Release Notes 2020 | Blackboard Help

Release Notes for Learn SaaS - 2020

Learn SaaS release 3900.2.0: Update to client Production environments

Blackboard Learn SaaS Continuous Delivery v3900.2.0 | Release to Production 3 December 2020
Ultra Course View, Original Course View

We’re applying an updated version of 3900.2.0 (full release number 3900.2.0-rel.34+4ad580a) to client Production environments on Thursday, December 17, 2020.

Updates in this version include:

In the Ultra Course View, the Question Analysis report for tests presented incorrect results at some institutions. We’ve fixed the issue.
In the Ultra Course View, some students didn’t have permission to access a group assignment. We’ve fixed the issue.
In the Original Course View, the Link to Wiki page option was missing from the new Content Editor experience. You can now find it under the Add content dialog. Learn more about linking to other wiki pages.

Learn SaaS release 3900.2.0: Update to client Production environments

Blackboard Learn SaaS Continuous Delivery v3900.2.0 | Release to Production 3 December 2020
Ultra Course View, Original Course View

We’re applying an updated version of 3900.2.0 (full release number 3900.2.0-rel.31+0a50fe3) to client Production environments on Thursday, December 10 and Friday, December 11, 2020.

Updates in this version include:

If HTML content written by instructors or administrators referenced hosted content served from an alternate domain, the iframe didn’t load properly. We’ve fixed the issue.
In the Original Course View, test questions linked from a question pool had a difficulty score of 0% regardless of how students answered. We’ve fixed the issue.

Learn SaaS release 3900.2.0: Update to client Test/Stage environments

Blackboard Learn SaaS Continuous Delivery v3900.2.0 | Release to Production 3 December 2020
Original Course View, Ultra Experience, Original Experience

We’re applying an updated version of 3900.2.0 (full release number 3900.2.0-rel.25+e0228f9) to client test/stage servers on Tuesday, December 1, 2020.

Updates in this version include:

In the Original Course View, when an instructor edited response feedback to a test question, the content editor loaded after a 2-second delay. We’ve fixed the issue.
When an institution had the same entityID configured in their IDP and SP metadata, SAML authentication failed and users couldn’t log in. We’ve fixed the issue.

Annotate comment enhancement

Blackboard Learn SaaS Continuous Delivery | Blackboard Learn 9.1
Ultra Course View, Original Course View

Now, instructors can create multiple comments in Bb Annotate without needing to select the comment tool for every comment they add.

The comment tool will get de-selected if an instructor scrolls through the document, but once they fit the document to the screen, the comment tool will stay selected.

Bb Annotate enhancements

Blackboard Learn SaaS Continuous Delivery | Blackboard Learn 9.1
Ultra Course View, Original Course View

Starting on Tuesday, November 24th, PDF files will be flattened for the BbAnnotate preview when uploaded for an assignment. On PDFs, text comment annotations made prior to submission will appear as yellow boxes in the document and will not be movable or collapsible. Drawings, pictures, shapes, and other annotations that are not comments will appear normally and also won't be movable after flattening.

When the file is flattened, students can also see their drawable annotations made with iPad or Microsoft Surface pens on PDF preview before the professor grades it. Currently students cannot see annotations until after professor grades it, which can cause confusion about whether the file appears correctly.

This enhancement is an additional security layer in BbAnnotate to prevent forgeable re-submissions of professor annotations. It also resolves an issue where iPad annotations (APStreams) weren’t appearing on annotated PDFs.

This change only affects PDFs submitted in the future. Previously uploaded files (including files with iPad annotations) will render as they have been.

Learn SaaS release 3900.0.0: Update to client Production environments

Blackboard Learn SaaS Continuous Delivery v3900.0.0 | Release to Production 5 November 2020
Ultra Course View, Original Course View, Ultra Experience, Original Experience

We’re applying an updated version of 3900.0.0 (full release number 3900.0.0-rel.57+59c5f28) to client Production servers during off-hours on Wednesday, November 18, 2020.

Updates in this version include:

When an instructor copied a journal from one Ultra course to another, all journals from the first course were copied to the second. We’ve fixed the issue.
In the Ultra Course View, some Collaborate sessions didn’t appear in the Join Session overflow menu. We’ve fixed the issue.
In the Original Course View, response feedback for the Grade Questions feature of the Grade Center was missing the new content editor, and text entered into the box there wouldn’t save. We’ve fixed the issue.
Unannotated Box documents wouldn’t load in Bb Annotate. We’ve fixed the issue.
The download button for the Insight Report (Beta) for administrators wouldn’t respond or create a CSV. We’ve fixed the issue.
When restoring a merged course from an archive, Learn only restored the parent course and not its child course(s). We’ve fixed the issue.
When a Redis connection failed, Learn didn't attempt to reconnect, so users had to manually retry their task. We’ve fixed the issue.

