Tag: AI Design Assistant

What’s new in Blackboard March 2026

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In the March update, we want to draw your attention to the following Blackboard enhancements:

  • Updates to tests:
    • Anonymous grading by question
    • Question title field relocated
    • Partial credit Multiple Choice Questions and Multiple Answer
  • AI Design Assistant Content Editor
  • Graded Discussions
  • Blackboard Assignment file limits

Anonymous Grading by Question in Blackboard Tests

Instructors can now grade anonymous by question in addition to grading anonymously by student.

When grading anonymous test submissions in Question View, the interface replaces the student’s name, avatar, and ID with an anonymous identifier and a blank avatar. All functionality available when grading non‑anonymous submissions by question is also available when grading anonymously. When anonymous grading is enabled, related APIs no longer return identifying information. This applies to the Essay Question.

Question Title field relocated

We moved the Question Title field from the beginning of the question authoring workflow to the bottom, underneath the Question metadata field. Moving this field ensures that titles remain an optional metadata element and reduces cognitive load during question creation.

Image 1: Before this enhancement, the Question Title field was at the top of the question authoring workflow.

Image 2: Now, the Question Title field is at the bottom of the question authoring workflow, underneath the Question Metadata field.

Partial credit limits removed for Multiple Choice and Multiple Answer

We updated the partial credit system for Multiple Choice and Multiple Answer questions to allow instructors to assign credit values without the requirement that all designated values sum to 100%. This change supports more flexible grading strategies and enables instructors to represent varying levels of conceptual understanding without adjusting values to meet a fixed total.

The system now allows instructors to enter any partial credit value for each option within a range of –100% to +100%. Validation continues to warn instructors if total values exceed 100%, but it no longer blocks question setup. Instructors may now also enter positive credit values for options that are not marked as the correct answer The total partial credit value for correct answers should be at least 100%, and it may exceed 100%. Negative marking continues to operate when enabled. Instructors can adjust credit values during regrading as well.

Image 1: Instructors can have answer options that do not sum to 100%.

Generate Knowledge Checks with AI

We expanded AI‑assisted authoring to support generating multiple choice Knowledge Checks within Documents. This enhancement allows instructors to create just‑in‑time formative assessments using AI‑generated questions based on the content of their Document and any selected course materials.

When inserting a Knowledge Check, instructors are now presented with two options: Enter my question or Auto generate question. Selecting Auto-generate question opens the Auto-Generate Question panel, which adapts the existing Question panel used in tests and question banks.

When using the Auto generate question option, instructors can define generation inputs with the following fields:

  • A description text field
  • A selector to choose course items to inform generation
  • A complexity level slider with a range from Low to High
  • Advanced options including an output language selector
  • An informational banner that states: “This is auto-generated content and needs to be checked for accuracy and bias.”

The system generates four multiple choice questions at a time. Each generated question displays with a radio button so that the instructor can select one question to add to the Document. The instructor can then modify the question, answer options, and feedback after insertion. If the instructor opens the Knowledge Check option but does not add a question, the placeholder block remains empty and behaves as other empty content blocks do.

All questions are generated using only text content from the Document. Consideration of additional media or files will be handled as part of a future release.

Image 1: Instructors can select Enter my question or Auto-generate question when creating a knowledge check.

Image 2: After the system generates questions, the instructor selects which question to add to the Document. After adding a question, instructors can edit the question, question options, and question settings.

Use the AI Design Assistant to suggest Document layouts

If you’re looking for ways in which you can make your Blackboard Documents more visually appealing, then use the AI Design Assistant to suggest Document layouts.

Go to your Document and click to edit the content. Then select the AI Design Assistant icon:

Image 1: AI Design Assistant icon highlighted.

You can provide further information to define the layout:

Image 2: Options available in the layout.

Select Apply layout to save the suggested layout.

Add a second participation requirement and due date in Discussions

Instructors can now add a second due date with participation requirements for Discussions. This update builds on recent enhancements for discussion participation requirements and gives instructors clearer ways to set expectations for discussion activity. Students get transparent guidance for discussion expectations and progress indicators for their participation.

Instructors

Instructors can set how many posts and replies that students must complete across two due dates.

The option Grade discussion must be selected to add a due dates and participation requirements. Enter a time and date under Due Date and specify participation requirements. Selecting Second Due Date adds another due date with its own requirements.

