Course Layout & Navigation

Original to Ultra Transition:

General Layout & Navigation:

• Reply all in messages

• IMPORTANT Manage course access from Course Settings

Mobile Improvements:

• Landing page enhancements for Blackboard Learn Mobile app 

• Long names visible and sorting controls for the Student Activity report for assessments on small devices and mobile app 

• Email notifications for followed discussions (mobile)

Communication

• Send a copy to email when scheduling announcementsSend a message to a group from Group Spaces

• Email notifications for followed discussions

Content Design

• Usability improvements for Documents

• Usability improvement for Knowledge Checks

• Improvements to file uploads for Content Designer: Enhanced Documents 

• Convert Content Areas to Learning Modules

  • Note: this has been enabled at Fairfield University

• Math formula enhancementDocuments

• Improvements to content blocks for Content Designer: Documents

AI Tools:

• Image Generation ImprovementsImprovements to AI Design Assistant Outputs

• Improvements to AI Design Assistant Image Generation

• Expanded language Outputs for AI Design Assistant

Accessibility

• Download Original File from Alternative Formats Dialog

Assessments & Grading

AI Tools:

• AI Design Assistant – Context picker for Learning Modules, Assignments, Discussions, and Journals 

• New Assessment Type! AI Conversation 

• Generate question banks

Assessment Settings:

• Supporting multiple performance criteria in release conditions

• Multiple rules for release conditions

• Default question points value changed from 10 to 1 

• Anonymous student responses for Forms

• Multiple attempts for Forms assigned to groups

• Improvements to the Group Submissions page

Printing Assessments:

• Print answer key for assessments

• Improvements to prevent printing a question across pages

Gradebook ImprovementsGroups:

• Improved Gradebook navigation

• Weighted Calculation Improvements

• Add question feedback when grading a test by question

• Auto-submitted indicator in attempt logs 

• Edit gradebook category for Partner Cloud content 

• Student feedback remains visible to students regardless of release condition settings

• Usability improvements for flexible grading 

• Add question feedback when grading by student in Flexible Grading 

• Calculations changed from using BigDecimal to BigFraction

• Needs Grading improvements for assessments allowing multiple attempts

• Needs Grading improvements for Students and Questions tabs

• Recording audio and video when adding per question feedback

• Improved navigation between students in Flexible Grading

• Hide unenrolled students from the gradebook 

• Status information removed from the gradebook download file

Groups:

• Self-enrollment group improvements

Discussions

• Anonymous posts for Discussions 

• Ability to ‘Follow’ Discussions for Enhanced Engagement Assessment

• Self-enrollment group improvements

Tests:

• Generate question banks

Discussions

• Anonymous posts for Discussions 

• Ability to ‘Follow’ Discussions for Enhanced Engagement Assessment

• Email notifications for followed discussions

Gradebook Improvements:

• Enhancements to student submission review page

• Flexible Grading performance improvements 

• Quickly access items that need grade reconciliation

• Show/hide columns from instructors in the gradebook

• Direct grade entry for assignments from the Grid view or Submissions page

AI Tools

UnSplash uses your content to generate search terms for royalty-free images to embed in your course. It can also be used to Generate AI images.

Design Assistant generates course structure, test questions, authentic assessment, discussion, and journal prompts, and rubric suggestions based on existing content or key words entered into the tool. These suggestions are aligned with Bloom’s Taxonomy.

• Generate question banks

• Improvements to AI Design Assistant – Context picker for Learning Modules, Assignments, Discussions, and Journals Image Generation ImprovementsOutputs

• Improvements to AI Design Assistant Image Generation

• Expanded language Outputs for AI Design Assistant

Course Layout & Navigation

Announcements

• A number indicator in the top navigation will show any new announcements to increase visibility

  • Students can mark announcements as read/unread

• Post announcements from the creation window

Communication

General Layout and Navigation

• Skip navigation using the new skip to course information link or tab directly into course information

Mobile Enhancements

• Rebranding with the updated Anthology logo

Communication

• Improvements to self-enroll groups

• Reply to Messages from Email if Allow Replies is checked

Content Design

• Content Designer: Enhanced Documents

  • Customize page layout with multiple columns

  • Embed knowledge checks into course content

• Broken Link Checker

• Multiple Release Condition Rules by individual users or groups

• Suggested text for image alternative text using AI (Requires instructor review to ensure description is contextual)Improved UX when resizing blocks on Ultra Documents

• Batch Edit default selection will be “Change to specific date or time”

Assessments & Grading

All Assessments/Content

Assignments

• Student pop-ups for large, unsupported, or corrupted files prior to submission

Tests

• Ability for students to de-select answers on True/False questions

• Item Statistics (including average and standard deviation)

• Print Tests with Question Pools

Forms

• Anonymous Forms

Discussions:

• Follow discussions

  • Improved notifications

Gradebook

• Document grade adjustments with private notes

• Mastery of Learning Outcomes

AI Tools

• AI Socratic Exercise - AI conversations as an assessment question typeNo updates scheduled

Discussions

• Indent paragraphs in responses

Journals

• No updates scheduled

AI Conversations

• Improved interface when adding new AI Conversation assessments

• Conversation Types: Socratic Questioning or Role Play

Gradebook

• Download a student’s activity log

• Improved visibility of late submissions

• Grade override improvements - An assessment grade will only count as an Override if there is no existing submission by the student.

AI Tools

• AI Conversations

  • Improved interface when adding new AI Conversation assessments

  • Conversation Types: Socratic Questioning or Role Play

• AI Design Assistant

  • Rubric generation upgraded from GPT 2.5-GPT 4o mini