Learn SaaS release 3900.2.0: Update to client Test/Staging environments

Blackboard Learn SaaS Continuous Delivery v3900.2.0 | Release to Production 3 December 2020
Ultra Course View, Original Course View, Ultra Experience, Original Experience

We’re applying an updated version of 3900.2.0 (full release number 3900.2.0-rel.11+071cf8e) to client Test/Stage servers during off-hours on Tuesday, November 17, 2020.

Updates in this version include:

When an instructor copied a journal from one Ultra course to another, all journals from the first course were copied to the second. We’ve fixed the issue.
In the Ultra Course View, some Collaborate sessions didn’t appear in the Join Session overflow menu. We’ve fixed the issue.
In the Original Course View, response feedback for the Grade Questions feature of the Grade Center was missing the new content editor, and text entered into the box there wouldn’t save. We’ve fixed the issue.
Unannotated Box documents wouldn’t load in Blackboard Annotate. We’ve fixed the issue.
Ally wouldn’t work in Learn when alternative domains were enabled. We’ve fixed the issue.
When a Redis connection failed, Learn didn't attempt to reconnect, so users had to manually retry their task. We’ve fixed the issue.
Final automatic archive files created after a course was deleted didn’t include enrolled user data. We’ve fixed the issue.
After an upgrade, some institutions had to manually uninstall and reinstall their Authentication Provider SAML building block because of a Postgres installation problem. We’ve fixed the issue.

Learn SaaS release 3900.0.0: Update to client Production environments

Blackboard Learn SaaS Continuous Delivery v3900.0.0 | Release to Production 5 November 2020
Ultra Course View, Original Course View, Ultra Experience, Original Experience

We’re applying an updated version of 3900.0.0 (full release number 3900.0.0-rel.46+e0d1a9b) to client Production servers during off-hours on Thursday, November 12, 2020.

Updates in this version include:

When an instructor copied a journal from one Ultra course to another, all journals from the first course were copied to the second. We’ve fixed the issue.
Unannotated Box documents wouldn’t load in Bb Annotate. We’ve fixed the issue.
SAML logins intermittently failed on one app server at a time for a small number of institutions. We’ve fixed the issue.

Learn SaaS release 3900.0.0: Update to client Test/Stage environments

Blackboard Learn SaaS Continuous Delivery v3900.0.0 | Release to Production 5 November 2020
Ultra Course View, Original Course View

We’re applying an updated version of 3900.0.0 (full release number 3900.0.0-rel.42+47a7c9a) to client Test/Stage servers during off-hours on Tuesday, November 3, 2020.

Updates in this version include:

When D2L course content was imported into an Ultra course, document heading formatting was lost. We’ve fixed the issue.
Some Ultra tests that use Respondus LockDown Browser added extra time permitted to the test time limit automatically, instead of presenting as two different time totals. We’ve fixed the issue.
If an Ultra test had a set time limit and then was set to require Respondus LockDown Browser, the time limit was removed. We’ve fixed the issue.
When Ultra discussion boards were copied from a different course and Include only the forums, with no starter posts was selected, members of the destination course could only see the discussion name and couldn’t edit or reply to the discussion. We’ve fixed the issue.
When an Original course was converted to Ultra Course View, unlinked journals were retained and slowed course content copying. We’ve fixed the issue.
In the Original Course View, if the Content Collection Availability was set to “No,” administrators couldn’t browse the Content Collection to restore a course from automatic archives. We’ve fixed the issue.
Institutions that use the Redis Cache Building Block couldn’t connect to the Redis service during high traffic periods. We’ve fixed the issue.

Blackboard Chatbot for Learn

Blackboard Learn SaaS Continuous Delivery v3900.0.0 | Release to Production 5 November 2020
Original Course View, Ultra Course View

We’re excited to announce the first availability of Blackboard Chatbot in Learn. Blackboard Chatbot is a free tool offered in Blackboard Learn that will be automatically available to SaaS higher education clients in North America who have enabled the Ultra Base Navigation. It launches beginning on November 5, with the 3900.0.0 Learn SaaS production release. Some institutions may not see Chatbot in Learn until November 6.

Seamlessly integrated into Ultra Base Navigation and Ultra courses, Blackboard Chatbot provides always-on support. It returns answers to students' commonly asked Learn questions and issues directly from Blackboard Help. For this initial release, Blackboard Chatbot is available only in English.

To access Blackboard Chatbot, select the help icon in the bottom right. Then select Chat Support to open the Chatbot panel. Students can ask Blackboard Chatbot their questions or select from a pre-populated list. Chatbot uses machine learning to better serve your learners over time.

