20,791 students using Ultra Course View
in Winter 2024
5,487 courses in Ultra Course View
in Winter 2024
1,766 faculty using Ultra Course View
in Winter 2024
What the Migration Means for You
The Future is Now
Beginning in the Spring/Summer of 2023, all courses were created in the Ultra Course View. The Ultra course experience focuses on the following:
- Improved workflows and seamless transition between mobile devices and desktops.
- An updated personalized interface that focuses on the learning process.
- Embedded analytics help keep students informed about their progress and tells faculty quantitative stories about their students’ learning.
- Dynamic and progressive adaptation through monthly Blackboard releases.
Year in Review & Next Steps
Although the migration is complete, we are maintaining this website as a model for other institutions moving to Bb Ultra.
It was a dynamic year in 2023 as we transitioned to Bb Learn Ultra. Discover the highlights of the past twelve months and gain insights into how our team will persistently assist the GV community in the upcoming semester.
Contact your dedicated eLearning liaisons, and don't miss out on our engaging Winter 2024 Webinar series.
Migrating Successfully
Remember the following:
- Every faculty member has their own "Ultra Practice Test Course" where they can explore new Ultra features.
- Faculty can request "template sites" to help with early curriculum development.
- All faculty have been enrolled in a Blackboard site named "Blackboard Learn Ultra Self-Paced Training." Use this site to become familiar with Ultra Course View at your own pace.
- You can find many additional resources on our Instructor Resources for Blackboard Ultra page in the Service Portal Knowledge Base or the Student Resources for Blackboard Ultra page.
- eLearning has put together some tips and tricks for how to best copy content from your Classic courses to your Ultra courses
- The New Semester Checklist is a great place to review some of Blackboard's basic and essential functions.
- See this knowledge base article for best practices and tips for course design in Bb Ultra.
An Ultra Course Tour
What does an Ultra course look like? What are some suggestions for how to organize materials in Ultra? Watch this video for some ideas!
Credit: Michael Reagan, MPNL / Stephanie Webber, eLearning
What Students Say about Bb Ultra
On December 5 and 6, 2023, over 2,000 donuts and cups of hot chocolate were distributed across the Health, Devos, and Allendale campuses to mark the transition to Bb Ultra. Overall, students expressed satisfaction with Ultra, highlighting its user-friendly navigation, the ability to view content without downloading, simplified assignment submissions, and mobile-friendly modern design.
Meet our Ultra Champions!
Grand Valley faculty discuss the benefits of switching to Blackboard Ultra.
Get to Know Blackboard Learn Ultra
Self-Paced Training
All faculty have been enrolled in a Blackboard site named "Blackboard Learn Ultra Self-Paced Training." You can use this site to become familiar with Ultra Course View at your own pace. Faculty can experiment in their Practice Test Course, or request an Ultra Course View template site.
How's your Gradebook Look?
Do you need help organizing your gradebook? Are your assignments all accounted for? Are you using a weighted grading system? Do your points match what you have in your syllabus?
If the last semester left you with a lingering sense that your gradebook was not quite right, fear not – the eLearning team is ready to assist you in getting it sorted out. We will be holding drop-in hours for questions and assistance during the following:
Consultation Requests
Each faculty member has two eLearning Liaisons assigned to their department. You are welcome to request a consultation with an eLearning Technologies team member.
5 Steps for Course Design using Blackboard Ultra
Five Steps for Course Design using Bb Ultra
This series uses best practices in course design in the most time-efficient process possible. Each webinar will cover pedagogy and strategies, as well as plenty of examples on the following topics for designing and building your course.
This five-part series is offered via Zoom and scheduled once a month between 1 pm – 2 pm.
Step 1 Foundational Items TBA
Step 2 Assessments TBA
Step 3 Activities 10/31/23 TBA
Step 4 Navigation 11/21/23 3/19/24
Step 5 Tech Check 12/12/23 4/16/24
More!
Visit our eLearning Technologies webinar page to see a complete list of Blackboard Ultra training options.
Watch short video tutorials about Ultra's main features on this video playlist.
Faculty can also browse our list of Ultra Knowledge Base articles.
See our Top 10 Bb Tools which compare Bb Classic vs Bb Ultra features.
Learn more about Anthology/Blackboard Sponsored Training
For historical information, check out our faculty FAQ page for more information about the migration timeline and previous approaches to training.
Ultra Base Navigation
Webinars
Ultra Base Navigation
Join us in Zoom to learn about Ultra Base Navigation, its components, and how to adjust settings and notifications.
Instructors are encouraged to review our Ultra Base Navigation resources in our service portal.
Video overviews of Ultra Base Navigation
More about Ultra
About the Migration
In Winter 2021, Grand Valley began a process of selecting a new learning management system (LMS). Ultimately the decision was made to migrate to Blackboard's Learn Ultra product.
Ultra Excitement!
On Friday February 3, 2023, eLearning Technologies held two in-person workshops devoted to Blackboard Ultra. Over 70 faculty and staff from across the university attended the events in the Kirkhof Center’s Pere Marquette room. On hand to lead one of the workshops and answer questions were representatives from Anthology, Blackboard's parent company.
Ultra Transition Resources
The Michigan Blackboard User's Group has created this Ultra Transition website with resources to help make the transition smoother. This site is geared toward other higher education institutions that are in the beginning stages of moving to Bb Ultra.
Cloud by Agnieszka Olszewska from NounProject.com / Navigation by Icon Lauk from NounProject.com / Learning by Mrfa Studio from NounProject.com / Pioneer by Phạm Thanh Lộc from NounProject.com / Bird Tangram Puzzle by irene hoffman from NounProject.com