Blackboard Ultra Course View Faculty Quick Start Guide

Modified on Wed, Apr 8 at 5:25 PM

TABLE OF CONTENTS

What is Blackboard Ultra?
Self-Paced Course: Faculty Training for Ultra
Create Course Content
Create and Share Media Content
Student Work and Participation
Create and Manage Groups
- Create Course Groups
- Assign Group Work
Copy Course Content
Set Content Visibility and Release Conditions
Communicate with your Students
- Announcements
- Messages
Navigate and Set Up the Gradebook
- Gradebook Setup Tutorial
- Access the Gradebook
Grade Student Work
Manage Student Accommodations
Progress Tracking and Student Progress Reports
View Your Course as a Student (Student Preview)
Additional Resources and Support

What is Blackboard Ultra?

Blackboard Ultra is the latest version of Blackboard. It has been redesigned from the ground up and features a modern, mobile-first design and intuitive navigation. Features include:

A responsive mobile friendly experience. Move from phone to tablet to computer seamlessly.
Improved accessibility.
Consistent navigation for students across courses.
Progress tracking.
Streamlined grading.

Blackboard releases new features and improvements every month! Some of these features are large updates with completely new functionality while others are small enhancements. Check out our roundup of new features we think you'll enjoy: What's New in Ultra?

Self-Paced Course: Faculty Training for Ultra

The Self-Paced Course: Faculty Training for Ultra, is a short self-paced tutorial to introduce you to creating content for your Blackboard Ultra course. It should take approximately one hour or less to complete.

To enroll in the course, to go Enroll in the Self-Paced Course: Faculty Training for Ultra.

You will see the option to self enroll in the course. Click Submit to enroll in the course.

You will then see a confirmation message. Click OK to continue to the course.

After enrolling in the course you may access it at any time from your Courses page.

Create Course Content

Your course creation starts on the Course Content page. Here you can create Learning Modules or Folders in which to organize your content, copy content from a previous course, upload content from your computer, link to online resources, etc.

When you design your course, we recommend that your content be “chunked” into discrete, manageable units of learning. This could be by week, unit, topic, or whatever will help to present materials in a meaningful and helpful way.

Upload Your Syllabus

Upload your syllabus to your course so that your students can easily access it. Upload your syllabus as a Word file (DOC, DOCX) and run the Microsoft Office Accessibility Checker to ensure that your syllabus is accessible to all users.

In your Course Content area, click on your Course Syllabus and Student Resources folder to open it. Hover your mouse over the location in the folder where you wish to upload your Syllabus. A purple line with a plus sign (+) will appear. Click on the plus sign to open a menu and select Upload.

Locate the file on your computer and select it to upload. You will then be prompted to edit your file options. You may edit the file's display name and decide how you would like students to interact with your document: view and download, view only, or download only.

In the file options, you may edit the document display name and choose if students can view and download, view only, or download only.

Click Save to save your changes.

By default, any content you upload to your course will be Hidden from students. To make your syllabus visible, click on the visibility setting to open a menu. Then select Visible to students.

For more information on updating the visibility of your course content, refer to the Setting Content Visibility and Release Conditions support article.

Create Learning Modules

Learning Modules help you organize course content into a clear, engaging path. They let students move through materials sequentially or explore at their own pace, using the Table of Contents or navigation buttons to track progress. You can personalize modules with thumbnail images and include a wide range of content—such as folders, Ultra Documents, assignments, tests, discussions, links, and more—making them a flexible way to support any objective, concept, or theme.

To create a Learning Module, click on the + button anywhere on your Course Content page. Select Create and then select Learning Module.

Give your Learning Module a name and decide whether to make it visible to students. You have the option to write a short text-only description (maximum 750 characters) and decide whether to force sequence. You may also personalize your module by uploading an image or using a stock image from Unsplash. Click Save to save your changes.

Once you create a Learning Module, click on it to open. Then click the + button to add content within it. You may add folders, Ultra Documents, assignments, tests, discussions, files, links, and more.

