3 New Blackboard Features that improve Submissions, Attachments, and Accessible Content

On August 17, Blackboard was upgraded to a new version which has provided additional features useful for both students and faculty.

Submission Receipts

When a student submits an assignment, they are now presented with a confirmation number from the submission success page within Blackboard.  That number can be written down as proof of the assignment submission.

In addition, an email is sent to the student.  The confirmation number along with further details of the submission are included.

Faculty can also view submission receipts.  From the Grade Center within Blackboard, navigate to the “Reports” menu and select “Submission Receipts.”

Drag and Drop Functionality

You can now attach files and even folders by simply dragging the files from your computer to any attachment area within Blackboard. For example, a student may need to submit a Microsoft Word document as part of an assignment. On the submission page, they could drag and drop the Word document into the dotted line attachment area. Blackboard will then automatically upload the document. Similarly, a folder of multiple files could also be dragged and dropped into the attachment area.

Inclusive Content

Blackboard includes a feature that helps make content more accessible for all learners. Ally can present students with automatically-generated alternative versions of uploaded files and can provide faculty with an accessibility score of their content with suggestions on ways to improve. A pilot project with specific courses will be done over the fall 2018 semester to evaluate how course content can become more inclusive using Ally.