The TTU IT Division, working in cooperation with TTU eLearning, the TLPDC, and Blackboard Managed Hosting, will upgrade Blackboard to a newer, more robust version on Thursday, May 31st, starting at 9:00 pm and lasting no more than 12 hours. TTU Blackboard services will be unavailable to customers during this timeframe. The list below are highlights of the new features and enhancements this upgrade will bring:
- Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI) improvements - LTI links now open in a lightbox within the course, rather than directing users to a new window or tab.
- Email tool recipient permissions - Administrators can better define the extent to which users in courses can contact one another using the Email tool.
- More efficient Grade Center cleanup - Instructors can now more easily clean up their grade books by deleting multiple columns at once.
- Discussion Board "Replies to Me" - Keeping up with large Discussion Board forums is easier by giving participants a count and filter to just look at new replies from others to posts made by the participant.
- Mobile device navigation improvements - This release includes navigation improvements for the system and course menus in the Original experience.
We have collaborated with colleges and areas to select the best possible time for this semi-annual maintenance, resulting in the least amount of impact to instruction and semester preparation. Should you experience any issues outside of this maintenance window, please contact IT Help Central at (806) 742-4357 (HELP) or ithelpcentral@ttu.edu.
