Author: jamie.gilder

Ultra Update – April 2025

Posted on by jamie.gilder

This release has new or updated features in the following areas: 

  • Instructional design;
  • Communication and collaboration;
  • Gradebook;
  • Learner progression and personalised experience;
  • Upgrade to Ultra.

These improvements impact instructors, students, and administrators. Below you’ll find our top highlights, and more detail on the most relevant updates.

Top Highlights

Indicator if student has or has not reviewed feedback

In the Gradebook, instructors can now see whether or not students have reviewed assessment feedback. An indicator on the student Overview page displays whether a student has reviewed the feedback for a given assessment.

When a mark is posted, a label shows Not reviewed with the existing Completed label in the Status column. When the student reviews the feedback, the status updates to Reviewed with a review timestamp.

A screenshot of the student overview page showing the new 'Reviewed' and 'Not reviewed' indicators in the status column for an assignment and a test.
Image 1. Instructor Gradebook view has Reviewed and Not Reviewed labels in the Status column.

Replace Feedback column with actionable Results column in student Gradebook

To encourage students to review their submitted assessments in the Gradebook:

  • A new Results column replaces the Feedback column
  • A View button in the Results column replaces the Feedback column’s purple feedback icon

When a mark is posted and the new mark indicator (purple circle) is turned on, the View button displays for the assessment.

Screenshot of the previous view of the student Gradebook. Three assignments show a purple circle 'new mark' indicator and a purple speech bubble in the Feedback column.
Image 1.  The previous view of the student Gradebook included a Feedback column with a feedback icon and new grade indicator when feedback was available for review.
Screenshot of the new view of the student Gradebook. An assignment and a test display a new Results column with a View button for each.
Image 2. The new view of the student Gradebook includes an actionable Results column with the new grade indicator turning off after the student views the feedback.

Please see the Release notes for further information.

Other updates include:

Enhanced marking experience for group submissions

Content designer: print document

Full details on other updates in this release can be found on these Blackboard pages.

Further help and support

For more guidance on using Blackboard Ultra please explore this site Ultra Essential Guidance via the site menu on the right. 

Students can view an Ultra orientation and advice on using Ultra from their Help for Students sections (or equivalent) in your Blackboard course. 

Ultra Update – March 2025

Posted on by jamie.gilder

This release has new or updated features in the following areas: 

  • Instructional design;
  • Tests and assignments;
  • Communication and collaboration;
  • Gradebook;
  • Learner Progression & Personalised Experience;
  • Integrations;
  • Learn core and security.

These improvements impact instructors, students, and administrators. Below you’ll find our top highlights, and more detail on the most relevant updates. 

Top Highlights

Release conditions panel: due dates now included

When instructors set up release conditions for a content item, the item’s due date now displays below the date and time fields. Instructors no longer need to go back to the item to check the due date, saving time and reducing the potential for errors.

Screenshot showing the release conditions panel with the Date and time fields highlighted. Below the Access from field is some grey text: 'Select a date before Jan 24, 2025, 11:59:59pm due date', and some red text: 'Selected date cannot be after due date'.
Image 1. The due date of a content item now displays below the date and time fields.

Pop-out rubric when marking an assignment

When marking an assignment, instructors can now pop out the marking rubric into a separate, moveable window. The pop-out rubric is formatted in a grid view. Previously, the rubric was only available in a side panel and formatted in a stack. This update provides a clearer, more comprehensive view of the rubric during marking and lets instructors view the student submission and the rubric side-by-side. Instructors can quickly select performance levels and provide feedback in the rubric while viewing a submission.

Screenshot showing two browser windows side by side. The left window shows a submission being marked, the right window shows the pop-out rubric in grid format.
Image 1.  Instructors can pop out the rubric by selecting the expand icon in the rubric panel.

Please see the Release notes for further information.

Anonymous discussions: new privilege to reveal author

System administrators or other users with the assigned system role privilege can now reveal the identity of the author of an anonymous discussion post or reply. This enhancement addresses instances where the anonymous feature is misused, such as bullying or other inappropriate behaviour. Instructors can create anonymous discussions and feel confident that any misuse can be quickly resolved.

There’s now a warning that informs users that their identity can be revealed by an authorised user.

Screenshot of a Blackboard discussion with anonymous posts enabled. Next to the Post anonymously tick box, a warning is displayed: 'To ensure safety and compliance, authorised users have the ability to identify anonymous authors'.
Image 1. The new warning is associated with the Post anonymously option.

Please see the Release notes for further information.

Full details on other updates in this release can be found on these Blackboard pages.

Further help and support

For more guidance on using Blackboard Ultra please explore this site Ultra Essential Guidance via the site menu on the right. 

Students can view an Ultra orientation and advice on using Ultra from their Help for Students sections (or equivalent) in your Blackboard course.

