What’s New in Blackboard?
In the last few months, Blackboard has rolled out several new features to enhance the teaching and learning experience within the learning management system. This article covers some of the more popular features available as of March 2026 and considers a few of the new features that are being released in April.
Favored features now available
- Enhanced threading experience in Course Messages
- Adding a Second Participation Requirement and Due Date in Discussions
- Generating Knowledge Checks with AI
New features set for release in April
- AI Conversation Message Limits
- Specify Assignment Submission Type
- Adjust Grades for Individual Student Attempts in Group Assignments
- Student Names Display in Chosen Sort Order in Flexible Grading
- Images appear as Clickable Thumbnails in Announcement Emails
Below you’ll find a brief description and a link for more detailed information for each feature.
Enhanced threading experience in Course Messages
Course Messages now automatically organizes new messages into existing conversations or creates a new one when needed. This streamlines communication and reduces fragmented threads. Reply blocking was removed to accommodate this feature. Additionally, displaying of the Rich Text Editor and Send button now persist on mobile and hand-held devices to improve usability across devices.
Learn more about enhanced threading.
Adding a Second Participation Requirement and Due Date in Discussions
Instructors can now set two separate due dates with distinct participation requirements for Discussions, offering clearer expectations and more structured engagement. Students benefit from transparent progress tracking and updated indicators as they complete requirements across both due dates.
How to send participation requirements and due dates.
Generating Knowledge Checks with AI
Instructors can now generate multiple-choice Knowledge Checks in Documents using AI. Questions are created based on document content and selected course items, and instructors can choose and edit the generated options. Existing manual Knowledge Check workflows remain unchanged.
Learn how to generate Knowledge Checks with AI.
AI Conversation Message Limits
Instructors can now set maximum message limits for AI Conversations to guide interaction length and keep discussions focused on the intended learning task. Students see a dynamic message counter that signals when they are nearing the limit, helping them manage participation and understand when the activity is complete. Pro Tip: A greeting will count as one message.
How to limit AI Conversation messages.
Specify Assignment Submission Type
Instructors can define the expected submission type for assignments, including file submissions, text submissions, or both. Students see a submission workflow optimized for the selected type, reducing confusion and improving submission efficiency.
How to specify assignment submission types.
Adjust Grades for Individual Student Attempts in Group Assignments
Instructors can adjust grades for individual students within a group submission. Visual indicators clearly show when grades differ across group members, supporting fairer evaluation of individual contributions.
How to adjust grades for individual student attempts in group submissions.
Student Names Display in Chosen Sort Order in Flexible Grading
We’ve improved how student names appear in Flexible Grading. The name display format is now linked to the selected sort order. By default, student names are now shown as Surname, First Name to help instructors quickly locate students. When sorting by First Name (ascending or descending), names will display as First Name Surname.
Learn how to display student names in chosen sort order in flexible grading.
Images appear as Clickable Thumbnails in Announcement Emails
Announcement emails now display previews of images included inside a Blackboard announcement. These image previews replace the previous image links that appeared as filenames in the email. When users select an image, it opens a separate page for a larger, more detailed view. This update makes announcement content clearer and easier to understand directly from the email.
Learn more about clickable thumbnail images in Announcements.
If you are interested in seeing any of these or future new Blackboard features in action, make sure to sign up for our “What’s New in Blackboard” digital teaching webinar. We offer it every month for your convenience.