been changed to "Content Market" for greater clarity.
Journals display more than 50 entries
- Students may make unlimited journal entries.
- Students and instructors have improved navigation with pagination on the entires page and can decide the number of items that appear per page.
All Users
Support Max File Upload Limit
Institutions can set a maximum upload size of files for both instructors and students.
Improvement to Permissions
Permission checks have been corrected to function as expected.
- July 7, 2022 (v3900.44.0)
instructors
Select a points overall grade calculation
The overall grade now supports a points-based calculation to give instructors greater flexibility and supports varied evaluation practices. Instructors can choose to select points or weighted calculation for the overall grade.
Download grade history
Instructors can download the grade history as a tab or comma separated file (.xls or .csv) to their device or the Content Collection. This grade history includes any changes to grades in a course.
Edit points a student earns on an assessment question
Instructors can now change the points a student earns on an individual assessment question. The point field supports negative and positive values with up to two decimal points.
Copy question banks
Instructors can now copy question banks from one course to another.
Original Blank pages converted to Ultra Documents
Original Course View blank pages will now convert to Documents in the Ultra Course View. This conversion will help ensure a smoother transition from Original to Ultra.
Recategorize journals and discussions
Journals and discussions are now able to be recategorized to a custom category.
Improvements to user interface for multiple choice questions
The text "Choose at least one correct answer" was removed from the multiple choice question.
instructors and students
Points overall grade display
Instructors can display the overall grade as points and students can see the overall grade as points.
Prohibit backtracking in assessments with questions presented one at a time
Instructors can now prevent backtracking, allowing them to force a sequence through questions in an assessment. Once the student answers the question and continues to the next, the student cannot go back. If a student skips a question, an alert informs the student that they cannot go back to the question.
Files render inline in Course Content, Folders, and Learning Modules
Files will now render inline in Course Content, folders, and learning modules. Instructors can set the behavior of these files for users to view and download (default), view only, or download only.
Quality and accessibility improvements of math formulas
Math formulas will now render as images in Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) format. This allows users to zoom in or enlarge formula images without losing quality. This change also improves accessibility for users with low vision.
Improvements to Student and Group Feedback and Grade Overrides
In the past, when a group assessment grade was overridden, the feedback was hidden. The feedback now shows as expected for any posted grade that has been overridden.
Students
Test question filtering improvements
Improvements to the filter options include:
- Enhanced prominence of applied filters to increase awareness.
- Improved filter management experience for students who use assistive technology.
all users
Updated Panel for Messages
Users will author and view messages on a large panel, supplying a better user experience on all devices.
- August 4, 2022 (v3900.46.0)
Instructors
Improved management of question banks
With this enhancement, instructors will be able to:
- Create new, empty question banks in their Ultra courses.
- View and search for questions within a question bank.
- Add, edit, and delete all aspects of a question within new and existing question banks.
Advanced calculation for overall grade
Instructors may now configure an advanced calculation for the overall grade.
Delete student preview user
Instructors now have a choice when existing student preview to save the preview student and data or to delete the preview student and data. The delete option removes the preview user and data from the roster, gradebook, messages, discussions, journals, and conversations.
Import/export group sets and members
Instructors can now create group sets and add group members by importing a CSV file. This feature also supplies the ability to export group sets and members to a CSV file.
Explicit declaration of Messages handling
When an instructor adds more than one recipient to a message, the interface makes clear how the message is sent: group message or private message. In a future release, instructors will be able to make this choice for themselves.
Granular Content Copy Improvements
All linked questions from a copied assessment now copy as expected. Additionally, instructors will now have access to the status of all the course tasks that they start including copy, convert to Ultra, archive, export, import, and restore.
Progress Tracking - Status and Filter updates for Submission View
New status columns have been added to the submission view: student status and grading/participation status.
Instructors and Students
Unified Blackboard App
The Blackboard App and the Blackboard Instructor App are consolidating into a single app for both instructors and students.
Congruent Mobile App and Desktop Experiences for Ultra Course View
The user experience in the Ultra Course View is now the same between the Blackboard mobile app and a web browser.
