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Updates and System Changes

With the transition to Blackboard Ultra Course View there has been an increase in the frequency that significant improvements are being made to the system. This page represents an attempt to summarize the most relevant changes for Syracuse University users. The updates listed here are not exhaustive, however; for full details users can visit https://help.blackboard.com/Learn/Administrator/SaaS/Release_Notes. For more information about these or any features, please contact Online Learning Services by emailing help@syr.edu or calling 315-443-2677.


August 2024

The update to version 3900.98 in early August included:

  • Significant design and layout features have been added to the content editor.

  • Tests and Assignments have been updated to help distinguish them from one another and clarify creation of Assignments, specifically. 

  • Instructors can now add multiple Release Conditions to content items.

  • Anonymous response has been added to Forms.

Instructors now have additional options in their course settings to control the messages feature. This feature was included in the 3900.95 release and enabled by OLS in early August.


July 2024

The update to version 3900.95 in early July included:

  • The reply-to field in emails from the system is now set to the originator of the Message or Announcement

  • The ability for instructors to print test answer keys

  • Test printing improvements

  • The ability to email an announcement even when scheduling it

  • Grading and feedback navigation improvements


 June 2024 - 3900.93 Release
  1. AI Design Assistant Language Selector - To support multi-language use cases, the AI Design Assistant now includes a language selector. Instructors may use the language selector to set the desired language for generated content. This feature is especially beneficial for courses with multi-language requirements. 

Image shows red arrow pointing toward Advanced option drop down icon. Output language is highlighted where language selector is located.

Image shows generated modules with heading and description in Spanish.

  1. Printing for Assessments - Instructors can now print assessments. Printing provides a convenient solution for a variety of use cases:

  • Accommodating students with specific needs or limited technology access

  • Providing a printed assessment for testing in designated centers

  • Backup and record keeping

  • Conducting offline assessment

  • Documentation and compliance

  • Maintaining security and integrity

The print option is available in Forms, Tests, and Assignments with questions. Printing also provides the option to save as PDF.

To print an assessment, from Content and Settings, select Print.

Image shows red arrow pointing toward the Print button on a Test item page.

Image shows the print settings for printing a Test item.

  1. Streamlined Point Value Editing for Questions - When editing a question, instructors can now access and edit the point value field with just two clicks. Reducing the number of clicks needed to edit the point value of a question saves instructors time and effort. This small change leads to a smoother workflow and enhances the overall teaching and learning experience.

(blue star) Note: Editing the point values for matching questions requires three clicks. 

  1. Return a True/False Answer to an Unanswered State - Students can now return a true/false question to an unanswered state after choosing an answer. Students clear their choice by selecting the same option again. Students may need to clear their answer selection for a test question. For questions that use negative scoring, if a student is uncertain about their answer, their score may be better if they leave it unanswered. In this case, clearing a response makes it easy for them to come back later using the unanswered question filter. This helps students better manage their time during a test.

In the past, a student could only change their answer to a true/false question to a different value. 

Image shows a true or false quiz question where option A true is selected.

Image shows a true or false quiz question where option A true is unselected.

  1. Post Announcements Immediately - Instructors can now post announcements as part of the drafting and editing processes. This makes the process of creating and posting announcements simpler. 

(blue star) Instructors can still post from the announcements page. 

Image shows an announcement typed with the Post option button on the lower right corner of the window.

  1. Prevent auto-assigning members in self-enrollment groups - Instructors use self-enrollment groups to provide agency to students on group activities. Currently, at the end of the enrollment period, unassigned students are always distributed into groups. To improve the use of self-enrollment groups for optional activities, instructors can now opt-out of this behavior. Instructors can deselect the option, which does not enroll students who do not self-enroll by the end of the enrollment to any group. This option gives instructors more flexibility when managing self-enrollment groups. 

Image shows a red arrow pointing toward the Auto enroll members at the end of the enrollment period check area on the Groups window.

  1. Group members list available within the selected group - Groups and group work form an important part of the learning experience. To improve and centralize member information, we have relocated the members list to the selected group page. This will now display as a member’s tab rather than a separate panel. Here, users can search for members and sort them alphabetically. This change enhances the visibility of the selected groups page and provides the groundwork for adding more features in future releases. 

