Ultra Course View Transition Index
Ultra Course View Transition Index
Table of Contents
Original vs. Ultra Comparison
See the examples below to determine which format a course is in. All courses created prior to 2021 are in original course view. Courses created between 2021-2023 may be in either view (the majority are still in original course view). All courses created in 2024 or later are in Ultra course view. See https://su-jsm.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/blackboard01/pages/154385057 for more details.
Original Course View
You are using the original course view if the course menu appears on the left side of your window. This menu is the cornerstone for all original course content. Select an item to open it and the content appears in the main window to the right of the course menu. Opening a folder/item generally takes users to a new browser tab.
Ultra Course View
You are using the Ultra Course View if your instructor's name and picture appear in the upper left of the content area. At the top of the page are navigation links to your main course areas. Ultra courses have one course content page where all course materials are organized using modules and folders. Opening a folder/item will generally expand or pop out the content within the current browser tab.
Blackboard Ultra Course View (UCV or "ultra courses") is an entirely re-designed approach to Blackboard courses, both for instructors to create content and students to participate in courses. It is distinct from Original Course View (OCV or "original courses") which is Blackboard's name for courses as they currently exist. It is also distinct from Ultra Base Navigation (UBN), which refers to the new menu structure that was enabled at Syracuse during the summer of 2021. All courses, whether in original or ultra view, are part of Blackboard Learn.
Ultra Features
Ultra courses provide a number of usability enhancements for both instructors and students.
User Interface Benefits
The following are look-and-feel benefits for ultra courses:
Modern Look and Function — Ultra courses better reflect contemporary web design practices. They are also more accessible and function better on mobile devices.
Streamlined Content Presentation — Ultra courses deliver content in fewer pages with folders and modules that collapse and expand. Blackboard has done extensive user testing and research to come to a design that helps students more easily find the content they need.
Pages with Hybrid Content — A new content type called "Document" allows instructors to create pages that more seamlessly mix text, images, videos, and files. Some file types, like Word documents and PDFs, can be presented in-line rather than requiring a student to download the file to view it.
Easier Content Creation and Editing
Ultra courses include workflow improvements for instructors such as:
Add Content Anywhere — Instructors can now add materials directly where they want in the page, including in between existing items. Instructors can also create more modular content that they can drag and drop to reorder.
Drag and Drop Files — The ability to drag and drop files from your computer to the Blackboard page are greatly expanded.
New Content Editor — The new Content Editor is streamlined to focus on the most common tools for adding text, links, media, and formulas. It also has features to help create mobile-compatible and accessible content.
Communication Tools
Ultra courses enable new ways to communicate with your students or them to communicate with one another:
Conversations — You can enable "conversations" on individual content items or assignments. This lets students ask questions and receive replies about the content in the place where they're viewed. Instructors no longer need to create dedicated discussion boards to address questions about assignments or content items.
Announcement Pop-Ups — Course announcements now appear as a pop-up when students enter a course making it less likely that they'll miss key information.
Messages — Blackboard has always included course messages as a communication tool but it was buried and difficult to use. The new design puts course messages in a better location for in-course communication which could replace some email use
Student Evaluation
The gradebook in ultra courses has been redesigned to include more options for its display and re-organized workflows:
Item View — In addition to the traditional column layout, there is an new mode to view items for grading with summary information about their due date and grading status
Students in the gradebook — Instructors can now search the gradebook for individual students and see all assignments and their status on a per-student basis
Posting Grades — Grades in ultra courses aren't sent to students until you post them. This increases the amount of control instructors have about when students have access to their grades and feedback.
Automatic Zeros — For past-due assignments students can receive an automatic zero. This grade can be overridden by the instructor when the student makes a submission, but helps notify the student when they've missed a due date.
Accommodations — You can now set accommodations on a per-student basis. Once set, the accommodation is automatically applied to all of that student's assessments in the course. Instructors no longer have to go through and add student accommodations for each student on each assessment.
Instructor Training and Sandboxes
Instructors can request an Ultra sandbox for familiarizing themselves with the new interface and tools in UCV. Sandboxes are private, blank course shells that can be used to practice creating and copying Blackboard content, for experimenting with new tools and features, and for storing content in a private location not accessible to any other Blackboard user.
Please register for https://su-jsm.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/blackboard01/pages/154385311 if you are interested in getting a personal sandbox and exploring the new features. Keep an eye on the linked page for more information about ultra course documentation and trainings offered by OLS.
Timeline
The timeline below describes some of the key milestones in the conversion process from Blackboard original to Ultra Course View
Term | Development | Impact |
---|---|---|
Summer 2018 | Transition from hosting Blackboard on-campus to a cloud-based version. | The transition from self-hosting to a version hosted in the cloud allows for more frequent bug-fixes and updates with less downtime along with the ability to enable Blackboard's newest features as they are released. |
Summer 2021 | Ultra Base Navigation enabled. | This changed the look-and-feel of Blackboard immediately upon login, along with the way that users navigated their courses. This was a required step toward enabling Ultra Course View and introduced new ways of interacting with Blackboard at the top-level. It greatly improved Blackboard's accessibility and the way that it functions on mobile devices. There are additional benefits in this navigation level that are only realized once instructors begin using Ultra Course View. |
Spring 2022 | Ultra Course View sandboxes made available by request. | Sandboxes were the first look at Ultra course view for instructors interested in exploring the new features. For information about requesting your own sandbox, see previous section. |
Summer 2022 | Ultra Course View training delivered to selected users. | Online Learning Services partnered with select instructors, primarily SITETL alumni, to get feedback on ultra course view settings and training materials. Selected instructors completed a three-week training program and shared their experiences with the new view in preparation for a broader rollout. |
Fall 2022 | Ultra Course View is used by selected instructors in credit-bearing courses. | A vanguard group of instructors that completed ultra course training received ultra for their credit bearing courses, working closely with Online Learning Services for support. Their experiences informed decisions about system configuration, priority for support documentation, additional training needs, and the timeline for a broader rollout on campus. |
Spring 2023 | Ultra Course View more widely available for interested instructors. | In the Spring 2023 semester, 38 faculty offered 60 credit-bearing courses in Blackboard Ultra Course view for hundreds of students in a variety of formats, from large lectures to small seminars and from undergraduate introductions to graduate-level courses. |
Summer 2023 - Spring 2024 | Instructors increasingly opt-in to teaching in Ultra Course View. | Instructors were increasingly encouraged to adopt Ultra Course View for their Blackboard courses. |
Summer 2024 | Courses created in Ultra Course View by default. | For the Summer 2024 term, Blackboard courses will, by default, be created in the Ultra Course View. Summer instructors who wish to revert to Original Course View can contact help@syr.edu with questions. |
Fall 2024 | All Syracuse University Courses offered in Ultra Course View. | Transition to Ultra Course View complete. All newly created courses starting with Fall '24 courses (created 07/10/24) will be in Ultra Course View. Instructors will retain access to past Original View Courses as a source of material for copying into Ultra Courses and for record-keeping purposes. |