Instructors can disallow student posts or replies after the final due date by selecting Stop discussion activity after last due date.

Image 1: Instructors can now add a second due date for Discussions. They can also specify the number and type of posts or replies that a student is required to make.

Students

When students open a discussion, they find two clear participation requirements with separate due dates. As they post and reply, progress indicators update in real time.

Students can complete requirements in any order, but contributions after a due date won’t count toward that requirement. Once all requirements are met, the discussion is marked complete and Progress Tracking updates.

Image 2: In a Discussion, a student can find due dates in the Details & Information section in the discussion assignment.

Blackboard Assignment file limits

We increased the maximum supported SafeAssign file size from 10 MB to 25 MB. This enhancement supports modern academic workflows in which students frequently submit large documents. The increased file size applies to assignments and tests. Direct Submit will be included in a later release.

If you have any enhancements to request from Blackboard, please get in touch with us via bbbstaff@aber.ac.uk.

What’s new in Blackboard May 2025

WordPress User [ksg2] Blackboard, Blackboard Tests, E-submission, Monthly Update, Ultra Leave a comment

In the May update, we are particularly excited about auto-generate AI Conversations with the AI Design Assistant, Qualitative Rubrics, and Enhancements to Gradebook and Tests.

New: Auto-generate AI Conversations with the AI Design Assistant

Back in November we launched AI Conversations.

The AI Design Assistant can now auto-generate AI Conversations. AI Conversations are conversations between students and an AI persona.

  • Socratic Questioning: Conversations that encourage students to think critically through continuous questioning.
  • Role-play: Conversations that allow students to play out scenarios with the AI persona, enhancing their learning experience.

Creating personas and topics for an AI Conversation can take a lot of time. To streamline this process, the AI Design Assistant can generate three suggestions at once. You can select what the AI Design Assistant generates. You can choose to generate:

  • AI Conversation title
  • AI persona
  • Reflection question

These suggestions provide inspiration for an AI Conversation. Instructors can refine the AI Design Assistant’s suggestions in several ways:

  • Provide additional context
  • Adjust the complexity of the question
  • Select context from the course
  • Manually revise the question

Image 1. The auto-generate feature is now available in AI Conversations.

Image 2. There are several ways to customise AI Conversations.

We recommend that you look closely at the AI persona to check for any biases that might be there and edit these.

We would love to hear about your use cases of AI Conversations – do let us know via elearning@aber.ac.uk.

New: Qualitative Rubrics

Lecturers can now create and use no-points rubrics for Blackboard Assignments. This rubric type allows instructors to assess student work based on criteria and feedback, rather than numerical values.

Instructors can select No Points as a rubric type when creating or generating a rubric. This option is available alongside existing percentage and points-based rubrics. Instructors can also edit rubrics to switch between different rubric types, including percentage, points range, and no points.

Image 1: No Points option is available in the Rubric Type dropdown.

This feature was requested in our recent Blackboard Assignment (Safe Assign) pilot.

Enhancements to Gradebook and Tests

Accessibility Enhancements to the Gradebook

The Markable Items tab in the Gradebook now features a redesigned interface to improve accessibility and navigation for keyboard-only and screen reader users. This enhancement supports an accessible experience for instructors grading student work, reducing the time and effort required to manage student grades.

With this update, the Gradable Items tab uses a table-based layout to enhance usability:

  • Screen reader users can now hear both header and row announcements, allowing for smoother navigation through student submissions.
  • Keyboard users can now move efficiently across rows or down columns using arrow keys.

Image 1: Gradebook with Markable items tab highlighted

New: Text-based columns in the Gradebook

Instructors can now create custom text-based columns in the Gradebook, giving them the ability to record information for an assessment, such as performance code, group membership, and tutoring information.

These columns allow instructors to record up to 32 characters. The column is not restricted to text input.

Colleague might want to use this to record dissertation supervision teams or markers.

Instructors can:

  • Create text-based columns via the Add workflow in both the grid view and Gradable Items page;
  • Name the column, control student visibility, and add a description;
  • Add and edit text information for a specific student using an inline eidt workflow.

Text-based columns exclude the following:

  • Points values (automatically set to 0 points)
  • Due dates
  • Categories
  • Gradebook calculations and related calculation UIs

Content in text-based columns auto-posts and supports sorting functionality within the Gradebook grid view. Instructors can also download and upload text-based columns using the Gradebook’s upload/download function.

