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Learn SaaS release 3900.93.0

Blackboard Learn SaaS Continuous Delivery v3900.93.0
Release to Test/Stage: Tuesday, 7 May 2024 | Release to Production: Thursday, 6 June 2024
Original Experience, Ultra Experience
Original Course View, Ultra Course View

For full feature details, please review the corresponding notes for the Learn 3900.93.0 version included below on this page. Details can be found Behind the Blackboard

Latest release: 3900.93.0-rel.60+b2d93bf to Production servers to take place on 27 June 2024.

For more information on updates and bug fixes, please visit Behind the Blackboard.


June 2024 – 3900.93 Release

The June 2024 - 3900.93 release is robust with features in 9 areas:

  • Instructional design;
  • Tests and assignments;
  • Communication and collaboration;
  • Flexible grading;
  • Gradebook;
  • Learner progression and personalized experience;
  • Integrations;
  • Learn core and security; and
  • Mobile App

These improvements impact instructors, students, observers, administrators, and all users. Some features do require administrative action.

Instructors:

Instructors and Students:

Students:

Administrators:

Observers:

Everyone:


Instructional Design

AI Design Assistant – Language Selector – 3900.93

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

To support multi-language use cases, the AI Design Assistant now includes a language selector. Instructors may use the language selector to set the desired language for generated content. This feature is especially beneficial for courses with multi-language requirements. 

The language selector is included in all existing AI Design Assistant workflows. A list of supported languages in the language selector is available. 

Image 1. Select the desired output language from the advanced options

Auto-Generate Learning Modules panel, showing the Advanced Options section expanded at the bottom

Image 2. The generated output is in the selected language

Generated learning modules displaying Spanish text

For administrators: This feature is available for all Ultra courses. There are no configurations needed.

Return to June 2024 – 3900.93.0 Release description


Printing for Assessments – 3900.93

Blackboard Learn SaaS
Ultra Experience
Ultra Course View
Impact: Instructors, users who have privileges to edit an assessment
Related topic: Print Assessments

Instructors can now print assessments. Printing provides a convenient solution for a variety of use cases:

  • Accommodating students with specific needs or limited technology access
  • Providing a printed assessment for testing in designated centers
  • Backup and record keeping
  • Conducting offline assessment
  • Documentation and compliance
  • Maintaining security and integrity

The print option is available in Forms, Tests, and Assignments with questions. Printing also provides the option to save as PDF.

To print an assessment, from Content and Settings, select Print.

Note: We plan to support printing answer keys and question pools and printing from the mobile app in upcoming releases.

Image 1. Print option from a test

Print option from a test

Image 2. Select desired print options

Choose print options in the menu

For administrators: This feature is available for all Ultra courses. There are no configurations needed. 

Return to June 2024 – 3900.93.0 Release description


Streamlined point value editing for questions – 3900.93

Blackboard Learn SaaS 
Ultra Experience   
Ultra Course View 
Impact: Instructors
Related topics: Edit Tests and Questions

When editing a question, instructors can now access and edit the point value field with just two clicks. Reducing the number of clicks needed to edit the point value of a question saves instructors time and effort. This small change leads to a smoother workflow and enhances the overall teaching and learning experience.

Note: Editing the point values for matching questions requires three clicks. 

For administrators: This feature is available for all Ultra courses. There are no configurations needed.

Return to June 2024 – 3900.93.0 Release description


Return a true/false question to an unanswered state – 3900.93

Blackboard Learn SaaS 
Ultra Experience   
Ultra Course View 
Impact: Students

Students can now return a true/false question to an unanswered state after choosing an answer. Students clear their choice by selecting the same option again. Students may need to clear their answer selection for a test question. For questions that use negative scoring, if a student is uncertain about their answer, their score may be better if they leave it unanswered. In this case, clearing a response makes it easy for them to come back later using the unanswered question filter. This helps students better manage their time during a test.

In the past, a student could only change their answer to a true/false question to a different value. 

Image 1. A true/false question with true selected as the answer

A true/false question with true selected as the answer

Image 2. The true/false question answer has been cleared

The true/false question answer has been cleared

For administrators: This feature is available for all Ultra courses. There are no configurations needed. 

Return to June 2024 – 3900.93.0 Release description


Communication & Collaboration 

Post immediately when creating announcements – 3900.93

Blackboard Learn SaaS 
Ultra Experience 
Ultra Course View 
Impact: Instructors 
Related Topic: Announcements

Instructors can now post announcements as part of the drafting and editing processes. This makes the process of creating and posting announcements simpler. 

Instructors can still post from the announcements page. 

Image 1. When creating or editing an announcement, there is now an option to post

New Announcement page, showing the option to post immediately or save draft

For administrators: This feature is available for all Ultra courses. There are no configurations needed.

