What is Blackboard?
Blackboard is a Web-based learning management system (LMS) designed to support fully online courses,
hybrid courses or face-to-face course supplementation. Blackboard provides many types of tools and
features for enriching the learning experience and it integrates with Colleague to provide a space for
each course taught each semester. Student enrollments and faculty assignments are handled
automatically by the system. Blackboard supports various media types for creating engaging content so
there are some computer system requirements for it to work correctly.
Browser and Operating System Check
To ensure your system is compatible with Blackboard, run the Browser and Operating
System Check. This page will test your computer for up-to-date browsers, plugins, and other software
necessary for working in Blackboard.
Internet Connection
A stable DSL, cable, or satellite connection is required to use Blackboard. Direct (wired) connections to
the router are preferred over wireless (WI-FI) or satellite connections. AOL is not compatible with
Blackboard.
Supported Browsers
Blackboard supports four primary browsers for Learn releases. Links to the vendor sites for the browsers
are included in this topic. To learn more about Blackboard's general browser support policy as well as
information about Javascript, Cookies, and other software, see the Browser Support Policy topic in this
section.
Traditionally Released Browsers
the dates listed are the original release dates for general availability.
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Internet Explorer® 11 from Microsoft (17 October 2013 for Windows 8.1, 7 November 2013 for
Windows 7)
Internet Explorer 10 from Microsoft (26 October 2012 for Windows 8, 26 February 2013 for Windows
7)
Internet Explorer 9 from Microsoft (14 March 2011)
Some configuration options for Internet Explorer might make some features of Blackboard Learn
difficult to use. To learn more, see Internet Explorer Security Zones and Compatibility View topic in this
section.
BUTLER COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE
DIVISION OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY
www.bc3.edu/onlinelearning
Updated: 8/4/2015
Automatically Updated Channel-based Browsers
the dates listed are the latest numbered patch release dates.
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Firefox® 32 (stable channel) from Mozilla (2 September 2014)
Firefox® 31 (ESR channel) from Mozilla (14 October 2014)
Don't see your Browser or Version listed?
Both newer and older browsers from these vendors may be supported. To learn more, see the Browser
Support Policy topic in this section.
Browser Settings for use with Blackboard.
Browsers
Settings
Enable Cookies: Tools > Internet Options > Privacy > Advanced > Check "Override
Automatic Cookie Handling (accept 1st party; Prompt 3rd party)" and check the option
to always accept session cookies. OK and OK back to browser.
Internet
Explorer
(PC only)
Enable Javascript: Tools > Internet Options > Security Tab > Internet > Custom Level >
Scroll down to Scripting and enable "Active Scripting," "Allow Programmatic clipboard
access," "Allow status bar updates via script," "Allow websites to prompt for
information ...," and "Scripting of Java applets".
OK back browser.
Enable Status bar: View > Toolbars > Check "Status Bar".
Get New Page Each Visit: Tools > Internet Options > General Tab > in Browsing history
section, click the Settings button > select "Every time I visit the webpage." OK and OK
back to browser.
Pop-up Blocker Settings: Tools > Pop-up Blocker > Pop-up Blocker Settings ... > Add
bc3.edu, blackboard.bc3.edu and LockDownSFX-107-10.exe (or LockDownBrowser190-11 for the Chrome Beta version) > Close back to browser.
Trusted Sites: Tools > Internet Options > Security > Trusted sites > Sites > Uncheck
"Require server verification for all sites in this zone"
BUTLER COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE
DIVISION OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY
www.bc3.edu/onlinelearning
Updated: 8/4/2015
Add bc3.edu, blackboard.bc3.edu and LockDownSFX-107-10.exe (or
LockDownBrowser-190-11 for the Chrome Beta version) > Close and OK back to
browser.
Discussion Board Issues: Tools > Internet Options > Security Settings > Custom Level >
scroll down to Miscellaneous and set “Launching programs and files in an IFRAME” to
Prompt. OK and OK back to browser.
NOTE: for Mac OS X browsers, access preferences via the Application Menu (ex.
Firefox>Preferences).
Enable Cookies: Tools > Options > Privacy > History pane: Use custom settings for
history > Cookies > select “Accept cookies from sites” and "Accept third-party
cookies." OK back to browser.
Mozilla
Firefox
(PC and
Mac)
Enable Javascript: Tools > Options > Content > check the “Enable Javascript” box. OK
back to browser.
Get new page each visit: Tools > Options > Privacy > History pane: Use custom
settings for history > select "Clear history when Firefox closes.“ Click Settings and
select "Cache.” OK and OK back to browser.
Popup Blocker Settings: Tools > Options > Content > Click the “Exceptions” button
next to Block Pop-up Windows > Add bc3.edu, blackboard.bc3.edu and LockDownSFX107-10.exe (or LockDownBrowser-190-11 for the Chrome Beta version) > Click Allow
and Close. OK back to browser.
