Faculty Blackboard Support
Blackboard is Georgian College’s online Learning Management System (LMS). It can be used to communicate with students, post links to important information, post course content such as lecture materials, and facilitate student collaboration by means of blogs, discussion boards and wikis. There is also a grade centre in which marks can be entered and made visible to students at any point in the semester. If you are new to Blackboard, try our self-paced online module found below.
Release Notes
BLACKBOARD RELEASE 4001.2 – October 15, 2026
The items contained in this document are currently scheduled for release to the Ultra Production environment; however, Blackboard reserves the right to omit or add items at their discretion, and the release is subject to change at the time of publishing.
Start AI Conversations in a New Immersive Experience
AI Conversations now open in a dedicated, focused view for students across the three conversation roles. Students begin from an explicit Start conversation button, and the conversation fills a larger area that hides settings and assessment details from view. This gives students more room to work and removes information they do not need while they are in the middle of a conversation.
The previous experience surrounded the conversation with configuration and assessment detail that was relevant to setting up the activity but not to participating in it. Clearing that away keeps students focused on the exchange itself.
- After selecting Start attempt, students select a new Start conversation button to begin. The conversation no longer begins as soon as the assessment opens.
- The conversation opens into its own view with more space for the exchange, and the settings and supporting details that previously surrounded it are hidden.
- Students leave the conversation and submit their attempt, including the reflection question, the same way they did previously.
The notice explaining that responses are AI-generated and may be inaccurate or contain bias remains visible in the new view.
This experience applies to every AI Conversation type, including Socratic, Roleplay, and the new AVA Pulse Quiz. Instructors set up conversations exactly as they did before — nothing about the authoring experience changes.
Lock an AI Conversation to a Specific Language
Instructors can now set the language an AI Conversation is conducted in. When a language is enforced, the AI responds in that language for the entire conversation and will not switch, even if a student asks it to. This gives instructors a reliable way to keep language-practice activities in the target language, so students cannot opt out of the challenge partway through.
Previously, the language of a conversation depended on how the student engaged with it, which meant an activity intended as immersion practice could drift into another language. Enforcing the language keeps the activity doing what it was designed to do.
When creating or editing an AI Conversation, open Advanced options and select the language to enforce. The setting applies to the whole conversation, including the AI’s opening message, its questions, its responses to the student, and the closing summary.
- The language setting is saved with the conversation and persists when the conversation is reopened for editing.
- The setting is available across AI Conversation types, including Socratic and Roleplay.
- When a conversation is grounded in course content, the AI generates its questions and responses in the enforced language regardless of the language of the source material.
This is particularly useful for language courses, where the point of the activity is sustained practice in the target language rather than a conversation about it.
When an instructor has enforced a language, the entire conversation is conducted in that language from the first message onward.
Students cannot change the language mid-conversation. If a student asks the AI to continue in a different language, the AI declines and continues in the language the instructor set. This is intentional — it keeps every student working in the same language for the duration of the activity.
Improvements to the Beta Content Editor in Blackboard Documents
We’ve made a number of improvements to the beta Content Editor that make it faster, more predictable, and more accessible to use. These updates span keyboard navigation, list behavior, file and image handling, and new math authoring support, giving instructors a more reliable and intuitive editing experience.
Keyboard Navigation and Accessibility
- Instructors can now navigate the inline toolbar using the arrow keys instead of the Tab key for a more intuitive keyboard experience.
- In the Edit, Format, and Insert menus, using the up or down arrow key now moves the selection one item at a time; previously, the selection could skip items unexpectedly.
- Keyboard shortcuts display plain text (for example, Command and Control) instead of Unicode symbols, making shortcuts easier to read and more consistent across platforms.
- Instructors can now use the Delete or Backspace key to decrease a paragraph’s indentation level.
Toolbar and Menu Updates
- Toolbar menus with dropdown options now clearly indicate the currently selected item, making active formatting and settings easier to identify. For example, selecting a bulleted or numbered list updates the toolbar icon to reflect that choice.
- The List menu now includes section headers, making list style options easier to find.
- The default font color is now labeled Dark Gray (Default) instead of Black to accurately reflect the shade being applied; the color itself is unchanged.
List Behavior
- Deleting a list item now merges it with the previous item, keeping remaining items together in a single continuous list rather than splitting it in two.
- In the list style menu, section headers (Bulleted and Numbered) are now informational only and can no longer be selected, so only actual list style options receive focus.
Image and File Handling
- Resized images now retain their dimensions during content conversion, and extra space above and below converted images has been removed.
- File properties now display when uploading file attachments. This gives instructors the opportunity to review and configure settings, including alternative text, before the file is inserted.
- File attachments are now preserved when converting content from the old editor to the new editor for a more reliable migration experience. Previously, attachments could be lost during conversion.
- Copying and pasting files directly from one editor to another is now blocked to prevent file permission and access issues. Instructors receive a notification explaining that the file must be uploaded instead. This is a temporary change while a long-term solution is developed to support file permissions across editors.
Code Formatting
- Formatting multiple selected lines as a code block now creates one combined code block, rather than converting each line into its own separate block.
Math Authoring
- The Content Editor now renders LaTeX and MathJax for inline and display equations. Instructors can paste LaTeX directly into the editor, where it renders automatically as formatted mathematical notation. This is the foundation for an expanded math authoring experience in future releases.
Manage Rubrics from a Dedicated Course Rubrics Page
Rubrics now have a dedicated management page in the course, replacing the previous workflow of managing rubrics directly within the Gradebook Settings and Assignment Settings panels. The options available to instructors depend on their rubric privileges.
The Course Rubrics page displays all rubrics in the course in a sortable, searchable table. Instructors can filter rubrics by type and use the ellipsis menu on any rubric to access additional options. Options to Create, Generate, Import, and Export rubrics are also available from the page.