For more information refer to the Create Learning Modules support page or watch the Create Learning Modules tutorial video.

Create Folders

Like Learning Modules, Folders allow you to organize your content in a meaningful way. Use folders to organize related documents, projects, etc. For example, create a folder to share PowerPoints shown in class.

You may create folders on your Course Content page or create folders within Learning Modules.

To create a Folder, click on the + button anywhere on your Course Content page, within a Learning Module, or within another Folder. Select Create and then select Folder.

Give your Folder a name, decide whether to make it visible to students, and provide an optional text-based description (maximum 750 characters). Click Give your Folder a name, decide whether to make it visible to students, and provide an optional text-based description (maximum 750 characters). Click Save to save your changes.

Once you create a folder, click on it to open. Then click the + button to add content within it. You may add additional folders, Ultra Documents, assignments, tests, discussions, files, links, and more.

Convert Folders to Learning Modules or Convert Learning Modules to Folders

You may easily convert Folders into Learning Modules by clicking on the More Options (three dots) menu. This will open a menu. Select Change to Learning Module.

You may also convert Learning Modules into Folders. However, this will remove the additional features of Learning Modules, including the image, forced sequence options, and student navigation. Click on the More Options (three dots) menu. This will open a menu. Select Change to Folder.

Create Ultra Documents

An Ultra Document lets you present a variety of content—text, images, video, attachments, links, Knowledge Checks, and more—all in one place. You can use it to build rich course materials by combining multiple visual and textual elements into a single, streamlined item. Ultra Documents are built with flexible block types, giving you control over layout, design, and how your content is displayed.

To create an Ultra Document, click on the + button anywhere on your Course Content page, within a Learning Module, or within a Folder. Select Create and then select Document.

Give your Ultra Document a name and set the visibility status. Next, select the type of content block you wish to add. Content blocks allow you to design Ultra Documents by adding different types of content.

There are several different block types to choose from, but the most frequently used are Content, Image, File Upload, and Knowledge Check.

Content block: The Content block is the most common (and familiar) block type. A Content block utilizes the the text/content editor to add and format text, links, file attachments, images, media, etc. This is most similar to an Item in Original courses.
Image block: The Image block allows you to upload images from your computer, add royalty-free images from Unsplash, or use AI to generate an image. You will have the options to change the aspect ratio and reposition the image, add a caption, and add alt text or mark the image as decorative.
File Upload block: The File Upload block allows you to upload a file from your computer. You may select whether your file may be view only, download, or have the ability for students to both view and download. Do not upload media files (ex mp3, mp4, mov) via this method. Instead, create a Content block and use the text/content editor to add media content.
Knowledge Check block: The Knowledge Check block allows you to create multiple choice and multiple answer questions for students to engage with and receive immediate feedback. Watch the Knowledge Checks in Blackboard Documents video tutorial for more information.

If you create multiple blocks, you can create a more visually appealing layout by resizing and moving them into columns and rows.

For more information about Ultra Documents, including all block types, block styling options, and how to create a document layout, refer to the Create and Manage Ultra Documents support article.

Upload Files

You may upload files directly into your Course Content area or into a Learning Module or Folder. When you upload a file you have the option to give your students viewing and downloading privileges. Supported file types include DOC, DOCX, HTM, HTML, PDF, PPT, PPTX, XLS, XLSX, RTF, TXT, ZIP, and most image types.

You can upload files from your computer to your Course Content page, within a Learning Module, or within a Folder. To upload your file, click the + button and select Upload.

Select your file. You will then have the option to edit the file's Display Name and decide how students can interact with the file (view only, download only, or view and download).

Alternately, you may drag and drop files and folders by locating the file(s) on your computer and dragging and dropping it into your desired location.

When you upload files and folders to your course these items are hidden from students by default. You may update the visibility of the file individually or use the Batch Edit tool to update multiple items all at once.