Image 1: Instructors can select Add Text Item to create a text-based column.

Image 2: Instructors can enter column name, set visibility for students, and enter a description for the text-based column.

Students can access text-based columns and associated information in their Gradebook when the column is set to Visible to students.

New test setting: View submission one time

There is a new test result setting option, View submission one time.

When a student completes the test, they can review their answers and detailed feedback, such as which questions were answered correctly.

Image 1: Allow students to view their submission one time highlighted:

Instructors

To access this setting option, select Available after submission in the Assessment results section of the Assessment Settings, then select View submission one time from the Customise when the submission content is visible to students dropdown. This dropdown is available only if Allow students to view their submission is selected.

Note that this setting does not alter the recommended settings for online exams.

Ideas Exchange:

This section aims to keep you updated on progress of enhancements requested on the Blackboard Ideas Exchange.

We are pleased to see the Qualitative Rubric included in this month’s release as this is a feature that was requested as part of the SafeAssign pilot.

If you have any enhancements to request from Blackboard, please get in touch with us via elearning@aber.ac.uk.

What’s new in Blackboard – February 2025

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In the February update, Blackboard has improved the workflows for Assignments and Tests and further enhanced the AI Design Assistant. Additionally, there are new options for managing and creating content and some improved accuracy when uploading grades and feedback.

Assignments, Tests, Marking and Grades

Conversion of existing assignments to new assignment workflow

The Create Test and Create Assignment workflows used to share the same content settings, but the workflows have been separated since last August. This month’s update will run an automatic bulk conversion of any assignments created before August 2024 to ensure that all assignments past and present will benefit from this new workflow. See the August 2024 Blog for details on the workflow differences.

Assignments following the conversion: There will be no option to add questions to assignments and attempts will only be created with students interact with the assignment, such as submitting a file or adding content. Clicking on the assignment will not create an attempt.

Tests following the conversion: Tests with questions will remain the same. Any tests without questions will be set to Hidden from students. When you copy tests over from previous modules, they will also be set to Hidden from students. Some assignment-specific options have been removed from the test settings menu:

  • Collect submissions offline
  • Use grading rubric
  • Maximum points
  • 2 grades per student
  • Peer review

Additionally, the functionality for student visibility options and release conditions for tests have been updated. Now, instructors must add one or more questions to their test to make it visible to students or to add release conditions. This ensures that students only see assessments that they can actively engage with.

Image 1: Settings panel with assignment-specific options removed.

Settings panel with assignment-specific options removed

Masking access codes for Tests

In the past, when an exam invigilator entered an access code for an online exam using Blackboard Tests, the code was visible on the screen when entered. This compromised the security of the testing environment. Now, the code is masked (******) to ensure enhanced security. An option to view the code is available but the default state keeps it hidden which provides better privacy and protection during exams.
Image 2: Masked Access Code.

Screenshot of Masked Access Code

Improved accuracy when uploading grades and feedback

Instructors can now upload grades and feedback for assignments, journals, and discussions with improved accuracy. Previously, uploaded grades were always stored at the override level, which left any underlying attempts or submissions ungraded. This caused the Needs Grading and New Submission flags to remain visible, even when grading had been completed offline. Uploaded grades and feedback are now correctly mapped to the corresponding attempt or submission which reduces confusion and provides better clarity for instructors. See guidance on Working Offline with Grade Data for further information.

AI Design Assistant

More generated questions and Learning Modules

When using the AI Design Assistant, instructors can now set the number of questions generated for tests and question banks to a maximum of 20. The maximum number of learning modules that the AI Design Assistant generates also increased to 20. There is also an added option to exclude descriptions from learning modules generated by the AI Design Assistant. Instructors now have the option to write their own descriptions.

Image 3: The Auto-Generate Questions page displays a new maximum number of questions of 20.

Screenshot of the Auto-Generate Questions page displays a new maximum number of questions of 20.

For more information on the tools available with the AI Design Assistant see Blackboard AI Design Assistant Tools.

Managing and Creating Content

New image block on Document creator

Blackboard have added a new image block to Documents. Image blocks are used to upload your own images, use the AI Design Assistant to generate images, or select images from Unsplash. Image blocks can be moved throughout a Document, just like other block types. You have the option to resize images, set height, and maintain aspect ratios in image blocks.