Image shows the Group window where the Show Members option is below a named group called Space Rover. Image shows the names of Members in a group when the Show Members tab is clicked.

  1. Filter out Graded Responses when Grading by Question - The Needs Grading filter now filters out graded student responses by default. Filtering this way helps instructors to focus on any remaining ungraded responses for a given question. It also provides instructors with an improved view of their outstanding grading workload. If instructors want to include graded responses, they can select Show graded responses. This selection preference is now stored per course and it persists across assessments in each course.

Image shows the Grade window where the Needs Grading is selected in the Grading Status filter. The show graded responses is also checked and selected.

Image show Grade window by questions with Needs Grading selected in the Graded Status filter.

  1. Grader Notes on Student Grades - Instructors can now add private grading notes to student grades. After a score is assigned, the new Feedback & Notes menu option is available. Grader notes form an important part of the academic record. These notes may serve as documentation for a grading decision or grade adjustment.  Grader notes are private to graders and not visible to students.

Those with grading privileges can access Feedback & Notes from two places: 

  • The Grades tab in the Gradebook by selecting a specific score.

  • The Submissions list page for an assessment, select the More menu for a student

Image shows theInstructor view of the Feedback and Notes menu option accessible from the Gradebook grid view and Submissions page for assessments.

Image shows the instructor view with Grader Notes box in the Grades and Feedback right panel.

Image shows Instructor view of grader notes with Feedback and Notes on the drop down menu in Grade View.

  1. Improved Visibility of New Grades and Feedback in the Student Gradebook - To ensure that students are aware of any new grades in the course we have added an indicator to the Gradebook tab. When there are new grades, the number of new grades appears on the tab.

After selecting the tab, items with new or updated grades appear at the top of the student gradebook and display a purple indicator. The purple indicator disappears and the count on the tab reduces when the student selects the item or reviews their submission.  

We also reviewed the use of color in the gradebook based on student feedback. Now, we mark late assessments with a "(Late)" label to reduce stress sometimes associated with the use of the color red. In the past, late submissions appeared with a red assessment icon and label.

Image shows the Student View of a course with the indicator shown on the top global navigation bar.

Image shows the Gradebook window with the grade indicator on the Gradebook tab in the top global navigation bar. The Late label is noted next to the item.

  1. Weighted Calculation Usability Improvements - Responding to client feedback, we have made two improvements for gradebook weighting:

  • The label “0% per item” appeared for categories excluded from weighting. This caused confusion so we removed it.

  • We updated the calculation rules panel to make it easier to understand the selected settings.

Image shows Instructor view with the older interface showing 0 percent per item for excluded items.

Image shows instructor view with upgraded interface with the 0 percent per item is removed from excluded items.

Image shows the instructor view of the updated text on the Calculation rule panel.

Base Navigation - Course and Organization Filters - Personalization - The courses and organizations tabs in Base Navigation are some of the most accessed places in Blackboard Learn. We received feedback in numerous focus groups and were inspired by client ideas posted in the Idea Exchange. We heard the pages should fit more institutions’ situations and give users more options to customize. This release includes the following improvements:

We removed the carousel for navigating between terms. There is now a term selector and filter you can use on its own or with other filters.

You can set filters, make term choices, and add text searches. All of these are clearly displayed below the search box. Remove these search settings or filters to see more courses or organizations. Remove them by selecting the close icon “x” on each.

Your selections and filters are remembered automatically even if you log out or switch devices. Set up the pages the way you like, and we’ll keep it that way until you change it.

The terms selector has specific logical behaviors to help users:

  • “Current Courses” and “Current Organizations” are the default term selections. If terms aren’t used or all your courses/organizations are open or use continuous duration, you’ll default to the “All Terms” selection option instead.

  • You can now choose to view “All Terms” to see everything regardless of term.

  • The “Upcoming Courses” and “Upcoming Organizations” term options will only display if you have upcoming courses/organizations.

Image shows the Course page with the filters, search your course box, terms, and filters.

