Feature highlights
Updates will be automatically available within your courses, organisations and content menus from January 10th 2025. You’ll find more detailed release notes below.
Show/Hide Columns in Gradebook for Instructor View
Direct Entry for Marks from Gradebook
Improvements to Ultra Documents
Attempt Submitted option for Release Conditions
Manage Course Access from Course Settings
Hiding Columns in the Gradebook
Topic: Tests and Assessment
Feature Details: Instructors can now hide columns within the Gradebook in the settings area. This hides the columns for all instructors on the module (not students).
What does this mean for you?: If you have multiple assessments on a module, you may wish to hide completed ones, or those in a future semester. This cleans up the view for instructors and markers in the Markable Items and Marks view of the Gradebook. There is a numerical indicator which notifies you of hidden columns. This does not hide the columns from students, and you will therefore need to continue to hide assignments from students, using the availability, if needed.
Guide: Gradebook Settings
Direct Entry for Marks from Gradebook
Topic: Tests and Assessment
Feature Details: Marks directly entered into the Gradebook are now better linked to the assignment.
What does this mean for you?: When entering marks into the Gradebook directly in either the Marks grid or Markable items list, the marks would class as an override. The marks entered now better match the assignment settings, allowing them to be the final attempt mark or override in multiple assignments, or a mark in single attempt assignments. The final marks will be clearer to students and remove the attempts from Needs Marking when marking other submissions.
Document improvements, View and download now default
Topic: Content
Feature Details: There are further enhancements to the Ultra Document including View and Download as the default for all uploaded files.
What does this mean for you?:
- A progress bar now indicates the status when uploading files to an Ultra Document.
- The View and Download option is now selected by default when uploading file to an Ultra Document.
- After adding a content block, if you click away whilst no content is added, for example to highlight text to copy from another source, the content block now remains in the Document rather than needing to be added again. This allows a more-streamlined creation of content.
Guide: Create an Ultra Document
Attempt Submitted option for Release Conditions
Topic: Content
Feature Details: When setting up content for Release Conditions connected to assessment, the option to use Attempt Submitted is now available.
What does this mean for you?: When releasing information following an assessment, or follow-up content, users can now use Attempt Submitted when an attempt has been made to the linked submission point. Previously, a mark had to be provided, but now only an attempt is needed to release the information.
Guide: Release Conditions
Manage Course Access from Course Settings
Topic: Course Management
Feature Details: A blue ‘Open’ indicator pill confirms that the Blackboard course is open.
What does this mean for you?: Opening the course now takes place via the course settings. The options are open or closed. These are togged off/on. Please do not use the new ‘Complete’ function as this makes the course read only, but this is not inline with other assessment policies for re-sitting/suspending students. Please see the guide for more information about the new way of working.
Guide: Make a Course or Organisation Available
If you have an idea for a Blackboard feature or improvement, please raise a ticket with the TEL Team.