Welcome to the seventh edition of the Blackboard Updates Newsletter 2026! In this August edition, we present the changes included in version 4000.19, designed to improve the way we teach and learn in the digital environment.
Table of Contents
- Journals and Discussions: Add descriptions.
- Assessments: Rubric evaluation report for graded activities.
- AI Conversations: Control the duration of conversations.
- Courses: Find your courses with Course Switcher.
[1] Journals and Discussions: Add descriptions.
Discussions and Journals now include a description field. This new option provides instructors with a clearer way to communicate context before students participate in an activity.
[2] Assessments: Rubric evaluation report for graded activities.
Instructors can now generate a rubric evaluation report directly from the Gradebook for any graded activity that has an associated rubric. This report compiles rubric data from all student submissions, providing instructors with a clear view of student performance against each rubric criterion.
[3] AI Conversations: Control the duration of conversations.
Instructors can now manage the duration of AI conversations by setting a time limit. They can choose between two time-limit options, depending on whether they want to time the entire assessment or only the conversation.
[4] Courses: Find your courses with Course Switcher.
The Course Switcher now includes a Favorites tab that displays the courses marked as favorites on the Courses page.
We hope these changes will be very helpful in your daily activities. We invite you to stay tuned for our next update.
Sincerely,
Office of Information Technology