What's new in Blackboard?

May 2026

New features

• Video Studio: Add Audio Descriptions for Inclusive Videos: Instructors can now add audio descriptions to videos created for overall feedback and announcements. Students can switch on or off audio descriptions during playback.

Updates to existing features

• Make second due date for Discussions visible in Gradebook: The second due date for Discussions now appears in the Gradebook's Overview tab and Gradable Items tab. Next to the date is a circle icon with a lower case "i" inside. Hover over or tab to this icon, and a pop-up bubble displays details of both due dates.

• Carry group filter into Flexible Grading: Instructors can now grade by specific groups in the grading area. Instructors must first select the group via the filter in the “Grades” view and then click on one of the students in the goup to enter the grading area. Only the filtered group appears for grading.

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• Resized Accommodations icon: The Accommodations icon has been updated to a smaller size in Blackboard coures, except for the student pages in the Gradebook.

• Improved search and navigation in Course Switcher: The Course Switcher tool in Blackboard courses now includes a search box that lets instructors and students quickly find and open courses by name or course ID without returning to the Courses page.

Fixes to existing features

• Strengthen logout behavior for supported SAML SSO configurations: When users login to Blackboard in another browser or an additional device, the first Blackboard session now ends immediately.

• Improved screen reader experience in document view mode: Screen reader users now have a cleaner, more focused experience when navigating documents in view mode. Content is delivered in the correct order, left to right, across rows, columns, and blocks.

• White space improvements in Documents: Documents now use vertical space more efficiently, reducing unnecessary white space and improving readability and visual balance. These improvements apply when creating new content, or editing existing content.

• Visualize release conditions inherited by items in learning modules and folders (not working properly, under investigation): Instructors can now view release conditions inherited from a parent Learning Module or Folder directly within the Release Conditions panel of individual items. Inherited conditions appear in a read-only format. Discussions now respect release conditions applied at the learning module level and are no longer accessible from the Discussions tab when those conditions are not met.

April 2026

New features

• Specify assignment submission type: Instructors can define the expected submission type for assignments, including file submissions, text submissions, or both (the default). 

• Adjust grades for individual student attempts in group submissions: Instructors can adjust grades for individual students within a group submission (assignments only). Visual indicators show when grades differ across group members.

Updates to existing features

• Review both sets of Discussion due dates across multiple views in Blackboard: Blackboard now displays both due dates and participation requirements for Discussions across Course Content, Discussion pages, and Gradebook views. 

• Improvements to multiple choice and multiple answer questions: The default number of answer options has been modified so a student can select from 4 to 1. When creating or editing a multiple choice or multiple answer question, instructors can change the number of answer options that a student can select. Multiple choice answer options alphabetical labels (A, B, C, D) have also been restored.

• Video Studio - Control Playback Speed: Users can now adjust playback speed in Video Studio using preset options from 0.5x to 2x, allowing them to review content at a pace that fits their learning needs. 

• Add Substantive and Non‑substantive Content indicators in instructor discussion analysis: Instructors now have clear text labels identifying Substantive and Non‑substantive content in student discussion posts, improving clarity around the green and red text highlights used in discussion analysis. 

• Student names display in chosen sort order in Flexible Grading: We’ve improved how student names appear in Flexible Grading. The name display format is now linked to the selected sort order. By default, student names are now shown as Surname, First Name to help instructors quickly locate students. When sorting by First Name (ascending or descending), names will display as First Name Surname.

• Handle images as thumbnail links in Announcement emails: Announcement emails now display previews of images included inside a Blackboard announcement. These image previews replace the previous image links that appeared as filenames in the email. When users select an image, it opens on a separate page for a larger, more detailed view. The recipient must be logged into Blackboard to view the larger image. 

March 2026

New features

• Add a second participation requirement and due date in Discussions: Instructors can now set two separate due dates with distinct participation requirements for Discussions, offering clearer expectations and more structured engagement. Students benefit from transparent progress tracking and updated indicators as they complete requirements across both due dates.

Updates to existing features

• Require confirmation for updated email addresses: Blackboard now permanently requires users to verify email address changes, ensuring secure updates and uninterrupted delivery of important communications. 

• Enhanced threading experience in Course Messages: Course Messages now automatically organizes new messages into existing conversations, or creates a new one when needed. This streamlines communication and reduces fragmented threads. Additionally, displaying of the Rich Text Editor and Send button now persist on mobile and hand-held devices to improve usability across devices.

• Video Studio: Generate thumbnail automatically: Video Studio now auto‑generates a thumbnail image from each new recording, giving viewers a clear visual preview and helping instructors and students quickly recognize video content before opening it. This is available in announcements and assessment feedback. 