Files: Best Practices

Media (audio and video files): Do not upload media files (ex mp3, mp4, mov) directly into the Course Content area or within a Learning Module or Folder! For detailed information and instructions for sharing media in myLesley, please refer to the Managing Media in myLesley Support Article.
Scanned Documents: When you scan a text, such as a book, journal article, newspaper article, etc., the resulting document is an image of the text. These scanned PDFs are considered completely inaccessible to all users. Additionally, scanning text, journals, etc. and uploading them to your myLesley course, may be a violation of copyright and fair use. For more information and resources, refer to Accessibility Checklist: Don't use scanned PDFs.
Link to Online Content: Link to content that you find online (including journal articles and library resources). This helps to drive additional traffic to the site and show that the content is being used. Additionally, downloading files, journal articles, and library resources and then uploading them to your course may be a violation of copyright. Need help finding online resources? Questions about fair use and copyright? Reach out to a librarian: asklib@lesley.edu!

Link to Online Content

To create link, click on the + button anywhere on your Course Content page, within a Learning Module, or within a Folder. Select Create and then select Link.

Give your link a Display Name (ex the title of the website or article), enter the Link URL, and enter an (optional) description. Click Save to save your changes.

Refer to the Web Links support article for more information and detailed instructions.

The best way to share media (audio and video) with your students will depend on whether it is media you have created or media that others have created.

Media You Created (Kaltura Media)

To share media you have created, including recorded lectures or narrated presentations, upload your media to myLesley via Kaltura Media.

Kaltura provides a lot of advantages, both to you and your students, including:

Compatibility: Kaltura will accept a large amount of media types and automatically convert it to versions your students can view, regardless of their device.
Accessibility: Kaltura will automatically caption your media content. Accurate captioning of audio and video content ensures that people who are Deaf and hard of hearing can understand your content. Additionally, captions are very useful to non-native English speakers, viewers watching in a sound-sensitive environment such as a library, can help viewers with learning disabilities or attention deficits maintain concentration, and can help all learners improve comprehension.
File Size: Students do not have to download content. Instead, the media is hosted on Kaltura's servers and streams through myLesley. Additionally, uploading your media to Kaltura does not impact your overall course file size (all courses have a 5 GB data limit and communities have a 50 MB data limit).
Privacy and Security: Kaltura content cannot be downloaded by anyone who is not the owner, nor can they be shared on other websites.

You may add Kaltura Media directly into an Ultra Document, Discussion, Assignment, or anywhere you see the Text/Content Editor.

Locate the place where you want to add content and click the Insert Content (+) button in the content editor. This will open a menu. Select Content Market.

This will bring you into the Content Market. Scroll down to Institution Tools and select Kaltura Media.

This will take you to your Kaltura My Media, where all of your Kaltura media is stored. From here, you may upload new media, embed media you uploaded previously, or record new media.

For more information and detailed instructions, refer to:

Media Created by Others

If you are not the creator of the media or do not have permissions from the publisher, you cannot upload the media into your course. This includes copies of DVDs that you have purchased. If the content exists on the web (ex YouTube, Vimeo, PBS, library media databases), you may either link to it or embed it in your course.

Do not download media from the internet or library databases and and upload it into myLesley or Kaltura as this may violate copyright!

Have questions about fair use and copyright? Reach out to a librarian: asklib@lesley.edu!

Managing Media in myLesley

For more information about managing your media content in myLesley, refer to the Managing Media in myLesley support article.

Student Work and Participation

You can create your Assignments, Tests, Discussions, and Journals in the Course Content area, right alongside other content. This enables students to access their course content and submit their work all in the same place. When you create Assignments and Tests, a Gradebook item is created automatically. If you set your Discussions and Journals to be graded, this will also create a Gradebook item.

Create Assignments

You can easily create Assignments alongside other content in your course, allowing students to easily find and submit their work. Once students submit their Assignment, you may review their submissions, grade, and provide feedback.

To create an Assignment, click on the + button anywhere on your Course Content page, within a Learning Module, or within a Folder. Select Create and then select Assignment.

