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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Learn SaaS release 3900.106.0

Blackboard Learn SaaS Continuous Delivery v3900.106.0
Release to Test/Stage: Tuesday, 12 November 2024 | Release to Production: Thursday, 5 December 2024
Original Course View, Ultra Course View

For full feature details, please review the corresponding notes for the Learn 3900.106.0 version included below on this page. Details can be found on Anthology Global Support.

Latest release: 3900.106.0-rel.10+91807dd to Test/Stage servers to take place on 12 November 2024.

For more information on updates and bug fixes, please visit Anthology Global Support.


Instructional Design

Deploy Role Play Separately from Socratic Questioning for AI Conversation – 3900.106 

Blackboard Learn SaaS  
Ultra Course View  
Impact: Administrators 
Related Topic: AI Design Assistant and Unsplash Configuration 

We listened to your feedback and adjusted the AI Conversation toggle in the administrator panel. Previously, Socratic Questioning had to be turned on so that Role Play could be selected. Administrators can now choose to deploy Role Play separately from Socratic Questioning

Image 1. The AI Design Assistant and Unsplash configuration screen 

AI Conversation toggles in the administrator panel, with Role Play separate from Socratic Question

For administrators: Turning AI Conversation off after deployment will stop AI Conversation services. Therefore, any AI Conversation activities visible to students won't operate as expected.

Return to December 2024 – 3900.106.0 Release description


Video Studio: skip to a specific part of a recording - 3900.106

Blackboard Learn SaaS
Ultra Course View
Impact: Instructors, Students
Related Topic: Video Studio (instructor page), Video Studio (student page), Video Studio (administrator page)

In Video Studio, users can skip to a specific part of a recording, giving them more control over viewing. By selecting a time stamp in the transcript, the recording plays from the time selected.

For example, a student who views a recorded lecture can skip forward to a specific portion of the video. They can also replay any part of the video by selecting the desired timestamp in the transcript.

Image 1: Select a timestamp on the transcript and the recording plays from that part of the video

Video Studio screen with transcript. The cursor selects a timestamp on the transcript, and the video plays from the corresponding time.

For Administrators: Video Studio is a premium solution. We are offering customers a free trial until June 30, 2025. This trial provides access to the full version of Video Studio. Video Studio is set to OFF as a default in test/stage environments. If you want to enable it in your institution’s production environment, you can do that for free until the end of June 2025. In the Administrator Panel, select Configure in The Ultra Experience is Here! module. Select Enable creating/uploading videos using Video Studio. Beyond this date, your institution will have to purchase Video Studio to continue using it.

Return to December 2024 – 3900.106.0 Release description


Navigation Added for LTI and SCORM Items within Learning Modules – 3900.106 

Blackboard Learn SaaS  
Ultra Course View  
Impact: Students 
Related Topic: Learning Modules 

Instructors use learning modules to guide student progress through diverse types of course content. For easier navigation, students can now select arrows to the left and right of LTI or SCORM items to move through learning modules. 

For administrators: There are no configurations needed.

Return to December 2024 – 3900.106.0 Release description


AI Design Assistant Rubric Generation Upgraded from GPT-3.5 to GPT-4o mini – 3900.106 

Blackboard Learn SaaS  
Ultra Course View  
Impact: Instructors 
Related Topic: AI Design Assistant

We regularly review the AI models we use with AI Design Assistant features. New models are trained on more data and can complete a broader range of tasks at a higher speed than older models. Information in new models is more up to date, which makes their outputs more accurate. Also, new models are less likely to require multiple submissions to generate content. To benefit from these improvements, we’re starting to switch over our AI Design Assistant tools from GPT-3.5 to GPT-4o mini. For this release, we migrated rubrics to GPT-4o mini.

For administrators: There are no configurations needed.

Return to December 2024 – 3900.106.0 Release description


Communication & Collaboration 

Discussion Enhancement: New Post Indicator – 3900.106 

Blackboard Learn SaaS  
Ultra Course View  
Impact: Instructors and Students 
Related Topic: Discussions 

We added a "New" indicator that displays next to posts and replies that a user has not yet accessed. This helps direct engagement by making new discussion activity easier to find and access. 

Image 1. The "New" indicator alongside a post and a reply

Discussion post with a purple pill "NEW" indicator alongside a post and a reply

For administrators: There are no configurations needed.

Return to December 2024 – 3900.106.0 Release description


Flexible Grading 

Improvements for late submissions – 3900.106

Blackboard Learn SaaS  
Ultra Course View  
Impact: Instructors 
Related Topic: Grade Assignments with Flexible Grading

To help instructors quickly identify late submissions in the attempt banner, late submissions now have a Late indicator. We also updated the wording from Submitted late <date> to Submitted <date>

For administrators: There are no configurations needed.


Gradebook

Grade override improvements - 3900.106

Blackboard Learn SaaS  
Ultra Course View  
Impact: Instructors 
Related Topic: Override Grades

To increase transparency when overriding grades, we added an Override indicator to overridden grades on the Grades & Participation screen for Discussions. 