• Video Studio: Enhance timer to show time left during recording: Video Studio now displays the remaining recording time in both full and minimized views, giving instructors and students clearer pacing to reduce the risk of unexpected cut‑offs during recording. This is available in announcements and assessment feedback. 

• Question Title field relocated: The Question Title field now appears only when the metadata option is enabled. This update reduces accidental use of the title field when instructors only intend to enter question text. 

• Partial credit limits removed for Multiple Choice and Multiple Answer: Partial credit values for answer options no longer need to total 100%. Instructors can assign values freely within the allowed range, and the system continues to provide warnings without blocking setup. Existing behaviors for negative marking and regrading remain supported.

• Anonymous grading by question: Flexible Grading now supports anonymous grading in Question View. Student names, avatars, and IDs are replaced with anonymous identifiers while grading. All actions available in non‑anonymous Question View remain available in anonymous mode.

February 2026

Updates to existing features

• Reduced gradient on course banners: Based on client feedback, course banners now have a reduced gradient.

• Stack blocks vertically in Documents: Instructors can now stack Document content blocks vertically to create clearner layouts and reduce white space.

January 2026

New features

• Navigate courses and tools faster with refreshed user interface: The Blackboard interface has been updated with the following changes:  

  • In the base navigation, the user profile now appears at the top and Sign Out is now at the bottom of the navigation, separated from the other options. 

  • Courses are now in full-screen panel to maximize horizontal space.  

  • The course image is now wider and has the course ID and name on the banner.  

  • A “home” button has replaced the “X” button. The “home” button takes the user to the default landing page.  

  • A drop down course switcher allows users to switch between their four most recent courses. There is all a “view all” option to navigate to the courses page.  

Update to existing features

• Usability improvements for Document Block Layout: The menu for document block layout has been changed from a single dropdown list to being organized by type of change (row, size, and position). This helps users who use keyboard navigation.

• Expanded question options for true/false: The true/false question options have been expanded to include:

  • Yes/No 

  • Right/Wrong 

  • Agree/Disagree 

• Enhanced multiple choice and multiple answer workflow: Updates include: 

  • Default answer options from 3 to 4 

  • Number of answer selections can now be limited 

  • When only one answer is allowed, there are radio buttons. When one or more is allowed, there are checkboxes.  

• Video Studio – Edit description: Instructors can now add and edit descriptions for their audio/video feedback and videos in announcements.  

• Video Studio – Bulk edit speaker names in video transcripts: Instructors can now bulk edit speaker names in transcripts for their audio/video feedback and videos in announcements. 

Fixes to existing features

• Improved Gradebook download option: The Gradebook download option for hidden items now only appears when there are hidden items in the Gradebook.  

December 2025

New features

• Learning Module Table of Contents – Instructor View: Instructors now have a collapsible Table of Contents in learning modules.

• Specify participation requirements for Discussions: Instructors can now set a requirement for how many posts and/or replies are required by a particular due date.  

• Video Studio – Record Screen and Camera Simultaneously & Recording Minimize Workflow: Instructors can now record themselves and their screen simultaneously. Additionally, instructors can minimize the camera view and controls while recording. This helps keep the focus on the screen content. 

Update to existing features

• Set release conditions for open or started and for non-assessment content items: Release conditions can now be set on non-gradable items such as Documents, media, or course links. Release conditions can be set based on whether these items were opened or not.  

• Improved handling of group membership changes: When all members are removed from a group, the avatar now displays a ? icon and a “No members” label. If a member leaves an active group, their avatar has a strike through it in the grading view.  

• Standardized tabbed interface in Flexible Grading: The grading interface now has a consistent tabbed interface for all submission types. Previously, there were only tabs for file-based submissions.  

• Better Audio and Video in Feedback: Instructors now have an updated way to provide assessment feedback to their students. There is now an option for captioning and transcription, including editing. A/V feedback can now be accessed via a camcorder icon in the feedback editor.  

• Support Inline and Display Formulas in MathJax: MathJax support in the Content Editor now includes additional LaTeX delimiters for rendering mathematical formulas. This update improves compatibility with standard STEM workflows and simplifies uploading exam content without changing source files. 

Fixes to existing features

• Aligned gradebook submission counts with Show/Hide Unavailable Students Gradebook setting: Gradebook submission counts now align with the instructor’s “Show/Hide Unavailable Students” setting. When unavailable students are hidden, counts exclude their submissions. When unavailable students are shown, counts include their submissions