Release Notes for Learn SaaS - 2021

Learn SaaS release 3900.4.0: Addition to client Production release

Blackboard Learn SaaS Continuous Delivery v3900.4.0 | Release to Production 7 January 2021
Ultra Course View

We’re applying an updated version of 3900.4.0 (full release number 3900.4.0-rel.23+718491f) to client Production environments on Thursday, January 21, 2021.

Updates in this version include:

  • In the Ultra Course View, instructors were unable to access the rubrics for anonymous assessments. We've fixed the issue.

Learn SaaS release 3900.4.0: Addition to client Production release

Blackboard Learn SaaS Continuous Delivery v3900.4.0 | Release to Production 7 January 2021
Ultra Course View, Original Course View

We’re applying an updated version of 3900.4.0 (full release number 3900.4.0-rel.23+718491f) to client Production on Thursday, January 14, 2021.

Updates in this version include:

  • In the Original Course View, a recent fix to the Grade Center scrolling behavior caused problems loading custom color palettes. We’ve reverted the Grade Center scrolling behavior until both issues are resolved.
  • For sites on Ultra base navigation, when a user opened the Student Activity page in an Original Course View course, the course disappeared and the user returned to the Ultra base navigation page. We’ve fixed the issue.
  • In the Ultra Course View, when LTI 1.3 profiles were automatically enabled, a default course tool was created for use in LTI Advantage services that could appear without the administrator's approval. We've made a quick fix to avoid this appearance in the course tools area. In a future release, a profile change will drive this fix.

Learn SaaS release 3900.4.0: Update to client Test/Stage environments

Blackboard Learn SaaS Continuous Delivery v3900.4.0 | Release to Production 7 January 2021
Ultra Course View, Original Course View

We’re applying an updated version of 3900.4.0 (full release number 3900.4.0-rel.17+f210f75) to client Test/Staging environments on Tuesday, December 29, 2020.

Updates in this version include:

  • In the Ultra Course View, the course groups tool wasn't visible if an institution had a large number of tools installed. We've fixed the issue.
  • In the Original Course View, the rich text editor didn't display an HTML preview after a media link was pasted. We've fixed the issue.

Learn SaaS release 3900.4.0: Update to client Test/Stage environments

Blackboard Learn SaaS Continuous Delivery v3900.4.0 | Release to Production 7 January 2021
Ultra Course View, Original Course View

We’re applying an updated version of 3900.4.0 (full release number 3900.4.0-rel.14+d8ea606) to client Test/Staging environments on Tuesday, December 22, 2020.

Updates in this version include:

  • In the Ultra Course View, the minimal rich text editor displayed some incorrect icons and tooltips and some unnecessary buttons. We've fixed the issues.
  • In the Original Course View, the content editor removed link tags and URLs with Javascript in image and anchor tags whether or not the user had the Add/Modify Trusted Content permission. We’ve fixed the issue.
  • In the Original Course View, when an alternate domain is enabled, allowing guest access to course files could deny signed-in users the ability to access the files. We’ve fixed the issue.
  • We've added a page to the Admin Panel to allow the ability to enable an alternate domain for serving content files, and specify the host name for the alternate domain. You’ll find the Alternate Domain for Serving Content page in the Security section of the Admin Panel.

Learn SaaS release 3900.4.0: Update to client Test/Stage environments

Blackboard Learn SaaS Continuous Delivery v3900.4.0 | Release to Production 7 January 2021
Ultra Course View, Original Course View

We’re applying an updated version of 3900.4.0 (full release number 3900.4.0-rel.10+9fc85c4) to client Test/Staging environments on Tuesday, December 15, 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 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.

API updates

Blackboard Learn SaaS Continuous Delivery v3900.4.0 | Release to Production 7 January 2021
Ultra Experience, Original Experience

We’ve made some noteworthy API updates, including:

  • Added an endpoint that separates child courses from their set parents so that API users can now undo parent/child course relationships via APIs.

Building block self-service

Blackboard Learn SaaS Continuous Delivery v3900.4.0 | Release to Production 7 January 2021
Ultra Experience, Original Experience

With this release, SaaS administrators can now install and uninstall building blocks on their SaaS instance without depending on Blackboard Support. This change gives our clients the flexibility of managing their own installations instead of waiting for the Support team. Administrators can install and uninstall building blocks in Admin Panel > Building Blocks > Installed Tools. Installation and removal of a building block will trigger an automated rolling restart. No additional action is needed from the administrator.