Blackboard Chatbot will be on by default, but administrators can manage its availability.

For more details about Blackboard Chatbot for Learn, visit the Community site

Learn SaaS release 3900.0.0: Update to client Test/Stage environments

Blackboard Learn SaaS Continuous Delivery v3900.0.0 | Release to Production 5 November 2020
Ultra Course View, Original Course View

We’re applying an updated version of 3900.0.0 (full release number 3900.0.0-rel.28+4af3c58) to client Test/Stage servers during off-hours on Tuesday, October 27, 2020.

Updates in this version include:

Based on user feedback, we’ve removed the blue background from course-related icons in the large icon update for Ultra Course View and base navigation.
In the Original Course View, some students could access private journal entries written by other students. Also, additional students couldn't post after the first student responded to the journal prompt. We’ve fixed the issue.
When Learn SaaS environments were updated, Original course and organization menus reverted to the default and customizations had to be reapplied. We’ve fixed the issue.

Content editor updates

Blackboard Learn SaaS Continuous Delivery v3900.0.0 | Release to Production 5 November 2020
Original Course View, Original Experience

This release introduces big updates to the content editor in the Original Course View and the Original experience. We’ve made numerous simplifications and improvements, including:

A single menu to add content that automatically recognizes file types
Optimized experience for all devices and screen sizes
Better accessibility for both the editor and the content you create. Menus and icons have higher contrast, pop-ups are gone, and an accessibility checker lets you know about accessibility issues as you write
The ability to paste content from Word, Excel, and websites with basic formatting and easily remove extra HTML
The ability to paste a link in the editor and automatically embed videos and previews
The ability to display formatted computer code snippets

Institutions using custom language packs created for older versions of Learn have found they may need to update their language packs for the editor to work properly.

More on the Original content editor for students

Visit the Community site for more details and guides you can use to share the changes at your institution

Blog performance

Blackboard Learn SaaS Continuous Delivery v3900.0.0 | Release to Production 5 November 2020
Original Course View

In very large classes, performance is one of our top concerns. We’ve received feedback that including all students in the blog and journal view filter created slow loading times. To improve this performance, we’ve changed the view filter to display only those course members who have completed participation in the blog or journal activity. Non-participants are not displayed. For graded blogs or journals, instructors can display non-participants in the Grade Center.

Learn SaaS release 3800.19.0: Update to client Production environments

Blackboard Learn SaaS Continuous Delivery v3800.19.0 | Release to Production 1 October 2020
Original Course View, Ultra Course View, Original Experience, Ultra Experience

We’re applying an updated version of 3800.19.0 (full release number 3800.19.0-rel.42+e227a86) to client Production servers during off-hours on Thursday, October 8, 2020.

Updates in this version include:

Emailed course announcements in both the Original and Ultra Course Views now include both the course name and the title of the announcement in the email subject.
The calculated grade snapshot information didn't update correctly in courses that use the Telemetry B2. We've fixed the issue.
Learn environments ran out of memory when archiving courses with large volumes of activity accumulator records. We've fixed the issue.
In the Ultra Course View, students couldn’t navigate to the next course content item from a discussion board post if conditional availability was set. We’ve fixed the issue.
In the Ultra Course View, users who had system permission to create materials but were not enrolled in a course couldn’t add permanent files to a course. We’ve fixed the issue.

Learn SaaS release 3800.19.0: Update to client Test/Stage environments

Blackboard Learn SaaS Continuous Delivery v3800.19.0 | Release to Production 1 October 2020
Original Course View, Ultra Course View, Original Experience, Ultra Experience

We’re applying an updated version of 3800.19.0 (full release number 3800.19.0-rel.32+99f4ccd) to client Test/Stage servers during off-hours on Tuesday, September 29, 2020.

Updates in this version include:

We’ve added unique login counts for the previous 30, 90, and 180 days to the Learn Insight Report.
In the Ultra Course View, some replies weren’t visible in discussions. We’ve fixed the issue.
In the Ultra Course View, some users’ discussion response and reply counts didn’t appear correctly. We’ve fixed the issue.
In the Ultra Course View, some users’ profiles and activity in discussions appeared as though the users were unavailable. We’ve fixed the issue.
In the Original Course View, discussion forum links that were broken during a course copy couldn’t be removed from the new course. We’ve fixed the issue.
When an instructor reverted a course back to the Original Course View from Ultra Course Preview, a lost association with the course data source key caused problems with SIS integration. We’ve fixed the issue.
Some users at institutions that use SSO with the SAML Building Block had trouble logging in to their Learn environments. We’ve fixed the issue.

