This article will explain the new Blackboard Ultra course view.
Ultra courses have three distinct areas. In an Ultra course, you have simplified workflows, a modern look and feel, and a fully responsive interface divided into three sections: Course Content, Course Navigation and Details & Actions.
Course Content
The Course Content area is where you add resources and build your course. All courses created for the 2022/23 academic year will include a basic template structure aligned the Medical Schools Technology Enhanced Learning Minimum Expectations. This is to ensure there is a consistent student experience across all Blackboard courses.
You can select the plus (+) icon to start creating content.
They’re a number of key icons that you will see in a Blackboard Ultra course:
- Plus (+) icon: You can add content to your Blackboard course anywhere you see the plus icon.
- Three dots icon (…): This icon is usually found at the top right hand corner of course items. A pop-up menu will open with further options for Editing, deleting and copying content.
- Cog icon: The cog icon is used to access the settings of a tool or item.
Course Navigation
The Course Navigation menu provides quick access links to the courses key tools/functions: Content, Calendar, Discussions, Gradebook, Messages, Analytics.
Content: The content area of the course is where all the resources and collaborative learning activities are created.
Calendar: The course calendar displays all the teaching events and deadlines for the course. You can switch between Day and Month view and filter by assignment due dates.
Discussions: Discussions displays all the discussion forums that have been setup in your Blackboard course.
Gradebook: This is where you manage and grade Blackboard assessments, post grades and student feedback for your module/block.
Messages: Blackboard has an built-in messaging system. Course Instructors can either message all students on the course or individual students.
Analytics: In this section you can find test question/SCORM analytics.
Details & Actions
The Details & Actions menu allows you to configure and manage the course. A breakdown of these features can be found below:
Class register: The class register shows basic profile cards for the users enrolled on the course. You can set individual accommodations from this page. When you create marked items, students with accommodations appear in the settings.
Course groups: This feature allows you to create groups at a course level. These groups can be used on collaborative learning activities that are created in the course. They can also be used to filter the student in the Grade Centre.
Course image: This feature allows you to add a banner image at the top of your Blackboard course. If you add an image, make sure you either add a description or mark it as descriptive.
Course availability: The features allows you to control student access to the course. Make the course available to students when you’re ready. We normally recommend that you make courses available to students on Blackboard a week before the module/block starts.
Blackboard Collaborate: As default, every Blackboard course now comes with a Blackboard Collaborate room.
Attendance: For courses and programmes that use attendance as criteria for assessment. The attendance feature in Blackboard can be used to monitor this in Blackboard.
Announcements: Create or schedule course announcements. All course members will receive an email notification (to their Hull York Medical School account) of the announcement that has been posted.
Books & Tools: This feature allows you to integrate other institution tools with Blackboard. From here you will be able to create Teams meetings for you course. A link direct to the meeting will be available on your Blackboard course.
Questions Banks: You can create and import question banks in a Blackboard course. This includes importing question banks from a Original course to an Ultra course.