Give your Assignment a name, select the visibility, and enter the instructions. Use the Text/Content Editor to add any relevant links, images, attachments, and more. Click Save to save your instructions.

Next, click the Assignment Settings (gear icon) to add a due date and grading information, attach a rubric, enter a description (which will appear on the Course Content page), and more.

For more information and detailed instructions, refer to the Create and Grade Assignments support article or watch the Creating Assignments video tutorial.

Create Tests

Ultra Course View allows you to create tests alongside other content in your course. Your students will take their test online and you may then grade your students' test submissions and provide feedback.

To create a Test, click on the + button anywhere on your Course Content page, within a Learning Module, or within a Folder. Select Create and then select Test.

Give your Test a name and click the + icon to start creating test questions. Select a question type to begin.

Currently, you can create the following question types:

Calculated Formula
Calculated Numeric
Essay
Fill in the Blank
Hotspot
Matching
Multiple Choice
True/False

For more information, please refer to the Question Types support page.

By default, each test question is worth 1 point each. You may edit the points per question or mark the question as extra credit.

Click on the Test Settings (gear icon) to add a due date, select presentation options (ex randomize questions and/or answers), set the number of attempts, when the grade will be posted, how students receive their score and feedback, and more.

For more information, refer to the Create Tests support page or watch the Create a Test tutorial video.

Create Discussions

Blackboard Ultra features robust Discussions that support student engagement and critical thinking. You can create discussions for specific lessons, the course as a whole, and/or create group discussions. You also have the option to grade your discussions and specify due dates and participation requirements.

To create a Discussion, click on the + button anywhere on your Course Content page, within a Learning Module, or within a Folder. Select Create and then select Discussion.

Give your Discussion a name, select the visibility, and enter a prompt. Use the text/content editor to format your text, add links, images, attachments, and more. Click Save to save your discussion prompt.

Next, click on the Discussion Settings (gear icon) to add grading and participation information, prevent students from editing published posts, allow anonymous responses, and more.

Click Save in the Settings panel to save your changes.

For more information, refer to the Create, Manage, and Grade Discussions support article or watch the Create Discussions video tutorial.

Create a Journal

A journal provides a personal space for students to communicate privately with you. You can use a journal as a self-reflective tool for students to post their opinions, ideas, and concerns or you can use it as a tool for students to analyze course-related materials.

To create a Journal, click on the + button anywhere on your Course Content page, within a Learning Module, or within a Folder. Select Create and then select Journal.

Give your Journal a name and enter a prompt. By default, Journals are not graded. Click on the Journal Settings (gear icon) to add grading information, (including a due date, points possible, a grading rubric, etc.), and select whether students may edit or delete their own entries or comments.

For more information, refer to the Journals support page or watch the Create a Journal tutorial video.

Track Attendance

You can use the Attendance tool to track your students' attendance. You may also include Attendance as part of your students' Overall Grade.

From the Course Content page, go to the Details & Actions menu and select Mark Attendance. This will bring you to the Attendance tool. The first time you access the tool you will be prompted to Add Attendance.

Once you Add Attendance, the Settings panel will open. You may change the attendance value for Late and decide whether or not to include an Excused option. You may use Attendance as a grade or toggle the option off to track attendance but not have it count towards your students' Overall Grade. Click Save to save your changes.

Once the Attendance tool has been set up, you may begin tracking your students' Attendance. Use the Meeting view to track the day's attendance or go to the Overall view to view attendance history, create new meetings, or view summary statistics.

For more information and detailed instructions, refer to the Attendance support article or watch the Attendance Tracking tutorial video.

Create and Manage Groups

Group work can be very beneficial for students, teaching them skills such as time management, sharing diverse perspectives, developing approaches to resolving differences, and more. For more information on the benefits of group work, refer to The Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning: Group Work.

Create Course Groups

Course groups are ideal for when you want students to work with the same group of students over a period of time.