Instructors can access the Course Rubrics page in two ways:
- From Gradebook Settings, select Manage Course Rubrics in the Course Rubrics section.
- From Assignment Settings, select Add Rubric in the Grading & Submissions section.
When accessing the Course Rubrics page from Assignment Settings, instructors can select the radio button next to a rubric and select Save & Close to add it to the assignment. Once a rubric is added to an assignment, instructors can select the trash can icon to remove it.
Export and Import Rubrics
Instructors can now export rubrics from their course and import them into other courses. This makes it easier to reuse rubrics across courses. The options available to instructors depend on their rubric privileges.
The Course Rubrics page is a dedicated page for managing all rubrics in a course. To access it, select Manage Course Rubrics in the Course Rubrics section of Gradebook Settings. From the Course Rubrics page, instructors can export and import rubrics.
Exporting a Rubric
Select the ellipsis menu on the rubric and select Export. The rubric downloads automatically as a zip file. The zip file is named with the rubric name and course title and can be found in the instructor’s downloads folder. The zip file is intended for importing into another course and is not a viewable document.
Importing a Rubric
Select the Import icon on the Course Rubrics page, then select the zip file to import. Only rubrics exported from Blackboard LMS can be imported. The rubric imports automatically. If the same rubric already exists in the course, an error message appears to prevent duplicate rubrics from being created.
View Exception Indicators in the Gradebook Grid View
Instructors can now identify at a glance when a student has an exception on a gradable item directly from the gradebook grid view.
A clock icon now displays in a student’s cell when they have an exception on a gradable item. Exceptions include differences in due date, access dates, or attempts allowed. The clock icon displays from the time the exception is set until the item is graded.
To view or manage the exception details, select the cell to open the Grade Details panel, then navigate to the Accommodation section.
Display Username and Last Access Date in the Gradebook Grid View
Instructors can now display username and last access date as optional columns in the gradebook grid view.
Two new toggles are available in the Student options section of the Gradebook Settings panel: Username and Last access. Both toggles are off by default. When enabled, each toggle displays a sortable column to the right of the Name column in the grid view.
Display Points Possible in the Gradebook List View
Points possible is now displayed as a sortable column in the gradebook list view, giving instructors an at-a-glance view of point values for each gradable item.
The Points Possible column automatically populates based on the points configured for each gradable item. Items without a points value are blank.
Restore Submission Receipt Search for Anonymously Graded Assignments
Instructors can now search by submission receipt number in the gradebook to locate submissions for anonymously graded assignments.
To protect student anonymity before grades are posted, submission receipt information is not displayed in the Grade Details panel. Instructors can locate a submission by entering the receipt number in the gradebook search bar. A matching result appears in a dropdown. Select the result to open the Anonymous File Submission Receipt.
The receipt displays the assessment name, receipt number, attempts, file size, and submitted date. If a grade has been entered, the grade displays. Select Grade to open the submission in Flexible Grading.
Blackboard Blog
Blackboard is producing a corporate blog which will allow a quick grab/copy of screenshots for your change management initiatives. Please visit https://www.anthology.com/resources/blog.
BLACKBOARD RELEASE 4001.0 – October 1, 2026
The items contained in this document are currently scheduled for release to the Ultra Production environment; however, Blackboard reserves the right to omit or add items at their discretion, and the release is subject to change at the time of publishing.
Restrict Accepted File Types for Assignment Submissions
Instructors can now specify which file types they will accept for file submissions on assignments. Students are informed of any restrictions before submitting and receive a warning message if they attempt to upload a file type that is not permitted.
When configuring an assignment with file submission enabled, instructors can restrict accepted file types in two ways:
- Select from a list of common permitted file types, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and ZIP formats.
- Enter custom file extensions manually.
Custom file extensions are validated against system-level file upload restrictions set by the administrator. If a custom extension conflicts with a system-level restriction, an inline error message appears and the setting cannot be saved.
Instructors can modify file type restrictions after students have started submitting. Existing submissions remain gradable, and students with drafts in progress can still submit. Instructors can now use drag and drop to manage group membership in the Groups management experience. This makes it faster and more intuitive to assign and remove students from groups without relying on menus and selection lists.
For students, the expected file types for an assignment are displayed in the Details & Actions section before submission. If a student attempts to upload a file type that is not permitted, a warning message informs them that the file type is not accepted.
New Catalan Language Pack
Blackboard now includes Catalan as a supported interface language. Once an institution enables it, Catalan-speaking instructors and students can work entirely in their own language across the platform, making their experience more familiar and accessible. This enhancement is now available in production environments.
SCORM Security Improvements
Blackboard LMS continuously makes security improvements in its products, a crucial and ongoing activity to secure our clients’ environments and protect personal data. This release of Blackboard LMS includes library updates in the SCORM player feature. During the upgrade process for release 4001.0, the historic SCORM user interaction data must be restructured. SCORM content will continue to function without republishing or reconfiguring any packages.
Blackboard Blog
Blackboard is producing a corporate blog which will allow a quick grab/copy of screenshots for your change management initiatives. Please visit https://www.anthology.com/resources/blog.
Blackboard Release 4000.21 – August 6, 2026:
The items contained in this document are currently scheduled for release to the Ultra Production environment; however, Blackboard reserves the right to omit or add items at their discretion, and the release is subject to change at the time of publishing.
Manage Group Memberships with Drag and Drop
Instructors can now use drag and drop to manage group membership in the Groups management experience. This makes it faster and more intuitive to assign and remove students from groups without relying on menus and selection lists.
Managing group membership with drag and drop builds on our effort to redesign the Groups management experience.
From the Groups management screen, instructors can:
- Drag students from the unassigned list directly into a group
- Remove individual students from a group instead of removing them all at once
Drag and drop works alongside the existing assignment options, so instructors can choose whichever method is fastest for the task at hand—populating one group at a time, clearing a group, or fine-tuning membership across several groups.