Return to June 2024 – 3900.93.0 Release description


Prevent auto-assigning members in self-enrollment groups – 3900.93

Blackboard Learn SaaS 
Ultra Experience 
Ultra Course View 
Impact: Instructors 
Related Topic: Create and Manage Groups

Instructors use self-enrollment groups to provide agency to students on group activities. Currently, at the end of the enrollment period, unassigned students are always distributed into groups. To improve the use of self-enrollment groups for optional activities, instructors can now opt-out of this behavior. Instructors can deselect the option, which does not enroll students who do not self-enroll by the end of the enrollment to any group. This option gives instructors more flexibility when managing self-enrollment groups. 

Image 1. The auto-enroll check box sets the behavior at the end of the self-enrollment period

Groups page showing Self-Enrollment checkbox

For administrators: This feature is available for all Ultra courses. There are no configurations needed. The default behavior is unchanged.

Return to June 2024 – 3900.93.0 Release description


Group members list available within the selected group – 3900.93

Blackboard Learn SaaS 
Ultra Experience 
Ultra Course View 
Impact: Instructors, Students
Related topic: Create and Manage Groups
 
Groups and group work form an important part of the learning experience. To improve and centralize member information, we have relocated the members list to the selected group page. This will now display as a member’s tab rather than a separate panel. Here, users can search for members and sort them alphabetically. This change enhances the visibility of the selected groups page and provides the groundwork for adding more features in future releases. 

Image 1. Show Members option from the group sets page

Manage Groups page, with a group expanded to display the Show Members option

Image 2. Once a group is selected, the members now appear on the groups page within the Members tab

Members tab on a group's page

For administrators: This feature is available for all Ultra courses. There are no configurations needed.

Return to June 2024 – 3900.93.0 Release description


Filter out graded responses when grading by question – 3900.93

Blackboard Learn SaaS 
Ultra Experience   
Ultra Course View 
Impact: Instructors

The Needs Grading filter now filters out graded student responses by default. Filtering this way helps instructors to focus on any remaining ungraded responses for a given question. It also provides instructors with an improved view of their outstanding grading workload. If instructors want to include graded responses, they can select Show graded responses. This selection preference is now stored per course and it persists across assessments in each course.

Image 1. Grading by question option with the grading status of Needs Grading filter selected

Grading by question option with the Grading Status of ‘Needs Grading’ filter selected

Image 2. Grading by question view with the grading status filter of Needs Grading and Show graded responses options selected

Grading by question view with the Grading Status filter of ‘Needs Grading’ and ‘Show graded responses’ options selected

For administrators: This feature is available for all Ultra courses. There are no configurations needed. 

Return to June 2024 – 3900.93.0 Release description


Gradebook

Grader Notes on student grades – 3900.93

Blackboard Learn SaaS 
Ultra Experience   
Ultra Course View 
Impact: Instructors
Related topics: Grade Tests with Flexible Grading, Grade Assignments with Flexible Grading

Instructors can now add private grading notes to student grades. After a score is assigned, the new Feedback & Notes menu option is available. Grader notes form an important part of the academic record. These notes may serve as documentation for a grading decision or grade adjustment.  Grader notes are private to graders and not visible to students.

Those with grading privileges can access Feedback & Notes from two places: 

  • The Grades tab in the Gradebook by selecting a specific score.
  • The Submissions list page for an assessment, select the More menu for a student

Image 1. Instructor view of the Feedback & Notes menu option accessible from the Gradebook grid view and Submissions page for assessments

Instructor view of the Feedback & Notes menu option accessible from the Gradebook grid view and Submissions page for assessments

Image 2. Instructor view of the new grader notes option

Instructor view of the new grading notes option

Image 3. Instructor view of grader notes accessed from a student’s contextual menu on the assessment’s Submissions page

 Instructor view of grading notes accessed from a student’s contextual menu on the assessment’s Submissions page

For administrators: This feature is available for all Ultra courses. There are no configurations needed. 

Return to June 2024 – 3900.93.0 Release description


Improved visibility of new grades and feedback in the student gradebook – 3900.93

Blackboard Learn SaaS 
Ultra Experience   
Ultra Course View 
Impact: Students
Related topic: Grades

To ensure that students are aware of any new grades in the course we have added an indicator to the Gradebook tab. When there are new grades, the number of new grades appears on the tab.

After selecting the tab, items with new or updated grades appear at the top of the student gradebook and display a purple indicator. The purple indicator disappears and the count on the tab reduces when the student selects the item or reviews their submission.  

We also reviewed the use of color in the gradebook based on student feedback. Now, we mark late assessments with a "(Late)" label to reduce stress sometimes associated with the use of the color red. In the past, late submissions appeared with a red assessment icon and label.


Image 1. Student view of an Ultra course with the new grade indicator on the Gradebook tab

Student view of an Ultra course with the new grade indicator on the Gradebook tab

Image 2. Student view of the gradebook displaying the grade indicator on the Gradebook tab and corresponding purple indicators for the 3 relevant items; the new “(Late)” label is also visible

Student view of the gradebook displaying the grade indicator on the Gradebook tab and corresponding purple indicators for the 3 relevant items; the new “(Late)” label is also visible

For administrators: This feature is available for all Ultra courses. There are no configurations needed. 