To create a Course Group, click on the Groups link at the top of the page. This will bring you to the Groups page. Click New Group Set to create a new group.

Give your group a name. In the Group Students area, select whether you want to create a custom group, randomly assign students to groups, or allow students to self-enroll in groups.

For more information and detailed instructions, refer to the Create and Manage Groups support article or watch the Create Groups tutorial video.

Assign Group Work

When you create Discussions and Assignments, you have the option to assign them to course groups or create a new group.

Group Discussions

You may create a Group Discussion when creating your Discussion or you may edit an existing Discussion and assign it to groups. From your Discussion, click on your Discussion Settings.

In the Additional Tools section, select Assign to groups.

This will open the Groups page. In the Group Students menu, you may create a new group set specific to this discussion or you may select an existing course group.

Refer to the Group Discussions support page for more information and detailed instructions.

Group Assignments

You may assign an assessment to a group when you are creating or editing an Assignment. Click on the Assignment Settings (gear icon) to open the Assignment Settings Panel.

Scroll down to the Additional Tools section and select Assign to groups.

This will open the Groups page. In the Group Students menu, you may create a new group set specific to this Assignment or you may select an existing course group.

Refer to the Group Assignments support page for more information and detailed instructions.

Copy Course Content

Ultra makes it easy to copy materials from one course into another. You may choose to make an exact copy of a course or copy individual items from one course into another.

Copying content from an Original course into Ultra? The Should I Create New Content in Ultra or Copy From an Original Course? support article will guide you through the types of content that you may copy from Original and which types of content you should create new in your Ultra course.

When you copy content from a previous course into your current course, certain items, such as Due Dates, are included in the copy. In order to prevent students from seeing old information while you are updating your content, we strongly suggest setting your course to Closed before copying your course. The Set Course Availability in myLesley support article will walk you through the process.

To copy content, go into the course you wish to copy content INTO. On the Course Content page, locate the place where you wish to add content (such as on the Course Content page or within a specific Folder or Learning Module), click the plus sign (+) to open the menu and select Copy Content.

This will bring up a list of all courses in which you are enrolled. Scroll through the list or use the search bar to search for a specific course.

To make an exact copy of a course, click the checkbox next to the course to select it. The entire course will be brought over to the Selected Items column. Click Start Copy to copy your course.

To copy individual items, click on the name of the course you want to copy from. This will display a list of categories. Select a category to see items available for copy. You may select and copy as many items from the course as you wish, including entire modules, individual items/Ultra Documents, assignments, discussions, rubrics, and more.

As you select content, it will be listed in the Selected Items column. Once you have selected the desired content, click Start Copy to copy your content.

The copy process may take several minutes to complete.

More information, including information about common copy errors and how to fix them, may be found in the Copying Ultra Courses support article.

Set Content Visibility and Release Conditions

All content you create or copy from another course is hidden from students by default. You may change or update your content's visibility setting either when creating/editing the content or after the content appears in your course.

Content may be hidden from students, visible to students, or you may set release conditions (release content by date, by users, or by student performance).

If your folder or learning module is hidden from students or set to release at a later time, your students will not be able to view the content inside of it, regardless of its visibility settings.

Set Content Visibility

When creating or editing your content, click on the visibility drop-down menu to change its visibility status. You may make your content visible to students, hidden from students, or set release conditions.

You may also change the content availability directly from the course content page. Click on the content visibility drop-down menu to change an item's visibility status.

Set Release Conditions

You can set release conditions to determine when content is available to students. If you have a student, or group of students, who needs access to content earlier than the rest of the class you may set multiple rules to give students different access dates.

You may set Release Conditions for any item in your Course Content, including Learning Modules, Folders, Ultra Documents, Assignments, Tests, and more.

Locate your item and click on the visibility drop-down menu. Select Release Conditions.

You will then create rules for your release conditions to specify who has access (all course members or individual students or groups) and when they have access (based on dates or performance).

For more information refer to the Setting Content Visibility and Release Conditions support page or watch the Release Conditions tutorial video.

