Customizing the Blackboard IM Module for End of Life

With the upcoming end of life of Blackboard Instant Messenger (IM) on December 31, 2018, our institution wanted to add a message to the Blackboard IM module to notify our end-users. Since the original module is provided by Blackboard, it doesn’t provide the ability to edit the content. Luckily for us, the module is based on an iFrame. With that, we were able to recreate the module to include our message along with the iFrame so current users would still be able to access the download links and portal.

Code

<div style="background-color: #cf4411; color: #ffffff; max-width: 2000px; padding: 10px;"><strong>Blackboard has announced that Blackboard IM will reach end of life on December 31, 2018. Starting on this day, Blackboard IM will no longer be available to users. <span style="color: #ffffff;"><a href="https://utrgvcoltt.wordpress.com/2018/10/26/blackboard-im-will-be-discontinued-in-december/" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline; color: #ffffff;">Read more to find available alternatives</span></a></span>.</strong></div> 
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