The Collaborate Ultra tool is still available to all instructors and students via your Blackboard course. Click on Join Session to join the Class Room, or click on the three dots to the right of the Class Collaborate option to create sessions, manage settings, and view recordings. 

Learning modules are still available for instructors to create inside their course content. Click the plus (+) icon on the course content page, then select Create. On the right hand menu, select Learning Module. You will be able to create content inside the learning module. Cover images can now be added to a learning module.

Web links are still available to create. On the Course Content page, select the plus (+) icon, then select Link from the right hand menu.

Changes:

• Announcements can only be posted if the course is available to students. If an announcement is created while the course is unavailable, the announcement is saved as a draft.
• Schedule Announcement has replaced the date restriction options.
• You can no longer link to a specific part of the course using Course Links.
• Announcements are now listed on the top course menu instead of being listed in the main Content Area.

Changes:

• During the Ultra Course Conversion Process, all assignment submissions are deleted. Please be sure to convert your courses before the semester starts, and before any students have submitted assignments.
• You can now add multiple questions to your assignment.
• You can now assign groups to complete the assignment. 
• Portfolios are now no longer an accepted submission type.
• You can now set Peer Review status within the assignment itself, as opposed to a separate content type.
• Assignments can now have an access code so students can open the attempt only after entering the code.
• The number of delegated graders is now limited to a maximum of 2. 
• You can choose to automatically post grades once the due date has passed. This includes automatic zeros posted if the student did not create a submission.

Changes:

• When converting the course to Ultra, content that was copied into Blackboard may lose formatting.
• If an item has multiple file attachments, they will now be listed alphabetically at the bottom of the item.
• You are no longer able to change the color of the title of the item or folder.
• The Track Number of Views option is no longer available.
• Date and time restrictions are now done through the Release Conditions instead of an as an option when creating the content.
• For Content Folders, you are now limited to 3 sub-levels in each main-level folder.

Changes:

• The lock icon is no longer available on the top bar. 
• Course Availability options include:
  • Available: Students can access the course, view content, and submit tests or assignments within the course.
  • Private: This has replaced the Unavailable option. When a course is Private, students are able to see the course on their course list, but cannot access the course or it's content. 
  • Complete: This is a new option. When you mark a course as Complete, the course and the content and grades are still visible to students, but no changes are able to be made to the course, either from the instructor or the students.

New Name: Course Image

Changes:

• You can now add and edit the course image on the left hand menu under Details and Actions.
• You can now choose whether to list it on the course card or to have it visible inside the course as well.
• If the courses page is set to display as Course Cards, users will see the Course Image displayed instead of a pre-generated image.

Changes:

• There is a new toggle to choose between Schedule and Due Dates.
• There is a new toggle to choose between Day or Month view.
• Any item created with a due date will automatically be listed on the course calendar.
• When viewing the calendar inside a course, you will only see dates relevant to the specific course you are in.
• When viewing the calendar from the option on the left-hand homepage menu in Blackboard, you can toggle which courses and calendars you'd like to see. 
• When inside a course, you have the option to add an event, edit the course schedule (dates and times of the class), or add office hours.
• All calendar events now have a URL option when creating for online meeting links.
• The course calendar cannot be removed from the course or turned off.

Changes:

• The course copy is now done from inside the new course, not the old course.
• On the Course Content page, click the plus (+) button to select Copy Items. 
  • You can then select the course to copy from. Click the box to the left of the course name to copy the entire course, or click the arrow to the right of the course name to choose which content item(s) to copy.
• You can copy individual content items, folders, or the whole course during a course copy.
• You can now copy an item from one area of a course to another area within the same course.

Changes:

• Discussion boards are now located on the top bar of the course, on the Discussions header.
• You can create folders for specific groups of discussion boards, or you can create an individual discussion board by clicking the plus (+) icon in the top right.
• You can also create a discussion board by clicking on the plus (+) button on the Course Content page and selecting Discussion from the right hand menu.
• Discussion boards can no longer be anonymous. 
• Discussion boards can no longer be graded by threads. They can only be graded with an overall grade for the forum.
• Discussions can now be housed on the Discussions page, or on both the Discussions and Content pages. If you have a discussion that is not on the Content page and you would like to add it, edit the discussion and select "Display on Course Content Page."

Changes:

• To export a course, click on the three dots in the top right of the Course Content page, then select Export Course Package.
• A new export package will be created automatically the first time you view this page.
• To create a new export package, click the Export icon to the right of Export Package.
• Once a package is created, it will expire after 30 days. You will need to recreate an Export Package if it has been longer than 30 days since it was created.
• To import a course, click on the three dots in the top right of the Course Content page, then select Import Content > Import Course Content.
• The import process works the same as before. You will see an "Importing Course Content" message at the top of the screen while the import is processing. 
• If items are not imported, there will be a display bar across the bottom of the screen showing "# items not imported". You can click on this bar to view more.

