What's new in Blackboard?
Each month Blackboard updates follow a four-week cycle that includes a staging release, testing, changes, and finally a production release. Some of these updates are mandatory, while others are optional and can be decided upon by the institution. Currently, Academic Technology Services may not immediately release new Blackboard features to production when they become available to the broader Blackboard community. We may require additional testing both externally and internally to ensure that these changes have minimal negative impact on our instructors. Thank you for your understanding and patience as we strive to provide a stable and effective teaching environment. For more information, please read this document:
March 2025
New features
Change folders to learning modules or learning modules to folders (now available): Instructors will be able to change a folder to a learning module and vice versa. Note that changing a learning module to a folder and then back to a learning module will not revert back any thumbnails.
Pop-out rubric when evaluating an attempt (undergoing testing): When grading with rubrics, there is now an option to pop-out the rubric for assignments.
Copy Banners Between Courses: Users now have the option to copy banners between courses when doing a granular copy. Previously you had to do a full course copy to copy the course banner.
Updates to existing features
Anonymous discussions - New privilege to reveal author: Administrators can now reveal the identity of an anonymous discussion post or reply.
Release conditions panel - Due dates now included: In the release conditions panel, the due date for the item is now stated below the Date/Time release condition option. Users no longer have to go back to the content item to check the due date.
Show/hide calculation columns in the gradebook: Users can now make calculation columns in the Gradebook hidden in the Item Management tool in gradebook settings.
Course Access user experience improvements: Previously to close your course, you had a green toggle switch which was confusing to some users. This has been changed to radio buttons.
Usability improvements for discussions: Posts now have a grey background for better visibility and long posts no longer have a scroll bar. Instructors can now access participation metrics and directly edit posts with a pencil icon instead of via the three dots.
New student submission review page for tests: The submission review page for students is now more streamlined with feedback clearly laid out.
AI Design Assistant - Energy-saving image generation improvements (not turned on): Instead of generating four images at a time, the AI image generation tool now just generates one. If you generate an additional image, the previous ones are saved and can still be selected.
AI Design Assistant - Learning module generation improvements (not turned on): When images do not get generated for learning modules, there is now an option to generate again. If you get an image you don't like, you can also regenerate the specific image.
Fixes to existing features
Canvas conversion - File upload improvements: Previously file conversions from Canvas with special characters in names and files did not convert correctly. This has been resolved.
February 2025
New features
Change folders to learning modules or learning modules to folders (delayed until March): Instructors will be able to change a folder to a learning module and vice versa. Note that changing a learning module to a folder and then back to a learning module will not revert back any thumbnails.
Kaltura - Move an item to the recycle bin: There is now a trash can option next to media in your My Media page. The media will be retained and is retrievable for 30 days.
Updates to existing features:
Mask access code for an assessment: When proctoring exams with an access code, the code is now masked with stars (******).
Upload images to documents using the new image block: In Documents, there are now image blocks when adding content.
Improvements to grade entry for discussions and journals from the Grid view or Submissions page: Discussion and Journal grades can now be entered directly into the Grades view or Grades & Participation page in the Gradebook without having an Override label.
Improved accuracy when uploading grades and feedback: When uploading grades and feedback, there is now more accuracy when it comes to having override and Needs Grading labels.
Assignments with Single Attempts
Ungraded Attempts. When an ungraded attempt is found, the grade is stored at the attempt level, the Needs Grading and New Submission flags are cleared, and any auto-zero is removed.
Graded Attempts. If the attempt is already graded, the existing grade is updated accordingly.
Existing Overrides. If an override already exists, only the override is updated. No changes are made to the attempt grade.
No Submission. If a student has not submitted an attempt, the grade is stored as an override.
Assignments with Multiple Attempts
Ungraded Attempts. If all attempts are ungraded, the grade is assigned to the appropriate attempt based on the aggregation model.
Single Graded Attempt. For a single graded attempt, the existing grade is updated.
Multiple Graded Attempts. If more than one attempt is graded, the grade is stored as an override. The Needs Grading and New Submission labels remain unchanged.
Existing Overrides. If an override already exists, the override grade is updated.
No Submission. For students with no submission, the grade is stored as an override.