Microsoft One Drive - Create a Collaborative Document
Instructors can now create a Microsoft OneDrive collaborative document in both the Ultra and Original Course View. Supported file types include: Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, and Microsoft PowerPoint.
Microsoft Teams Meetings
Microsoft Teams Meetings now seamlessly integrate into Ultra courses. With this integration, instructors will be able to:
- Schedule new or reoccurring Teams Meetings.
- Invite specific users from the course or the entire course.
- Access recordings.
- When integrated with Teams Classes, support scheduling of Teams Meetings for dedicated Teams channels.
- All schedule Teams Meetings will populate in the Teams and Outlook calendar.
Improvements to LaTeX question support
Instructors and students can now create LaTeX equations in the content editor. LaTeX equations display as text in the content editor. When users save the test, the equations render as images.
Due Date Exceptions
Instructions may now accommodate special circumstances by allowing due date exceptions. Due date exceptions support is for individual tests and assignments only.
Messaging in Private Courses
Instructors can now send messages from within a course when it is marked private. Students can access the messages from the email address associated with their Blackboard account. This does not change the access to the course when the course is private. This change allows students to receive messages from the instructor via email when the course is private.
All Users
Force Email Copy for all Messages
Administrators now have the choice to force an email copy to recipients for all messages sent.
- September 2022 (v3900.48.0)
instructors
Rubric Copy between Courses
Instructors can copy rubrics between courses to save time and reduce the need to recreate items within courses.
Question Bank Sorting Controls
Instructors can use sorting controls within the question bank window to navigate through the banks. Instructors can sort based on the name, number of questions in a bank, or the last edited date.
Discussion replies are available on the individual discussion grading page
Grading discussions and taking part of discussions are no longer on separate pages. Instructors can now reply to posts from the individual student grading page.
Grade History: Non-Posted Grades included
The grade history report now includes a log of changes to non-posted grades.
Set points for manually added gradable items
Instructors can edit the maximun point value when using any display type.
Prevent copying an entire course into the same course
When copying content from the same course, instructors will not be able to inadvertently copy the full course into the same course.
instructors and students
Summary list of annotations for inline grading
A side panel will now summarize all comments in a list. Selecting a comment will navigate the instructor or student to the exact location of that comment in the document.
Students
Test Timer Notifications
Timer notifications will appear throughout an assessment at timed intervoles to reduce stress for students.
Improved Access to Feedback
Students can still access feedback if an instructor has overridden a grade.
All Users
Display Name Choice
Users can choose to diplay their preferred or additional name.
Microsoft Immersive Reader for Anthology Ally for LMS
Anthology Ally for LMS now includes a new alternative formate: Microsoft Immersive Reader. Microsoft Immersive Reader helps students improve their reading, comprehension, and grammar skills.
Activity Stream navigation improvements
This release added an on-hover underling to the course name and the content item to make it clear where the user is navigating.
- October 6, 2022 (v3900.50)
instructors
Improved access to Student Grades Overview
In the Grid View of the gradebook, when an instructor selects a students an overview of the student's performance on assessments is displayed. The change provides improved access to the student grades overview.
Student Progress report for Course content
Instructors can now see the progress that students indicate for the following content types: documents, SCORM packages, uploaded files, links, cloud documents, LTI content, learning modules, and folders. The new report allows instructors to select a piece of content and view:
- Students who have not yet opened content;
- Students who have opened or started viewing content; and
- Students who have marked the content as complete.
Preserving the forced sequencing setting on Learning Modules during course upgrades
When converting from Original to Ultra, the forced sequence setting will be preserved.
instructors and students
Math Formulas accessible with screen readers
Instructors and students can now use screen readers to access math formulas when creating, editing and viewing content.
Students
Enhanced auto save capability in the Content Editor in Tests & Assignments
Student responses entered in the content editor will auto save two seconds after the student stops typing. The "last saved" time is displayed at the bottom of the assessment.
All users
Improvement to Blackboard App Settings
New settings categories and mobile-specific categories have been added. A new design of the settings section provides simplified toggles for configurating settings.