Learn SaaS release 3800.17.0: Update to client Production environments

Blackboard Learn SaaS Continuous Delivery v3800.17.0 | Release to Production 3 September 2020
Original Course View

We’re applying an updated version of 3800.17.0 (full release number 3800.17.0-rel.27+f09831f) to client Production servers during off-hours on Thursday, September 24, 2020.

Updates in this version include:

In the Original Course View, emailed announcements didn't include the announcement title in the subject line. We've fixed the issue.
In the Original Course View, students received an incorrect password error when a test used a password with certain character patterns. We've fixed the issue.

Learn SaaS release 3800.19.0: Update to client Test/Stage environments

Blackboard Learn SaaS Continuous Delivery v3800.19.0 | Release to Production 1 October 2020
Original Course View, Ultra Course View

We’re applying an updated version of 3800.19.0 (full release number 3800.19.0-rel.24+879e1a1) to client Test/Stage servers during off-hours on Tuesday, September 22, 2020.

Updates in this version include:

In the Original Course View, emailed announcements didn't include the announcement title in the subject line. We've fixed the issue.
In the Original Course View, students received an incorrect password error when a test used a password with certain character patterns. We've fixed the issue.
In the Original Course View with Ally enabled, administrators couldn’t remove replaced files included in a course copy from the new course’s content collection. We’ve fixed the issue.
In the Ultra Course View, students couldn't view a course document after visiting an LTI link in a learning module that uses sequential availability. We've fixed the issue.
In the Ultra Course View, students couldn’t view a test submission when SafeAssign was enabled and Respondus LockDown browser was required. We’ve fixed the issue.
Instructors couldn’t add LTI deep linked content to their courses if SameSite cookie support was enabled in their browser. We’ve fixed the issue.
Instructors couldn’t access the users enrolled in their course through third-party applications that use the course membership REST API. We’ve fixed the issue.
At some institutions that use SIS integrations for notifications, a small number of user accounts were locked when notification traffic was heavy. We’ve fixed the issue.

Learn SaaS release 3800.17.0: Update to client Production environments

Blackboard Learn SaaS Continuous Delivery v3800.17.0 | Release to Production 3 September 2020
Original Course View, Ultra Course View

We’re applying an updated version of 3800.17.0 (full release number 3800.17.0-rel.23+292bc5b) to client Production servers during off-hours on Thursday, September 17, 2020.

Updates in this version include:

In the Ultra Course View, students couldn't view a course document after visiting an LTI link in a learning module that uses sequential availability. We've fixed the issue.
Instructors couldn’t access the users enrolled in their course through third-party applications that use the course membership REST API. We’ve fixed the issue.
In the Ultra Course View, students couldn’t view a test submission when SafeAssign was enabled and Respondus LockDown browser was required. We’ve fixed the issue.

Learn SaaS release 3800.17.0: Update to client Production environments

Blackboard Learn SaaS Continuous Delivery v3800.17.0 | Release to Production 3 September 2020
Original Course View

We’re applying an updated version of 3800.17.0 (full release number 3800.17.0-rel.21+0b17a13) to client Production servers during off-hours on Thursday, September 10, 2020.

Updates in this version include:

In the Original Course View, some instructors intermittently encountered an undefined error in the Grade Center. We've fixed the issue.

Learn SaaS release 3800.17.0: Update to client Test/Stage environments

Blackboard Learn SaaS Continuous Delivery v3800.17.0 | Release to Production 3 September 2020
Original Course View, Original Experience, Ultra Experience

We’re applying an updated version of 3800.17.0 (full release number 3800.17.0-rel.17+ca99c4d) to client Test/Stage servers during off-hours on Tuesday, September 1, 2020.

Updates in this version include:

For some administrators, the Insight Report (Beta) displayed 0 for Auto-Archived Courses and Organizations and Days of logs available instead of the correct count. We've fixed the issue.
In the Original Course View, when an instructor quoted a post with embedded files, students couldn't access the files from the instructor's reply. We’ve fixed the issue.
Some environments encountered short periods of downtime after RDS maintenance. We've fixed the issue.

Send course announcement by email

Blackboard Learn SaaS Continuous Delivery v3800.17.0 | Release to Production 3 September 2020
Original Course View, Ultra Course View

To be sure Ultra course announcements reach as many students as possible, we've added the ability to send course announcements by email. Emails about Ultra announcements are always sent and aren't controlled by the global notification settings. Instructors also receive a copy as the email is sent to all course members. In the email, embedded content appears as links. Students can select the links to view the content.

You can't send an email for an announcement that you schedule for a future date.

We also reformatted the subject line for announcement emails in the Original Course View. Now, they’re consistent with the Ultra Course View.

