Blackboard
Support Solutions
Keyboard Navigation in Blackboard
Industry standard keyboard interactions are used throughout Blackboard Learn to move between menus, open menus, and select items within a menu. Keyboard navigation patterns differ between browsers (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, Chrome), but the interactions within any particular browser are common and consistent. In the sections below, notes are used to indicate where interactions may differ between experiences and course views in Blackboard Learn.
If you are using a Mac with Firefox or Safari and are having difficulty navigating using your keyboard, review and update your operating system and browser settings. This ensures they are properly configured for keyboard navigation. To learn more, see this information:
Keyboard navigation within the content editor
The content editor in Blackboard Learn is based on third-party technology from TinyMCE. It provides accessible controls, as well as keyboard shortcuts for formatting content created within it. The content editor appears throughout your courses, such as when you participate in a discussion.
To use your keyboard to jump to the content editor toolbar, press ALT + F10. On a Mac, press Fn + ALT + F10. Use the arrow keys to select an option, such as a bulleted list.
About keyboard navigation for the Course Quick Setup Guide
The Quick Setup Guide wizard is an accordion object and uses the standard navigation. The wizard opens by default when an instructor opens their course for the first time. You can also access it from the Control Panel by expanding the Customization section. Type “Welcome” in your browser’s Find tool and press ESC on your keyboard.
Navigating within the Quick Setup Guide
Within the Quick Setup Guide, press the following keys to navigate:
- Up and Down Arrow keys on your keyboard to move between the names of the sections in the accordion.
- Spacebar or Enter on your keyboard to open a section. After the section is open, the focus will still be on the heading, press Tab to navigate to the sublist. The sublist is coded as radio buttons allowing you to use arrow keys to navigate between items. Stopping on the item selects it.
- Spacebar on your keyboard to make an item active or inactive.
- Tab on your keyboard to enter the open section of the accordion and change the options within the section. After you have reached the end of a section, selecting tabagain will take you to the title of the next accordion section.
Navigating within the Structures step
Within the Structures step, you must select a structure to use it. If you do not select a structure, the current structure is used.
Navigate to each structure to read about and preview it. To open the link to learn more about the course structures, press the following keys in the order listed:
- Press Tab on your keyboard to open a list of links. Press Spacebar on your keyboard for a description.
- Press Tab again to proceed to the next link, the Help page.
- Press Tab to proceed to sample content. This is the last link in the step.
- Press Tab to return to the structures step.
If you leave the Structures step, the current selected structure opens when you return to that step.
To select a structure to use, press the Spacebar on your keyboard to select it. Press the Spacebar again to deselect the structure. Visually, this turns the Use this structure button on and off.
Keyboard accessible reordering
Wherever the drag-and-drop function exists to reorder items in a list, you have a keyboard alternative. The keyboard accessible reordering tool displays the items on the page as a list. You can use keyboard commands to reorder the items.