For the best Blackboard Learn experience with your screen reader, use ChromeTM and Jaws on a Windows® system. On a Mac® use Safari® and VoiceOver. Visit the Accessibility topic to learn more about Blackboard's approach to accessible software.

Supported browsers

Blackboard supports five primary browsers for Learn releases. Links to the vendor sites for the browsers are included in this topic.

Run the browser checker to see whether Blackboard Learn supports your browser.

To learn more about Blackboard's general browser support policy as well as information about Javascript, Cookies, and other software, see the Browser Support Policy.

Browser Supported Desktop* Browser Versions
Chrome** 36+
Edge** 20+
Firefox 31+
Internet Explorer 9+ (Standards Mode, Windows only)
Safari 6+ (Mac OS only)

* Mobile app versions of these browsers aren't supported at this time, although users may have success using them. The Learn 2016 system theme improves the experience of mobile users in some interfaces. The Blackboard app and Blackboard Instructor are supported native apps for mobile and tablet devices that interact with Blackboard Learn 9.1 servers.

** Google Chrome versions 42+ and Microsoft Edge do not support NPAPI-type plug-ins, including Java plug-ins and many media browser plug-ins. Blackboard doesn't support these browsers for use in the following circumstances: 1) with embedded media types that require third-party NPAPI plug-ins for viewing and 2) the multiple-file upload interface located in the Content Collection, although the other multiple-file upload interfaces are supported on these browsers.

Tested devices and operating systems

A variety of devices and operating systems were used to test the supported browsers. Support is not limited to these specific operating systems. The desktop browser versions above are supported regardless of the particular device or operating system on which they run.

Operating Systems used in testing Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10, Mac OS 10.8, Mac OS 10.9, Mac OS 10.10, Chrome OS
Chrome OS tested device Chromebook (Chrome browser; features requiring NPAPI plug-ins are not supported)

Blackboard strives to make all its products as accessible as possible. JAWS 14 and 15 and VoiceOver were used during accessibility testing of Learn.

Java and other browser plugins

A handful of features in Blackboard Learn require particular additional software to be installed. Without these, the features themselves do not function. For this release of Learn, the following features have plugin requirements:

  • Multiple file uploads in Course Files and Content Collection requires the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) from Oracle enabled as a browser plugin. The single file upload tool does not have this requirement. The upload applet is signed by Blackboard and includes a timestamping authority that allows the applet to run even after the certificate has expired.
  • The Meeting Room and Blackboard Collaborate synchronous communication features, available via Building Block, require download and installation of the Blackboard Collaborate Launcher application but do not require the Java JRE browser plugin.

    The launcher is only required for Blackboard Collaborate with the Original experience. Blackboard Collaborate with the Ultra experience does not require any downloads.

JRE versions 7 and 8 are the recommended versions for features that depend on it. JRE version 6 may work, but could result in unexpected behavior. Oracle has acknowledged some security issues with JRE version 6.

Blackboard Learn does not require any other browser plugins. To learn more about browser plugins, assistive technology, and other supporting software, see the Browser Support Policy.

Plugin links

Analytics for Learn browser support

Reports and visualizations available in Analytics for Learn are delivered via third party business intelligence tools from Blackboard partners, specifically Microsoft (Reporting Services) for embedded reports and Pyramid (Pyramid BI Office) for dashboard building. These products have their own commitments to browser support, and so the details below are subject to change based on product decisions made by our partners.

Analytics for Learn reports that display within the Learn interface are supported in all the same browsers as Learn. Standalone Microsoft Reporting Services reports are also supported in the same browsers as Learn. Refer to the Microsoft website for more information on browser support for Microsoft Reporting Services.

To view Pyramid dashboards, an HTML-5 compatible browser is required. Older versions of Internet Explorer that have been deprecated by Microsoft are not compatible for viewing Pyramid reports. To build Pyramid dashboards, an NPAPI-compatible browser is required because the Pyramid builder uses the Microsoft Silverlight plugin. Google Chrome has deprecated NPAPI support, so this browser is incompatible. Firefox or Safari users must install and configure the Silverlight plugin to use it in their browser.