The new features in this month’s Blackboard’s upgrade will be available from Friday 7th March. This month’s upgrade includes the following new/improved features to Ultra courses:
- Anonymous discussions – system administrators can view the author’s name if needed
- Pop out rubric for Blackboard assessment items
- Course open/closed settings panel improvements
Anonymous discussions – NILE system administrators can view the author’s name if needed
The April 2024 Blackboard upgrade introduced the option to allow students to post anonymously to Ultra discussions. While this was a welcome improvement, because anonymous posts could not be de-anonymised concerns were raised about what would happen if a student posted something that required the author’s name to be disclosed. In response to this, the March 2025 upgrade includes the option for NILE system administrators to view the name of anonymous authors of discussion posts. This will not de-anonymise the post author on the discussion itself, but will simply allow a system administrator to view the name of the post author. Where this is needed, staff can contact the Learning Technology Manager, providing details of the NILE course and discussion forum title, along with a screenshot of the post in question and reason why it is necessary to reveal the post author. As anonymous posts can now be revealed, a new ‘info’ option is available to students explaining that authorised users have the ability to identify anonymous authors.
For more information about setting up and using discussions in NILE, see: Blackboard Help – Create Discussions
Pop out rubric for Blackboard assessment items
Following the March upgrade, staff will be able to pop out grading rubrics into a separate window when grading assignment submissions. Instead of only being available in the side panel and formatted in a stack, the pop-out rubric is a separate, movable window and formatted in a grid view.
This update makes it easier to navigate and grade student submissions by providing a clearer, more comprehensive view of the rubric. Popping out the rubric lets staff view the student submission and the rubric side-by-side for a more efficient grading experience. Staff can quickly select performance levels and provide feedback in the rubric while viewing the student submission.
More information about creating and managing Blackboard rubrics is available at: Blackboard Help – Create Rubrics
More information about grading with Blackboard rubrics is available at: Blackboard Help – Grade with Rubrics
Course open/closed settings panel improvements
Following feedback about the January 2025 upgrade and the change of location for the open/close NILE course settings, the course setting panel interface has been improved for the March 2025 upgrade, making it easier for staff to choose between the open and closed status settings.
Once in the course settings panel, the March upgrade makes selecting between the course open/closed status much simpler.
More information
As ever, please get in touch with your learning technologist if you would like any more information about the new features available in this month’s upgrade: Who is my learning technologist?