Discussions and Journals
Ungraded Submissions. For ungraded submissions, the grade and feedback are added to the submission, and the Needs Grading and New Submission flags are cleared.
Graded Submissions. If the submission is already graded, the grade and feedback are updated.
Overrides. If a student has an override grade, the override grade and feedback are updated.
Improvements to avatar size and time stamp positioning for discussion replies: Discussion avatars and the position of time stamps have been adjusted so that replies to posts are now easier to identify.
AI Design Assistant (under review):
Set a larger maximum number of generated questions and learning modules: You now have the option to exclude AI generated module descriptions.
Exclude descriptions from learning modules generated by AI Design Assistant: You now have the option to exclude descriptions from learning modules generated by the AI Design Assistant.
Video Studio (under review):
Edit captions and transcripts : Captions and transcripts can now be edited in Video Studio.
Video Studio – Add video content within the Course Content page: Video Studio audio and video content can now be added directly to the Course Content page.
Video Studio - Download recording transcripts: Users can now download transcripts for content created using Video Studio.
Fixes to existing features
Enhancements to course groups: Groups created within a content item (ie: an assignment) will now appear in the Groups tab. Previously, groups created within content items were one-time use only and could not be reused or viewed in the Groups tab.
Improvements to grading interface: The grading interface has been improved. The Previous/Next student navigation has been moved to the top and the student's name and submission information has been condensed, creating more space to view the student content.
Conversion of existing assignments to the new assignment workflow: Assignments created before August 2024 will get converted to the new assignment design. This means that older assignments will now have a new instructions box, streamlined settings only for Assignments, no options to add questions, and attempts are only created when students interact with the assignment. Old assignments that had questions will not get converted.
Improved performance for assignment file submissions: When students upload files before the timer runs out on a timed assessment, the upload will finish before the attempt is auto submitted. In addition, if a file doesn't upload correctly, students can re-upload it easily.
Excluded attempts removed from Need Grading count: Excluded attempts in the grading workflow now do not appear in the Needs Grading tab.
Test Settings usability improvements: The following assignment-specific options have been removed from tests:
Collect submissions offline
Use grading rubric
Maximum points
2 grades per student
Peer review
Improvement to rendering in Bb Annotate & Improvement to rendering of uploaded files: Files such as PowerPoints, Excel worksheets, and PDFs now render so that they display with the same format in Blackboard Annotate and in content items (ie: Documents).
January 2025
New features
Show/hide columns from instructors in the gradebook: Instructors can now hide items in their Gradebook and Overall Grade. The student view is unaffected.
Updates to existing features
Add submission attempts for release conditions: Instructors can now release content when an item is submitted. Students do not have to wait until a grade is posted to view an item.
Manage course access from Course Settings: Instructors can now mark their courses as Closed or Completed via the Course Settings.
Set default automatic zeros to off in the gradebook for new courses: Automatic Zeros for Past Due Work is now default off for newly created courses.
Improvements to AI Design Assistant Outputs (under review): AI Design Assistant has faster and more complex outputs for Assignments, Discussions, Journals, Test questions, Learning modules, AI Conversation avatars, and Unsplash.
Improvements to AI Design Assistant Image Generation (under review): The quality of images generated by the AI Design Assistant has improved to make them more realistic.
Expanded language Outputs for AI Design Assistant (under review): The following languages are now available for AI workflows: Greek, Catalan, Croatian, Irish, and Slovenian.
Fixes to existing features
Direct grade entry for assignments from the Grid view or Submissions page: Grades entered directly via the Grades, or Submissions page for Assignments will not trigger an override, will not appear in the Needs Grading, and will not have New Submission flags. However, the override label persists if: no submission has been made, grades are entered via a file upload, there are multiple graded attempts, or an override already exists (and therefore will be overwritten by the new grade).
Improvements to file uploads for Content Designer - Documents: The default option when instructors upload files to documents is now View and Download. In addition, the Undo and Redo functions are now be used when uploading files.
Improvements to content blocks for Content Designer - Documents: When instructors create or edit a document, the content block no longer closes when they collapse the menu. When editing table settings, the editor no longer closes.
December 2024
Updates to existing features
Link to Attempt Log Added to Activity Log: Instructors can now access student's attempt logs directly from the Activity Log.
