Creating and Curating Content in Blackboard Ultra
- Heather Ulrich
Courses are populated into Blackboard with a standard template which includes a link to BNC Course Materials, a Course Introduction Folder with resources and tips to get started with designing your course, and an Additional Tools and Resources folder containing information on popular tech tools. You can reorder, hide, delete, or add new items to the course content to customize your student's experience within your course.
Wherever you want to add content to your course, choose the add content button and select the tool you wish to add.
By default, all new content is hidden from students. If you would like to set a date restriction on the folder or learning module (e.g. Week 2 won’t open until the second week of classes, but you have already prepared the content), you can set a date range. All content within the folder or learning module must also be individually made available to students even if the parent folder or module is available.
Folders vs Learning Modules
Folders and Learning Modules are both great options for organizing your course content.
Learning modules become incredibly valuable when structuring your Blackboard course by topic or week. They allow students to progress through the material one item at a time, eliminating distractions and unnecessary clicks. This helps students immerse themselves in the topic by presenting content in a logical sequence, ensuring students grasp key concepts before moving on. Content Pages in Original Course View will convert as Learning Modules.
Folders are a great option for additional resources or supplemental materials that don't necessarily require a specific order.
One key difference between Original and Ultra Course View is how descriptions are handled. Ultra removes formatting from learning module and folder descriptions. While this speeds up loading times for the course content page, it might affect the visual presentation of your content if you copied it directly from an Original course.
Learning Module Example: Create a learning module for Unit 1 and include a document with objectives, any additional course content, and any assessments within this learning module.
Learn More: Learning Modules
Folder Example: Create a folder for Homework, another folder for Exams, and another folder for PowerPoints.
Learn More: Folders
Create a New Learning Module
Create Using the AI Design Assistant
If you’re looking to re-organize your content or inspiration as you design a new course, Blackboard's AI Design Assistant may be able to help!
Place your cursor or tap (if on a touch screen device) wherever you want to add the learning module or