Create Multiple Groups at Once
InInstructors can now create multiple groups at once in the Groups management experience. Instead of adding groups one at a time, instructors can create several groups in a single action, saving time when setting up group work—especially in large courses.
Bulk group creation builds on our effort to redesign the Groups management experience.
From the Groups management screen, instructors can create between two and 5,000 groups in one step rather than creating each group individually. This reduces repetitive setup and makes it faster to establish a group structure before assigning members.
Once the groups are created, instructors can populate them using the existing options, including manual assignment, automatic enrollment, and import.
Restructured Gradebook Grid View
The Gradebook Grid View has been restructured, giving instructors a reorganized layout and a new way to manage grading tasks.
The Grid View introduces a new Grade Details panel and reorganizes how instructors enter grades, post grades, and manage exceptions and exemptions. The List View is unchanged.
The following are changing in the Grid View:
- Layout and navigation, including a new Grade Details panel that brings grading information and actions into one place
- Grade entry workflow
- How grades are posted
- How exceptions and exemptions are managed, now grouped under Accommodations
The following are not changing:
- Grades, calculations, and overall grade configuration
- Grade schemas and grading settings
- Course-level accommodations
- The List View
- All existing grades and submission history
Export Question Banks
Instructors can now export a question bank as a file to their local device. This makes it easier to back up assessment content or share with other instructors for reuse across courses.
From the question bank management page, instructors can select an export option to download the question bank to their local file system. The exported file can be backed up, shared with other instructors, or reused in other courses.
Configure the “From” Name for Automation Messages
Instructors, or any user with automation editing permissions, can now configure who automation-generated messages appear to come from. Each automation has an author, who created it, and a sender, whose identity appears on all messages the automation generates. The author and sender can be different people. This matters when a course builder or administrator creates an automation on an instructor’s behalf. The sender can be set to an instructor enrolled in the course so that messages reach students from a recognizable, trustworthy source. Students are more likely to engage with messages when they can clearly identify the sender.
By default, the sender is the automation’s author. Any user with editing permissions can update the sender to another eligible user in the course. Each automation supports one sender at a time. If the assigned sender loses course access or is removed from the course, the automation pauses until a new sender is assigned. Blackboard LMS displays a notification when an automation becomes inactive due to a missing or invalid sender, so instructors can quickly identify and resolve the issue.
Students Can Stay on top of Deadlines with “Your Top to Do’s”
We’ve added a new “Your Top To Dos” component to the Courses page to help students stay on top of time-sensitive work. As part of the refreshed Courses page, the list surfaces up to five of student’s most urgent, deadline-driven tasks across their active courses, so they can see what needs attention and go straight to it.
Responding to student concern about keeping track of important tasks and due dates, Your Top To Dos is designed to address exactly that. Drawing its due dates from the Gradebook, the feature gives a single, reliable view of what’s due and when. Each item links directly to the place where students complete it—reducing the steps between seeing a task and finishing it.
“Your Top To Dos” list shows a user’s most pressing tasks—such as assignments, quizzes, and exams, plus feedback to review once it’s posted—ordered by urgency:
- Overdue items appear first, with the closest due date at the top, followed by items due soon
- Each item shows the task title, course name, localized due date and time, and a status chip (Overdue or Due soon)
- Selecting an item takes users directly to the page where you submit work or review feedback
- Completed, unavailable, and duplicate items are filtered out, so the list stays focused on what matters
By bringing the most urgent tasks into one focused list with direct links to action, Your Top to Dos helps students avoid late or missed submissions and spend less time hunting for what’s due.
Make Notifications More Accurate and Reliable
We’re improving the reliability and accuracy of Blackboard notifications. This update resolves a set of issues that caused notifications to be duplicated, missing, or sent at the wrong time. The changes reduce notification noise and help users trust that the alerts they receive reflect what happens in their courses.
This is an ongoing effort to modernize notifications and address delivery problems.
This release includes the following notification improvements:
- Correct notifications for assigned groups. Students now receive DUE and OVERDUE notifications relevant to their assigned group instead of for all assigned groups in the course.
- No duplicate notifications for copied Group Discussions. Students no longer receive duplicate DUE and OVERDUE notifications for Group Discussions in Original courses when content is copied between courses.
- Reliable notifications after content is exchanged. Gradable discussions, blogs, journals, and wikis in Original courses now correctly generate DUE and OVERDUE notifications after content is exchanged between courses during course copy.
- Grade updates and changes in digest emails. Digest emails now include notifications when a grade is updated or cleared.
- Reliable digest email delivery. When a digest email fails to send, the sender won’t inaccurately receive a notification marked as delivered.
Correctly timed announcement emails. Announcement emails are now sent only after the announcement’s start date is reached and not before the content is visible to students.
Display Answer-Level Feedback for Selected Options Only
Students now receive answer-level feedback only for the options they chose in multiple choice questions. This gives students more targeted insight into their responses without revealing feedback for options they did not select.
Instructors continue to enter feedback for answer options when creating or editing a multiple choice question, using the same Option Feedback workflow.
After submitting an attempt, students receive feedback only for the answer option or options they selected, rather than feedback for every option.
Navigate Courses Faster with an Improved User Interface
We’re continuing to improve the Blackboard interface to make navigation clearer, more stable, and easier to follow. This update builds on the refreshed interface introduced in the earlier release, extending full-page navigation deeper into course content and delivering several newer enhancements—including breadcrumbs and a clearer way to exit content.
These changes reflect ongoing feedback from instructors and students and aim to:
- Improve orientation so users are less likely to feel lost in a course
- Reduce accidental exits and other navigation errors
- Improve performance, consistency, and predictability
- Help students focus during assessments
Course content and structure remain exactly the same. Instructors do not need to redesign or reconfigure anything.
