IE 8 users continue to experience sporadic compatibility issues with Blackboard. It should be noted that Blackboard specifies IE 8 as “compatible”, but not “certified” – meaning it should work in key areas, but not all. If IE 8 is your browser of choice, please make use of the Compatibility button in the upper right hand corner (near the Refresh button) whenever you are viewing your courses within Blackboard and especially prior to taking an online test. This compatibility mode rolls IE 8 back to IE 7 viewing capability, which ensures you’re seeing all of the content provided. Those using IE 7, which is Blackboard certified, should not experience issues… However, older versions of Internet Explorer such as IE 6 or even earlier, are certainly not recommended and can actually be unsafe for all users for internet security reasons.
Alternatively, you may prefer to download and install Firefox 3.5, which is a Blackboard certified browser. Most users do report superior reliability using Firefox in Blackboard. You may download the lastest version here:
It is important to know that just because your IE-8 browser passes these self test, it does NOT mean your IE-8 browser will work. I very nearly missed a deadline because of this very missunderstanding. IE 8 would not download a word 2007 document and only at the last moment did I consider trying Firefox instead. Firefox is slower than cold molasses, but it is the only reliable way to use blackboard.
I agree, Firefox (certified by Blackboard) is the browser of choice for working within Blackboard, however, there are some instructors that require their students to use Internet Explorer in their classes. Thanks for your input, Bill.
I use Firefox 3.0 on my desk computer and 3.5 on my netbook and have never experienced the slow as molasses effect on Blackboard that Bill reports.
That’s good to hear… Thanks for your input, Scott.