Landing Page Enhancements for Blackboard Learn Mobile App - To enhance usability and streamline user interaction in the mobile app, we added filters to the following landing pages:

  • Courses

  • Organizations

  • Grades 

Users now can use filters at the top of each landing page, allowing them to refine their search results.

When a user applies a filter, its tag appears at the top of the landing page. Users can remove filters by unselecting the respective tag.

Image shows small screens of course cards with the bottom global navigation with the Course tab selected.

End of June 2024 Updates

 May 2024 - 3900.91 Release

  1. Align Goals to Questions in Question Pools - Now, instructors can align goals to questions within a question pool. Question-level goal alignment ensures that assessment items measure the desired learning outcomes. This helps to ensure the accuracy and effectiveness of evaluation and feedback practices.

Image showing the Align with Goal tab on the drop down menu when in a question pool.

  1. Multiple Performance Criteria in Release Conditions - Release conditions determine when students can view course content. Release conditions are on the content's visibility setting on the course content page. Currently, you can set:  

  • Which course members or groups have access;

  • When the course content is accessible, visible, and hidden;

  • When student performance is necessary for completing an assignment or scoring.

Instructors can now set more than one performance criteria per content item.

Image showing a red arrow pointing toward the Add additional performance criteria tab on the release conditions panel.

  1. Reuse Questions in Forms - Reusing questions streamlines the Form creation process and saves users time and effort.  Instructors can now select Reuse questions when editing or creating a Form. 

Image showing the Reuse questions tab in the drop-down menu in a Form.

Image showing the window of the Filter criteria.

  1. Multiple Attempts for Forms Assigned to Groups - Instructors can now assign a Form to a group and allow multiple attempts. When assigning forms to groups, enabling multiple attempts promotes dynamic, iterative learning experiences. Groups can now submit the Form, receive feedback, and submit another response. 

  1. Add Question Feedback when Grading a Test by Question - When grading by student or by question, instructors can provide contextual feedback. Instructors can add feedback to all question types. Question level feedback promotes deeper understanding and personal growth among students. Question level feedback enhances overall submission feedback and automated feedback for auto-graded questions.

Image shows a blue-green arrow pointing toward the enter your feedback box for a single answer submission in instructor view. Image shows a blue-green arrow pointing toward the saved feedback in Instructor view.

Image shows the feedback from the student view per answer submission.

  1. Improved Gradebook Navigation - To create a more intuitive navigation, we replaced the grid and list view buttons with text links. The options are now:  

  • Gradable Items

  • Grades (grid view)

  • Students

The Gradebook will remember the last view you used in each course.

Image shows Gradebook window layout with five columns that read item, category, due date, grading status and post.

  1. Weighted Calculation Improvements - Instructors have diverse grade calculation needs. Some instructors use weighted calculations to help with aggregating calculations like midterm or final grades.

Now instructors can assign equal weights to items in the same categories. The chosen calculation method, whether proportional or equal, applies to all categories. In the past, weighted items in the same category had proportional weights. These weighted items were based on the possible points of each item. 

To better understand student performance, some instructors use drop rules to remove outliers. Because it’s important to know the weighting method when managing these settings, we now display the instructor's chosen weighting option in the calculation rules panel.

Image shows the instructor view of the weighted calculation window, with proportionally selected.

Image shows the Weighted Calculation window with proportionally selected, and highlighted is a Test category that is proportionally weighted with 2 test items. One weighs 7.14 percent and the other weighs 17.86 percent, with the Test category at 25 percent.

Image shows the Weighted Calculation window with equally selected.

Image shows the right Assignment Category panel on the Weighted Calculation window.

  1. Landing Page Enhancements for Blackboard Learn Mobile App - The landing pages (Grades, Messages, Courses, Organization) are now designed in a card layout. For the Courses and Organization pages, the course status indicator previously located in the course image has been moved below the course or organization title. The current functionality remains the same. These design changes align the landing pages with the design principles and language of the Blackboard Mobile App.

These enhancements are a part of a larger redesign of the Blackboard Learn mobile app landing pages to ensure uniform design, optimized user experience, and natural user flow across various devices and screen sizes.