Batch Edit

The Batch Edit tool allows you to update common settings across your content (such as visibility and due dates), bulk delete content, and more.

On the Course Content page, click on the Options Menu (three dots on the right side of the page) and select Batch Edit.

This will bring you to the Batch Edit page. Click the check box next to the items you want to update. You can choose entire Folders or Learning Modules, or individual items. If you select an entire Folder or Learning Module, all items within it will also be selected. You may click to open a Folder or Learning Module in order to select individual items within it.

Once you have selected your items you may:

Edit Dates: Edit due dates on selected items. You may change the dates by a select number of days, based on course start, or change to a specific date/time.
Edit Visibility: Choose whether to show or hide the selected items for students. This is especially useful if you copied content from a previous course or did not update your visibility settings when creating content.
Delete Items: Delete all selected items.

For more information, refer to the Batch Edit support article or watch the Batch Edit tutorial video.

Communicate with your Students

Communicate with your entire class at once using the Announcements tool or communicate with individual or groups of students using the Messages tool. As a best practice, use the Announcements tool for communications to the entire class.

Announcements

Announcements are a great way to post time-sensitive information or notifications to your students. Ultra courses display an Announcement as an overlay, requiring the student to dismiss the pop-up before they can access the course content. Announcements can also be emailed as well as viewed in the Activity Stream.

To create an Announcement, click on the Announcements tab. This will bring you into the Announcements area. Click on the + button to create a new Announcement.

Give your Announcement a title and enter a message for your students. You may choose to email a copy of the Announcement to your students and/or schedule the Announcement to send at a later time.

Click Save Draft to save your Announcement as a draft or click Post to post your Announcement immediately. If you scheduled your Announcement, it will not post or send the email until the specified date/time.

For more information, refer to the Announcements support page or watch the Create Announcements tutorial video.

Messages

Course messages are private and secure communications sent within your course and among course members. You may send messages to communicate with individuals, groups, or the entire class.

To send a Message, click on the Messages tab. This will bring you into the Messages area. Click on New Message to create a message.

In the Recipients area, select who you would like to message. A copy of your message will be sent to your recipient's email automatically. By default, your students can reply to your message, but you may uncheck this option.

Enter your message and click Send.

For more information, refer to the Messages support page or watch the Messages Tutorial Video.

Navigate and Set Up the Gradebook

The Gradebook allows you to grade submissions, track student engagement, message students, add student accommodations, send reminders, and more.

Watch the Gradebook Overview tutorial video for an overview of the Ultra Gradebook.

Gradebook Setup Tutorial

If you are new to the Gradebook, the Gradebook Setup Tutorial will walk you through planning and setting up your Gradebook in Blackboard Ultra—starting with outlining your grading structure, creating all gradable content, and adding any remaining manual grade columns. Once set up, your Gradebook will be organized and ready for you to navigate, review, and grade student work efficiently.

Refer to the Gradebook Setup Tutorial for details.

Access the Gradebook

Click on the Gradebook tab in your course to access the Gradebook.

The Gradebook's intuitive navigation provides four different views: Overview, Gradable Items, Grades, and Students. Each view allows you to view and interact with the content in a different way, depending on your current needs.

Gradebook Overview

The Gradebook Overview is designed to help you easily stay on top of your grading and features two sections: Needs Grading and Needs Posting.

Needs Grading: The Needs Grading section highlights the items ready for grading. Click on Grade Now to begin grading.
Needs Posting: The Needs Posting section highlights the graded items ready to be posted. Click on Post Now to post the grades.

Gradable Items View

The Gradable Items view lists all the gradable items in your course. When you create a gradable item in your Course Content (ex Assignment, Test, graded Discussion, etc.) a column will be added to the Gradebook automatically. Items with missing submissions after the due date will display in red.

Select an item’s name to go to its Submissions or Grades & Participation page. Or select x to grade to go directly to the submission page and start grading.