Navigational changes include the following:
Full-Page Content Navigation
Learning modules, folders, and individual content items—such as documents, assessments, links, and media—now open as full pages instead of sliding panels layered over the course outline. This extends the earlier move to full-screen course pages so that content inside a course opens the same way. Opening content on its own page improves orientation, performance, and predictability, and makes it easy to navigate back to the module without losing your place.
Breadcrumbs for Contextual Clarity
Breadcrumbs now appear on content pages, showing where you are within a course’s module and folder structure to add contextual clarity. Breadcrumbs reflect course structure automatically, require no instructor setup, and complement existing navigation rather than replacing it.
Clearer, Intentional Exit from Content
The purple “X” button previously used to exit content is replaced with a clearly labeled exit option in the navigation banner. Because the exit action is now more deliberate and separated from other controls, instructors and students are less likely to close a page or lose their place by accident.
Focus State for Tests and Assignments (Students)
When students begin a test or assignment, they automatically enter a new focus state that minimizes navigation elements and visual distractions, presenting a streamlined interface for completing assessments. Focus state does not change how assessments function or are graded, and students can still navigate away if needed—it reduces distractions without trapping them. No action is required from instructors. Focus state cannot be turned off.
Navigate Between Courses Faster with the Updated Home Button
Based on user feedback about navigating between courses, we’ve updated how the Home button behaves when you leave a course. Previously, selecting Home from within a course returned you to the institution-defined landing page. Now, selecting Home from a course takes you directly to the Courses page in the base navigation, so you can move from one course to the next more quickly.
This change complements recent Course Switcher improvements that reduce navigation friction between courses.
This update applies specifically to course exit. Blackboard LMS’s landing page at login is unchanged — whether that’s the Institution Page, Courses, or the Activity Stream. Selecting Home while in a course now returns you to the Courses page, regardless of the institution’s landing page setting.
When users select the Home button to leave a course, they now return to the Courses page in the base navigation instead of the institution-defined landing page.
- Selecting Home from a course opens the Courses page directly
- The landing page shown when logging in to the environment (Institution Page, Courses, or Activity Stream) is unchanged
- Course exit behaves the same for everyone, independent of the institution’s landing page setting
By returning users straight to the Courses page, this update makes course-to-course navigation faster and more predictable.
Set Release Conditions Based on Journal Submissions
Instructors can now set release conditions based on the submission status of journals. This gives instructors more flexibility to build personalized learning pathways and ensures students complete prerequisite activities before accessing new content.
When setting release conditions for course content, instructors can now choose journal submission status as a condition. Content releases automatically once a student submits, without requiring the instructor to grade the submission first. Submission status is recorded as complete in progress tracking.
Blackboard Blog
Blackboard is producing a corporate blog which will allow a quick grab/copy of screenshots for your change management initiatives. Please visit https://www.anthology.com/resources/blog.
The Blackboard Ultra July 2026 – 4000.19 release is robust with these features:
The items contained in this document are currently scheduled for release to the Ultra Production environment; however, Blackboard reserves the right to omit or add items at their discretion, and the release is subject to change at the time of publishing.
Find your Favorite Courses Faster with Course Switcher
We’ve enhanced the Course Switcher to make it easier to access the courses you use most frequently. Users can now view their favorite courses directly within the Course Switcher, reducing the need to return to the Courses page.
This update builds on recent improvements to Course Switcher, including search and recent course access, to further streamline navigation between courses.
The Course Switcher now includes a Favorites tab that surfaces courses marked as favorites on the Courses page:
- Favorites automatically mirror selections from the main Courses page
- Users can quickly access frequently used courses without additional navigation
- Favorites appear alongside existing Recent and Search options
By adding Favorites to the Course Switcher, users have faster, more flexible ways to move between courses. This centralized experience helps reduce navigation friction and keeps users focused on their work.
The Course Switcher dropdown displaying tabs for Favorites, Recent, and Search, with a list of favorited courses visible under the Favorites tab.
This enhancement provides a more seamless navigation experience by keeping frequently used courses within easy reach.
Control AI Conversation Duration with Time Limits
Instructors can now manage the duration of AI Conversations by setting a time limit. They can choose between two time-limit options, depending on whether they want to time the whole assessment or only the conversation itself.
Time limits provide additional structure for open-ended interactions, helping students understand when to complete their work and preventing conversations from running longer than intended. This also gives instructors more flexibility to design AI-supported activities that align with their learning objectives.
An AI Conversation is made up of two parts: the conversation itself and the reflection question that follows. Instructors can now apply a time limit in either of two places, depending on which part of the activity they want to time:
- Assessment-level time limit (existing): Set in the AI Conversation assessment settings, this applies to the entire assessment — both the conversation and the reflection question. When time expires, the activity behaves according to the instructor’s setting: it either automatically saves and submits, or the student is given additional time to finish (with the amount of extra time set by the instructor).
- Conversation-level time limit (new): Set within the conversation setup, in the conversation constraints. This time limit applies only to the conversation itself and does not limit the time students spend on the reflection question afterward.
The two options are mutually exclusive: instructors can use one or the other, but not both at the same time. Setting a time limit in one location automatically blocks it in the other, so two timers can never run simultaneously.
Within the conversation constraints, the limits are now split into a message limit and a time limit. The message limit — capping how many times a student can reply — is already available; the time limit is the new addition. Instructors can set either limit, both, or neither for the conversation.
Instructors can modify the time limit before any student begins the activity.
Once a student starts their submission, the time limit becomes locked and cannot be changed.
Both the assessment-level and conversation-level time limits remain fully supported; instructors choose the one that best fits the activity.
Students see the time remaining during an active AI Conversation, helping them pace their responses and complete the interaction within the expected timeframe. Where the countdown appears depends on which time limit the instructor set:
- Conversation-level time limit: The countdown appears within the conversation, next to the messages-remaining indicator, in the response area where students type. Because only the conversation is timed, students can still complete the reflection question without time pressure once the conversation ends.