Base Navigation - Grades: Reduce height of course tiles for courses without grades
In the Grades section of the base navigation, the space used on course tiles is reduces for courses without grades. Reducing this space for courses without grades gives users with multiple courses a better browsing experience.
Course Name in Browser tab
The course name is now added to the browser tab to help users find the right tab. Users will see the name of the course and the area within the course they are in.
- November 4, 2022 (v3900.52)
instructors
Course Activity Report under the Analytics tab
The course activity page is now located under the Analytics tab. The course activity page allows instructors to identify struggling students based on their grade and time spent in a course.
Grade History Improvements
The grade history feature has a new interface that makes it easier to access and search the log of changes to students.
Gradebook view saved
The Gradebook will now save the last selected view from the instructor, saving time and a click.
Enhanced Student Grades Overview
The Student Grades Overview has been enhanced by surfacing the last access, username, and accommodations, adding the Student Activity report, and surfacing accommodations.
Gradebook Icon tooltips
In the gradebook, tool tips have been added for the following icons: search by submission receipt number, upload gradebook, download gradebook, and settings.
Content Collection in Ultra Documents
Instructors may now include content from the Content Collection within Ultra Documents.
Grading navigation improvements in Journals
The "needs grading" navigation has been corrected and an instructor can now navigate student journals student by student as expected.
Preserve Course Image setting
Course images are now visible by default during a course upgrade.
Instructors and Students
Hotspot Question
Hotspot question is now available in Ultra Course View. Hotspot questions present an image without any answer options for students to choose. Students must mark certain area of the image that is within the area the instructor defined as correct.
Page Breaks in Tests and Assignments
Page breaks can be added to tests and assignments to allow for easy creation of sections within an assessment, group related questions together, and allow students to easily navigate from page to page.
Richer Student feedback options for manually added columns
Instructors can now give robust feedback that includes formatted text, links, lists, attachments, and media.
Ultra Course Content and Original Content Areas display LTI tool icon
Administrators can now link LTI tools to appropriate icons so students and faculty can easily identify them.
Unread Messages indicator for Courses and Organizations
There is now an unread message indicator for courses and organizations on the Messages tab in Ultra Base Navigation to direct a users attention to the message.
Students
Auto save enhancements for lost connections
If a connection is lost during an assessment, students will be informed with a message. After 20 seconds, the warning disappears. If the connection is not restored, another warning informs the student that their most recent progress is not saved.
All Users
Messages tab shows only to enrolled users
If a user is not enrolled in the course, the message tab does not appear.
- December 1, 2022 (v3900.54)
Instructors
Question Banks Descriptions & Search
Instructors can now add descriptions to question banks. A search bar has also been added to help instructors search for and locate a specific bank.
Needs grading for first and last attempts
Instructors can now select how to grade assignments with various attempts.
Drag-and-drop improvements
The drag-and-drop navigation has been greatly improved, increasing efficiency. Instructors can grab items more quickly. When moving an item, it's clearer to instructors where it will go when dropped.
Course Links
Course links provide access to content without excessive scrolling and reduce clicking. Instructors can insert a link at the desired location on the Course Content page.
Single student progress report
A newly created single student progress report is now available. This report focuses on the path each student is taking on the course. Instructors can view the content they have created for their students, the progress the students have made with relevant date/time stamps, and the current visibility status of each item.
Simpler Exit Actions for Student Preview
When exiting Student Preview, only the two choices are displayed as actions with no default selected.
Improvements for copying content
In this release, the following items have been changed:
- A larger item selection page shows selected items and items that can be selected at the same time.
- Tabs now separate courses and organizations.
- Using breadcrumb links, instructors can return to a higher level of the course or organization structure.
- The course and organization lists are displayed in alphabetical order.
Readability/accessibility improvements copying or converting
Unsupported font colors have been removed during a content copy or course conversion from an Original course.
Instructors and Students
LTI Tools Icons Synchronization
Unique icons can be displayed for each third-party content type. These icons can be set by the tool provider or by the institution administrator. When an icon is not set, third-party contents show a generic icon.