Blackboard Learning Management System
In Summer 2023, KUMC will upgrade from Blackboard Learn to Ultra - the next generation. Ultra offers similar tools and features as Blackboard Original but with more consistent navigation and a cleaner interface.
Here are a few additional improvements you'll notice as you develop your Ultra courses:
- Ultra courses are more optimized for mobile browsers.
- Ultra has improved the discussion board tool.
- Ultra has added visual feedback icons in modules to help students see their progress.
- Ultra has implemented instructional design best practices in content organization.
- Ultra has improved accessibility features.
What you need to know about this upgrade:
- Training will be provided starting in Fall 2022 and will continue through Summer and Fall 2023.
- By default, courses will remain in Blackboard Original course view until Summer 2023.
- Starting Summer 2023, all courses will be in Ultra course view.
We, in TLT, hope this upgrade will provide our faculty with increased flexibility to empower them with tools and resources to help motivate and engage students in multi-modal learning environments.
Fall 2022
- Courses continue to use Blackboard Original course view.
- Ultra-kickoff with training and communication.
- Faculty sandbox course shells set up for self-guided learning.
Spring 2023
- Courses continue to use Blackboard Original course view.
- Continued training and communication.
- A selection of pilot courses begins using Ultra format.
- All Summer 2023 courses upgraded to Ultra and available for Faculty to edit.
Summer 2023
- All Summer courses using Ultra format.
Blackboard Original course view will no longer be available for courses. - All Organizations converted to Ultra format by TLT.
- Continued training and communication.
- All Fall 2023 courses upgraded to Ultra and available for Faculty to edit.
Fall 2023
- All Fall courses using Ultra format. Continued training and communication.
- All Spring 2024 courses upgraded to Ultra and available for Faculty to edit.
TLT is committed to providing the latest versions of the educational tools in use at The University of Kansas Medical Center. Blackboard Ultra is the next generation of the Blackboard Learn LMS and provides many new features for our learners and instructors.
- Blackboard Ultra Course View has a cleaner and simpler, more modern design. It is easier for instructors to add content and easier for students to find it.
- Courses in Blackboard Ultra look and work better on personal devices like phones and tablets.
- Content is displayed on a single page, with folders and modules that expand and collapse.
- Instructors can add files through drag-and-drop from their devices or import from OneDrive.
- Students have control over how they are presented to the class. They can set personal pronouns, preferred nicknames, pronunciation guides, and even a photo in the class roster.
- Blackboard Ultra Course View tracks student progress through a course module. Students can check off when they have completed a task and can pick up where they left off. Instructors can see how students have progressed, and which steps they have started, completed, or not yet begun.
- Blackboard Ultra Course View makes setting accommodations for students easier. Once set, accommodations apply to all tests and assignments in the course.
- Discussion Boards have been massively simplified. Discussions can be added to any part of the course and starting a new discussion topic is simple.
- Redesigned Gradebook is much easier to understand and manage. The "Item List" view shows all coursework and grading progress. The "spreadsheet" view of the gradebook that was used in Blackboard Original is still available as the "Grid" view in Ultra.
Self-Paced Orientation Course
TLT has provided a self-paced orientation course and a practice course for instructors to learn and practice with Ultra. Please plan on spending three to five hours to complete the orientation course.
A self-paced orientation course for instructors is available to help instructors learn how to design, teach, and manage their courses in Ultra. The course includes five modules (Getting Started, Building Courses, Assessing Learners, Enhancing Communication, and Evaluating Your Course), which will provide faculty the basic information needed to get started. Instructors are enrolled as students with quizzes and optional assignments to test their knowledge. Assignments will often refer to working in the accompanying practice course site
A practice course site, Healthy Eating, accompanies the orientation course, which includes sample students with gradable coursework. This course is available to provide faculty hands-on practice.
Contact your school's TLT Liaison for help gaining access to the orientation course and practice site.
Live, one-hour Webinars will be proved by TLT Staff that will cover the topics of:
- Buildings Courses
- Assessments
- Gradebook
- Communication
Please refer to KUMC's Event Calendar for specific times, dates, and weblinks.
Sessions will be recorded and posted in the Ultra Training Videos Library.
At KUMC, online courses are developed and delivered using Blackboard, a comprehensive suite of online teaching and learning tools. TLT assistance is available for all aspects of your online course: advising, designing, developing, training, teaching, and supporting.
- Fully-online courses provide both you and your students with a convenient and effective learning environment, anytime and anywhere.
- Hybrid courses, where some class time is face-to-face and other time is spent learning online, allow you to select the most effective delivery method for the various activities in your course.
- Web-enhanced courses meet face-to-face but include a Blackboard course site to enhance course content and activities, such as online access to PowerPoints, an online gradebook, or between-class discussions.