- Assessment-level time limit: The countdown appears at the top of the assessment, and the configured expiry behavior (auto-submit or additional time) applies to the activity as a whole.
For students with accommodations, the system adjusts the time limit to ensure equitable access.
This update provides clearer expectations for participation, supports accessibility requirements, and helps instructors guide AI-based learning activities more effectively — while protecting reflection time when only the conversation needs to be timed.
Add Descriptions to Discussions and Journals
Discussions and Journals now include a dedicated Description field, bringing them in line with other course content items such as folders, learning modules, and Documents. The Description field creates a more consistent, scannable Course Content page and gives instructors a clearer way to communicate context before students engage with an activity.
When creating or editing a Discussion or Journal, instructors can add an optional description to give students brief context before they engage with the activity. The Description field is separate from the prompt. The prompt longer appears on the Course Content page. Instructors can use the description to set expectations and reserve the prompt for the engagement question or task itself.
Students find the description on the Course Content page before opening a Discussion or Journal. This gives them a clear sense of what to expect from the activity and a consistent Course Content page experience.
Run a Rubric Evaluation Report for Graded Activities
Instructors can now run a Rubric Evaluation Report directly from the gradebook for any graded activity that has a rubric associated with it. This report aggregates rubric data across all student submissions, giving instructors a clear picture of how students are performing against each rubric criterion. The report supports ongoing course improvement by helping instructors identify areas where students are excelling or struggling.
To access the Rubric Evaluation Report, open the gradebook and locate a column associated with a rubric. The report option is available in the contextual column menu in both the Grid view and the Gradable Items view. When selected, instructors are taken to a configuration page where they can select PDF or CSV as the output format before generating the report:
If there is not enough grading data available to generate the report, a message is displayed on the configuration page to inform the instructor. Once generated, the report provides the following sections:
Overview: Displays the assignment name, rubric name, rubric type, and the total number of student evaluations included in the report.
Rubric Overall Performance: Shows the average score students achieved against the total points possible, displayed as a summary value (for example, Average achieved score: 79.57 / 100).
Rubric Analysis: A bar graph comparing the points possible for each rubric criterion to the average points students earned.
Frequency Distribution: A table showing the percentage of students who achieved each level of performance for every criterion, along with statistical values including average, median, mode, and standard deviation.
Blackboard Blog
Blackboard is producing a corporate blog which will allow a quick grab/copy of screenshots for your change management initiatives. Please visit https://www.anthology.com/resources/blog.
The Blackboard Ultra June 2026 – 4000.17 release is robust with these features:
Improved Rubric Usability When Adding or Adjusting Grades
Instructors can override grades without locking the rubric as well as provide feedback at the criterion-level for single or multiple attempts. Grades entered in the rubric grade pill update the attempt grade immediately.
For discussions and journals, grades are now saved at the attempt-level. The override workflow has been removed in these areas for a more consistent grading experience.
To improve consistency with the Flexible Grading page, we updated the rubric score box label from “Submission” to “Rubric Score”. To improve clarity, we also removed the sentence “You can only override the final grade for assessments with multiple attempts. Individual submissions are scored with a rubric.” from underneath the rubric score box.
Track Announcement Engagement by Student
Instructors can now check which announcements a student has read or not read on the new Announcements tab of the Student Overview page. The Announcements tab complements existing announcement engagement data by adding a student-level view and helps instructors identify students who may have missed important course communications.
On the Student Overview page, instructors select the Announcements tab for a list of which announcements each student has and has not read.
Blackboard Blog
Blackboard is producing a corporate blog which will allow a quick grab/copy of screenshots for your change management initiatives. Please visit the link below: https://www.anthology.com/resources/blog.
The Blackboard Ultra May 2026 – 4000.14 release is robust with these features:
Rebuilding the Groups Management Experience for Instructors
We’ve redesigned Groups management to significantly improve usability, performance, and flexibility for instructors. This update addresses long‑standing challenges with creating, organizing, and managing groups – especially in large courses – and delivers a clearer, faster, and more consistent experience across group types.
The new Groups management experience focuses on reducing manual effort, improving visibility, and supporting common instructional workflows with fewer clicks and clearer controls.
Changes to the group management experience for instructors include:
- A redesigned group management experience
- Improved group creation and enrollment
- Automatic enrollment with clearer controls
- More flexible ways to assign students
- Better visibility and organization
- Sorting for students and groups
- Clearer group membership and activity context
- Performance and reliability improvements
- Consistency across group types
- Upcoming improvements
A Redesigned Group Management Experience
Groups management has been reimagined from the ground up with a cleaner layout and more intuitive controls. The updated interface displays more information in less space, making it easier to manage groups and members without excessive scrolling.
Instructors now start by choosing how they want to structure groups—before managing individual members. The options include:
- manual assignment
- automatic assignment
- self‑enrollment
- import
This approach removes guesswork and streamlines setup for common scenarios.
Improved Group Creation and Enrollment
Automatic Enrollment with Clearer Controls
Instructors can automatically assign students to groups by specifying the number of members per group. Blackboard creates the required number of groups and assigns students randomly in a single step, reducing setup time for large courses.
More Flexible Ways to Assign Students
Instructors can assign and unassign students using multiple methods:
- Assign students directly from the unassigned list
- Assign selected students to a specific group
- Add or remove members from within a group
This flexibility reduces repetitive actions and makes it easier to focus on populating one group at a time or balancing membership across groups.
Better Visibility and Organization
Sorting for Group Members and Groups
Instructors can now sort:
- Students by first name or last name (A–Z or Z–A)
- Student ID
- Groups by group name
- Groups by number of members
Sorting replaces inconsistent behaviors from the previous experience and provides predictable ordering when managing large enrollments.