Ultra Update – February 2025

Posted on by jamie.gilder

This release has new or updated features in the following areas: 

  • Instructional design;
  • Tests and assignments;
  • Communication and collaboration;
  • Gradebook;
  • Learner Progression & Personalised Experience;
  • Learn core and security

These improvements impact instructors, students, and administrators. Below you’ll find our top highlights, and more detail on the most relevant updates. 

Top Highlights

Test Settings usability improvements

To improve the test-building experience, the Settings panel for tests has been streamlined. It no longer includes the following assignment-specific options:

  • Collect submissions offline
  • Use grading rubric
  • Maximum points
  • 2 grades per student
  • Peer review
Screenshot showing the test settings panel with assignment-specific options removed.
Settings panel with assignment-specific options removed.

Upload images to Documents using the new image block

An image block has been added to Documents, providing greater control over content design. Image blocks can be moved throughout a Document, just like other block types.

Screenshot showing a suite of icons representing content types. The new 'image' content icon is highlighted with a blue box.
The new image block option in Documents.

 Other updates include:

Full details can be found on these Blackboard pages.

Further help and support

For more guidance on using Blackboard Ultra please explore this site Ultra Essential Guidance via the site menu on the right. 

Students can view an Ultra orientation and advice on using Ultra from their Help for Students sections (or equivalent) in your Blackboard course. 

Ultra Update – January 2025

Posted on by jamie.gilder

This release has new or updated features in the following areas:  

  • Instructional design
  • Mastery learning and learning pathways
  • Gradebook
  • Learn core and security 

These improvements impact instructors, students, and administrators. Below you’ll find our top highlights, and more detail on the most relevant updates.  

Top Highlights

Add Submission Attempts for Release Conditions

Instructors can now use item submission status for a release condition. For example, an instructor who wants students to access a document only after submitting a quiz would use a release condition. Students can access content items without needing to wait for a grade to be posted. 

Screenshot showing the release conditions menu and the performance criteria drop-down menu. 'Attempt submitted' is highlighted.
Image 1. The new Attempt submitted option is in the dropdown menu for a gradable item in the Release conditions panel.

Show/hide columns from instructors in the gradebook

Instructors can now configure column visibility for their gradebook view, ensuring a cleaner and more organised workspace when grading. There is a new Items Management page accessible from the Gradebook Settings panel. From this page, instructors can configure visibility for a single column selection or in bulk.

The student view of any grading-related page is unaffected. If an instructor hides a column from their gradebook, that column continues to appear for students.

Set default automatic zeros to off in the gradebook for new courses

The Assign Automatic Zeros for Past Due Work option is now turned off by default for newly-created Ultra courses. Existing courses are unaffected. Changing the default setting to off prevents students from automatically receiving zeros for past due assignments. Instructors can turn on automatic zeros for late submissions in the Gradebook Settings panel.

Other updates include:

Improvements to file uploads for Content Designer: Documents

Improvements to AI Design Assistant Image Generation

Improvements to AI Design Assistant Outputs

Full details can be found on these Blackboard pages.

Further help and support

For more guidance on using Blackboard Ultra please explore this site Ultra Essential Guidance via the site menu on the right.

Students can view an Ultra orientation and advice on using Ultra from their Help for Students sections (or equivalent) in your Blackboard course.  

Ultra Update – December 2024

Posted on by jamie.gilder

This release has new or updated features in the following areas: 

  • Instructional design;
  • Communication and collaboration;
  • Learner progression and personalised experience;
  • Flexible grading;
  • Gradebook;
  • Integrations;  

These improvements impact instructors, students, and administrators. Below you’ll find our top highlights, and more detail on the most relevant updates.

Top Highlights

AI Design Assistant: Rubric Generation Improvements

The AI Design Assistant will now generate more complex rubrics more quickly. Instructors can expect better rubric generation, even for long, complicated assessments.

Screenshot of rubric generation screen, showing configurable settings for complexity, rubric type, and a generate button.

Discussion Enhancement: New Post Indicator

A New indicator now displays next to posts and replies that a user has not yet accessed. This helps direct engagement by making new discussion activity easier to find and access. 

Screenshot showing the new post indicator. The word New appears in capital letters and highlighted in purple next to the time the post was made.

Link to Attempt Log Added to Activity Log

You can now go directly to the attempt log for any test or assignment from the activity log by selecting the Attempt Log button associated with the item.

Screenshot showing the activity log, with an attempt log column on the right-hand side. For several items, a selectable icon shows in this column.

Further help and support 

The full release notes for this update can be found here: Release Notes for Learn SaaS | Blackboard Help

For more guidance on using Blackboard Ultra please explore this site Ultra Essential Guidance via the site menu on the right.