Student Preview

Student preview is used to test course content in Blackboard and ensure that course materials and assessments are functioning correctly.

Instructors and TAs can view their course exactly as a student does by creating a temporary student account that Blackboard. You can use the student preview to review the course content and validate course behaviors. While in the student preview mode, you can perform the following student activities:

Submit assignments
Take tests
Join groups
Create discussion posts
Create journal entries
View due dates and events in the course calendar
View grades and feedback in the gradebook

By utilizing the student preview during course building, you can be confident that your course functions as you expect.

Student Preview is Not Compatible with Most Third-Party Tools

Some tools in Blackboard such as Zoom, Turnitin, and Textbooks are third-party integrations — tools made by other companies that are being made available through Blackboard. These third-party tools do not consistently work with Student Preview mode and may not accurately reflect the experience of the student as registered students have an account in the third-party system, while the student preview user does not.

Enter Student Preview

The student Preview function appears in the top-right corner of your course page. Click the Student Preview icon and select Start Preview.

A confirmation will pop up in the center of the screen. Click “Start Preview” to proceed.

Student Preview button highlighted on the upper right corner of the Blackboard course page.

Exit Student Preview

To exit the student preview, click on the Exit in the upper right hand corner.

Image shows orange arrow pointing toward the black Exit button in the upper right side of the Student Preview page.

You will be prompted to save or delete the student preview user and its data. Save the preview user and data if you want to be included as a member in groups and want your preview user to remain in the grade center.

Discard the preview user if you don't want any instance of your preview user in the course.

For further information on Student Preview functions, you can visit the video below.