• Improvements to the user interface in Courses and Left-Hand Menu
• Usability improvements for Document Block Layout
• Expanded question options for true/false
• Improved Gradebook download option
• Improved performance for large multiple choice or multiple answer tests
• Enhanced multiple choice and multiple answer workflow

Improvements to the user interface in Courses and Left-Hand Menu

There will be a refreshed user interface designed to improve efficiency of both learning and teaching within Learn. These updates aim to help users find information faster, reduce clicks, and simplify tasks such as managing courses, grading, and configuring settings.

The changes aim to assist users in these areas:

• Use screen space more effectively
• Reduce navigation errors, such as accidental exits
• Improve performance and page load times
• Provide clearer context and orientation
• Minimise motion for smoother navigation

Changes include the following:

Refreshed Left-Hand Menu Navigation

Cleaner layout for clear access to main navigation tabs with less clutter.

• User profile now appears at the top of the navigation, complete with profile image for easier customisation.
• Admin and Sign Out options are moved to the bottom of the panel, separating them from other actions for clarity.
• Administrators can now access base navigation directly from the administrator panel, streamlining workflow transitions.

Image 1: The refreshed Left-Hand Menu Navigation menu moves Profile to the top of the menu. Admin and Sign Out are moved to the bottom of the panel. The cleaner layout improves clarity for users.

Course Panels Become Full-Screen Course Pages

Courses now open in full-screen mode to maximise horizontal space and reduce clutter. This update applies to top-level panels such as Course Content Homepage, Calendar, Announcements, Discussions, Gradebook, Analytics, and Groups.

Image 2: The refreshed user interface in courses includes full-screen course pages and improvements to enhance the amount of screen space for users to engage with their course.

Home button replaces Exit

The “X” to exit a course is replaced with a Home button that returns a user to the landing page (Courses area). The “X” remains for lower-level panels like learning modules for now.

Course ID and title in the header bar

The header now displays the course ID and title for better context. It has been noted that breadcrumbs will be added in a future update to help improve navigation further.

Full-width banner

The 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 a course doesn’t have a selected banner, this image will adopt a hue of the brand colour, this will ensure visual consistency across all courses. 

Image 3: The Course menu has been moved further to the top of the screen to make better use of screen space for users. 

Course Switcher

Users can quickly jump between their four most recent courses or go to the full Courses page.

Image 4: The new course switcher lets users move between the four most recent courses.  

For further information about these changes, please visit our Learn UI Updates Page.

Usability improvements for Document Block Layout

To improve usability and accessibility, the menu for document block layout has been restructured. Previously, all options for changing the row, size, or position of a block were in a single dropdown list. Now, these options are organised by type of change (row, size, and position).

Selecting the edit icon for a block prompts a menu with three options: Change row, Change [block/column] size, and Change [block/column] position. Each of these options have a sub-menu, with the related actions.

• Change row
  • Move to row above
  • Move to row below
  • New row above
• Change [block/column] size
  • Expand to the left
  • Expand to the right
  • Shrink from the left
  • Shrink from the right
• Change [block/column] position
  • Move to the left
  • Move to the right

Image 1: How document block styling options displayed before

Image 2: How document block styling options display now

Expanded question options for true/false

The display options for true/false questions have been expanded to include:

• True/False
• Yes/No
• Right/Wrong
• Agree/Disagree

These additional answer options display when:

• Instructors create or edit this question type when building a test or in a question bank
• Students answer the question
• Instructors grade the question
• Students review their submission or graded question

Image 1: True/false questions now include additional options.

Improved Gradebook download option

In a previous release, the option to include or exclude hidden items in the Gradebook download was added. This release looks to expand on and improve this functionality by making this option available only if the Gradebook has hidden items.

Improved performance for large multiple choice or multiple answer tests

Per Blackboard’s testing, rendering of MCQ and True/False questions has been optimised, with improvements noted in load times for large tests. In one such example, a 200-question test now loads in ~5 seconds, down from ~25 seconds, which equates to an 80% improvement.

Enhanced multiple choice and multiple answer workflow

Question setup has been updated to provide a more intuitive experience, including updating the default answer options from three to four and improving controls for how students interact with questions. These changes support greater flexibility in assessment design and aim to improve the experience for students.

For instructors, to reduce setup time when creating a multiple choice question, the default number of answer options has now changed from three to four. Instructors can add or remove answer options.

Instructors can now define the number of answer selections that a student can make for each multiple choice question. When the student takes the assessment, the system enforces the instructor’s selection limit.

The default is:

• 4 answer options
• partial/negative credit is off (no additional changes made to partial/negative credit for this release)
• students can select up to 4 answers
  • if additional answers are added, selection limit remains at 4
  • if answers are removed, instructor must select the selection limit

Image 1: Instructors can define the number of answer selections for each multiple choice question.

For students, and questions where students can select only one answer, the selection mechanism is radio buttons. For questions where students can select more than one answer, the selection mechanism is checkboxes.

Image 2: The student’s selection mechanism of checkbox or radio button is determined by how many answers they can select.

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