As Ultra is rolled out to all unit courses from the 2025/26 academic year, we are moving our Ultra Updates to the DEO Service Announcements blog. This will come into effect from the next update, in July.
One of the advantages of our move to Blackboard Ultra is the ongoing potential for new feature releases and updates. New releases take place on the first Thursday of every month and will be communicated in advance via the DEO Service Announcements blog.
This release has new or updated features in the following areas:
Instructional design;
Tests and assignments;
Flexible grading;
Gradebook;
Learner progression and personalized experience;
These improvements impact instructors, students, and administrators. This release contains many small feature changes and updates. Below you will find our top highlights, and more detail of the most relevant updates.
Top highlights
The course page has a new look, incorporating several visual enhancements. The most noticeable of these is that the page structure has changed, with the list of course tools now on the right of the screen. This will help to promote the learning and teaching content, and improve navigability.
Course Content page visual depth improvements
In a course Document you can now add a ‘Knowledge Check’ block which enhances the learning experience by allowing students to engage with content actively and receive immediate feedback on their understanding. This can also help instructors to check understanding for key topics. These are formative tests, and results do not appear in the Gradebook.
The student experience interacting with Knowledge Check
Instructor view of Knowledge Check metrics
Additional Updates:
Course Content Page Enhancements
As part of the continuous improvement of the Blackboard Ultra course view Blackboard have delivered several changes to improve the Course Content page.
The improvements include:
Greater visual depth
Improved page structure
Differentiation among course elements
An enhanced presentation of top-level and nested content
The new design incorporates:
Subtle gradients and softer edges
A more cohesive colour palette with inviting, warmer tones
More intuitive navigation, which reduces cognitive load and increases focus on the content
Course Content page visual depth improvements
Student view: Content item presentation for a Learning Module
Flexible Grading
Exclude attempt when grading
There is now an option to help instructors remove submissions from the grading workflow without having to delete them. Select Exclude Attempt to remove it from the Needs Grading workflow. If an attempt is excluded, the Excluded label appears above the attempt grade and in the attempt selector. Grade calculations ignore excluded attempts.
Instructor view of the Exclude label above the grade and in the attempt selector
New Overview tab in the Gradebook
There is a new gradebook Overview tab which contains two sections: Needs Grading and Needs Posting.
Instructor view of the new Needs Grading count on the Gradebook tab and the Needs Grading section on the new Overview page
For advanced users looking for a full list of all the updates, see the Blackboard Release Notes.
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 help on using Ultra from their ‘Help for Students’ sections (or equivalent) in your Blackboard course.
