It’s that time again: Blackboard got an update.
While updates can be a pain, they also come with some good things. Here’s a list of what you can expect with this latest Blackboard update, taken from our knowledge base. You can also read the article there.
Blackboard Attendance ✋
The new Attendance tool integrates with your grade center and provides reliable access to attendance data for instructors and students.
Student photos will appear in the Attendance tool if the student has set up their Blackboard Profile.
Cloud Storage Integration🌤
Instructors can upload or link directly to documents from their preferred cloud storage solution when authoring content items or creating assignments. Students can also upload assignments directly from their preferred solution. Integrations include Box, Dropbox, Google Drive, and OneDrive.
Record Audio & Video Feedback for Your Students 🎙
Instructors and graders can increase student engagement by creating personalized audio or video feedback recordings by clicking on the microphone icon in the Content Editor. Feedback functionality is supported in: Assignment, Test, graded Discussion, graded Wiki, graded Blog, graded Journal, and within a manual grade column.
What do students see?
Students can access the recording with grade details and any other feedback you add. The recordings stream to the student’s device and don’t require them to download anything. Students can play the recordings on most modern browsers without any additional plugins or extensions. Students can’t download or save the recordings.
Improvements to the Blackboard Interface 🎨
Grade Center Enhancements 🎓
Instructors will now be able to view full titles of Grade Center columns making it easier to distinguish between similarly-titled items. They can also view as many columns as the size of their window will allow and enter Grade Center full-screen mode to make the most of their desktop experience.
Course Menu Color Support 🌈
Course colors can once again be customized by instructors!. The course menu will present in these colors in both desktop and mobile web browsers.
Navigate to your course Control Panel > Customization > Teaching Style and edit the Background Color in SELECT MENU STYLE.
Greater Responsiveness on Mobile Devices 📱
Improved mobile experience for instructors and students. Tests and the Learning Modules tool are now optimized for web browsers on mobile devices.
Blackboard Instructor App | Mobile Assignment Marking and Rubric Support
Instructors can now grade on-the-go with the Blackboard Instructor App. You can even access rubrics and annotate papers in New Box View.
Please let us know if there are any elements of Blackboard that are not working after the update or if you have any questions about the new features.
Questions? Concerns? Let us know! Email us at learningtech@cod.edu.
