By Marcella Shandor —
Blackboard shut down Aug. 8 to install a new and improved interface. This shut down was planned to take a full week, but finished 3 days sooner than expected.
This update was a 5-month project, with three months of testing before it was installed and ready for use.
The first thing students will notice is Blackboard now has a more sleek and modern design.
Senior Stacey Cheong, a communication major, is taking three online classes before she graduates in December. Cheong says so far has had no problems with the new update, and she enjoys the new look.
A benefit of this new update will be that Blackboard will no longer need to shut down for weekly maintenance.
Junior Taylor Butler, a finance major is in five online classes through Blackboard, and says that her only complaint so far is how long it takes for courses to load.
“It’s easier to access all of your assignments for classes on one page,” Butler said.
The new update allows students to “favorite” their current classes which pins them to the top when viewing their courses. Students can also view their current courses by filtering their courses with “courses I am taking,” or “open courses.” Students can see classes they’ve finished by clicking “completed courses.”
“It was harder to navigate once you are in the course. I have accidentally closed out the pop-up window for the classes when trying to use the side bars to navigate their courses,” Cheong said.
Vice Provost and Executive Director of the Delphi Center Gale Rhodes said on average the center would receive about 24 calls and emails per day about the old site.
Rhodes said since the update, they have only seen a slight increase in calls, which can be attributed to students learning the new system.
The biggest hangup Rhodes said they have experienced so far has been the courses section. By default it shows all classes a student has taken, meaning you might have to scroll a lot for this semester’s classes.
File Photo / The Louisville Cardinal