Learn SaaS release 3800.15.0: Update to client Test/Stage environments

Blackboard Learn SaaS Continuous Delivery v3800.15.0 | Release to Production 6 August 2020
Original Course View

As part of our commitment to release quality, we’re applying an updated version of 3800.15.0 (full release number 3800.15.0-rel.22+7825384) to client Test/Stage servers during off-hours on Tuesday, July 28, 2020.

Updates in this version include:

In the Original Course View, instructors couldn't access created tests. We've fixed the issue.

Learn SaaS release 3800.13.0: Update to client Test/Stage environments

Blackboard Learn SaaS Continuous Delivery v3800.13.0 | Release to Production 2 July 2020
Original Course View, Original Experience, Ultra Experience

As part of our commitment to release quality, we’re applying an updated version of 3800.13.0 (full release number 3800.13.0-rel.17+e9dcbb4) to client Test/Stage servers during off-hours on Tuesday, June 23, 2020.

Updates in this version include:

In the Ultra Experience, users couldn't access the date picker to edit a date. We've fixed the issue.
In the Original Course View, some grades entered as letters were incorrectly changed to the next highest letter grade. We’ve fixed the issue.
In the Original Experience, the exported Outcomes Assessment report had some incorrect column headers and was missing data. We've fixed the issue.
In the Original Experience, some students couldn’t access enterprise surveys. We’ve fixed the issue.
We enhanced logging for the SAML B2.

Learn SaaS release 3800.11.0: Update to client Production environments

Blackboard Learn SaaS Continuous Delivery v3800.11.0 | Release to Production 4 June 2020
Original Course View, Original Experience

As part of our commitment to release quality, we’re applying an updated version of 3800.11.0 (full release number 3800.11.0-rel.34+e7b8bbb) to client Production servers during off-hours on Thursday, June 18, 2020.

Updates in this version include:

In the Original Course View, when a Learn instance used custom brands or themes based on the 2012 theme, users couldn't see links under the Course Control Panel. We've fixed the issue.
In the Original Course View, some grades entered as letters were incorrectly changed to the next highest letter grade. We’ve fixed the issue.
In the Original Experience, the exported Outcomes Assessment report had some incorrect column headers and was missing data. We've fixed the issue.

Learn SaaS release 3800.13.0: Update to client Test/Staging environments

Blackboard Learn SaaS Continuous Delivery v3800.13.0 | Release to Production 2 July 2020
Original Course View

As part of our commitment to release quality, we’re applying an updated version of 3800.13.0 (full release number 3800.13.0-rel.11+32b12c7) to client Test/Stage servers during off-hours on Tuesday, June 16, 2020.

Updates in this version include:

In the Original Course View, the Grade Center didn't load for users who use the Spanish language pack with a Chilean grading schema. We've fixed the issue.
In the Original Course View, when a Learn instance used custom brands or themes based on the 2012 theme, users couldn't see links under the Course Control Panel. We've fixed the issue.

Learn SaaS release 3800.11.0: Update to client Production environments

Blackboard Learn SaaS Continuous Delivery v3800.11.0 | Release to Production 4 June 2020
Original Course View, Ultra Course View

As part of our commitment to release quality, we’re applying an updated version of 3800.11.0 (full release number 3800.11.0-rel.26+6de5309) to client Production servers during off-hours on Thursday, June 11, 2020.

Updates in this version include:

In the Original Course View, the Grade Center didn't load for users who use the Spanish language pack with a Chilean grading schema. We've fixed the issue.
In the Ultra Course View, recurring Collaborate Ultra sessions didn't appear under Join Session in the Details & Actions section after the first session. We've fixed the issue.

Learn SaaS release 3800.11.0: Update to client Test/Staging environments

Blackboard Learn SaaS Continuous Delivery v3800.11.0 | Release to Production 4 June 2020
Original Course View, Ultra Course View, Original Experience, Ultra Experience

As part of our commitment to release quality, we’re applying an updated version of 3800.11.0 (full release number 3800.11.0-rel.23+7619f1a) to client Test/Stage servers during off-hours on Tuesday, June 2, 2020.

Updates in this version include:

Files attached to discussion threads replaced existing discussion files when copied into existing courses. We've fixed the issue.
In the Original Course View, when an instructor created a test from a question set, they couldn't add more than one question. We've fixed the issue.
Some administrators saw large numbers of assignment submission exceptions in their logs. We’ve added log information to help determine the sources of those exceptions.

Learn SaaS release 3800.11.0: Update to client Test/Staging environments

Blackboard Learn SaaS Continuous Delivery v3800.11.0 | Release to Production 4 June 2020
Original Course View, Ultra Course View, Original Experience, Ultra Experience

As part of our commitment to release quality, we’re applying an updated version of 3800.11.0 (full release number 3800.11.0-rel.13+dc44ed6) to client Test/Stage servers during off-hours on Tuesday, May 26, 2020.