Image 4: The new image block option in Documents.

A screenshot of the new image block option in Documents.

A dedicated image block makes adding images more apparent. Adding images via the image block also reduces white space around images and provides greater control over content design. For more information on using Documents in Blackboard see Enhancements to Documents.

Changing Folders to Learning Modules

Instructors can now change a folder to a learning module or a learning module to a folder. Benefits of changing a folder to a learning module include:

  • Thumbnail images: Learning modules come with thumbnail images, which provide a visually appealing course experience.
  • Forced sequencing: Instructors can force students to navigate learning modules in linear paths.
  • Progress bar: Learning modules have a progress bar for students that highlights the number of items that they need to complete and their progression on those items.
  • Previous and next navigation: Students can quickly navigate to the next or previous item in a learning module.

It is also possible to convert a learning module to a folder, though we would not recommend this, as it will remove the added benefits of using learning modules as listed above.

Image 5: The new option to change a folder to a learning module in the dropdown menu.

Screenshot of the new option to change a folder to a learning module in the dropdown menu.

Idea Exchange

This section aims to keep you updated on progress of enhancements requested on the Blackboard Anthology Idea Exchange. The following three items have changed their status to ‘Planning to implement’:

  • Support for a Dark Mode in Ultra Courses
  • Ability to add metadata to questions in tests and banks
  • Organising Pools

If you have any enhancements to request from Blackboard, please get in touch with the Digital Education Group.

What’s new in Blackboard – January 2025

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In the January update, Blackboard has improved the AI Design Assistant by adding more languages and enhancing the Auto-generation features. Additionally, there are new features for Creating Documents and Release Conditions.

AI Design Assistant Outputs

Blackboard have improved the auto-generation features within the AI Design Assistant to have faster and more complex outputs. When auto-generating Learning Modules for example, all you need is a few sentences to describe the Modules, and the AI Design Assistant creates longer descriptions and deeper focus on the topic:

Image 1: Auto-generated Learning modules with latest improvements (see right) for comparison.

As well as learning modules, they include improvements for auto-generating: Assignments, Discussions, Journals, Test questions and AI Conversation avatars. See our webpages for further information on the AI Design Assistant and training sessions are also available to book here.

More languages in AI Design Assistant

The AI Design Assistant now includes expanded language outputs. AI workflows now work in Greek, Catalan, Croatian, Irish, and Slovenian. For a complete list of languages available for AI outputs, see Blackboard’s AI Design Assistant for Instructors page. See below for how to change the language:

Image 2. Changing the output language is available as an advanced option in the AI Design Assistant.

Direct grade entry from the Grid view

Instructors can now enter assignment grades directly in the Grid view (selected by choosing the Marks tab in the Gradebook) with improved accuracy and consistency.

Image 3: Screenshot of the Marks tab in the Gradebook.

Previously, grades entered in these views were stored at the override level, which caused confusion as underlying attempts remained ungraded and continued to display the Needs Grading and New Submission flags. This latest update ensures that grades entered this way are properly mapped to the underlying attempt or submission when applicable.

NOTE: This feature is only applicable in the Marks view, grades continue to be shown as override if you are in the Markable Items view. Also, grades entered via file upload continue to be stored as override grades.

Content blocks for designing Documents

Blackboard have improved the content designer when creating documents which makes it much easier to use. When instructors create or edit a document, the content block no longer closes when you collapse the menu in the editor. Also, the editor no longer closes when editing table setting

For more information on documents see: Blackboard Learn Ultra: Enhancements to Documents.

File uploads for Documents

This latest update has updated the default file option when instructors upload files to documents. The default file option is now View and Download file. Also, it is now possible to use the Undo and Redo functions for file uploads. This is very useful if you’ve uploaded an incorrect file to your document, you can just click the ‘undo’ feature.

Image 4: New ‘Undo’ and ‘Redo’ functions highlighted below.

Submission attempts for Release Conditions

You can now use item submission status for a release condition. For example, an instructor who wants students to access a document only after submitting a quiz would use a release condition. Students can access content items without needing to wait for a grade to be posted.

Image 5: The new Attempt submitted option is in the dropdown menu for a gradable item in the Release Conditions panel.