Improvements to grading assignments - New labels for late submissions: Late submissions will now have a "Late" indicator for tests and assignments (except peer and group assessments).
Grade override improvements: There is now an override indicator for the Grades & Participation screen for Discussions.
Discussion Enhancement: New Post Indicator: There is a more obvious "New" indicator for new discussion posts and replies that a user has not yet clicked on.
Group Management: Performance Improvements: Saving groups is now 80%-90% quicker.
Moodle Conversion Improvement: Images in Question Text: Images in Moodle quiz questions are now preserved during conversion to Blackboard.
Video Studio: skip to a specific part of a recording (under review): You can now skip to a specific part of a recording by selecting a time stamp in the transcript.
AI Design Assistant: Rubric Generation Improvements (under review): Rubrics generated by the AI Design Assistant now have more complex outputs.
Fixes to existing features
Navigation Added for LTI and SCORM Items within Learning Modules: Students can now select left and right arrows for content market or scorm items within learning modules.
November 2024
New features
Role play option for AI Conversations (under review): The AI Conversation feature now has a role play option where instructors can customize an AI persona for students to have a conversation with.
Updates to existing features
Skip link to Course Information: For users who use their keyboard to navigate Blackboard, there is now a second skip link. Users can choose to "Skip to course information", in addition to "Skip to course information".
Blackboard mobile app rebranding: The Blackboard Learn App will now be known as Blackboard App. The Blackboard app also has a new app icon.
Improvement to resizing blocks in Documents: It is now easier to resize tall, vertical blocks in Documents by hovering anywhere along the vertical line, instead of specific spot.
Empty state indicator for Documents: Empty content blocks in Documents now contains the text "Select this block to add content".
Print Tests with questions from Question Pools and other improvements: Instructors can now print and save tests as PDFs. The printout includes questions from Question Pools. This includes the answer key as well as the blank test for the student.
Download option for student activity log: The student Activity Logs in the Gradebook can now be downloaded as CSV files.
Batch edit - usability improvement: As "Change dates to a specific date and/or time" is the most popular option used in Batch Edit to change dates, it is now the default option
Blackboard mobile app rebranding: The Blackboard Learn App will now be known as Blackboard App. The Blackboard app also has a new app icon.
Video Studio: Viewing controls for captions and transcription (under review): Users can now turn captions on/off, as well as choose to have the transcript displayed to the right of the video.
Video Studio improvements (under review): Users are now able to edit video titles, select the device from which to record, and click "retry" for a failed video upload.
Fixes to existing features
Improved performance for assignment file submissions: Improvements have been made to the student file submission process that will prevent them from uploading corrupt and/or oversized files.
Brightspace conversion: quiz pools and quiz sections: Brightspace quiz pools can now be converted to Blackboard. Quiz sections become separate pages on tests.
October 2024
New features
Student Activity Log (Released): Instructors can review student activity to inform decisions in academic disputes, financial aid, and other troubleshooting. Instructors can see activity from the last 140 days. Activity events include things like course access, assessment started, assessment draft saved, discussion access, discussion edit, journal access, LTI item access, and SCORM item access.
Generate question banks (under review): Question banks can be auto-generated through AI from course materials or text.
Updates to existing features
Video Studio: Enhanced caption support for uploaded files (under review): Video Studio now auto-generates captions for all file types.
Quickly access items that need grade reconciliation: A "Needs Reconciling" section appears in the Gradebook Overview tab for reconcilers in a course where an instructor is using parallel grading.
Show unavailable students in the gradebook (not working properly yet) : Unavailable students appear in the Gradebook, but their avatar has a strikethrough.
Brightspace conversion improvements: Question library and sections in Brightspace now convert to question banks in Blackboard Ultra.
Flexible Grading performance improvements: The flexible grading platform now loads faster.
Email notifications for followed discussions: Users can now receive an email notification right away for followed discussions.
Email notifications for followed discussions (mobile): Users can now set up notifications in their mobile app to receive an email right away for followed discussions
Fixes to existing features
Usability improvements for Documents: Usability of the Documents tool has been improved.
Usability improvement for Knowledge Checks: The difficulty metric now displays as "--" instead of "Hard" until there is at least one attempt.
Enhancements to student submission review page: The student submission review page has been enhanced to help students easily find the information they need.