Clearer Group Membership and Activity Context
Each group displays high‑level information about how it’s being used in the course, such as whether it’s assigned to tests, assignments, or discussions. Once group task types have been created and students begin submitting work, there is a gradual increase in action warnings or constraints. This helps instructors understand the impact of changes before modifying or deleting groups.
Group content, assignments, and membership are now more clearly connected, improving consistency across the course experience.
Performance and Reliability Improvements
Managing groups in large courses is now significantly faster. Save operations that previously took several minutes – especially in courses with thousands of students—now complete in seconds. When a group is being saved, an instructor can close out the page and be assured that it is continuing to save in the background, allowing instructors to continue working without interruption.
Additionally, the previous maximum limits of 5,000 students and 1,000 groups are removed.
These improvements reduce frustration and improve confidence when managing groups at scale.
Consistency Across Group Types
Core actions and controls now behave the same way regardless of group type, reducing confusion and making it easier for instructors to switch between workflows. The rebuilt experience brings greater consistency across:
- Manually assigned groups
- Automatically assigned groups
- Self‑enrollment groups
Upcoming Improvements
Future improvements to the group management experience include:
- Search within the group management screen
- Drag‑and‑drop assignment of students to groups
- Ability to create groups in bulk
- Improved sorting order when numbers are used as part of group name
- Improved handling of preview and unavailable students
Visualize Release Conditions Inherited by Items in Learning Modules and Folders
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, giving instructors a clear picture of all conditions that apply to an item, including those set directly on the item and those cascading from a parent container.
When instructors open the Release Conditions panel for an item inside a learning module or folder, a read-only summary of any conditions inherited from the parent container appears alongside any conditions applied directly to the item. This helps instructors understand the full set of access rules in place and determine whether additional conditions are needed.
Carry Group Filter into Flexible Grading
The group filter selected in the Gradebook grid view now carries over into Flexible Grading. Instructors who filter by a group in the Gradebook will find only the students from that group when they enter Flexible Grading, and the active group filter is displayed within the Flexible Grading view. This update reduces the need to re-filter after switching views and keeps instructors focused on the most relevant students for their current grading task.
Blackboard Blog
Blackboard is producing a corporate blog which will allow a quick grab/copy of screenshots for your change management initiatives. Please visit the link below: https://www.anthology.com/resources/blog.
The Blackboard Ultra April 2026 – 4000.12 release is robust with these features:
Handle Images as Thumbnail Links in Announcement Emails
Announcement emails now show images as thumbnail links instead of long URLs. This update gives users a clearer preview of announcement content and provides a direct path back to the full announcement in Blackboard. When users select a thumbnail, the system opens the original announcement so they can read it with full context.
Announcement emails display a small thumbnail for each image instructors include in an announcement. Each thumbnail links to the announcement in Blackboard, so users return to the complete content instead of opening the image file by itself. Instructors continue to create announcements the same way they have before. Thumbnails appear in the mobile app and New Outlook but do not display in Outlook Classic.
Improvements to Multiple Choice and Multiple Answer Questions
Based on client feedback, we made several improvements:
- For the multiple-choice question, we modified the default number of answer options 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.
Adjust Grades for Individual Student Attempts in Group Submissions
We extended Flexible Grading to allow instructors to adjust attempt grades for individual students within a group submission. This update ensures that grades for group submissions can accurately reflect each student’s individual contribution, even when work is submitted as a single group attempt.
Instructors can override a group attempt score for individual group members directly from the grading interface. The interface clearly indicates when grades differ across group members, and adjustments can be removed by restoring a student’s grade to match the group attempt score..
Specify Assignment Submission Type
We introduced new assignment submission options that allow instructors to specify the type of submission they expect from students. This update improves clarity for students and optimizes the submission workflow based on the selected submission type.
When creating or editing an assignment, instructors can define the expected submission type to guide how students submit their work. Selecting a specific submission type streamlines the student experience and reduces ambiguity about what is required.
Instructors can select one or more expected submission types when configuring an assignment:
- File upload
- Text entry
By default, File upload and Text entry are both selected.
The selected submission type is visible in assignment settings and student facing details. Instructors can change the selected submission type until students have started submitting attempts.
Students are informed of the expected submission type and see a submission workflow optimized for that format.
File submissions display a dedicated file drop zone where students can upload, preview (when supported), and remove files.
Text submissions provide a streamlined rich text editor experience without a general file attachment option and include access to the Content Market for supported tools.
Add Substantive and Non‑substantive Content Indicators in Instructor Discussion Analysis
Student posts and replies now have Substantive Content and Non-substantive Content labels in the instructor discussion analysis page. The labels clarify the meaning of the green and red highlighted text indicators in student responses and improve the grading process for instructors.
When instructors review a student’s posts and replies, the instructor analysis page displays text labels with highlighted content. Green highlights include a Substantive Content label. Red highlights include a Non-substantive Content label. The labels appear consistently across the analysis panel and meet accessibility requirements..
Blackboard Blog
Blackboard Anthology is producing a corporate blog which will allow a quick grab/copy of screenshots for your change management initiatives. Please visit the link below: https://www.anthology.com/resources/blog.
The Blackboard Ultra March 2026 – 4000.10 release is robust with these features:
Add A Second Participation Requirement And Due Date In Discussions
Instructors can now add a second due date with participation requirements for Discussions. This update builds on recent enhancements for discussion participation requirements and gives instructors clearer ways to set expectations for discussion activity. Students get transparent guidance for discussion expectations and progress indicators for their participation.
Instructors can set how many posts and replies that students must complete across two due dates.
The option Grade discussion must be selected to add a due dates and participation requirements. Enter a time and date under Due Date and specify participation requirements. Selecting Second Due Date adds another due date with its own requirements.
Instructors can disallow student posts or replies after the final due date by selecting Stop discussion activity after last due date.