Blackboard understands this is an exciting update for our clients. It is worth pointing out that we continue to expand our REST APIs as well as deepening our LTI support. It's important to note that a combination of REST API/LTI is preferred to ensure integration support in the Ultra experience. REST APIs/LTI are the modern standard that SaaS companies use when interfacing with their systems. More and more of our partners are developing towards REST APIs/LTI, and we continue to look forward to the time where our REST API/LTI framework is robust enough to handle all use cases that building blocks currently support.

End of SOAP Web Services capabilities

Blackboard Learn SaaS Continuous Delivery v3900.4.0 | Release to Production 7 January 2021
Ultra Experience, Original Experience

Blackboard SOAP Web Services were officially deprecated on January 4, 2019 (see the original announcement). 

As of December 31, 2020, Blackboard Learn SOAP Web Services are no longer supported, as they have reached the end of life per our deprecation policy.

In February 2021, we will update the Proxy Tools and Web Services System Administrator pages with the removal of links for Registering new Proxy Tools, Creating new Web Services, and accessing SOAP Web Services documentation and development tools.

The removal of these links does not disable the use of currently installed Proxy Tools or Web Services.

While SOAP may continue to work for your institution, any issues or concerns regarding SOAP will not be addressed by Blackboard other than the recommendation of moving to REST APIs.

Full removal of SOAP Web Services capabilities is planned for the May 2021 and future releases. Note that this plan is subject to change, and that SOAP Web Service capabilities may not be removed until a later release.

Fixed issues

Blackboard Learn SaaS Continuous Delivery v3900.4.0 | Release to Production 7 January 2021
Ultra Course View, Original Course View

The bug fixes in this Learn release include:

  • In the Ultra Course View, the Post Now button for Announcements didn't disable after its first selection while the work processed in courses with large numbers of students. This meant instructors could select the button, post the announcement, and email students multiple times. Now, the Post Now button will disable on first selection.

  • In the Original Course View, when a Grade Center column had a long title and required multi-line wrapping, the window size changed depending on whether the column with the long title was visible. This made it difficult to scroll, because the horizontal scroll bar changed position with the size of the window. Now, the window size remains consistent.

    If particularly long item names make the header larger than you’d like, shortened alternative names can be added just for displaying in the Grade Center. In the Grade Center, select a column and in the menu, choose Edit Column Information and set a shorter title for Grade Center Name.

  • In the Original Course View, when a user added an image in the content editor, the text after the image was forced to the next line. We've fixed the issue.

You can view all maintenance items in Behind the Blackboard. Our Known Issue articles provide information for individual bug fixes, and may include bug descriptions and which Learn versions were affected. You can filter bug fixes by SaaS release for easier navigation. View the 3900.4.0 maintenance issues on Behind the Blackboard.

Rich text editor improvements

Blackboard Learn SaaS Continuous Delivery v3900.4.0 | Release to Production 7 January 2021
Ultra Course View

In this release, users will have access to more formatting tools in the Ultra Course View's rich text editor. Users can format content in a variety of different ways, including font colors, font sizes, and font style. We've also redesigned the tool's base to provide a better experience with a secondary bar that will display additional options, especially on smaller screens. Students, instructors, and administrators will see these changes everywhere they encounter the rich text editor in the Ultra Course View.

Support panel session data

Blackboard Learn SaaS Continuous Delivery v3900.4.0 | Release to Production 7 January 2021
Ultra Experience

Logging tickets has long been a struggle for administrators. There isn’t an easy way for administrators to capture what the user was doing at the time the issue occurred. This often leads to a lot of back and forth between our clients and support as we attempt to gather the necessary information needed to investigate a bug further. We understand how frustrating that process can be. With this release, users will now be able to capture their most recent session data (last 30 actions the user has taken) and send it to their administrators to attach in support cases. This feature will be available in the Support Panel as well as anywhere the “Oops! Your name is not on the list.” message can occur. Administrators can retrieve the log files via Admin Panel > Tools and Utilities > Logs > Session Debug Logs.