Release Notes for Learn SaaS
This page contains features and updates currently on Learn SaaS Test/Stage and Production environments. Visit Archived SaaS Release Notes to see features and updates in older versions. Visit In-Product Updates to learn more about in-product updates.
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More on Learn with the SaaS Deployment | Export the list of Known Issues | Access the latest API and database documentation | Blackboard Learn SaaS release notes archive | Learn Releases White Paper
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Learn SaaS release 3900.46.0
Blackboard Learn SaaS Continuous Delivery v3900.46.0
Release to Test/Stage: Wednesday, 20 July 2022 | Release to Production: Thursday, 4 August 2022
Original Experience
Ultra Experience
For full feature details please review the corresponding notes for the Learn 3900.46.0 version included below on this page. Details can also be found on Behind the Blackboard.
Latest release: 3900.46.0-rel.22+29d441b to Production servers to take place on 11 August 2022.
On the Submission page, instructors and students were unable to download files attached from Cloud Storage. Due to this issue, enhanced auto save capability in the content editor in Tests & Assignments has been removed from this release.
For more information on updates and bug fixes, please visit Behind the Blackboard.
August 2022 – 3900.46 Release
The August 2022 - 3900.46 release is replete with features in three areas: assessment and grading; richer course and content design; and integration, extension, and management. These improvements primarily impact instructors and students. Some features do require administrative action.
Instructors:
- Improved management of question banks
- Advanced calculation for Overall Grade
- Delete Student Preview User
- Import/Export Group Sets and Members
- Explicit declaration of Messages handling
- Granular Content Copy – Copy Status in Course Tasks and Logs
- Granular Content Copy – Retain links to assessment questions
- Progress Tracking – Status and Filter updates for Submission View
- Bb Annotate undo/redo functionality: Roll out deployment
Instructors and students:
- Unified Blackboard App
- Congruent Mobile App and Desktop Experiences for Ultra Course View
- Microsoft OneDrive – Create a Collaborative Document
- Microsoft Teams Meetings
- Improvements to LaTeX question support
- Due Date Exceptions
- Messaging in Private Courses
Students:
- Enhanced auto save capability in the content editor in Tests & Assignments
On the Submission page, instructors and students were unable to download files attached from Cloud Storage. Due to this issue, this feature has been removed from this release to be included in a future one.
All users:
Richer Course and Content Design:
Microsoft OneDrive: Create a Collaborative Document - 3900.46
Blackboard Learn SaaS, Learn 9.1
Ultra Experience, Ultra Course View
Original Experience, Original Course View
Impact: Instructors, Students
Collaborative documents provide students opportunities to engage with one another and course content. Instructors can now create a Microsoft OneDrive collaborative document in the Ultra and Original Course Views.
Supported file types:
- Microsoft Word
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft PowerPoint
In the Ultra Course View, a new choice, Cloud Document, appears on the menu after selecting “Create” from the plus sign to add content.
Ultra Course View Flow
Image 1. Improved workflow for adding content from OneDrive
An instructor can choose Cloud Document from the “Create Item” panel and select “One Drive.” The following options are displayed:
- 'Open from OneDrive' to create a document link
- 'Start a new Collaboration' to create a collaborative document
Image 2. Start a new collaboration
Instructors may need to sign into a Microsoft account to continue.
Instructors can select an existing document or create a new file for collaboration.
Image 3. Create a new collaboration
All student members of the course will be able to access the file. The students may select Edit Document to begin collaborating on the file.
Image 4. Students select Edit Document to begin collaborating on the document
Any existing file linked to OneDrive stays unchanged. These files will remain read only.
In the Original Course View, a link appears in the content add tools menu and/or the add content button (+) in the content editor. The system administrator can decide the specific name in the Original Course View.
Original Course View Flow
Image 5. Adding Microsoft Cloud Collaboration document in Learn Original
An instructor can choose to create an item or edit an existing item and select the + symbol from the content editor. Select the "Microsoft Cloud Collaboration document" to continue.
Image 6. Start a new collaboration
Instructors may need to sign into a Microsoft account to continue.
Instructors can select an existing document or create a new file for collaboration.
All student members of the course can access the file.
Image 7. Students select "Edit Document" to begin collaborating on the document.
For administrators: Please register the LTI Tool Provider in the Administrator Panel. Only users in the same Microsoft tenant can collaborate on documents.
Unified Blackboard App– 3900.46
Blackboard Learn SaaS, Blackboard Learn 9.1
Ultra Experience, Original Experience
Ultra Course View, Original Course View
Impact: Instructors, Assistants, and Graders
In the past we had two separate mobile apps: the Blackboard App and the Blackboard Instructor App. The two apps caused confusion for many instructors. They did not realize that they needed to use a different app to manage their courses.
With this release, we are consolidating to a single app for both instructors and students. The user experience will change based on the user’s role within a course. Instructors can use the updated Blackboard app for both Original and Ultra courses.
Action needed: Support for the Blackboard Instructor iOS and Android apps ends in September 2022. Instructors, Assistants, and Graders should download the Blackboard app for iOS or Android.
For administrators: There are no configurations needed. We encourage admins to notify instructors of the need to download a different app.
File Upload Indicator for Original Course View - 3900.46
Blackboard Learn SaaS, Learn 9.1
Original Experience
Original Course View
Impact: All users
Users sometimes upload large files or have slow upload speeds. In Original Course View, it may not be clear to users that anything is happening. Some pages in Original Course View will now display a file upload indicator after users submit. We added this upload animation to four course tools where large file uploads are most common. Other pages stay the same. The upload indicator will now appear on these pages:
- Assignment Submission
- Content Item
- Discussion Board Thread or Reply
- SCORM
Image 1. Before – no file upload indicator
Image 2. After – new file upload indicator
For administrators: There are no configurations needed. As before, a user cannot upload a file if it is larger than the configured file size limit.
Bb Annotate undo/redo functionality: Roll out deployment - 3900.46.0
Blackboard Learn SaaS, Learn 9.1, Managed Hosting, Self-Hosted
Ultra Experience and Original Experience
Ultra Course View and Original Course View
Impact: Instructors, roles with grading permissions
We will do a phased roll-out deployment for the new undo/redo functionality of Bb Annotate. This new capability will allow instructors to easily edit their annotations. The schedule is:
Region/Date
- ap-southeast-1-p: Aug 1, 2022
- af-south-1: Aug 2, 2022
- ap-southeast-1: Aug 3, 2022
- us-gov-west-1: Aug 4, 2022
- ap-northeast-2: Aug 5, 2022
- us-east-1, eu-central-1, ap-southeast-2, and ca-central-1: Aug 11, 2022
The deployment will include some downtime, and we will avoid high traffic hours in each specific region.
The downtime will only be for Bb Annotate not the entire Learn environment.
It is expected to be around 1 hour long. During this time users will see a maintenance message inside the Bb Annotate framework.
Looking for older release notes?
Check out the Blackboard Learn Release Notes Archive for more information on past releases.
