There were 24 new features released for the Blackboard Learn Ultra Course View in the last three updates (November and December 2022, January 2023)! Here are a few highlights, or check out What’s New in Blackboard Ultra? for the full list.
Drag-and-drop improvements
The biggest change that you will notice is that drag-and-drop has vastly improved! The entire item is now clickable instead of only the arrows. When you begin to drag the item, it will be highlighted with a purple border and a purple shadow will indicate where the item would be placed when released.
Keyboard reordering is also still possible, if desired.
Course Links
Course links allow you to place multiple links to a single item in your course, making it easier for students to access items that are reused in several places. For example, you might create an Assignment in a single module but link to it in several modules because students work on it for several weeks, instead of telling them to return to the previous module to submit it. Similarly, you might create an Ultra Document once and link to it multiple times for students to quickly reference it.
To add a course link, click the Plus Icon (+) on the Course Content page and select Create from the menu. Select Link in the peek panel and switch to the Create Course Link tab at the top of the page.
Hot Spot Questions
Hotspot questions present an image without any answer options for students to choose. Students must mark a certain area of the image that is within the area the instructor defined as correct.
The hot spot question type in the Ultra Course View is more refined than what is possible in the Original Course View. Notably, hot spot questions can include more than one target location. Hot spot questions can also be created and answered with keyboard controls, which is accessible to more users.
Page Breaks in Tests
With the addition of page breaks, you can control which questions are displayed on each page to allow for grouping of questions on similar topics or with a shared set of instructions, image, passage, or data table.
Page breaks are inserted using the same drop-down menu as any other assessment component, such as text or questions. Page breaks can be used with text, files, all question types, and question pools (i.e., random sets of questions pulled from a question bank or test).
You can also randomize the order of questions on a page or the order of pages!
Randomization of Test Questions with Text Blocks, Files, Images, and Pages
Following the January update, tests containing non-question elements like text blocks, files, or images can now also include randomized question order. The non-question elements are locked in place and questions between those elements are displayed in a randomized order. This allows you to create questions that reference the same set of instructions or content, such as multiple questions about a single data set. Note that the example below has an Instructions text block; this would be held in place as the first item that students see on the test, and questions would be randomized after it.
Model Answer for Essay Questions
The January update introduced model answers for essay questions on Tests. The model answer is visible to you and others (such as teaching assistants) who are grading the submissions to provide more consistency in grading.
Students do not see the model answer when they take the test. If you have configured the test to show correct answers (in the Assessment results settings), students will see the model answer when reviewing their test results.
Automatically Lock Discussions at the Due Date to Prevent Late Posts
Discussions now include a setting to Stop discussion activity after due date to improve the reliability of grades for discussions. This option prevents students from creating new posts, replying to existing posts, and editing their posts after the discussion due date. Students with a due date accommodation can continue to create, reply to, and edit posts, in accordance with their accommodation.
Student Grades Overview and Progress Report
In the Ultra Course View Gradebook, you can view all of the assessments for a single student by clicking their name in the Student List View or the Grid View. The Student Grade Overview page provides you with a quick way to review their performance.
After the November update, the Student Grade Overview page included additional information and tools:
- date that the student last accessed the course
- username
- access to view their accommodations, if any
- access to the Student Activity report
The December release added a Student Progress tab to this report, which focuses on the path each student is taking in your course to provide detailed information on their progress. You must have enabled Progress Tracking for your course to access this report.
In this report, you can view:
- Status of the item for that student, including unopened, started (i.e., first opened), and completed
- Date and time stamp for when the student started (i.e., first opened) or completed an item
- Student information like the last access date, name pronunciation, and accommodations
- Student Activity log, which includes a chart view of student activity as well as a list view of date and duration of the time they spent in the course
Be on the lookout for additional tabs and features to be added to the student overview page, as well as additional ways to view student progress information!
Course Activity vs. Grades Report Moved to Analytics Tab
The Course Activity vs. Grades report is a useful tool for identifying students who may be struggling based on their performance and engagement within the course. This report was available from the Grades page on the base navigation or within the Gradebook Settings panel in a course. Now, this report will be easier to find on the Analytics tab within an individual course.
Learn more about the Course Activity Related to Grades report.
Summary
Which of these updates is your favorite? Let us know in the comments!
There are a lot of exciting features coming soon, as well, including exempting students from individual assessments, marking test questions as extra credit, and much more. Check out What’s New in Blackboard Ultra? for the latest news!
Good use of visualization