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September 2026

Brightspace Editor

To make creating accessible content easier, the Brightspace Editor now includes Heading 5 and Heading 6 in the Format drop-down menu. Previously, the menu only displayed Heading 1 through Heading 4, and instructors had to use keyboard shortcuts or the Source Code editor to apply the additional heading levels. This update ensures that instructors can easily apply all standard heading levels directly from the Format menu, supporting compliance with accessibility standards.

Groups

To improve efficiency when managing large numbers of groups, the new Manage Groups experience now allows instructors to bulk edit group names and codes within a category. Previously, instructors had to select each group individually to edit its details. Instructors can now click Edit Group Names to update the names and codes for one, multiple, or all groups from a single interface, saving time and reducing administrative effort.  

New Content Experience

Assessable activities, including Assignments, Quizzes, Discussions, and instructor LTI links, now display inline by default in the New Content Experience. This change provides learners with a consistent, embedded experience when accessing assessable course activities.

The enhanced Table of Contents (TOC) is now the only available TOC view in the New Content Experience. This change provides instructors and learners with a consistent navigation experience when accessing course content.

The enhanced Table of Contents includes the following improvements:

  • Support for unlimited module and topic hierarchy depth.
  • Learner completion progress indicators for topics and modules.
  • Support for the Course Overview if it was previously used in Classic Content.
  • Improved accessibility and keyboard navigation to make restructuring course content easier.
  • Expand and collapse modules without navigating away from the page.
  • Open content items in a new browser tab from the context menu.
  • Condensed display for smaller screens.
  • Visual design and interactions that are consistent with the rest of the Brightspace platform.

To provide a more accurate representation of the learner experience, the Preview as a Student option is removed from the New Content Experience.

Previously, the Preview as a Student option was available in Content, but it did not accurately reflect the learner experience. This preview had several limitations. For example, it did not correctly apply availability dates and release conditions, and it displayed the instructor view instead of the learner view for Assignments, Quizzes, and Discussions.

To view your course from a learner's perspective, use the Change Role feature in your user profile to switch your view to that of a learner role.

Work To Do Widget

To help learners better manage their workload, the Work To Do widget now allows users to dismiss overdue activities. Previously, overdue items remained on the list until completed or their due dates were removed, potentially cluttering lists for courses without end dates or those that remained active after completion.

Now, learners can select the X icon next to an overdue activity to remove it from their view. After dismissing an activity, an alert appears briefly with an Undo option, allowing learners to restore the activity if it was dismissed by mistake.