Updates in this version include:

In the Ultra Course View, students with special characters in their name couldn't launch a test in Respondus LockDown Browser. We've fixed the issue.
In the Original Course View, instructors couldn't enter maximum points for a graded discussion thread. We've fixed the issue.
Some administrators still saw "New Box View" as their building block title after Bb Annotate was turned on. We've fixed the issue.

Learn SaaS release 3800.9.0: Update to client Production environments

Blackboard Learn SaaS Continuous Delivery v3800.9.0 | Release to Production 7 May 2020
Original Course View

As part of our commitment to release quality, we’re applying an updated version of 3800.9.0 (full release number 3800.9.0-rel.25+4afe1a1) to some client Production servers during off-hours beginning Tuesday, May 19, 2020. This update will be applied to clients in the following regions or time zones:

US Central
US Mountain
US Pacific
Asia and Oceania

Clients in Europe, Middle East, Africa, and the US Eastern time zone have already received this updated version.

Updates in this version include:

In the Original Course View, instructors couldn't view a survey's Attempts Statistics from the Grade Center. We've fixed the issue.

Learn SaaS release 3800.9.0: Update to client Test/Staging environments

Blackboard Learn SaaS Continuous Delivery v3800.9.0 | Release to Production 7 May 2020
Original Course View, Original Experience, Ultra Experience

As part of our commitment to release quality, we’re applying an updated version of 3800.9.0 (full release number 3800.9.0-rel.24+a58123a) to client Test/Staging servers during off-hours on Tuesday, May 5, 2020.

Updates in this version include:

We changed the title of a basic usage report for Learn administrators. It's now called Insight Report (Beta). Learn more about where to find the report and how to read it.
In the Original Course View, some tests got stuck in "In Progress" status, so instructors couldn't end attempts or grade them. We've fixed the issue.
Some Learn instances didn't receive grade events information from Caliper. We’ve fixed the issue.
Custom SafeHTML filters reverted to the default policy with certain SaaS upgrades. We've fixed the issue.

Learn SaaS release 3800.9.0: Update to client Test/Staging environments

Blackboard Learn SaaS Continuous Delivery v3800.9.0 | Release to Production 7 May 2020
Original Course View, Original Experience, Ultra Experience

As part of our commitment to release quality, we’re applying an updated version of 3800.9.0 (full release number 3800.9.0-rel.13+116516d) to client Test/Staging servers during off-hours on Tuesday, April 21, 2020.

Updates in this version include:

A basic usage report for Learn administrators on system usage and storage. Learn more about where to find the report and how to read it.
Improved dynamic flow control for better system resiliency and efficient database queries.
In the Original Course View, the Overall Summary of User Activity report only listed the Guest user in the Access/Date graphic. We've fixed the issue.
In the Original Course View, course content that used adaptive release with groups created an unwanted membership criterion that blocked student access to the content. We've fixed the issue.

Learn SaaS release 3800.6.0: Update to client Production environments

Blackboard Learn SaaS Continuous Delivery v3800.6.0 | Release to Production 2 April 2020
Original Course View

As part of our commitment to release quality, we’re applying an updated version of 3800.6.0 (full release number 3800.6.0-rel.18+ade3869) to client Production servers during off-hours on Thursday, April 16, 2020.

Updates in this version include:

In the Original Course View, when grades were transferred with the Grade Journey B2, some grade columns were hidden from instructors in the Grade Center. We've fixed the issue.

Learn SaaS release 3800.6.0: Update to client Test/Staging environments

Blackboard Learn SaaS Continuous Delivery v3800.6.0 | Release to Production 2 April 2020
Original Course View, Ultra Course View

As part of our commitment to release quality, we’re applying an updated version of 3800.6.0 (full release number 3800.6.0-rel.13+fa0f5ed) to client Test/Staging servers during off-hours on Tuesday, March 24, 2020.

Updates in this version include:

In the Ultra Course View, some students couldn’t see the group they were assigned to after they were randomly enrolled. We’ve fixed the issue.
In the Ultra Course View, if a course had a large number of enrolled students, instructors couldn't access the Grades and Participation view. We’ve fixed the issue.
In the Original Course View, students couldn’t view completed assignment rubrics if their assignment was graded using delegated grading. We’ve fixed the issue.
Some instructors couldn’t create math equation assessment questions using the math editor. We’ve fixed the issue.
Students who accessed Blackboard with Google Chrome couldn’t view a full PDF in their course. We’ve fixed the issue.
Some private APIs required permissions that didn’t work correctly with Java 11. We’ve fixed the issue.