Clear Browser Cache: Tools > Clear Recent History > Select Cache. OK back to browser.
Google
Chrome
(PC and
Mac)
NOTE: for Mac OS X browsers, access preferences via the Application Menu (ex.
Chrome > Preferences).
Enable Cookies: Settings > Show advanced settings > Privacy > Content Settings... >
Cookies > check "Allow local data to be set.." OK and close Settings tab back to
browser.
Enable Javascript: Settings > Show advanced settings > Privacy > Content Settings... >
Javascript > check “Allow sites to run Javascript”. OK and close Settings tab back to
browser.
BUTLER COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE
DIVISION OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY
www.bc3.edu/onlinelearning
Updated: 8/4/2015
Get new page each visit: Settings > Show advanced settings > Privacy > Content
Settings... > Cookies > Select "Keep local data only until I quit my browser” OK. Close
Settings tab back to browser.
NOTE: This will also clear your cookie each time the browser is closed. Unfortunately,
Chrome doesn't have a mechanism to automatically clear only the cache. You could
alternatively just routinely clear the browser cache (instructions provided below).
Pop-up Blocker Settings: Settings > Show advanced settings > Privacy > Content
Settings... > Pop-ups > Click the “Manage exceptions” button > Add bc3.edu,
blackboard.bc3.edu and LockDownSFX-107-10.exe (or LockDownBrowser-190-11 for
the Chrome Beta version) > set behavior to "Allow." OK and close Settings tab back to
browser.
Clear Browser Cache: History > Clear browsing data: Select "the beginning of time"
from the "Obliterate..." drop down, Select "Empty the cache" and click the Clear
browsing data button. Close Settings tab back to browser.
Safari
(Mac Only)
All Settings: Safari Menu > Preferences > click Security icon > Check: Enable Plug-ins,
Java, & Javascript.
Clear check box on "Block Pop-up Windows."
Accept Cookies > select "Only From Sites I Visit."
Cookies and JavaScript
Regardless of the browser being used, Blackboard Learn requires the use of session cookies and
Javascript enabled in the user's browser to provide the right experience for teaching and learning.
Additional acceptance of persistent cookies or third-party cookies may be required for some features
to function correctly, including WebDAV access to course files or content collection files and access to
users' Blackboard profiles and Social Tools.
Java and Other Browsers
A handful of Blackboard Learn features require particular additional software to be installed. Without
these, the features themselves do not function. Users may be prompted to install the additional
BUTLER COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE
DIVISION OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY
www.bc3.edu/onlinelearning
Updated: 8/4/2015
software when accessing these features, or depending on individual browser security settings, users
may need to acknowledge a browser message allowing the plugin to run on their system.
Blackboard Learn can be used to serve media content or other types of specialized content that
requires a browser plugin such as Java, Flash Player, Apple QuickTime, or other plug-ins to render the
content. In these scenarios, the version of the plugin and the browsers that are compatible with the
plug-in, as well as installation and configuration instructions for the plug-in, are determined by the
nature of the content and will vary.
The Java Runtime Environment (JRE) from Oracle enabled as a browser plug-in is required.
JRE version 7 is the recommended version for features that depend on it. JRE version 6 may work, but
could result in unexpected behavior. Oracle has acknowledged some security issues with JRE version
6.
On Apple Mac OS X, Google's Chrome browser does not support Java 7 because of
incompatibilities between 64-bit Java and 32-bit Chrome. Firefox and Safari browsers do
not have this limitation on Mac OS X. Users of the Chrome browser on Mac OS X must
configure Java 6 support to access the features listed.
Adobe Flash Player version 11 is the recommended version of the Adobe Flash Player plug-in.
Plug-in Links

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Download link for JRE on Oracle's site.
Windows auto-download .cab files for JRE on Oracle's site - scroll down to links for version 7.
To learn more about security and JRE, see this Blackboard Security Advisory.
Directions from Apple for configuring Java 6 for Chrome browsers on Mac OS X on Apple's site.
Download link for Adobe Flash Player on Adobe's site.
More information about the Blackboard applet time-stamping authority on GeoTrust's site.
Browser Support Policy
Blackboard's approach to determining browser testing and validation is driven by two main
considerations:
1. We want to test and validate the latest browsers, especially where browser auto-updates drive rapid
end user upgrades.
2. We want to test and validate an appropriately broad set of browsers that are being used among our
clients.
BUTLER COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE
DIVISION OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY
www.bc3.edu/onlinelearning
Updated: 8/4/2015
When a browser is listed as tested and validated, Blackboard is committed to supporting client usage
in two main ways:
1. Before a Learn release, by testing the available browser and operating system combinations to
prevent any browser issues from being released.
2. After a Learn release, by rapidly addressing client issues by:


Accepting Support cases on the platform technology, assisting with resolution, and escalating
the issues for resolution, regardless of the browser in use.