Image shows a mobile screen image of the Courses page with 3 courses, and bottom navigation bar with the courses button selected. The other buttons are Stream, Calendar and More.

End of May 2024 Updates

 April 2024 - 3900.89 Release
  1. AI Context Picker - Context selection is key for tailoring course content generated with the AI Design Assistant. The context picker also helps to ground generated content in an appropriate context.

(blue star) File types supported by the context picker include PDF, Word, PowerPoint, text, RTF, and HTML.

We are extending the context picker for test questions to other generation workflows: 

  • Learning modules 

  • Authentic assignments 

  • Authentic discussions 

  • Authentic journals

Image showing the Content page with the drop-down menu with the Auto-Generate Modules tab selected. Image shows a list of item to be selected for the Context Picker.

Image showing the auto-generating icon to produce results.

Image shows a list of auto-generated

(blue star) When Ultra documents are selected as context, file attachments on the Ultra document will also be included as context for all context pickers.

  1. Persistent Navigation Bar for Learning Modules - When in modules instructors and students have maintained access to the navigation bar. Now the navigation bar is sticky and remains visible as students vertically scroll through content. Students no longer need to scroll back up to the top of content to access the navigation tools. 

Image showing

  1. Student Feedback Visible in Release Condition - Instructors may want to control access to course content using release conditions. This is helpful for providing custom learning paths through course content. The release conditions include an option to show or hide content to/from students before they meet release conditions. We've modified how these settings impact the students' view of feedback from instructors. Now instructors can set release conditions without any impact to feedback to students.  

In the past, when an instructor selected the option to hide content, students could view associated grades but not the feedback. We have corrected this to ensure that students can always review feedback.  

Image shows Date and Time and Hide functions highlighted on the Release Conditions menu.

Image showing Student gradebook view by student's point of view with feedback shown.

  1. Default question points value changed from 10 to 1 - manually adjusting the point value for questions can be time-consuming and error prone. Based on valuable client feedback, we are changing the default point value from 10 to 1. Moving forward, any newly created questions will have a default point value of 1. This change helps reduce the need for manual adjustments.

(blue star) Questions copied from another assessment retain the designated point value.

  1. Duplicate Questions - Sometimes an instructor may want to have a question repeated with the same answer options but a different question. Instructors can now select Duplicate to quickly copy an existing question within the same assessment (test, assignment, form) or in a question bank. This feature eliminates the need for manual duplication and simplifies the process of creating multiple questions with the same answer options.

Image shows the Duplicate tab when creating tests.

  1. Likert Answers Options - Instructors can now create Likert scale questions with 4 or 6 answer options. This allows for greater granularity in student responses. An even number of answer options also supports the creation of questions where students cannot select a neutral option. This enhancement is in response to valuable user feedback.

Images show a Likert question with 4 scales range.

  1. Auto-submitted Indicator in Attempt Logs - Understanding the context of student submissions is helpful to instructors. Now the Attempt Log indicates whether a submission is manual or automatic. This indicator provides instructors with deeper insights into student behaviors. This addition also allows instructors to better track their student progress. 

Image shows attempts made by a single student on the attempt indicator page.

  1. Anonymous Discussion Post - Students need to feel free to express their ideas and opinions without fear of judgement. To support this, we've added an option for instructors to allow anonymous posts in ungraded discussions. This feature provides flexibility for instructors. They can toggle anonymity on or off as the discussion progresses. Any existing anonymous posts keep their anonymity. 

Image shows anonymous post settings in the right menu for Discussion Settings.

Image shows a student discussion attempt page where an anonymous post is made.

Image shows an anonymous post in the discussion. The word anonymous replaces the student's name.

  1. Self-Enrollments Groups Improvements - Self-enrollment groups provide an important part of student autonomy throughout the learning experience. To support more use cases for self-enrollment groups and based on client feedback, we are reducing the maximum members per group from 2 to 1. This will cover use cases such as sign-up sheets and booking 1:1 slots with students.

Image shows sign up sheet window for 1 on 1 for a student to meet an instructor.

