Creating and Curating Content in Blackboard Ultra

Owned by Heather Ulrich
Last updated: Sep 05, 2024
7 min read

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

Expanded Learning Module titled “Learning Module 1” with content nested inside
A document labeled Module Overview, highlighting the navigation to the next item in the module from the student view.

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!

  1. Place your cursor or tap (if on a touch screen device) wherever you want to add the learning module or folder to your course until you see the purple add content button.

  2. Choose the add content button and select Auto-Generate Modules.

     

  3. Enter a description for your course or use the Select More Items button (also known as the context picker) to select specific content for the Design Assistant to analyze. The Design Assistant will use this information to generate module names, descriptions, and images. If you have clearly defined topics/modules in your syllabus, the AI Design Assistant will generate modules using the same naming convention found in your syllabus.

  4. Customize the output options. Add a title prefix, turn off images, set the language, and choose the number of unique modules to generate.

  5. Select Generate.

  6. Check the box next to each module you want to use.

Remember:

The Design Assistant is meant to be a helpful tool, not a replacement for your own expertise and pedagogical decision-making. You should always review and edit the suggestions the Design Assistant provides to ensure they align with your teaching goals and your students' needs.

Create Manually

  1. Place your cursor or tap (if on a touch screen device) wherever you want to add the learning module or folder to your course until you see the purple add content button.

  2. Choose the add content button and select Create.

  3. From the Create menu, choose Learning Module.

  4. Type a name for your Learning Module and enter a description.

  5. Optional: Decide if the module should have forced sequencing. This prevents students from accessing material out of order.

  6. Recommended: Add an image.

  7. Select Done to add the module to your course content page.

Create a New Folder

Create Manually

  1. Place your cursor or tap (if on a touch screen device) wherever you want to add the learning module or folder to your course until you see the purple add content button.

  2. Choose the add content button and select Create.

  3. From the Create menu, choose Folder.

  4. Type a name for your folder and enter a description.

  5. Select Done to add the folder to your course content page.

Adding Content

Create or Embed Content

  1. Place your cursor or tap (if on a touch screen device) wherever you want to add the learning module or folder to your course until you see the purple add content button.

  2. Choose the add content button and select Create.

  3. Select Document from the Create menu.

  4. Enter a name for your document and begin adding content.

Types of Content You can Add to a Document

  • Content block 
    Add content via the content editor. 

  • HTML block 
    Add content via HTML or CSS in the Document. 

  • File upload block 
    Browse for files on the local machine to upload to the Document. 
    Note: Administrators can define the maximum size of a file that users can upload. 

  • Cloud upload block 
    Login to a cloud service and select a file to add into the Document. 

  • Content Collection block 
    Browse the Content Collection and select a file to add to the Document. 

  • Convert a file block 
    Browse for files on the local machine. Once selected, the system converts the file into the Document format. Supported file types include PDF, PowerPoint (ppt, pptx, pps), and Word (doc, docx, odt).
    Note: It is strongly encouraged that you take time to review the content after it has been converted for formatting and other errors. Some text may convert as an image and will need to be retyped.

  • Knowledge Check
    Add an ungraded multiple choice or multiple answer question to your Ultra documents to help students engage with content and self-assess their understanding of the material. The detailed analytics available only to instructors can help guide their teaching strategies.

Document menu bar

The menu bar remains in view as the instructor scrolls the Document to view, add, or edit content. The menu bar contains the Edit option when in the view state. After selecting Edit, the menu bar displays the following options: 

  • Edit 

  • Add Blocks 

  • Undo/Redo 

  • Cancel 

  • Save 

Resizing and moving blocks 

Instructors can create appealing layouts by resizing and dragging/dropping blocks into columns and rows. 

  • Each row includes a menu with options to move or delete the block. 

  • Each block includes a menu with options to edit, move, or resize, or delete the block. 

Content Blocks

The text editor includes several feature to add content to your document.

  • Text Styles (header, subheader, etc.)

  • Font Styles (font choice, color, and formatting)

  • Add a Table

    In order to create responsively designed tables, all cells are set to be equal width. There is currently no option to merge cells within a table.

  • Align and Format Text into Lists

  • Add Links

  • Add Attachments

    Attachments will display within the document unless the instructor chooses download only.

    Images should be added as attachments. When uploading an image file, you will be able to mark the image as decorative or add alternative text describing the image in context.

     

  • Insert Content:

    • Math Formula

    • Image from the Web (Note: Images from your computer should be uploaded using the attachment option)

    • YouTube Media

    • Cloud Storage or Content Collection

    • Content Market to choose from one of the LTIs

HTML Blocks

Use this tool to embed HTML content, such as a Kanopy video, into your document.

  1. Choose Add HTML

  2. Type or Paste the HTML code into the editor

  3. Select Save

  4. Blackboard will then display the embedded content.

Visit Blackboard’s Help: Create Ultra Documents to learn more.

Upload Files

Upload Files Directly to Course Content

  1. Place your cursor or tap (if on a touch screen device) wherever you want to add the learning module or folder to your course until you see the purple add content button.

  2. Choose the add content button and select Upload.

  3. Locate the file on your computer and upload it to Blackboard.

  4. Edit the Display Name. For accessibility, we recommend including the File Type in the name. For example, “PSYC1101 Fall 2024 Syllabus (PDF)”

  5. Determine whether students should be able to view the document in the browser or download it to their device.

  6. Select Save.

Upload Files to a Text Editor to Attach to a Document or Assessment

You can attach a file anywhere with a text editor.

  1. Open your document or assessment and click into the text editor.

  2. Select the Attachment button (the paperclip icon)

  3. Locate the file on your computer and upload it to Blackboard.

  4. Edit the Display Name. For accessibility, we recommend including the File Type in the name. For example, “PSYC1101 Fall 2024 Syllabus (PDF)”

  5. Determine whether students should be able to view the document in the browser or download it to their device.

  6. Select Save.

Add a Web Link

  1. Place your cursor or tap (if on a touch screen device) wherever you want to add the learning module or folder to your course until you see the purple add content button.

  2. Choose the add content button and select Create.

  3. Select Link from the Create menu.

  4. Enter a descriptive title for the Display Name. Then enter the URL.
    For example, Display Name “Fairfield University Celebrates 74th Commencement Ceremonies” with the URL: https://www.fairfield.edu/news/archive/2024/may/74th-commencement-ceremonies-recap.html

  5. Enter a description. Explain how or when students should access this link.

Link to Publisher Content, Embed a Kaltura Video, and more with LTIs

See Adding LTIs from the Content Market in Blackboard Ultra .

Copy Content from Another Course

  1. Place your cursor or tap (if on a touch screen device) wherever you want to add the learning module or folder to your course until you see the purple add content button.

  2. Choose the add content button and select Copy Content.

  3. Search for the course or organization you wish to copy content from.

  4. Click on the course/organization name to view the content.

  5. Check the box next to any content you wish to re-use.

  6. Choose Start Copy.

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