Working to resolve any browser issues in product releases as with any other type of issue.
Blackboard tests and validates four primary browsers for Learn releases. This includes two browsers
that follow a traditional software update path with periodic releases of new versions as Generally
Available, typically tied to a particular operating system (OS):


Internet Explorer from Microsoft
Safari from Apple
Certain Internet Explorer configuration options can make it difficult to use some features of
Blackboard Learn. To learn more, see the Internet Explorer Security Zones and Compatibility
View topic in this section.
This also includes two browsers that follow a cross-operating system, channel-based rapid software
update path:


Firefox from Mozilla
Chrome from Google
With these browsers, Blackboard tests their latest "stable" release channel at the time of testing,
which is the channel that gets the most testing by the browser vendors themselves before
being released to users.
In addition, Blackboard tests and validates Firefox's specialized Extended Support Release (ESR)
channel, which is a subset of their stable channel designed for enterprise-wide deployment. To learn
more, see Firefox's Extended Support Release page.
Blackboard's Approach to Rendering in Browsers
The rendering layer of Blackboard Learn consists of Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), Cascading
Style Sheets (CSS), and JavaScript that all comply with modern standards for those languages.
BUTLER COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE
DIVISION OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY
www.bc3.edu/onlinelearning
Updated: 8/4/2015
Our universal design approach focuses on interoperability. This means that wherever possible we do
not write code specific to a certain browser or we use the minimum amount of encapsulation
to handle variations among the browsers.
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o
o
o
o
The rendering layer of Blackboard Learn interacts with the rendering engine of your browser, which is
the part that draws the web pages in the main part of the browser window.
All of the browser rendering engines are designed to work well with standards-compliant markup in
HTML, CSS and Javascript. This includes:
WebKit, which powers Safari, Chrome, and Opera
Blink, a version of WebKit that powers the most recent versions of Chrome
Trident, which powers Internet Explorer
Gecko, which powers Firefox
This design approach to the rendering layer of Blackboard Learn allows us to be confident that new
versions of browsers, when released, will continue to work with current versions of Learn.
Blackboard's Approach to Browser Testing
To verify this confidence with each new release, Blackboard executes our browser compatibility test
suite against newly released browser versions on multiple OS combinations to ensure function
prior to releasing a given version. This testing leverages the full set of automation and manual testing
strategies available to ensure confidence in testing.
Newer Browser Versions
Because of the increased frequency of new browser version released by some vendors, Blackboard's
policy is to support all new browser versions released to the market as Generally Available or by
supported release channels, even if the browser is released after testing has concluded for the
release. We address any critical browser issues found by clients in the field against a provisionally
supported browser as a top priority. We execute frequent test cycles against new browsers to
ensure the system continues to perform as expected and will update client facing supported browser
documentation appropriately.
Older Browsers
Just as we recommend keeping up with the latest version of Blackboard Learn for the best
experience, the browser vendors make the same recommendation about their software. Some older
versions of browsers from some vendors may have rendering issues with newer versions of Learn,
and some newer browser versions may have rendering issues with older versions of Learn.
Blackboard still accepts client issues for these browsers reported to Support and will attempt to
replicate the issue on a fully supported browser. If it cannot replicate the issue, Blackboard will
BUTLER COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE
DIVISION OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY
www.bc3.edu/onlinelearning
Updated: 8/4/2015
recommend that the client move to a browser version fully supported by Blackboard. In some cases, an
additional recommendation might be to update to a more modern version of Learn.
Assistive Software and Accessibility
Blackboard is fully committed to ensuring that our platform contains no barriers for users with
disabilities and is both usable and accessible by everyone, regardless of age, ability, or situation. Our
commitment can be evidenced by the following third party evaluations of the Blackboard Learn
platform:
Conformance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 Priority AA, issued December
2012 by Deque Systems
Blackboard Learn is the first and only LMS in the world to deliver a conformance statement by a thirdparty, demonstrating our focus and determination to deliver excellence for everyone.
Gold level certification for non-visual access, issued by The National Federation of the Blind (NFB)
Blackboard was the first LMS in the world to achieve this certification. With valuable input from our
clients and a strong set of development and testing tools, we invest in accessible products and
capabilities that meet the wide range of our client’s needs. To fulfill this promise we are continually
partnering with industry experts to audit our code and user interface design techniques to ensure the
accessibility of the products.
Blackboard measures and evaluates accessibility using two sets of standards: the WCAG 2.0 standards
issued by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act issued in
the United States federal government.
For information on how to use Blackboard's accessibility features, go to
http://www.blackboard.com/Platforms/Learn/Resources/Accessibility/Accessibility-Resources.aspx
BUTLER COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE
DIVISION OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY
www.bc3.edu/onlinelearning
Updated: 8/4/2015