  1. Reply All in Messages - Responding to messages is an important part of course communication. The "Reply all" option in the Original Course View is limited to messages with up to 100 recipients. With this release, we have raised limits to 1000 recipients. This is to help with wider course communication and based on client feedback. When using the "Reply all" feature, it will respond to all users on the original message. If you wish to select which users to reply to, the "Reply" option allows you to desired select users.

  1. Usability improvements for Flexible Grading - the attempt selector is relocated to improve visibility and efficiency. It is now nearer to the attempt grade pill. This allows instructors to switch between a student's attempts during grading.  

Image showing instructor view showing the relocated attempt selector at the top right hand corner next to the attempt grade pill.

The grading interface now displays a single grade pill. This provides a more intuitive grading workflow. The single grade pill also prevents accidental grade overrides.

Image showing instructor view with student graded area on the left, and attempt graded area on the right of the page, with a submitted work in the middle of those panels.

Overriding the final grade is now an explicit grading option. The three-dot menu next to the attempt grade pill now includes an Override Final Grade option. When selected, an Override label appears above the grade pill. Here the instructor can adjust the final grade for the submission. 

Image shows instructor view with override function on the top right of the page near the attempt grade panel on the right.

Image shows green override graded pill on the top right hand side of the page. A corresponding green pill is displayed in the Students panel on the left next to the student's name.

  1. Add question feedback when grading by student - Instructors can now provide contextual feedback by student on all question types. Question level feedback promotes deeper understanding and personal growth among students. Question level feedback complements the existing capabilities of overall submission feedback and automated feedback for auto-graded questions.

Image showing the Student panel on the left, the answered questions in the middle and the overall feedback panel on the right panel.

Image shows instructor view with saved feedback on the right panel.

Once students have submitted their tests and scores are posted, students can access the feedback. Students can access both overall feedback and question-specific feedback.

Image shows Student view with Feedback for student on the right of the page. Graded items are on the left of the page.

  1. Calculations changed from using BigDecimal to BigFraction - Instructors need a gradebook that supports diverse grading scenarios. Anthology Blackboard is changing the software library used to perform calculations in calculated columns and the overall course grade.

Example: A course contains 3 assignments worth 22 points each. The student scores 13/22 on the first assignment, 14/22 on the second assignment, and 15/22 on the third assignment. An instructor creates a calculated column to calculate the average of these assignments.  

Using the new software library, BigFraction, the average will calculate as 14/22.

With the former software library, BigDecimal, the average would incorrectly calculate to 13.99/22. The new software library ensures calculations compute as expected.

  1. Overall Grade added to the Gradebook Download - Some instructors download grades from the gradebook to analyze in other applications, such as Microsoft Excel.

Now, instructors can choose to include the Overall Grade for students in the downloaded gradebook. This additional data point helps provide a comprehensive view of student performance.

Image shows the left Download Grades panel on the right where the Select All Items is checked or selected with green and white checkbox.

Image shows an Excel spreadsheet of downloaded grades that holds the overall grade column

  1. Edit Gradebook category for Partner Cloud content - Some instructors want to change the gradebook category for third-party content and tools (e.g., Cengage). Now instructors can edit the category information from the gradebook.

Image shows Instructor view with the Edit tab for a Partner Cloud generated gradebook.

Image shows the instructor view of the right hand side Edit panel for a Partner Cloud generated Gradebook item.

  1. Long name Visibility on Small Screens in Student Activity Report - Depending on the culture, personal name lengths vary. To continue demonstrating our commitment to diversity and inclusion, we adjusted long names in the Student Activity report for assessments. This change ensures that names are visible on a variety of devices. This helps instructors avoid confusion when viewing students with similar names. 

Also, instructors can now sort the student list by last name in small devices so they can organize the list easily. 

Image shows a small screen view with a list of 3 students. Each row has a student profile picture with their long names, submitted date, date opened, date started, attempts and a graded pill.

  1. Individual date adjustments from Batch Edit - Updating availability and due dates after a course copy, import, or a conversion can take time. We're making it easier for instructors to make date adjustments for any item on the Batch Edit page. Instructors now have the option to change the due date and availability (Show On and Hide After) for any item. 