We implemented the Undo Override workflow on the Discussion grading interface, mimicking the Undo Override workflow in the Journal grading interface.

For administrators: There are no configurations needed. 

Return to December 2024 – 3900.106.0 Release description


Additional Grader Information for Grade Export Tool – 3900.106

Blackboard Learn SaaS
Ultra Course View, Original Course View
Impact: Administrators
Related Topic: Grade Export

Exporting grade data helps institutions create reports, perform audits, or integrate with information systems. The Grade Export (v2) tool allows institutions to manage this data exchange in bulk. Gradebook column data in an export file now includes additional information about the last grader for each grade. The name and email of that last grader appear as new columns in the extract file. This indicates the owner of the current grade value. These data enable institutions to follow up on grade questions or create reports on staff task completion. The new column headers in the extract file are:

  • User.GRADER_FULLNAME indicates the full name of the last grader of the gradable item.
  • User.GRADER_EMAIL indicates the email of the last grader of the gradable item.

For administrators: This data is extracted for all courses, Ultra or Original.  There are no configurations needed. Administrators manage the Grade Export (v2) tool by selecting Platform Extensions in Administrator Panel. 

Return to December 2024 – 3900.106.0 Release description


Integrations

Performance Goals Scale via Public API – 3900.106

Blackboard Learn SaaS, Blackboard Learn 9.1  
Ultra Course View   & Original Course View 
Impact: Administrators   
Related Topic: Blackboard APIs

A new Blackboard public REST API lets developers retrieve the Goal Performance Scale configuration. Third party applications can access the defined performance scale for goals aligned with assessments. Instructors can reference the Goal Performance Scale while working with integrations to better track and analyze student goal performance. Configuration fields include range, label, and color.

Users can access to this information through the following endpoint:  

  • GET /learn/api/public/v1/courses/settings/goalperformance/scale

For administrators: No configurations or specific entitlements needed.

Return to December 2024 – 3900.106.0 Release description


Learn Core & Security

Mobile app sessions renew without requiring authentication – 3900.106

Blackboard Learn SaaS
Ultra Course View & Original Course View
Impact: All users
Related topic: Account Lock

Administrators can now define the maximum length of time a user can access the mobile app before they are required to login again. This time limit is controlled through an authentication token.  The token allows the app to automatically renew a session without re-authentication, as long as it hasn't expired.

To set the length of a token, go to the Administrator Tool Panel, select Account Lock Settings, and then Mobile App Token Timeout. By default, the mobile token lifetime is set to the maximum of 336 hours (about 2 weeks). The minimum setting is 1 hour.

Image 1. Mobile Token Timeout configuration from Administrator Tool Panel

Administrator panel showing Mobile App Token Timeout configuration

For administrators: The verification process that ends inactive sessions runs every hour. If Use same value as Inactive Session Timeout is selected, and Maximum Activity is less than 60 minutes, the session timeout may not be precise to that value. However, the session timeout will occur in no more than an hour. For security certifications, select Use same value as Inactive Session Timeout to end sessions in the same timeframe. This option works independently of the type of device used to log in. Use these values for the Inactive Session Timeout: FedRAMP Moderate: 30 minutes; IL4: 25 minutes.

Return to December 2024 – 3900.106.0 Release description


Upgrade to Ultra 

Copy Items from Courses Improvement – 3900.106 

Blackboard Learn SaaS  
Original Course View 
Ultra Course View  
Impact: Administrators 
Related Topic: Copy Content from Other Courses 

We updated the copy workflow in Blackboard to make copying easier. Now, users with the following privileges can copy from any course that they have access to, even if they’re not enrolled: 

  • Administrator Panel (Courses) > Courses > Copy Course 
  • Administrator Panel (Organizations) > Organizations > Copy Organization 

For administrators: There are no configurations needed.

Return to December 2024 – 3900.106.0 Release description


Moodle Conversion Improvement: Images in Question Text – 3900.106 

Blackboard Learn SaaS  
Original Course View 
Ultra Course View  
Impact: Instructors 
Related Topic: Migrate from Moodle 

Images in quiz questions are now preserved during conversion from Moodle to Blackboard. Previously, images were not retained during the conversion process 

For administrators: There are no configurations needed.

Return to December 2024 – 3900.106.0 Release description


Batch Edit: Usability Improvement – 3900.104 

Blackboard Learn SaaS 
Ultra Course View 
Impact: Instructors and Administrators 
Related Topic: Batch Edit 

"Change dates to a specific date and/or time" is the most popular option used in Batch Edit to change dates in a batch, so it is now the default option. This change simplifies the process for our users and helps instructors to prepare courses for teaching and learning even faster. 

Image 1. Edit Dates option in Batch Edit

Batch Edit Edit Dates window, with Change to specific date and/or time highlighted

For administrators: There are no configurations needed.

Return to November 2024 – 3900.104.0 Release description



Looking for older release notes?

Check out the Blackboard Learn Release Notes Archive for more information on past releases.

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