{"id":17308,"date":"2026-01-09T09:00:34","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T09:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.tees.ac.uk\/lteonline\/?p=17308"},"modified":"2026-01-09T09:00:34","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T09:00:34","slug":"blackboard-new-interface-upgrade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.tees.ac.uk\/lteonline\/2026\/01\/09\/blackboard-new-interface-upgrade\/","title":{"rendered":"Blackboard New Interface Upgrade"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Blackboard have recently introduced a refreshed interface designed to make teaching and learning more intuitive and efficient. This update will help you find information faster, reduce clicks, and simplify tasks such as managing courses, grading, and configuring settings.<\/p>\n<p>Please note that this global update follows the way many cloud hosted software products (often called SaaS &#8211; Software as a Service) have updates delivered.<\/p>\n<p>The changes reflect extensive feedback from instructors, administrators, and students and aim to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Use screen space more effectively<\/li>\n<li>Reduce navigation errors, such as accidental exits<\/li>\n<li>Improve performance and page load times<\/li>\n<li>Provide clearer context and orientation<\/li>\n<li>Minimize motion for smoother navigation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Perhaps the most noticeable changes include the following:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Refreshed Base Navigation<\/strong><br \/>\nCleaner layout for clear access to main navigation tabs with less clutter.<\/p>\n<p>Before we explore the new module layout, it\u2019s worth pointing out that the side menu now displays the users profile picture (if they have uploaded one). There\u2019s also space between the standard menu items (such as Modules and Organisations) and the option to Sign Out of Blackboard, providing a clear distinction between these two areas.<\/p>\n<p>One major change is that modules now open in full-screen mode to maximize horizontal space and reduce clutter. Previously, when you opened a module, you could still see the main interface &#8220;behind&#8221; the module (as demonstrated in the diagram below). Now, the full-screen view enhances the amount of screen space for users to engage with their course, free of distractions.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.tees.ac.uk\/lteonline\/files\/2026\/01\/BBU-Interface.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-17310\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.tees.ac.uk\/lteonline\/files\/2026\/01\/BBU-Interface-1024x594.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"750\" height=\"435\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.tees.ac.uk\/lteonline\/files\/2026\/01\/BBU-Interface-1024x594.png 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.tees.ac.uk\/lteonline\/files\/2026\/01\/BBU-Interface-300x174.png 300w, https:\/\/blogs.tees.ac.uk\/lteonline\/files\/2026\/01\/BBU-Interface-768x445.png 768w, https:\/\/blogs.tees.ac.uk\/lteonline\/files\/2026\/01\/BBU-Interface.png 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Lets explore some of the other new features.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Home button replaces Exit<\/strong><br \/>\nThe \u201cX\u201d to exit a course is replaced with a Home button that returns you to the main Institution page. Now, you will only see the \u201cX\u201d when you open content from within the module (for example, when you open a Blackboard Document or a Test).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Module Switcher\u00a0<\/strong><br \/>\nIn the top left, you now have the option to click on <strong>Modules<\/strong>, showing you the last four modules you\u2019ve been using, speeding up your navigation between modules. You also have the option to return to the Modules section, allowing you to access all of your modules.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Module ID and title in the header bar<\/strong><br \/>\nThe header now displays the module ID and title for better context.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Full-width banner<\/strong><br \/>\nThe course banner spans the full width of the screen with the course ID and title on a darker background for better clarity and accessibility. If your existing module images contained text, you might want to consider whether or not this is still needed, in order to aid consistency across modules.<\/p>\n<p>If a course doesn\u2019t have a selected banner, a placeholder image will appear at the top. When using brands, this image adopts Teesside University\u2019s brand colour scheme, ensuring visual consistency across all courses.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Blackboard have recently introduced a refreshed interface designed to make teaching and learning more intuitive and efficient. This update will help you find information faster, reduce clicks, and simplify tasks such as managing courses, grading, and configuring settings. Please note<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":53,"featured_media":10724,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false},"categories":[277,3,4],"tags":[39,619],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Blackboard New Interface Upgrade - LTE Online<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.tees.ac.uk\/lteonline\/2026\/01\/09\/blackboard-new-interface-upgrade\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Blackboard New Interface Upgrade - LTE Online\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Blackboard have recently introduced a refreshed interface designed to make teaching and learning more intuitive and efficient. 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