Image 1: Instructors can now add a second due date for Discussions. They can also specify the number and type of posts or replies that a student is required to make.
When students open a discussion, they find two clear participation requirements with separate due dates. As they post and reply, progress indicators update in real time.
Students can complete requirements in any order, but contributions after a due date won’t count toward that requirement. Once all requirements are met, the discussion is marked complete and Progress Tracking updates.
Enhanced Threading Experience in Course Messages
When users send new messages, the system now attributes the message to an existing conversation. If no conversation exists, the system creates one. Any future messages between those users return to that same conversation. This update brings dispersed messages together and improves communication in courses.
The option to block replies is removed because it conflicts with the simplified threading experience.
Additionally, the rich text editor (RTE) and Send button now stay onscreen on smaller devices to improve usability.
Users create and send messages as before. If messages already exist between users, the system attributes new messages to those conversations.
- In conversations that include all course members, all instructors, or all students, adding and removing members remains on one thread.
- In group conversations, changes to group membership can start a new conversation.
- When users add new members to a previous one‑on‑one conversation, the system starts a new, separate conversation.
- Deleting a message doesn’t delete the entire conversation.
- When instructors send a reminder from Gradebook, the system attributes the message to an existing conversation. Anonymous grading reminders go to email.
Generate Knowledge Checks With AI
We expanded AI‑assisted authoring to support generating multiple choice Knowledge Checks within Documents. This enhancement allows instructors to create just‑in‑time formative assessments using AI‑generated questions based on the content of their Document and any selected course materials.
When inserting a Knowledge Check, instructors are now presented with two options: Enter my question or Auto generate question. Selecting Auto-generate question opens the Auto-Generate Question panel, which adapts the existing Question panel used in tests and question banks.
When using the Auto generate question option, instructors can define generation inputs with the following fields:
- A description text field,
- A selector to choose course items to inform generation,
- A complexity level slider with a range from Low to High, and
- Advanced options including an output language selector.
An informational banner that states: “This is auto-generated content and needs to be checked for accuracy and bias.”
The system generates four multiple choice questions at a time. Each generated question displays with a radio button so that the instructor can select one question to add to the Document. The instructor can then modify the question, answer options, and feedback after insertion. If the instructor opens the Knowledge Check option but does not add a question, the placeholder block remains empty and behaves as other empty content blocks do.
All questions are generated using only text content from the Document. Consideration of additional media or files will be handled as part of a future release.
Partial Credit Limits Removed For Multiple Choice And Multiple Answer
We updated the partial credit system for Multiple Choice and Multiple Answer questions to allow instructors to assign credit values without the requirement that all designated values sum to 100%. This change supports more flexible grading strategies and enables instructors to represent varying levels of conceptual understanding without adjusting values to meet a fixed total.
The system now allows instructors to enter any partial credit value for each option within a range of –100% to +100%. Validation continues to warn instructors if total values exceed 100%, but it no longer blocks question setup. Instructors may now also enter positive credit values for options that are not marked as the correct answer. The total partial credit value for correct answers should be at least 100%, and it may exceed 100%. Negative marking continues to operate when enabled. Instructors can adjust credit values during regrading as well.
Question Title Field Relocated
To reduce confusion identified through user feedback, we moved the Question Title field from the beginning of the question authoring workflow to the bottom, underneath the Question metadata field. Moving this field ensures that titles remain an optional metadata element and reduces cognitive load during question creation.
Blackboard Blog
Blackboard Anthology is producing a corporate blog which will allow a quick grab/copy of screenshots for your change management initiatives. Please visit the link below: https://www.anthology.com/resources/blog.
The February 2026 – 4000.8 release is robust with these features:
Stack Blocks Vertically in Documents
Instructors can stack blocks in a single column in Documents to create cleaner layouts and reduce whitespace. A new toggle in the block toolbar allows switching between column-level and block-level editing. In column mode, actions apply to the entire column. In block mode, instructors can resize, move, or delete individual blocks.
Columns can also be dropped into another block’s area for more flexible layouts. These changes work with existing features such as undo/redo, printing, and AI layout generation. This enhancement also includes accessibility improvements for screen readers.
Automations To Remind Students To Check Their Feedback
Instructors can create automations that send a message to students who have unread feedback after an instructor-defined number of days. This feature saves time by automatically encouraging students to review their feedback, promoting student engagement.
This release adds the Send feedback reminder option to the Automation gallery.
For the automation trigger, instructors select how many days feedback must remain unread before the message is sent.
A default reminder message is provided, and instructors can fully customize it at this stage. The message is sent to the student when the rule is triggered.
Improved Accessibility For Custom Badge Options
Accessibility enhancements improve badge workflows for instructors and students. Screen readers now provide clearer descriptions for buttons and image previews. Aria-labels and alt-text are consistent across views.
Tooltips were added to buttons for better context. Decorative images are marked correctly, and fallback alt-text is provided for custom images. These changes make badge creation and viewing more inclusive and easier to navigate.
Enhanced Achievement Usability
For students, the Achievements tab displays a count of unread badges. The New pill appears consistently in Earned and To Earn sections. The Delete Badge dialog uses clearer wording. Instructors and students can more easily distinguish between Course Badges and Open Badges with improved labels, icons, and descriptions.
Accessibility updates include improved aria-labels and alt-text. Styling for OpenBadge images has been updated to remove forced round shapes.
Blackboard Blog
Blackboard Anthology is producing a corporate blog which will allow a quick grab/copy of screenshots for your change management initiatives. Please visit the link below: https://www.anthology.com/resources/blog.
The January 2026 – 4000.6 release is robust with features in seven areas:
- Instructional design;
- Tests and assignments;
- Gradebook;
- Learner progression and personalized experience;
- Integrations;
- Blackboard core; and
- Premium
These improvements impact instructors, students, and administrators. Some features do require administrative action.
