Okay, it’s release day for Internet Explorer 8; I’ve installed it on a couple computers and noticed crisper page loads than I’d come to expect from either IE7 or IE8beta. However, it’s still not (and likely never will be) on the Blackboard 8 user compatibility matrix. But…

Someone mentioned to me today that Google Chrome (which also does not appear on the compatibility matrix) loads the Grade Center very quickly compared to IE7, and that spurred me to test the Grade Center in IE8.

Using a training course on our system with 2082 students in it, I’ve timed the Grade Center’s grade grid load time in the past. For such a massive roster, the grid needed somewhere between 24 and 27 seconds to load in IE7. In IE8, it takes between 5 and 8 seconds to load.

Does this mean that instructors using IE7 should upgrade to IE8? Not necessarily, as it’s always a safer idea to stay with a browser/operating system combo that appears on the user compatibility matrix. Does this mean that I will be using IE8 whenever I go into the Grade Center from here on out? Unless I find some truly unexpected bugs (and I have used IE8beta with Bb8 for several months now without finding such), the answer is not only yes, but hell yes.