On Friday 14th November 2025, a group of CQSD colleagues, including members of the TEL and OC teams, volunteered at Reading’s ReadiFood foodbank as part of the University’s commitment to community engagement. The team delivered food and toiletry items collected within CQSD, and then spent the morning sorting donations (mainly…Continue Reading CQSD TEL colleagues volunteer at local foodbank for community engagement
Changes to Padlet share setting terminology
There has been a change to Padlet’s share setting terminology (23/10/2025). The new terminology is more intuitive and removes the previously confusing labels ‘Secret’ and ‘School only’. Previous share settings panel New share settings panel The new terminology is: Visitors with a link (previously called ‘Secret’) University of Reading members (previously called ‘School only’). To…Continue Reading Changes to Padlet share setting terminology
Power Up your teaching with Padlet: showcase recording now available
Thinking about Padlet activities to engage your students? Want to see what colleagues have tried? See the university Padlet showcase recording, now available to view. This event brought together colleagues from across the institution, alongside a guest speaker from Padlet, to share practical insights, creative examples, and critical reflections on how they are using the…Continue Reading Power Up your teaching with Padlet: showcase recording now available
Bb Accessibility – ALLY can help to quickly identify and correct your Bb course’s accessibility issues
ALLY AI Alternative Text Assistant is now available Ally has an AI assistant that provides simple, easy to use suggestions for those who may not be experienced at writing image descriptions. A recent major upgrade tackles more complex images—such as STEM diagrams, charts, graphs, images with embedded text, even handwritten notes — by auto-generating descriptions….Continue Reading Bb Accessibility – ALLY can help to quickly identify and correct your Bb course’s accessibility issues
Improvements to the Microsoft Teams Meetings Integration in Blackboard
Microsoft is changing the Teams Meetings integration with Blackboard. This post outlines what’s changing, what the improvements are, and how to set this up to deliver live online sessions with your students. This post only refers to the Teams Meetings integration with Blackboard. There are no changes to your regular use of Microsoft Teams. What’s…Continue Reading Improvements to the Microsoft Teams Meetings Integration in Blackboard
Padlet Blackboard integration
Padlet is now integrated with Blackboard Ultra, meaning it is available alongside other third-party tools in your Course ‘Content Market’. If you are new to Padlet and want to get started see: Teaching with Padlet. What are the key changes? Existing University Padlet users should clear their browser cache and access Padlet via Blackboard prior to…Continue Reading Padlet Blackboard integration
Understanding the revised Blackboard Rollover process for 2025-26 courses
There is an important update to the Blackboard Course Rollover process and how it is being implemented for 2025-26 courses. This post explains what’s happening and what it means for you. The Roadshows have finished but learn about the process by watching: Revised Rollover – what’s different and why (6 mins) and Revised Rollover – How to…Continue Reading Understanding the revised Blackboard Rollover process for 2025-26 courses
Search by submission receipt for anonymous Blackboard Assignments is back!
Following the latest Blackboard update, you can now find a student’s submission when the Blackboard Assignment is anonymous using the unique Submission Receipt ID. This option was lost following a previous update but is now back and working. Colleagues will appreciate the ability to search using the submission receipt to help manage the marking process…Continue Reading Search by submission receipt for anonymous Blackboard Assignments is back!
Module Descriptions automatically linked to Blackboard Courses
The Module Description (MDF) for a course is now available from the Course Description link under the Details and Actions menu. The link is automatically inserted into 2024/25 Blackboard Ultra courses and complements the existing instruction to create a link to the Module Description in Coure Content > Module Information, as part of the course…Continue Reading Module Descriptions automatically linked to Blackboard Courses
Issue: Accessing 2023-24 Reading Lists in Blackboard
What is the issue? There is currently an issue preventing access to some 2023/24 Online Reading Lists in Blackboard Courses. This unexpected issue is caused by the type of link used by the integration in the Blackboard course to connect to the Reading List. This has occurred since the 2023/24 Reading Lists were ‘archived’. Access…Continue Reading Issue: Accessing 2023-24 Reading Lists in Blackboard