Blackboard will be offline on May 3 beginning at 6 a.m. for up to 24 hours, due to upgrades on the learning management system and its supporting infrastructure.

New features available in the upgrade include:

• downloadable annotated PDFs containing instructor feedback added when grading online assignments;
• the mobile instructor app, which can now be used for grading for certain types of assessments;
• the ability to record audio or video feedback for students;
• interface updates, such as a course’s main menu containing links to the Discussion Board and Virtual Classroom tools, and more visible editing options; and
• improvements to the Grade Centre interface.

Details about the upgrade’s features and changes for instructors and students are available on the Blackboard Project - Updates webpage.