diff --git a/modules/dashboard/dashboard.js b/modules/dashboard/dashboard.js
index ebecbf6..bc6af8c 100644
--- a/modules/dashboard/dashboard.js
+++ b/modules/dashboard/dashboard.js
@@ -207,7 +207,9 @@ Drupal.behaviors.dashboard = {
       var region = $(this).parent().attr('id').replace(/-/g, '_');
       var blocks = $(this).sortable('toArray');
       $.each(blocks, function() {
-        order.push(region + '[]=' + this);
+        var block_module = $('#' + this).attr('class').match(/\bmodule-(\S+)\b/)[1];
+        var block_delta = $('#' + this).attr('class').match(/\bdelta-(\S+)\b/)[1];
+        order.push(region + '[]=' + block_module + ':' + block_delta);
       });
     });
     order = order.join('&');
diff --git a/modules/dashboard/dashboard.module b/modules/dashboard/dashboard.module
index 7d5d749..9d27049 100644
--- a/modules/dashboard/dashboard.module
+++ b/modules/dashboard/dashboard.module
@@ -420,6 +420,19 @@ function template_preprocess_dashboard_admin_display_form(&$variables) {
 }
 
 /**
+ * Implements template_preprocess_block().
+ */
+function dashboard_preprocess_block(&$variables) {
+  if (dashboard_is_visible()) {
+    // Since the transformations performed by drupal_html_id() are irreversible,
+    // rendering it impossible to use the CSS id to identify individual blocks,
+    // we add two classes to aid in identification.
+    $variables['classes_array'][] = 'module-' . $variables['block']->module;
+    $variables['classes_array'][] = 'delta-' . $variables['block']->delta;
+  }
+}
+
+/**
  * Determines if the dashboard should be displayed on the current page.
  *
  * This function checks if the user is currently viewing the dashboard and has
@@ -548,7 +561,7 @@ function dashboard_update() {
       }
       foreach ($blocks as $weight => $block_string) {
         // Parse the query string to determine the block's module and delta.
-        preg_match('/block-([^-]+)-(.+)/', $block_string, $matches);
+        preg_match('/([^:]+):(.+)/', $block_string, $matches);
         $block = new stdClass();
         $block->module = $matches[1];
         $block->delta = $matches[2];