Blackboard updates to improve system’s overall performance

 When instructors log in to Blackboard Learn next semester, they’ll find new improvements to the website.

The latest version of Blackboard will include features for better overall performance, said Elizabeth Romero Fuerte, director of UIC’s Instructional Technology Lab. The site will be down Dec. 19 and 20 for the upgrade.

Faculty can learn more about Blackboard 9.1 at a series of workshops today through Dec. 12 sponsored by the Academic Computing and Communications Center.

“We want to make sure instructors see what’s coming so they are not surprised when they come back from break,” Romero said. “The interface won’t change that much. It’s more performance improvements.”

One of the bigger changes affects the student preview mode, which lets instructors view their courses exactly as students do.

“It’s a more robust student preview and better than the one we have right now,” Romero said.

Another improvement for instructors is the anonymous and delegating grading option, which hides students’ names on assignments. Instructors can also delegate grading tasks to other users.

The upgrade integrates SafeAssign, a tool that prevents plagiarism, into all Blackboard Learn assignments. “SafeAssign is something that’s very well used at the university,” Romero said.

Email the Instructional Technology Lab at itl@uic.edu with questions about the upgrade.