Ultra and Original Feature Comparison
Ultra and Original Feature Comparison
This document captures some of the primary differences between Blackboard Ultra and Original Course view. It is focused on features that have historically been available to Syracuse University instructors in Original Course View, but have changed, been removed, or are incomplete in Ultra Course View.
Table of Contents
New Features
The following features highlight some of the most important improvements provided by Ultra Course View.
Changed Tools
Some features in Ultra Course View are significantly different than those in Original Course View. This list is not exhaustive, but highlights some notable differences between ultra and original courses.
Limitations
The following features are either not fully developed in ultra courses or will not be included them. Instructors transitioning from original to ultra course view should be aware of the following in case they depend on any of these features in their courses.
Name in Original | Name in Ultra | Notes | Status |
---|---|---|---|
Adaptive Release | Release Condition | In original courses, instructors can release content when a student has made an attempt on an item, regardless of its grading status or score. In ultra, additional content is only released based on the grade an item receives. In ultra courses, if an assessment used as a condition, it must be graded before new content is released to the student. | Future Development |
Blogs | Forthcoming | Blogs are not yet available in ultra courses. | Future Development |
Content Editor | Content Editor | The following are not yet available in the ultra content editor:
| In Development |
Course Menu | None | The course content page has replaced the course menu in ultra courses. Rather than create a separate menu instructors should structure their course content using folders and modules directly on the course content page. | Final |
Course Reports | Embedded Analytics/Progress Tracking | Some items, such as assessments or discussions, have some analytics built into them. Progress tracking displays indicators that show students whether content has been opened/started in the course. Students will be also be able to mark ungraded items as "Complete," which will also display this progress to the Instructor. Progress tracking is an optional feature that is off by default in a course. Instructors will need to turn this on. | In Development |
Course Messages | Messages | In ultra course messages there is no subject line and there are no folders to organize course messages. | Final |
Course Surveys | Forms | Forms are versatile tools for gathering feedback from your students. They can be used to assign students to clinical experiences or to understand their interests and opinions. | Final |
Discussions | Discussions | Discussions are now in a "Discussion/Response" format rather than a "Forum/Thread" format. Many of the features of these discussions are available but there is currently no way to subscribe to a discussion to receive email notifications. | In Development |
Embed HTML | HTML Blocks | This functionality introduces problems for reliability, security, and accessibility. We have no plans to enable it in the Syracuse University Blackboard system. | Final |
Folder | Folder | Ultra courses are limited to a nested folder depth of three. | Final |
Grade Center | Gradebook | The Gradebook is now viewable by Gradable Items, Grades, and Students.
| In Development |
Rubrics | Rubrics | The following rubric features are unavailable:
| In Research |
Send Email | Messages | Messages are the core communication in tool ultra navigation and ultra courses. When creating messages and announcements, instructors can elect to send a copy by email to the recipients. Users can elect to enable email notifications for messages in their profile area of the main navigation. | Final |
Tests | Tests | Ultra does not yet support the full array question types that original courses do. The following question types are currently available:
Force completion is not recommended for use in original courses and will not be included in ultra tests | In Development |
Tool Availability | None | Instructors can no longer turn off individual tools in a course — the available tools are set at the system level by administrators. | Final |
Removed Tools
The following tools are being removed from Ultra Course View; Blackboard has announced that these features will not be included:
Achievements
Contacts
Flickr Embedding
Glossary
Lesson Plans
Module Page
Slideshare Embedding
Tasks
Wikis