Grades View

The Grades view displays each student’s grade for a specific assignment. When you create a gradable item in your Course Content (ex Assignment, Test, graded Discussion, etc.) a column will be added to the Gradebook automatically. You will see one student per row and one gradable item per column. This view is most similar to the Full Grade Center in Original Course View.

Click on a cell to view a student’s submission, start grading, provide feedback, or add/edit exceptions.

Students View

The Students view lists the students in your course, along with the date they last accessed your course and their overall grades. Students with accommodations have a purple flag next to their name.

Click on a student's name to go to their Student Overview. Here you will find your student's name, their preferred pronouns and name pronunciation (if they provided that information), the date they last accessed your course, and their Overall Grade. You may also view their activity in the course, add or manage accommodations, send a message, or click on an item to grade their work and provide feedback.

For more information and detailed instructions, refer to the Blackboard Ultra Gradebook and Grading support article.

Grade Student Work

Grade Assignments

You will grade your Assignment from the Assignment's Submissions page. You may access this page from multiple areas:

Base Navigation: Click on Grades, locate the course, and select the Assignment you want to grade.
Course Gradebook: Click on the Gradebook tab in your course and locate your Assignment. You may access it from the Gradable Items view or the Grades view.
Assignment: From within your Assignment, click on the Submissions tab.

Once you have arrived on the Submissions page, select a student's name to view their assignment and begin grading.

This will open the grading page. your student's submission will appear in the middle of the page with panels on the left and right side. You may click on the arrows to expand or collapse the Students Panel and the Feedback and Rubrics Panel. If your student has submitted more than one file, they will appear on separate tabs above the Bb Annotate tools.

As you review your student's submission, you may use the Bb Annotate tools for inline grading, grade with a rubric, and provide feedback to your student.

For more information and detailed instructions, refer to the Blackboard Ultra: Create and Grade Assignments support article or watch the Grading Assignments tutorial video.

Grade Tests

You will grade your Test from the Test's Submissions page. You may access this page from multiple areas:

Base Navigation: Click on Grades, locate the course, and select the Test you want to grade.
Course Gradebook: Click on the Gradebook tab in your course and locate your Test. You may access it from the Gradable Items view or the Grades view.
Test: From within your Test, click on the Submissions tab.

Once you have arrived on the Submissions page, select a student's name to view their test and begin grading.

You will have the option to grade the Test by Student or by Question. The test questions will appear in the center of the page and you may expand or collapse the Students panel and the Feedback panel depending on the task you wish to do.

Students/Questions Panel:

Select Students to grade the test by student or select Questions to grade the test by question.
Expand the panel to view the list of students or questions and select one to begin grading. You may collapse the panel to view more of the submission while grading.
Use the Grading Status filter to display all students or select the Needs Grading filter to focus on remaining grading work.
Click Post Grades to post grades for all graded students.

Submissions:

If the question(s) are graded automatically you will see the students' scores for each question.
If the question(s) are not graded automatically, you may enter a score for each question.
Select a question's Feedback button to add feedback specific to the student's response.

Feedback Panel:

Expand or collapse the feedback and rubrics side panel to add feedback for the attempt or grade with a rubric (if one is available).
Use the Record Feedback option to add a video or audio recording of your feedback. Students can watch or listen to your feedback alongside any text you include.

For more information refer to the Grade Assessments with Flexible Grading support article.

Grade Discussions

By default, discussions are not a graded activity. If you would like to grade your discussion, go into the Discussion Settings and select Grade Discussion.

Once selected, you will see additional settings, including due dates and participation requirements, maximum points, and the option to attach a rubric. Refer to the Discussion Settings support page for detailed information.

Once your students post their discussion responses, you can begin grading. Discussions are graded from the discussion's Grades & Participation page. You may access this page from three areas:

Base Navigation: Click on Grades, locate the course, and select the discussion you want to grade.
Course Gradebook: Click on the Gradebook tab in your course and locate your discussion. You may access it from the Gradable Items view or the Grades view.
Discussion: Open your discussion and click on the Grades & Participation tab.