Navigate Courses And Tools Faster With Refreshed User Interface
We’re introducing a refreshed Blackboard interface designed to make teaching and learning more intuitive and efficient. These updates help you find information faster, reduce clicks, and simplify tasks such as managing courses, grading, and configuring settings.
The changes reflect extensive feedback from instructors, administrators, and students and aim to:
- Use screen space more effectively
- Reduce navigation errors, such as accidental exits
- Improve performance and page load times
- Provide clearer context and orientation
- Minimize motion for smoother navigation
Changes include the following:
Refreshed Base Navigation
Cleaner layout for clear access to main navigation tabs with less clutter.
- User profile now appears at the top of the navigation, complete with profile image for easier customization.
- Admin and Sign Out options are moved to the bottom of the panel, separating them from other actions for clarity.
- Administrators can now access base navigation directly from the administrator panel, streamlining workflow transitions.
Course Panels Become Full-Screen Course Pages
Courses now open in full-screen mode to maximize horizontal space and reduce clutter. This update applies to top-level panels such as Course Content Homepage, Calendar, Announcements, Discussions, Gradebook, Analytics, Groups, and Achievements. Secondary panels will update in future releases.
Home Button Replaces Exit
The “X” to exit a course is replaced with a Home button that returns you to your institution’s landing page (Activity Stream, Institution page, or Courses page). The “X” remains for lower-level panels like learning modules for now.
Course ID And Title In The Header Bar
The header now displays the course ID and title for better context. Breadcrumbs will be added in a future update to improve navigation further.
System navigation changes affect how the course ID and course title appear within the course experience. You can set and update these display options as part of the brand workflow, choosing how the course title and ID are shown.
Full-Width Banner
The course banner spans the full width of the screen with the course ID and title on a darker background for better clarity and accessibility.
If a course doesn’t have a selected banner, a placeholder image will appear at the top. When using brands, this image will adopt a hue of the brand color you set, ensuring visual consistency across all courses.
Branded Course Menu
The course menu reflects your institution’s branding, using colors and styles from theme settings. The menu is positioned higher on the screen for better use of space.
Course Switcher
Users can quickly jump between their four most recent courses or go to the full Courses page. More enhancements are planned based on ongoing feedback.
Enhanced Multiple Choice And Multiple Answer Workflow
We updated question setup to provide a more intuitive experience, including updating the default answer options from three to four and improving controls for how students interact with questions. These changes support greater flexibility in assessment design and an improved experience for students.
Instructors
To reduce setup time when creating a multiple choice question, we changed the default number of answer options from three to four. Instructors can add or remove answer options.
Instructors can now define the number of answer selections that a student can make for each multiple choice question. When the student takes the assessment, the system enforces the instructor’s selection limit.
Students
For questions where students can select only one answer, the selection mechanism is radio buttons. For questions where students can select more than one answer, the selection mechanism is checkboxes.
Usability Improvements For Document Block Layout
To improve usability and accessibility, we restructured the menu for document block layout. Previously, all options for changing the row, size, or position of a block were in a single dropdown list. Now, these options are organized by type of change (row, size, and position).
Selecting the edit icon for a block prompts a menu with three options: Change row, Change [block/column] size, and Change [block/column] position. Each of these options have a sub-menu, with the related actions.
- Change row
- Move to row above
- Move to row below
- New row above
- Change [block/column] size
- Expand to the left
- Expand to the right
- Shrink from the left
- Shrink from the right
- Change [block/column] position
- Move to the left
- Move to the right
Expanded Question Options For True/False
We expanded the display options for true/false questions to include:
- True/False
- Yes/No
- Right/Wrong
- Agree/Disagree
These additional answer options display when:
- Instructors create or edit this question type when building a test or in a question bank
- Students answer the question
- Instructors grade the question
- Students review their submission or graded question
When converting courses, tests, or pools from Original to Ultra, questions with these display options convert to Ultra with the corresponding display option, Additionally, this enhancement includes improved keyboard navigation when creating true/false questions. We updated the styling of the answer selection for true/false questions to radio buttons.
View Activity Log For Automations
Instructors can now access an activity log for each automation in their courses. The activity log lists the action date and time the automation was triggered and identifies the student and item that triggered it. This feature gives all instructors in the course visibility into when automations occur and which students receive automated messages.
To view the activity log for an automation, instructors select View Automations from Course Assistants on the Course Content page, then select an automation. They then select the Activity Log tab.
Blackboard Blog
Blackboard Anthology is producing a corporate blog which will allow a quick grab/copy of screenshots for your change management initiatives. Please visit the link below: https://www.anthology.com/resources/blog.
Should I contact CTL or IT Support?
Blackboard support important update
The Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL) faculty Blackboard support team now supports technical error messages, course restores, developmental and prep shell requests, and organizational shell requests along with much more in addition to the existing how-to questions, faculty training/workshops and assisting with content creation and development.The Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL) has been focused on providing relevant and timely support to faculty as we develop courses for remote delivery. With the high number of individual requests for help with Blackboard and related educational technologies, we’ve simplified our contact process.
Please contact facultybbsupport@georgiancollege.ca to receive the fastest, most direct service. We’re committed to replying as quickly and thoroughly as possible.
For Blackboard Ultra training and one-on-one support drop-in session details please visit CTL Central For Faculty.
For further resources, including step-by-step text and video tutorials on a wide range of Ultra features, please visit our knowledge base, HelpJuice.
CTL
- Faculty how-to questions
- Faculty training
- Documentation and support resources
- Assist with content creation and development
- Functionality and troubleshooting
- Developmental and prep course creation and enrolments
- Organization creation and enrolments
- Technical error messages
- Course restores
- Section merge tool
- Course export or archive requests
- Blackboard reporting
IT Support
- Password or login issues (all users)