New Name: Gradebook

Changes:

• Instructors can choose between two list views: Gradable Items or Students.
• You can also toggle between a list of all gradable items (list view) or a spreadsheet-like view that shows all students, all columns, and their grades (grid view).
• A new option called Overall grade. This lets you choose how the final grade will be calculated. You can also set this up through the Settings tab.
• On the Settings tab, you can now see the Student Performance area. See the Retention Center tab for more information.
• The Settings tab will let you toggle the Automatic Zero function. This will automatically give a student a 0 for a past due assignment. Students are still able to submit the assignment (if late submissions are allowed).
• Course Rubrics are now listed in the Gradebook Settings tab.
• Instructors can now use the Add Calculation or Add Total Calculation for calculating grades.
  • Add Calculation: This will allow you to enter your own calculation formula to calculate grades.
  • Add Total Calculation: This will allow you to create a calculation based on points or weights.
• Instructors now have to Publish Grades in order for students to see their grade. This allows the flexibility of waiting until all submissions for an item have been graded before releasing the grades to students.

Changes:

• The Groups menu is now listed on the top course menu.
• Groups can now only be created in Group Set format. Individual groups cannot be created.
• You can choose to group students by Custom sorting, Self-enroll sorting, or to use the enrollment settings from a previous group set.
• Instructors can use the groups to pre-set breakout groups for Collaborate Ultra.

Changes:

• Item availability is now listed in the top right corner of the content creation page, or under the title of the item in the Content stream.
• The current options for Item Availability are:
  • Visible to Students: Students will be able to see this content at all times.
  • Hidden from Students: This item is unavailable for students to see. Only those with elevated privileges (i.e. instructor or TA) will be able to see the item.
  • Release Conditions: This is the new Adaptive Release feature that allows you to set requirements or timelines for availability. See the Adaptive Release tab for more information.

Changes:

• There is no longer a Journals tool that shows a list of all journals in the course. 
• Journals are now only accessible through the Course Content page by clicking the plus (+) then Create.

Changes:

• Pools are now called Question Banks or Question Pools
• Question Banks are sets of questions imported from another course, or from textbook publishers.
• Question Pools are sets of questions created within a test to ensure each student receives a different set of questions. 
• When importing question banks from another course, import the whole course package on the Question Banks page, and it will only import the question pool. 

Changes:

• Portfolios are now available under the Tools option on the left hand navigation menu on the home page. Portfolios are no longer accessible from within an Ultra course.
• Portfolios are no longer able to be submitted as an assignment. You will need to share your portfolio with your instructor through the More option on the portfolio.

New Name: Student Performance

Changes:

• Student Performance is located in the Settings tab of the Gradebook.
• You can now set up your rules based on Days of Inactivity or Percentage grades fall below.
• When set up, instructors will receive alerts about student activity and grades in their Activity Stream.
• You can also choose to allow students to receive a notification on their activity stream if they fall into these settings.
• Click View Course Activity to view all students and sort by rules or alerts.

Changes:

• The Roster is now listed on the left hand side on the Content page.
• Students can see the roster in the same location as the instructor.
• You can edit a student's Accommodations for the entire course from the roster. Click the three dots to the right of the student name and select Accommodations. 
• You can choose to view the roster in a grid or list view.
• You can choose to view the roster based on roles or who has accommodations by changing the drop down in the top right under All Course Members.
• To add a user, click the plus (+) button in the top right.

Changes:

• Rubrics are now located within the Gradebook Settings tab.
• Rubrics are available as Percent, Percent Range, Points, and Point Range.
• You can now have a maximum of 15 columns or rows. To add a row or column, hover your mouse over the dividing line between the rows or columns where you'd like to add the new option.
• There are no longer options to reorder the criteria or percentage selections. However, you can manually edit the order of the percentages.
• Rubrics can be edited within the assignment or test, once assigned to the assessment.

New Name: Peer Review

Changes:

• Peer Review is now an option inside the grading settings for a new assignment or test.
• You can choose the number of reviews per student, the assessment due date, and the peer review due date.
• Peer Review assessment information should be added to the assignment text when the assignment is set up.
• When peer reviewing others, students will only have one textbox in which to type their review.

Changes:

• While in student preview, instructors can still see all available items and submit assignment or tests.
• Instructors now have 2 options while leaving Student Preview Mode:
  • Save: This will save the session data, including the gradebook entries.
  • Discard: This will discard any data performed in Student Preview Mode, including previous data that was saved from another entry into Student Preview Mode.

Changes:

• During course conversion, question types that are unsupported will be removed.
• All submission data (student attempts and activity history) will be removed during the conversion process. Please be sure to convert your courses before the semester starts, and before any students have submitted tests.
• Files can now be added to individual questions within the test.
• To reuse a question from a Question Bank, select Reuse Question from the Create Question menu.
• Question Pools can be added to a test to ensure that each student receives a different version of the test. Select Add Question Pool from the Create Question menu.
• Questions can be reordered using the up/down arrows to the right of each question.
• When grading a test, you can now Give Full Credit if a question was not clear or multiple answers could be accepted (and the question was not set up to accept the multiple answers).
• Item Analysis is now renamed as Question Analysis.
• Instructors can see the Test Access Log when viewing the grades from the list view, then clicking the three dots to the right of the student's name.
• Instructors can now add a Page Break in between questions.

