Less intuitive and more complex for new users. Legacy interface that will no longer be supported after December 2026.

Modern, intuitive, and user-friendly interface designed for ease of navigation and streamlined workflows. See our Course Management Key Feature page for more information.

Fragmented mobile experience with separate apps for instructors and students. Limited functionality and usability.

Fully mobile-responsive design. Seamless experience across devices for both instructors and students.

Content is organized in folders but requires manual steps to adjust visibility and structure. Original doesn’t have Learning Modules, which allow for thumbnail images, progress tracking, and previous and next navigation.

Flexible content organization using learning modules or folders. Supports guided learning paths and intuitive navigation. See our Course Layout Options page for more information.

Multi-step process to upload and edit content. Less efficient and more time-consuming.

Drag-and-drop content editor simplifies course building and updates. Supports multimedia and inline editing.

The grade book is restricted to a single grid-style view. While it provides extensive customization options (e.g., calculated columns, weighted grades), the interface is more rigid and requires more manual steps to manage grading tasks, which can slow down workflow and increase complexity.

Multiple grade book views offered, empowering faculty to use the view the best suits their needs. Instructors can easily toggle between an overview of items that need grading, student progress, and posted grades. The interface is streamlined for efficiency and clarity.

Formative assessment features are not built into Original.

Embedded knowledge checks can be placed directly within content pages for formative assessment. Formative assessments can also be created by adding the label to a 0-point quiz.

Accessibility features require manual workarounds and are not consistently integrated.

Seamless integration with Blackboard Ally. Alternative text for images on every content page ensures accessibility compliance and ease of use. See our Accessibility Key Feature page for more information.

Accessing analytics requires navigating multiple tools and permissions. Less centralized and more complex.

Built-in analytics tools provide real-time insights into student engagement and course activity.

Communication tools are available but disjointed, as they are located in the top navigation bar as opposed to quick link locations.

Unified communication hub for announcements, messages, and discussions. Promotes consistent and centralized communication.

No AI features or intelligent content generation features available in Original.

Includes an AI Design Assistant that helps generate assignments, rubrics, test questions, and content suggestions. See our AI Design Assistant Key Feature page for more information.