Once you arrive on the Grades & Participation tab, you will see a list of all of the students in your course, whether they have participated in the discussion, their grading status, and their grade. Click on a student's name to begin grading their work.

Your student's responses and replies are highlighted so that you can read their contributions in context. At the top of the page, click on the grade pill to enter a grade or to open and grade with a rubric (if using). Click the Feedback (+) icon to open the feedback panel and provide feedback to your student.

For more information, refer to the Grade Discussions support article or watch the How to Grade Discussions tutorial video.

Manage Student Accommodations

Blackboard Ultra offers different ways of accommodating your students, depending on your their needs. This may include extended due dates on Assignments and Tests, untimed Tests, an exemption from a course activity, or early access to course content.

Set Assignment and Test Accommodations: You can set Accommodations for individual students to allow for extended due dates and additional time to complete tests. Accommodations are tied to the individual student and are applied to all Assignments and Tests within the course. Students will not see the accommodations that you have added.
Grant Assessment Exceptions: When special circumstances arise, you can give an individual student an Exception for a specific assessment. You may give the student additional submission attempts, reschedule the due date, or extend access to the assessment. Exceptions are tied to the specific Assignment or Test and do not affect other assessments in the course.
Exempt students from a graded activity: In some circumstances you may need to exempt a student from an assessment or course activity. Exemptions can be applied to any item in the Gradebook including Assignments, Tests, Discussions, Journals, and more. Exemptions are tied to the specific Gradebook item and do not affect other course activities. When a Gradebook item is exempt, it will not be included in the student's Overall Grade calculation, marked late, or assigned an Automatic Zero.
Set Release Conditions: You may set release conditions to determine when content is available to students. If you have a student, or group of students, who needs access to content earlier than the rest of the class you may set rules to give students early access. You may set Release Conditions for any item in your Course Content, including Learning Modules, Folders, Ultra Documents, Assignments, Tests, and more.

For more information and detailed instructions, refer to the Manage Student Accommodations in Blackboard Ultra support article.

Progress Tracking and Student Progress Reports

Progress Tracking allows students to keep track of what they have done in the course. Students can track their progress within a Learning Module as well as any content on the Course Content page. Additionally, instructors can track student progress throughout the course, providing insight into student engagement.

Watch the Actionable Data Insights video to learn more about Progress Tracking see the tool from both an instructor and student standpoint.

For more information, refer to the Progress Tracking and Student Progress Reports support article.

View Your Course as a Student (Student Preview)

Student Preview allows you to review your course content from a student's perspective. You can check the course's look and feel, ensure release conditions are functioning as intended, submit Assignments and Tests, check grades and feedback from a student perspective, and more.

Click the Student Preview button on the course menu to enter Student Preview.

For more information, refer to the Student Preview support article or watch the Student Preview tutorial video.

Additional Resources and Support

Student Quick Start Guide

This guide contains information for students taking an Ultra course: Taking Your First Ultra Course? Here's What You Need to Know.

Blackboard Ultra Training Options

Choose the training option that best suits your needs! Whether you prefer to go at it alone, or want extra support and training on your journey, we have an Ultra training for you: Blackboard Ultra Training Options.

Unable to attend one of our trainings? Email elis@lesley.edu to set up an appointment or request a small group training.

What's New in Ultra?

Blackboard is releasing new Ultra features and improvements every month! Some of these new features are large updates with completely new functionality while others are small enhancements. Check out the highlights some of the newer features and improvements that we think you'll enjoy: What's New in Ultra?

Faculty Online Office Hours

Have questions about myLesley? Need assistance? Join the eLIS staff for our weekly online office hours every Monday and Thursday, 2:00 - 4:00 ET. No appointment necessary: Join eLIS Online Office Hours.

Contact Us

Reach out to eLearning and Instructional Support (eLIS) at elis@lesley.edu with any questions or to request a 1:1 or small group training.