What’s New in Blackboard – January 2025

The Blackboard team at Anthology is starting the new year strong with a slate of enhancements and new features! The Blackboard 3900.108 release, out in January, boasts updates in the areas of Instructional Design, Gradebook, Learn Core and Security, and Mastery Learning and Learning Pathways. These improvements impact instructors, students, and administrators. Read on to find out more about the upcoming Blackboard release!

Note: The below updates pertain to customers using the Ultra interface. For complete release notes, visit the Blackboard help site.

1. Instructional Design - Improvements to AI Design Assistant Outputs

We improved the following auto-generation features of the AI Design Assistant to have faster and more complex outputs: 

• Assignments 
• Discussions 
• Journals 
• Test questions 
• Learning modules
• AI Conversation avatars 
• Keywords for Unsplash 

Our latest optimizations continue the work we did in the December 3900.106 release to optimize rubrics. 

Image 1. The learning modules on the left were generated with the 3900.106 release. The learning modules are described with a few sentences. The learning modules on the right were generated with the 3900.108 release. The learning module descriptions are longer and more focused on the topic in 3900.108 than in 3900.106.

2. Instructional Design - Improvements to AI Design Assistant Image Generation

We improved the quality of the images generated by the AI Design Assistant, making them look more realistic. Instructors can generate images faster and the image files require less storage space.

Image 1. The two images on the left were generated by the AI Design Assistant with the 3900.106 release. The prompt used is “construction.” These images are related to tall buildings in cities. The two images on the right were generated by the AI Design Assistant with the 3900.108 release. The prompt used is also “construction.” The images are more realistic and related to the prompt in 3900.108 than in 3900.106.

3. Gradebook - Show/Hide Columns for Instructors in the Gradebook

Instructors can now configure column visibility for their Gradebook view, ensuring a cleaner and more organized workspace when grading. We've added a new Items Management page accessible from the Gradebook Settings panel. From this page, instructors can configure visibility for a single column selection or in bulk.

Visibility settings apply to all Gradebook views for non-student users (instructors, TAs, graders) including the Grade page, Gradable Items page, and Overview page. The student view of any grading-related page is unaffected. If an instructor hides a column from their Gradebook, that column continues to appear for students.

4. Gradebook - Direct Grade Entry from the Grid View or Submissions Page

Instructors can now enter grades directly in the Grid view or Submissions page with improved accuracy and consistency. 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 update ensures that grades entered this way are properly mapped to the underlying attempt or submission when applicable.

All grades entered via Grades tab, Submissions page, or file upload continue to be stored as override grades.

Single Attempt Assignments

• Ungraded Attempts: When an ungraded attempt is found, the grade is stored at the attempt level, the Needs Grading and New Submission flags are cleared, and any auto-zero is removed.
• Graded Attempts: If the attempt is already graded, the attempt grade is updated accordingly.
• No Submission: For students with no submission, the grade is stored as an override.
• Existing Overrides: If an override already exists, only the override is updated. No changes are made to the attempt grade.

Multiple Attempt Assignments

• Ungraded Attempts: The Needs Grading and New Submission flags are cleared, and any auto-zero is removed. If all attempts are ungraded, the grade is assigned to the appropriate attempt based on the aggregation model:
  • First: The grade is assigned to the first attempt.
  • Last: The grade is assigned to the last attempt.
  • All (Min, Max, & Average): The grade is assigned to the last attempt. All other attempts are excluded.
• Graded Attempt: For a single graded attempt, the attempt grade is updated.
• Multiple Graded Attempts: If more than one attempt is graded, the grade is stored as an override. The Needs Grading and New Submission label remain unchanged.
• No Submission: For students with no submission, the grade is stored as an override.

5. Gradebook - Add Submission Attempts for Release Conditions

Instructors 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 1. The new “Attempt submitted” option is in the dropdown menu for a gradable item in the Release condition panel.

Explore these updates and more in the full Blackboard 3900.108 release notes.