Releasenotes 2025

The Ally canonical data model (CDM_ALY) is now mapped in CDM_MAP. This allows you to connect Ally data with the Blackboard canonical data model (CDM_LMS).

In CDM_MAP.COURSE: 

In CDM_MAP.TERM: 

You can use this query published in our GitHub query repository to start with your own analysis: Accessibility score per course with course information from Blackboard.

New columns included in CDM_Map are:

Image 1. Query in Snowflake connecting Ally and Blackboard data models

Accessibility data is key for institutions to guide decisions and support inclusive digital environments, identify faculties and courses that need improvement in accessibility, evaluate the adoption of accessibility tools and have support to comply with AX regulations and laws. 

Now, Ally score data is available in Illuminate in the new canonical data model CDM_ALY. Its refresh rate is every 12 hours. CDM_ALY is available for institutions with Blackboard as their LMS. Please note that this initial release does not yet map Ally data to other Blackboard data models, such as CDM_LMS.

Ally data is available in Snowflake, where administrators can create custom queries to report on various aspects of the accessibility performance at your institution.  

Tables and data details are in the Data Dictionary. You can use these queries published in the GitHub queries repository to start exploring Ally data: 

Image 1: Ally query in Snowflake in Illuminate

To improve the first-time user experience of Illuminate Reporting, administrators can now create and configure new users prior to the user’s first login. This ensures that new users can access appropriate reports and data on their first access.  

From the License Management tab in Settings, use the new Create User option to enter the exact username and identity provider for an existing Blackboard user, and then configure their Illuminate permissions. The user will appear in the user list. You need to assign the user an Illuminate role in Blackboard Administrator panel or by adding the user to the correspondent SAML group. 

Image 1: New user creation menu

Other improvements

This release also includes several improvements to user list and permissions management: 

• User deletion: Administrator can delete viewer users in the user list, freeing up a user seat in your license. Be sure to remove the user’s roles in Blackboard or SAML to fully revoke access to Illuminate. Deletion of Administrators and Authors is not yet supported.

• Live Institutional Hierarchy permissions: Hierarchy Nodes permissions, previously updated through a nightly process, are now refreshed in real time. 

• License identification: Your Illuminate license type (Core or Premium) is now visible in the License Management tab in Settings. 

• User roles and identity provider: The user list now displays each user’s assigned roles and corresponding identity provider. 

• Full list sorting: All columns in the user list are now sortable for easier navigation and management. 

Image 2: Improved user list in License Management tab in Settings

We blijven de beschikbaarheid van Blackboard-brontabellen uitbreiden naar meer regio's. 191 brontabellen van Blackboard's Open Database Schema zijn nu beschikbaar voor Illuminate Premium-clients in Europa. Uitrol naar de Amerikaanse regio volgt in latere releases. De transactionele database voor Blackboard is normaal gesproken alleen beschikbaar voor Direct Data Access-klanten.

Deze entiteiten zijn beschikbaar in Snowflake als weergaven in een nieuw LEARN-schema binnen de bestaande Illuminate-database. Deze gegevens worden elke 4 uur ververst.

Instanties die in de Europese regio worden gehost, worden gemigreerd naar een multi-tenant architectuur, wat een betrouwbaardere methode is voor dataverbinding. Migratie naar de Amerikaanse regio volgt in latere releases.

Je kunt controleren of je instantie multi-tenant is door CDM_LMS in Snowflake te bekijken. Multi-tenant instanties hebben data georganiseerd in views, terwijl single-tenant instanties data in tabellen hebben georganiseerd.

Data Q&A is nu beschikbaar voor klanten die worden gehost in de AWS-regio van Singapore, die instellingen niet alleen in Singapore omvat, maar ook in Japan, de Filipijnen, Hongkong en meer.

Met Data Q&A kunnen kijkers vragen stellen op basis van beschikbare onderwerpen en een antwoord ontvangen in de vorm van meerdere visualisaties, evenals een tekstgebaseerde samenvatting die door AI wordt gegenereerd.