Blackboard monthly updates
Blackboard Ultra is typically updated on the first Thursday of every month following user acceptance testing from the Blackboard user community. Releases go live in Staging environments, the month before live release. You may find it interesting to keep on top of what new features are coming and you can do so via Anthology’s Blackboard Release notes.
Future: February 2026
Stacking blocks
Instructors can now stack blocks of content within columns, reducing white space. You can toggle between column level and block level editing.
Improved Achievement badges functionality
Students are alerted to earning new achievement badges with a number alert in the course toolbar and New labels as well increased accessibility.
Current: January 2026:
Refreshed interface
Header is now black, and the banner is now permanent:
Courses are now full screen (no more pop up). You now navigate back to the main Blackboard home page by using the home icon at the top left. You can also switch between the last four courses by clicking on Your courses.
Generate layout.
When editing a document, you can select to generate a different layout. This feature can give you page a new title, divide content into two columns, add an image from UnSplash or generate an image and add a Knowledge Check. In edit view in your document, the AI tool icon is on your left.
Click on the icon to auto-generate your layout, you can choose from the following settings:
If you choose this option, continue to check your layout for accessibility issues and check the answers in the knowledge check as they may not be accurate.
Tests and assignments true false question
Blackboard has expanded the display options for true/false questions to include: True/False, Yes/No, Right/Wrong, Agree/Disagree
December 2025
Activity-based release conditions
You can now set release conditions on items based on student’s previous actvity. For instance, you can ensure students have read a particular document such as the Student Declaration or referencing guide before being able to pen their assignment dropbox.
Select Release conditions.
Then select the checkbox beside Activity. You now have the option to search for an item in the module and set a requirement - e.g. Student declaration document and opened.
When the student attempts to open the submission they see this warning.
Once the student has completed the activity e.g. opened the Student Declaration, the item will be available as normal.
Improved video and audio feedback
Blackboard audio and video feedback system has been upgraded to allow you to record yourself and/or your voice and/or screen giving feedback to students. You can also upload a video. To access the improved functionality, go to submission view. Click on the camera icon in the Overall Feedback section:
This opens up a range of options including Upload from device (which has a 200MB limit).
You can then choose to record your audio/ video using your device microphone, screen, and/or camera. You then select the feeds to record.
When you’re finished you can play back your video, and retake recording if you’re not happy otherwise you save the fill.
When it’s saved and the mark posted, students can watch/listen to the feedback when they open their submission.
Setting discussion targets
If you’re marking a discussion in Blackboard, you can now set a target level of participation e.g. number of posts or replies on a discussion. This option is available under discussion settings, just click on the cog.
The option appears when click on the checkbox beside Mark discussion:
November 2025
Achievement badges
Instructors can now create custom images for acheivement badges
Click on the upload symbol to add your custom image. You can use the AI Badge Image Creator, select an Unsplash image or upload a image saved to your device e.g.
Find out more at Blackboard: Generate or upload custom Achievement badges
Bulk edit points values in tests
Speed up editing of question scores by using Bulk edit points
Find out more at Blackboard: Bulk change question points in tests
Updates to the Learning Object repository
CDLE will have the ability to store files such as pdfs in the Learning Object Repository
Redesigned course messages interface
Course messages have a more informal chat style layout with the sender’s messages on the left–with avatar– and the recipient’s messages on the right:
Test question metadata
You can add metadata to questions in tests and question banks. In edit mode, at the end of a question, there is a switch allowing you to add Question metadata. If this is turned on then you can add tags to the question by typing in the word and choosing the Create option or selecting an existing tag.
You can use these tags to filter your questions when reusing questions or searching question banks:
Tests - fill in the Blanks
Improved student experience for fill-in-the-blank questions, students now have to fill in a contextualised textbox:
September 2025 (125)
Updates to the Learning Object repository
The following attributes and settings are now synced on items in the in Learning Object Repository objects: Visibility settings, Class conversations and Goals.
Locking visibility settings at the repository level, ensures that sensitive or instructional content remains hidden or visible to students, regardless of where the object is used.
Tests - add Question titles
You can now add Question titles to individual questions. This will make them searchable and easier to reference and reuse. Note Question titles are not visible to students.
The option to add a Question title appears above question text:
If you want to reuse a question, use the title in the search term …
Tests - extra time annotation
Any students given extra time, will now get a clear message about their additional timelimit.