New Name: Accommodations

Changes:

• Accommodations are available on all gradable items.
• You can set accommodations for students in the roster, and the accommodations will auto-populate on every assignment and test in the course. Enter the roster, locate the student and select the three dots to the right of their name, then select Accommodations.
• The following accommodations are available:
  • Due Date accommodation: Students who have this option selected will never be marked late on any assignment. If the student is in a group, that group will inherit the accommodations.
  • Time Limit accommodation: For a student with a time limit accommodation, you can choose between 50% extra time (time and a half), 100% extra time (double time), or unlimited time. 

New Name: Overall Grade

Changes:

• Calculated columns can now be displayed as points, percentage, or letter grades.
• The formula for the grade is listed in the middle. You can select which categories are added to the grade, along with how they are calculated.
• The overall grade, by default, is the total number of points the student earned divided by the total number of points possible in the course. You can change that by clicking the "Set it up" option on the "Set up the overall grade!" popup, or in the settings menu in the Gradebook.

Suggestions:

• Discussion Boards
• Journals
• Assignment

Suggestions:

• Place the information in an Announcement.
• Create an item with the necessary information.

Suggestions:

• Move the necessary content item to the top of the Course Content page.

Suggestions:

• There is a Student Activity option on interactive tools (i.e. tests, assignments, discussion boards, etc.) you can use. 

Suggestions:

• Use the Batch Edit feature.

Suggestions:

• Create a document or add the content directly into Blackboard's text editor.

Suggestions:

• Create a document or add the content directly into Blackboard's text editor.
• Create the documents inside a folder to group them together.

Module pages have been replaced by the Activity Stream. 

Suggestions:

• Send a course message to the user or users you need to communicate with. Messages have the option of also sending as an email.
• Create an announcement and send a copy as an email.
• Use Qwickly Course Tools to send to multiple courses at once, available from the Tools option on the left-hand navigation bar.

Suggestions:

• Tests
• Assignment
• Forms

Suggestions:

• Turn on Progress Tracking.
• Create a document with a To Do list.

Suggestions:

• Discussions
• Assignments
• Journals

New Tool: Class Conversations

What is it?: Class conversations is a way for students to discuss the content with you as the instructor and with other students. They can share thoughts, ask for help, or answer other students' questions. 

How to use it?: When creating a content item, there will be an option in the Settings menu "Allow class conversations". Once checked, the students will be able to start a conversation about that item. This has to be turned on for each item individually. You can check the class conversation for an item by selecting the three dots to the right of the item and selecting "Conversation" or by clicking on the conversation icon in the top right of an item's description or submission page.

New Tool: Forms

What is it?: Forms are a new tool that instructors can use to gauge interest or opinions, or to poll their students. 

How to use it?: Forms are available under the "Create" menu in an Ultra course. Forms can have some, but not all, of the question types as a test, and has an additional question type for Likert scales. Forms are not anonymized. Forms are not graded and questions do not have correct or incorrect questions.

New Tool: Progress Tracking

What is it?: Progress tracking allows students to mark and track their progress throughout your course. 

How to use it?: Progress tracking lets students mark what items they've completed as they move through your course. For items that require a submission (assignment, test, etc.), the item will automatically be marked as completed once a submission is made. For items that do not require a submission (documents, links to websites, etc.), there will be an icon to the left of the item name for the student to check off once they've viewed the item. There is also a started option, which will appear if students have viewed the item, but have not submitted it or manually marked it as completed. Instructors can view student progress by clicking the three dots to the right of the item name and selecting "Student progress".

New Tool: Student Activity

What is it?: The Student Activity option lets you see when your students open, start, or submit, tests or assignments within an Ultra course. 

How to use it?: On the Course Content page, locate the test or assignment. Click the three dots to the right of the item name, then select "Student Activity". The page then shows several pieces of information:

• Student Activity Overview: Shows you the course average submission time, time to open, and time submitted before due date. You'll also see the number of students for each of the following statues: Unopened, Opened, Draft/Attempt Started, Submitted.
• Grade Distribution chart: Once graded, you will see a chart that shows the distribution of grades throughout the course.
• Student Activity Details: Here, you'll see each student listed individually. For each student, you will see the following:
  • Activity Timeline: This displays a graphed timeline of when the student viewed, opened, started or saved an attempt, and when they completed it. When viewing this area in the chart view instead of grid view, these items will show as date stamps for Accessed After, Date Opened, and Date Started.
  • Start to Finish: This numerical value displays the amount of time the student spent on the assignment or test.
  • Grade: Once graded, you will see each student's individual grade listed in this column.