Blackboard Ultra
Blackboard Ultra Course is a new course view that offers a modern, intuitive, and personalized interface. With a simplified workflow and an accessible, fully responsive design, Ultra Course View will make it easier to teach and learn from any device. As of the Spring 2025 term, all course sites at WKU will be in the Ultra course view.
What's new in Blackboard Ultra - Updates
Although Ultra Course View has been available since 2014, Anthology remains committed to continuously enhancing Blackboard. Each month, new features are released, ranging from significant functional updates to minor enhancements.
To help you stay up to date, CITL offers monthly Zoom workshops that review the latest Ultra updates. Be sure to check the CITL event calendar for details.
Below, you'll find a breakdown of the most recent features released. For more comprehensive information, you can also explore the full Release Notes for Learn SaaS or the Archived Learn SaaS Release Notes for older updates.
Instructors:
- AI Design Assistant: Energy-saving image generation improvements
- AI Design Assistant: Learning module generation improvements
- Analytics: New Course Goals reports
- Release conditions panel: Due dates now included
- Usability improvements to Mastery tab in Gradebook
- Copy Banners Between Courses
- Canvas conversion: File upload improvements
- Pop-out rubric when evaluating an attempt
- Enhancements to hiding students with unavailable membership records
- Show/hide calculation columns in the gradebook
- Enhanced Turnitin Report parameters
- Course Access user experience improvements
Instructors and Students:
- Usability improvements for discussions
- Video Studio - Upload 360° videos
- Video Studio - Access transcript in one-quarter size video block
Students
- New student submission review page for tests
- Course Catalog - New student dashboard configuration - 2.14
- Course Catalog - Student achievement notifications - 2.14
- Course Catalog - Correct header levels applied - 2.14
All users:
Instructors:
- AI Design Assistant -- Set a larger maximum number of generated questions and learning modules
- Upload images to documents using the new image block
- Include IP addresses in student activity log
- Change folders to learning modules or learning modules to folders
- Exclude descriptions from learning modules generated by AI Design Assistant
- Improved accuracy when uploading grades and feedback
- Improvements to grade entry for discussions and journals from the Grid view or Submissions page
- Video Studio - Edit captions and transcripts
- Excluded attempts removed from Need Grading count
- Conversion of existing assignments to the new assignment workflow released in 3900.98
- Test Settings usability improvements
Instructors and Students:
- Improvements to avatar size and time stamp positioning for discussion replies
- Mask access code for an assessment
- Improvement to rendering in Bb Annotate
- Improvement to rendering of uploaded files
- Improvements to grading interface
- Video Studio – Add video content within the Course Content page
- Video Studio - Download recording transcripts
Instructors and Administrators
Students
Students and Administrators
Ultra Support
Self-help Resources
Explore a number of resources to help you navigate Blackboard Ultra. Whether you are a new user or looking for answers to common questions, you’ll find step-by-step guides, video tutorials, and more.
Training
Starting in the Spring 2025 term, all courses will transition to the Ultra Course View. To ensure you are prepared, completing an Ultra training is required. The ITS: Blackboard Ultra Training is a completely self-paced training through ITS that focuses on the foundations for using our learning management system and associated tools. To self-enroll in this training, you must log into Blackboard, select My WKU Bb and scroll down to the ITS: Blackboard Ultra Training link. Clicking on the link will enroll you in the training that you will then find within the Courses tab in the Blackboard menu. Without completing this training, you won’t be able to create a Backboard course site for the Spring term.
Need Help?
If you need assistance with Blackboard Ultra please contact ITS at 270-745-700, or submit a support ticket. You can also reach out to CITL at citl@wku.edu.