Pop-out rubrics for Group assignments
The option to open the rubric in a separate window for groups assignments is now available.
August 2025 release (123)
You can now style your learning content for students with colour-coded icons that denote information type e.g. key information:
When you create a document you now have access to a set of icons that you can use to style your learning material.
The icons are coloured codes and add an outline to the section, e.g. a tip appears with a light bulb icon in the corner and a gold outline:
Changes to Learning Modules for Students
Changes include new contents menu and seamless assessment.
In Learning Modules, if you have the forced sequence setting selected:
Students can now see their progress through the module in a menu at the side of their screen.
The panel can also be collapsed by using the icon at the top of the menu.
Assessment can now be embedded seamlessly within the forced sequence. The assessment will appear within the Learning Module and once finished the student continues with through their sequence of learning.
July 2025 release (121)
Blackboard have refreshed their Activity stream landing page for instructors. Now when you log in to Blackboard the the interface will contextualise activity in Courses and Announcements panels. The original activity stream feed has moved to the right, with students' performance and submissions alerts duplicated and highlighted in the Courses activity panel.
Use the Announcements panel to page through recent announcements and filter the activity stream to display Marks and feedback alerts.
You can now see if your students have viewed and acknowledged your announcement. In the Announcements tab, there is a new Viewers column in the list of announcements. This figure displays the number students that have viewed the Announcement.
Clicking on the number will display your list of students with a announcement status of read or unread.
When students click on the announcements tab, when the select the announcement, it is automatically marked as read (NB they can also click the icon to change it to read/unread)
Jumbled sentence questions will be available in Blackboard Ultra test, question menu and within the Ai design assistant. You can set up a test as normal and the jumbled sentence option is available in the menu.
Add in your question text and place square brackets around the words the students need to guess. then add alternative distractor answers:
Students will see the question text and instead of brackets, they will have a dropdown with a list of all the answers and distractors. Students can select the correct answer from the list.
Students will now have a numerical prompt beside the discussion tab alerting them to any discussions requiring responses:
Other updated features include:
May 2025 release (116)
Here’s the highlights from the May release
Blackboard has now added a qualitative option to the rubrics, you can chose to make a new qualitative rubric or convert an existing rubric.
Attach the rubric to the assignment dropbox in the normal way. During marking you can now select a level for each criteria without an implied mark. You can then enter a mark independent of the levels chosen.
Text-based columns in Gradebook for entering non-numeric assessment info (32 character limit)
You can access this feature in Gradebook > Marks view and rolling your mouse over between the headings.
Click on the + and select Add text item
You can then add a name and descriptor, you can then enter your text for each student.
Students will see the item listed in their Gradebook:
Previous: April 2025 release (114)
The latest release, delivered in April 2025, includes:
Indicator (Reviewed/Not Reviewed) in Gradebook to show whether students have accessed their feedback
You can now check whether a student has checked their feedback. Go into Gradebook, select Students and the student’s name.
In the status column, you can then see whether the student has reviewed their feedback for each assignment.
Ability to print Blackboard documents
A new Learning Object Repository allows the same content to be embedded in multiple modules within Blackboard.
The Learning Object repository is a place to store institution-wide content; this global library will be available to all instructors. Items within the library can be added to individual modules. The university proposes to use the repository to store institution-wide content such as global policies and student support resources. Any changes to repository documents will automatically update individual embedded instances of that document across all modules.
The Learning repository is available under the Create dropdown menu in Course content.
At the moment the repository is limited to documents. You can select a document from the repository and insert it into your course content.
Previous: March 2025 release (112)
Blackboard AI Tools. Included in the latest release is Blackboard’s staff-facing AI Design assistant & student-facing AI Conversation tool. The staff-facing AI design assistant allows you to use AI to create, learning modules, assignment/journal/discussion prompts, rubrics and test questions. The AI Conversation tool is a student-facing chatbot. It allows students to participate in discussions with an AI persona. You select the type of conversation for the students to engage in: socratic questioning or role-play, then define a topic/ scenario and persona.
Pop-out Rubrics: You can now open your rubric in a new window when marking assessments in Blackboard.
New features are driven by the User Community and we encourage interested colleagues to join the Ideas Exchange to suggest and vote on enhancement ideas.
Centre for Digital Learning Enhancement
ulster.ac.uk/learningengancement/cdle