Auto-archive on course deletion

Blackboard Learn SaaS Continuous Delivery v3800.6.0 | Release to Production 2 April 2020
Original Course View, Ultra Course View

With this release, a complete archive package will now be created automatically when a course is deleted. The archive package is stored in the course's autoArchive folder like other automatic archives, but the filename is different:Course_ID_Course_PKID_Course_Title_currentTime_in_milliseconds_bb_permanent.zip.

Archives created automatically by course deletion are available for 30 days. This can be helpful for recovering data from courses deleted accidentally.

Learn more on course deletion

Learn more on automatic archives

New LTI Preview User role

Blackboard Learn SaaS Continuous Delivery v3800.6.0 | Release to Production 2 April 2020
Original Course View, Ultra Course View

Third-party integrated tools in a course using the LTI Advantage standard from IMS Global can now distinguish between student and student preview users. This allows integrated tools to choose if they want to handle instructors navigating the course as student preview users differently than standard student users. Per the LTI specification, the user is indicated as the type, “test user.” As an example, the Turnitin LTI Advantage integration uses this to filter student preview users from the student list in Turnitin.

Learn SaaS release 3800.4.0: Addition to client Production release

Blackboard Learn SaaS Continuous Delivery v3800.4.0 | Release to Production 5 March 2020
Original Course View

As part of our commitment to release quality, the scheduled Production release of 3800.4.0 (full release number 3800.4.0-rel.40+d78544e) during off-hours on Thursday, March 5, 2020 will include an additional update.

Some instructors couldn't import content using the Cengage Mindlinks B2. We've fixed the issue.

Learn SaaS release 3800.4.0: Update to client Test/Staging environments

Blackboard Learn SaaS Continuous Delivery v3800.4.0 | Release to Production 5 March 2020
Original Course View, Original Experience

As part of our commitment to release quality, we’re applying an updated version of 3800.4.0 (full release number 3800.4.0-rel.32+1b0447c) to client Test/Staging servers during off-hours on Tuesday, March 3, 2020.

Updates in this version include:

When an Original Course used two percentage range rubrics, the second rubric didn’t always have the correct total number of points. We’ve fixed the issue.
If a user changed their password through their SIS using encryption methods other than SSHA, they could be kicked out of their session after logging back in. We’ve fixed the issue.

Learn SaaS release 3800.4.0: Update to client Test/Staging environments

Blackboard Learn SaaS Continuous Delivery v3800.4.0 | Release to Production 5 March 2020
Original Course View, Original Experience, Ultra Experience

As part of our commitment to release quality, we’re applying an updated version of 3800.4.0 (full release number 3800.4.0-rel.26+312e74d) to client Test/Staging servers during off-hours on Tuesday, February 25, 2020.

Updates in this version include:

Some integrations using LTI 1.3 deep link couldn't launch a needed resource link. We've fixed the issue.
Column headers in the Ultra grade center were duplicated after an administrator customized the colors in their institutional brand. We’ve fixed the issue.
Some users couldn't see their avatar thumbnails in the users and groups section of the Original Course View. We've fixed the issue.

Learn SaaS release 3800.4.0: Update to client Test/Staging environments

Blackboard Learn SaaS Continuous Delivery v3800.4.0 | Release to Production 5 March 2020
Original Course View, Ultra Course View, Original Experience, Ultra Experience

As part of our commitment to release quality, we’re applying an updated version of 3800.4.0 (full release number 3800.4.0-rel.20+6b6dbf5) to client Test/Staging servers during off-hours on Tuesday, February 18, 2020.

Updates in this version include:

In the Ultra Course View, instructors were informed that their institution had made messages read-only for students in English instead of their selected language. We’ve fixed the issue.
Some administrators saw a both successful and a failed login for each sign-in attempt in their authentication logs. We’ve fixed the issue.
Some administrators encountered LDAP authentication problems because the TLS connection failed. We’ve fixed the issue.
Issues with file uploads and downloads in the Ultra Course View:
- Some users saw the upload icon buffering even though they could upload and download files. We’ve fixed the issue.
- Some students couldn’t download files they added to essay questions. We’ve fixed the issue.
Issue with grading in the Ultra Course View:
- Some student submissions reordered randomly while an instructor was grading. We’ve fixed the issue.
Issues with file uploads and downloads in the Original Course View:
- Some users couldn’t upload files with % in the filename. We’ve fixed the issue.
- Some users couldn’t download files attached to submissions that use Box view. We’ve fixed the issue.