Image shows the Batch Edit window with one item edited by adding a due date for that item.


End of April 2024 Updates

 March 2024 - 3900.86 Release

  1. AI Design Assistant - Context picker for test question generation - The context picker does not draw context from items that are attached to an Ultra document. Only items that appear on the context picker’s menu are used by the context picker. In future releases, attached files will be included in the context picker.

Image shows Content and Settings page with Auto generate question tab from drop down list when Create is clicked.

Image shows 2 auto-generated questions with Select Course Items highlighted.

Image shows the Select Item page with one file or item selected. The Select Items black button is highlighted on the lower right of the page.

Image shows the Auto-generate Questions page with the generating icon in motion and the Generate black button highlighted.

Image shows 2 results of the generated questions where 2 items are selected or highlighted. The Add 3 to Assessment black button is highlighted indicating that 3 generated item results are selected.

  1. Journals - instructors can now align goals with Journals to ensure that the activity measures the desired learning outcomes. This helps to ensure the accuracy and effectiveness of evaluation and feedback practices.

Instructors can also align goals to the following course items:

  • Assignments

  • Tests, including individual questions

  • Questions in banks

  • Discussions

  • Rubrics criterion

  • Files

  • Web links

  • Teaching tools with LTI connection

  • Documents

Image shows Journal Settings with the Goals and Standard tab on the Journal page.

  1. No Due Date Option - Due dates are an important aspect of the teaching and learning process. In some scenarios, such as self-paced learning, an instructor may not want to apply a due date. To make the option for not having a due date more evident, we've added a "No due date" option for Tests and Assignments.

Image shows the Content and Settings page with the right side Test Settings menu where the No due date tab is checked and highlighted.

There may be cases when the “No due date” selection conflicts with the Assessment Results settings. When this occurs, the instructor is prompted to review the settings.

Image shows the Content and Settings page with the right side Test Settings menu where the Due date slots (date and time) are highlighted.

Image shows highlighted warning on the Test Settings menu that reads Review Assessment Results and update After due date selections.

Image shows the Test Settings menu with reminders for 3 checked areas. These 3 checked areas are Allow students to view their submission, Show automated feedback, and Show question scores. The reminders for each is There is no due date. Please select another option.
  1. Announcement indicators mark as read/unread - Instructors, please note that unread announcements are visible to students on the Content page and via pop-up announcements (when students are first engaging with the course on Blackboard). Announcements when clicked, present a list of messages that match the unread numeric indicator on the Content page.

Image shows the Content page with the Announcements tab highlighted on the global top navigation bar. The announcement tab shows the number 1, indicating there is 1 unread announcements.

Image shows the pop-up window New Course Announcements with one announcement that is read (checked) and one that is not read (unchecked).

Image shows two announcements on the Announcements page.

The Message icon also present similar features as the Announcement as noted in the image below.

Image shows Content page with Announcement and Message tabs highlighted on the global top navigation bar.

  1. Messages Sent from Student Activity Report on Small Screens - additionally, instructors can now send messages to students from the Student Activity report for assessments while on-the-go. Small screens such as those for smartphones are now supported. The message option is in the ellipsis menu for each student.

Image showing Student Activity page with ellipsis (three horizontal dot) and message icon highlighted on a small screen.

  1. Flexible Grading with Left and Right Panels - in flexible grading, instructors can collapse or expand the left panel (student cards) and right panel (feedback and rubrics). To provide a better user experience, the last used state is now preserved in the browser. Now,  navigating between student attempts and across sessions provides a more efficient experience.

  1. Gradebook Item Statistics from Grid View - Item statistics give insight to course members' overall performance on a graded content. Now, instructors can select a column in the gradebook to access summary statistics for any graded item. The statistics page displays key metrics such as:

  • Minimum and maximum value

  • Range

  • Average

  • Median

  • Standard deviation

  • Variance

The number of submissions requiring grading and the distribution of grades also displays.

Image showing Gradebook view with Statistics tab from the drop-down menu.

Image shows the Gradable Items view with the Statistics tab from the drop-down menu. The ellipsis (three horizontal dots) is highlighted. When ellipsis is clicked the drop-down menu appears.