Return to June 2024 – 3900.93.0 Release description


Weighted calculation usability improvements – 3900.93


Blackboard Learn SaaS 
Ultra Experience   
Ultra Course View 
Impact: Instructors
Related topics: Calculate Grades

Responding to client feedback, we have made two improvements for gradebook weighting:

  • The label “0% per item” appeared for categories excluded from weighting. This caused confusion so we removed it.
  • We updated the calculation rules panel to make it easier to understand the selected settings.


Image 1. Instructor view of the previous interface for weighted calculations

Image 1. Instructor view of the existing weighted calculation interface

Image 2. Instructor view of the new weighted calculation interface where the ‘0% per item’ information is removed for excluded categories

nstructor view of the update weighted calculation interface where the ‘0% per item’ information is removed for excluded categories

Image 3. Instructor view of the updated text on the Calculation rule panel

Instructor view of the updated text on the Calculation rule panel

For administrators: This feature is available for all Ultra courses. There are no configurations needed. 

Return to June 2024 – 3900.93.0 Release description


Learner Progression & Personalized Experience 

Student's overall grade visible to Observers –3900.93

Blackboard Learn SaaS 
Ultra Experience 
Ultra Course View 
Impact: Observers 
Related Topic: Observer Role

Observers are users who can only view the progress and performance of specified students. We now display the overall grade in the Grades tab along with other grades. This improves student monitoring for observers. If an instructor sets the overall grade to be visible to students, it will be visible to observers. 

Image 1. Current overall grade visible to observer

Student grades tab for the observer role

For administrators: This feature is available for all Ultra courses. There are no configurations needed.

Return to June 2024 – 3900.93.0 Release description


Announcements API enhancements - additional filtering options – 3900.93

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

Announcements play a crucial role in course communication. They ensure that students stay informed about important deadlines and course materials. Administrators and developers now have additional REST API capabilities to streamline integrations and save time. New announcements filtering options allow administrators and integrated tools to retrieve data more efficiently. This optimizes audit and search processes, reducing query volume and data processing after retrieval.

 New filter options:

  • Creation Date: Retrieve announcements based on their specific creation date
  • Modified Date: Retrieve announcements based on their last modification date
  • Availability: Filter announcements based on their availability status

For administrators: The required privileges for Announcements API remain unchanged. 

Return to June 2024 – 3900.93.0 Release description


Learn Core & Security

Base Navigation - Course and Organization filters and personalization - 3900.93

Blackboard Learn SaaS
Ultra Experience, Original Experience 
Ultra Course View, Original Course View
Impact: All

The courses and organizations tabs in Base Navigation are some of the most accessed places in Blackboard Learn. We received feedback in numerous focus groups and were inspired by client ideas posted in the Idea Exchange. We heard the pages should fit more institutions’ situations and give users more options to customize. This release includes the following improvements:

We removed the carousel for navigating between terms. There is now a term selector and filter you can use on its own or with other filters.

You can set filters, make term choices, and add text searches. All of these are clearly displayed below the search box. Remove these search settings or filters to see more courses or organizations. Remove them by selecting the close icon “x” on each.

Your selections and filters are remembered automatically even if you log out or switch devices. Set up the pages the way you like, and we’ll keep it that way until you change it.

The terms selector has specific logical behaviors to help users:

  • “Current Courses” and “Current Organizations” are the default term selections. If terms aren’t used or all your courses/organizations are open or use continuous duration, you’ll default to the “All Terms” selection option instead.
  • You can now choose to view “All Terms” to see everything regardless of term.
  • The “Upcoming Courses” and “Upcoming Organizations” term options will only display if you have upcoming courses/organizations.

Image 1. Course page with search for "medical" and current courses

Filters on the course page

For administrators: This feature is available for all environments with Base Navigation enabled. There are no configurations needed. 

Return to June 2024 – 3900.93.0 Release description


Mobile App 

Landing Page Enhancements for Blackboard Learn Mobile App - 3900.93

Blackboard Learn SaaS, Blackboard Learn 9.1
Ultra and Original Experience 
Ultra and Original Course View 
Impact: Instructors, Students

To enhance usability and streamline user interaction in the mobile app, we added filters to the following landing pages:

  • Courses
  • Organizations
  • Grades 

Users now can use filters at the top of each landing page, allowing them to refine their search results.

When a user applies a filter, its tag appears at the top of the landing page. Users can remove filters by unselecting the respective tag.

Image 1: Courses landing page with filtering option

Landing page of the Mobile app displaying filtering features

For administrators: This feature is available for all Ultra courses. There are no configurations

Return to June 2024 – 3900.93.0 Release description