The Impact Walkthroughs feature was launched in 2022 in beta. Since then, our teams have been working on improving the functionality and accessibility of walkthroughs in order to deliver the best experience for our customers. We have prioritized walkthroughs, specifically Out-of-the-Box walkthroughs, as one of our planned roadmap items for Q1, 2023. In the meanwhile, we wanted to give an update on how we have been progressing with our walkthrough functionalities.
Walkthroughs And Current Limitations
The walkthrough feature is intended to allow customers to create a step-by-step guide for users within a learning environment. By using our inline editor or dashboard you can create steps with proactive messaging and support content to help users complete a specific task within the LMS. The walkthrough feature is currently in beta as we were working on achieving the following:
- Seamless navigation between the Dashboard and Inline Editor
- Context creation and free select mode
- Synchronisation of Out-of-the-Box walkthrough content
- Consistency of message placement and triggers
- Consistency of step sequencing within walkthroughs
- Guiding users to a new page automatically to continue a walkthrough (currently users need to click on an element or take an action to be redirected instead of clicking ‘next’ in the walkthrough)
We have already fixed and addressed several items on this list. You can find more detailed information in the sections below. We are also focusing our efforts on delivering Out-of-the-Box walkthroughs in order to bring the entire walkthrough feature out of beta. We have prioritized the highest requested feature fixes so we can deliver the most functional version of walkthroughs as soon as possible.
Walkthroughs will only be available for Blackboard Learn Original and Canvas LMS. Unfortunately, we are not able to deliver walkthroughs in Blackboard Learn Ultra as they are not compatible with the framework Blackboard Learn Ultra leverages for integrations.
What Have We Completed?
- Improving walkthrough launch and flow reliability
Ensuring that the first steps of the walkthrough appear in the correct context and users can navigate back and forth between the steps.
- Resolving context issues
Optimizing the way that contexts are interpreted and used when creating and launching walkthroughs.
- Consistent sizing of messages
Ensuring that all messages and walkthrough steps are sized correctly based on message type.
What Are We Continuing to Work on?
These items are currently being actively worked on and developed by our engineering team.
- Out-of-the-Box (OOTB) walkthroughs
OOTB walkthroughs have been a major focus for our product and content teams. We are currently very close to delivering OOTB walkthroughs that will sync directly into your Impact dashboard. These walkthroughs, pre-made by our content team, will help drive new user engagement, ensuring improved course functionality for educators and students. You will be able to use and also edit these OOTB walkthroughs to tailor them to your institution’s needs.
- Running multiple walkthroughs simultaneously
Ensuring that walkthroughs are showing up correctly when multiple walkthroughs are running simultaneously.
- Accessibility improvements
We are continuing to improve color contrast, ScreenReader text, navigation elements, and labeling to meet WCAG Level AA.
Features For The Future
The items below are currently in a discovery phase and require more investigation from engineering and design. These features are not currently on our 2023 roadmap but we will continue to keep them on our list of potential improvements for Impact walkthroughs.
- Free select mode
Ability to define contexts around the environment while creating steps in the walkthrough editor.
- Multi page walkthroughs
Ability to automatically redirect users to another page where their process continues instead of waiting for them to take an action.
- Walkthrough insights
Ability to view statistics on walkthrough engagement, completion, and feedback in order to assess the success of my walkthrough.
- Preview walkthroughs through the inline editor
Ability to preview how the walkthrough step will look like without publishing.
- Walkthrough checklist
Include a checklist within walkthrough creation to promote more active adoption.
- Autosave for create/edit article, message, and walkthrough
Ability for content to be automatically saved while drafting a walkthrough
- Ability to launch walkthroughs from message or support center
Embedding walkthroughs that users can be redirected to within messages or support articles.
How to Stay Updated
Please check the community to stay updated with the walkthrough updates. There are several ways that we will communicate their availability. Keep your eye out for our release notes, monthly newsletter and blog posts.
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