Image shows the Items Statistics Page with statistical data related to course grades.

End of March 2024 Updates

 February 2024 - 3900.84 Release

  1. Rubrics - performance level descriptions or the grading rubric is visible whilst grading each submission.

Image showing rubric display in Student section within Gradebook.

  1. Communications - instructors can now send reminders to students. Reminders can only be sent to students who did not submit work, have not received an automatic zero, don’t have a posted score that was manually overridden, and is enrolled in the course.

Image shows pop-up dialog box titled Send Reminder with a Cancel button and a black Send button.

  1. Flexible Grading - instructors can now do a video record, thus providing learners with an audio feedback. There is an audio only option if visuals are not desirable.

Image showing red arrow pointing toward video audio recording icon that is also in red circle outlined.Image showing recording window that appears after video audio recording icon is clicked.

  1. Gradebook - feedback is now available for overridden tests, assignment grades, and automatic zeros. This option is available in the Gradebook view, and the Submissions list AFTER the override or automatic zero is entered.

Image shows red arrow pointing toward Feedback tab in Gradebook view.Image shows red arrow pointing toward Feedback tab in Submissions. The three dotted ellipsis is highlighted by a red outlined box.

  1. Missed Due Dates - instructors can now customized the missed due dates alert in the Alert Settings. This allows instructors to better identify at risk students in the Course Activity Report. Instructors must set up Alert Settings since this is not a default feature.

Image showing the Alert Settings menu in the Course Activity page.

Students who trigger the missed due dates alert will appear in the Course Activity report table, chart and in the downloaded report.

Image shows the Course Activity table with flag alerts next to students' names.

Image shows the chart page with student's name identified with purple dots on the chart.

Instructors with this settings will note alert activities on their Activity Stream.

Image shows instructor's Activity Stream with due dates alerts.

The missed due date alert applies when a student doesn’t submit before the due date in the following:

  • Assessments, including group and formative

  • Assessments with the “collect submissions offline” option selected - when an instructor creates an attempt and enters the submission date/time after the due date

  • Assessments with the “hide student names” option selected - alerts only after all student submissions are graded and student names are exposed

  • Discussions and journals marked for a grade

  • SCORM packages when the “Grade individual SCOs” option is selected in SCORM settings

  • Other 3rd party activities, such as LTI and Respondus.

Special considerations:

  • Students with a due date accommodation never have their work marked late. A student with due date accommodation won't have any missed due date alerts.

  • Students with a due date exception will have a missed due date alert if the excepted due date passes and there is no submission.

  • Students with an exemption never have their work marked late. A student with an exemption won't have any missed due date alerts.

  • Hidden content with a due date or content with date/time and performance release conditions are included in missed due date alerts.

  • Content with a due date and release conditions for individual course members or groups will alert only those students/groups included in the condition who miss the due date.

  • New items added to the gradebook with a due date are not included in the missed due date alerts.

Better Control over Student Alert Notifications - instructors now have access to more options for student alert notifications. Instructors can now choose amongst:

  • Student Last Access Alert

  • Student Low Overall Grade Alert

  • Students Missed Due Dates Alert

Image showing notification options for instructor's Activity Stream.

  1. Forms - forms can support: essay question, Likert question, multiple choice question, true/false question, text, local file, file from cloud storage, and page break. By default, a Form is not graded.

Grades must be manually entered on a Form via Form Submission. Instructors can view participation by Students or Question in the new grading view seen in the image below:

Image shows a Form with participation based on questions in the grading view.

Form results from the Submissions and Gradebook pages are downloadable as an Excel spreadsheet or CSV file as seen below:

Image showing downloadable form from grade view.

Image shows downloadable form by submissions with download all tab.

Likert Availability in Form - instructors now have access to this popular scale measurement in Forms. In Forms, instructors may select a range of 3, 5, or 7 and label the poles as desired. Instructors may also choose to include a "not applicable" option.

Image shows Likert scale with 5 scales.

Note: A Likert question in a Survey created in the Original course view converts/copies to a Form in the Ultra course view. The scale range default is 3.


End of February 2024 Updates

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