BlackBoard Question of the Week

Q. Which browsers work best and are approved for use with Blackboard?

A. For an overview of which browsers are supported by Blackboard, visit Loyola’s Blackboard 9 Browser Guide. For more information, visit the Blackboard 9.1 SP6 Supported Browsers and Operating Systems webpage.

Q. In my course, there are a number of links to websites that, when clicked, do not go to the website but give an error message. How can we fix this and allow the students to click on the links and go directly to the websites?

A. This is an issue for those who use the Internet Explorer 8 or 9 browser, but shouldn’t be a problem for those using Firefox 3.6 or above, or Chrome.

Please review the messages produced by IE8 and 9 under the “Common Browsers Issues” heading in our Browser Guide ; there are solutions for each version of the browser that will allow students and instructors to view the websites. That page also describes how users can determine which version of a browser they are using.

If the links are added individually as URLs you can also resolve this issue by editing the links in Blackboard so they open in a new window – this will allow students to open the links in any browser that is supported by Blackboard.

 Q. I heard the University is moving to Windows 7. Will Blackboard continue to work in this environment?

 A. Yes, since Blackboard is Web-based you can get to Blackboard on any computer that is connected to the Internet.

But you may need to review the browser you use in Windows 7. Browsers that are recommended for Windows 7 (64-bit) for our version of Blackboard as of August 15, 2011, are: 

• Mozilla Firefox (Version 3.6x) **Recommended for best performance**
• Internet Explorer (Versions: IE 8, IE 9)
• All newer stable versions of Chrome

Q. I am trying to provide a URL to a website students need for my course and Blackboard is saying “cannot navigate to page, the content is outside of the blackboard learn environment.” What can I do to make sure students have access to the link?

A. Because of the way Blackboard 9 works with Internet Explorer 8, the easiest solution is to change the settings for the URL in Blackboard so it opens in a new window. To set the URL to open in a new window, follow these steps:

1. Log into Blackboard.
2. Click on the chevron beside the URL you want to open in a new window.
3. Select Edit.
4. On the Edit URL page, scroll down to 4. Options.
5. Select “Yes” for Open in New Window.
6. Click Submit.