Blackboard has been updated for the Spring term. What does that mean for you? There are only a few changes that you should notice as a user:
- Enhanced Content Editor: This release introduces big changes to the Content Editor in the Original Course View including numerous simplifications and improvements. We discuss these changes in more detail below.
- Performance Improvements: Those with very large courses should see performance improvements in load time, especially with regard to discussion boards, journals, and blogs.
- New Integrations: There are a number of new Blackboard integrations that will be coming for the Spring term. These include: Knewton Alta, Springshare, Pressbooks, Labyrinth eLab, Piazza, Picmonic, and Turingscraft Code Lab. Please note that not all of these integrations are live yet— some are still being tested but will be added during the Spring term once they are ready.
Changes to the Blackboard Content Editor
One of the biggest changes you will see in Blackboard this term will be to the content editor. The names of many tools have changed as well as some of the functionality.
- Streamlined content sharing. There is now one menu for adding content from your computer, cloud storage, or integrated tools. Additionally, the content editor will now automatically recognize the kinds of files you add.
- No more pop-ups. In order to make the content editor more functional for all devices, pop-ups have been removed.
- Improved Accessibility. The editor is now more accessible for users and the integrated accessibility checker can help you quickly assess your content.
- Improved Copy and Paste. You can now easily removed any extra HTML that might be hanging around but keep the basic formatting of your content when you copy and paste from Word, Excel, or a website.
- Simplified Embedding. When pasting links to websites such as YouTube, Vimeo, and Dailymotion, the videos are automatically embedded for inline playback.
- Computer Code Display. Authors can now share formatted computer code snippets which may be useful for those teaching computer science or coding.
- Easy Text Wrapping. Now, text will wrap next to your images using the float style, which is both mobile responsive and accessible.
We understand that some of these changes may take some getting used to. If you’re struggling to find the tools you need in your courses, having issues, or just need a little help we’re here to assist you. Email us at learningtech@cod.edu.
Wiley Link Changes
If you’re using Wiley in your Blackboard course, you may need to make some changes for your links to work this term. The Wiley integration LTI links have been updated, which means that any existing Wiley links from previous terms (like those you may be copying over) will no longer work.
If this applies to your courses, you will need to update them. You should have already heard from our Wiley CSM, Tom Brown (tbrown@wiley.com), but if you haven’t you will want to contact him for instructions on how to fix any broken links you may have.
Having issues with Blackboard this term? Email us! We’re here to help.
