On May 30, 2011, Blackboard Next Generation (NG) will make its campus-wide debut at NIU. With over 80 new features, this will be the most significant upgrade of Blackboard since it was first introduced at NIU almost ten years ago. In addition to delivering a redesigned, updated interface, Blackboard NG has a simpler process for creating and editing courses and new tools to facilitate classroom collaboration. During this online discussion offered 4/26/2011 we highlighted these features. Following the session, participants received access to a sandbox course to explore the changes coming to Blackboard.