Learn SaaS release 3800.2.0: Update to client Production environments

Blackboard Learn SaaS Continuous Delivery v3800.2.0 | Release to Production February 2020
Original Course View, Ultra Course View, Original Experience

As part of our commitment to release quality, we’re applying an updated version of 3800.2.0 (full release number 3800.2.0-rel.24+29cd420) to client Production servers during off-hours on Thursday, February 13, 2020.

Updates in this version include:

In the Original Experience, the last login date wasn’t updating accurately for users with cloud profiles. We’ve fixed the issue.
In the Ultra Course View, some users couldn’t see images they added to the text editor until their content was posted or submitted. We’ve fixed the issue.
Issues with file uploads and downloads in the Ultra Course View:
- Some users saw the upload icon buffering even though they could upload and download files. We’ve fixed the issue.
- Some users couldn’t download files they had previously uploaded if the filename contained a special character. We’ve fixed the issue.
- Some students couldn’t download files they added to essay questions. We’ve fixed the issue.
Issues with grading in the Ultra Course View:
- Some student submissions reordered randomly while an instructor was grading. We’ve fixed the issue.
- Some instructors encountered a blank screen after entering a grade for a student assignment that had multiple attempts. We’ve fixed the issue.
- Some instructors didn’t see entered grades in the gradebook until they refreshed the page. We’ve fixed the issue.
Issues with file uploads and downloads in the Original Course View:
- Some users couldn’t upload files with % in the filename. We’ve fixed the issue.
- Some users couldn’t download files attached to submissions that use Box view. We’ve fixed the issue.

Course ID displays with Course Name

Blackboard Learn SaaS Continuous Delivery v3800.4.0 | Release to Production 5 March 2020
Original Course View, Ultra Course View, Ultra Experience

In this release, a Course ID now appears with the Course Name in key areas when Ultra base navigation is enabled. Now, users can find their Course IDs on the Courses page of base navigation, in the Calendar, and when copying course content.

Make Messages Read-only for Students

Blackboard Learn SaaS Continuous Delivery v3800.4.0 | Release to Production 5 March 2020
Original Course View, Ultra Course View

With this release, administrators can choose whether students are able to create and reply to messages in both Original and Ultra courses. Now Learn Course Messages can better adjust to institutions' different communication preferences and policies. To find this setting, go to Admin Panel > Tools and Utilities > Course Messages.

When you select this option, students also can't forward messages.

Release Notes for Learn SaaS - 2020

Learn SaaS release 3900.2.0: Update to client Production environments

Learn SaaS release 3900.2.0: Update to client Production environments

Learn SaaS release 3900.2.0: Update to client Test/Stage environments

Annotate comment enhancement

Bb Annotate enhancements

Learn SaaS release 3900.0.0: Update to client Production environments

Learn SaaS release 3900.2.0: Update to client Test/Staging environments

Learn SaaS release 3900.0.0: Update to client Production environments

Learn SaaS release 3900.0.0: Update to client Test/Stage environments

Blackboard Chatbot for Learn

Learn SaaS release 3900.0.0: Update to client Test/Stage environments

Content editor updates

Blog performance

Learn SaaS release 3800.19.0: Update to client Production environments

Learn SaaS release 3800.19.0: Update to client Test/Stage environments

Learn SaaS release 3800.17.0: Update to client Production environments

Learn SaaS release 3800.19.0: Update to client Test/Stage environments

Learn SaaS release 3800.17.0: Update to client Production environments

Learn SaaS release 3800.17.0: Update to client Production environments

Learn SaaS release 3800.17.0: Update to client Test/Stage environments

Send course announcement by email

Learn SaaS release 3800.15.0: Update to client Test/Stage environments

Learn SaaS release 3800.13.0: Update to client Test/Stage environments

Learn SaaS release 3800.11.0: Update to client Production environments

Learn SaaS release 3800.13.0: Update to client Test/Staging environments

Learn SaaS release 3800.11.0: Update to client Production environments

Learn SaaS release 3800.11.0: Update to client Test/Staging environments

Learn SaaS release 3800.11.0: Update to client Test/Staging environments

Learn SaaS release 3800.9.0: Update to client Production environments

Learn SaaS release 3800.9.0: Update to client Test/Staging environments

Learn SaaS release 3800.9.0: Update to client Test/Staging environments

Learn SaaS release 3800.6.0: Update to client Production environments

Learn SaaS release 3800.6.0: Update to client Test/Staging environments

Auto-archive on course deletion

New LTI Preview User role

Learn SaaS release 3800.4.0: Addition to client Production release

Learn SaaS release 3800.4.0: Update to client Test/Staging environments

Learn SaaS release 3800.4.0: Update to client Test/Staging environments

Learn SaaS release 3800.4.0: Update to client Test/Staging environments

Learn SaaS release 3800.2.0: Update to client Production environments

Make Messages Read-only for Students

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