Glossary

    A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z #

    A

    Accommodations

    Accommodations allow instructors to mark certain students exempt from high pressure aspects of a course, such as due dates. Accommodations can help students complete  coursework and succeed where they might otherwise be at a disadvantage. To create Accommodations, go to the Roster tool under Details and Actions menu. Find the student who needs accommodations. Click on the elipses (three dots) and choose accommodations.

    Percentages:

    • 5 min per hour = 9%
    • 10 min per hour = 17%
    • 15 min per hour = 25%
    Activity Stream
    The Activity Stream alerts students about upcoming due dates and assignments, and alerts you about their progress and participation. To access the Activity Stream, select Activity Stream in the left-hand menu on the Blackboard landing page. View alerts for students falling behind, absent, and failing within your Activity Stream.
    Anonymous grading
    You must choose this option for each individual Assignment and Discussion you create.

    B

    Blogs
    Blogs are not yet available in Ultra Course View courses. You can use the Discussion Board in Ultra Course View.
    Bulk Edit

    Date Management has been replaced with the Bulk Edit tool, with which you can bulk edit content due dates and visibility. You can also delete multiple course items from Batch Edit. Additional capabilities are planned. Editing must be done one folder at a time. You can edit all top-level folders, learning modules, and course materials at the same time.

    C

    chunking

    Group information into small, manageable units or chunks.

    Collaborate

    Blackboard Collaborate course room and scheduler are available in the Ultra course > Details & Actions area. When a session is in progress, the Collaborate link will flash purple for all users. Collaborate sessions are also integrated with Assignments designated for Group submission, so that group members have a space to meet.

    Content Collection

    To access the Content Collection, select Tools in the left-hand menu on the Blackboard landing page. Additional capabilities are planned.

    Content Editor

    The content (text) editor in Ultra includes the functionalities to format text, add images, embed YouTube videos, and build equations. Colors are limited to ensure a sufficient contrast ratio for improved accessibility. HTML code edition is unsupported, to ensure the text is accessible and mobile-compatible. You can create HTML content blocks in a Document.

    Content Market
    Most publisher integrations are available in Ultra Course View. You should contact your publisher representative for more information. If your publisher has not yet developed an integration for Ultra Course View, use the publisher's website directly with the Ultra Course View, and manually enter data to the Blackboard Gradebook.
    Course announcements

    To create an announcement, select your Ultra Course > Details & Actions > Announcements. Announcements can be scheduled in advance. Announcements appear in a pop-up box when students enter the course and cannot include any formatting (plain-text only). Announcements in Ultra can also be sent to students via email.

    Course Content page

    In the Ultra Course View, all of the content is listed on a single page to make it easier for students to navigate, and links to course tools are organized in the Details & Actions area or along the top right corner of the page. Content can be organized using folders and learning modules, which can open and close.

    Course Image
    When a Course Image is set, it is displayed as the Course Tile on the Courses page in the base navigation. It can also be toggled on to be displayed as a course banner.
    Course links
    In development process, and planned for Ultra Course View.
    Current Grade

    The Current Grade is a calculated item you build to show students a weighted summary of the items you grade and post in their Grades area. Take note:

    • For Semester Modules, this will be the Semester Mark calculation.
    • For Year Modules, this will be the half-year Progress Mark.

    D

    Discussions
    Create Discussions on the content page, such as in a folder or learning module, or directly on the Discussions page. Discussions with grading enabled have a detailed Discussion Analysis feature that provides insight on the level of complexity and critical thinking of a student's posts compared to their classmates.
    Document
    The term "Document" refers to a page in Ultra that resembles a web page. Documents can include images, text, uploaded files, and HTML content. If you only need to add a file without accompanying text, use the Upload option instead.

    E

    ellipses

    The three dots are called ellipses and represent a menu.

    Embed Media
    Images and web-based videos can be embedded within a Document in the Ultra Course View. Video can only be embedded from select sources, including YouTube and Vimeo. For other platforms, such as social media or news sites, you will need to simply create a link to the video or paste the embed code into an HTML block in a Document.
    Exception

    There are times when unforeseen circumstances lead an instructor to grant a student extended access or additional attempts for a specific assessment. Access it from the Gradebook, List View, Students. Click on the student. For the specific assessment, click on the ellipses (three dots) and choose Add or edit exceptions.

    Exemption

    When a student could be excused from an assessment and their marks should be adjusted accordingly, you can exempt that assessment. Access it from the Gradebook, List View, Students. Click on the student. For the specific assessment, click on the ellipses (three dots) and choose Add or edit exemption.

    F

    File Upload
    Upload files from your desktop or cloud storage. Files can also be dragged and dropped into your course. PDF files that are uploaded directly to the Course Content stream will open in a new tab, and all files that are uploaded as part of a Document must be downloaded and then opened from the computer.
    Folders

    Folders organise content within the course outline, and open and close to make it easier for students to find specific files or Documents. Folders can have short descriptions to tell students what contents are inside. Folders can be set as visible or hidden, and the setting affects all contents inside a folder. To prepare your course for conversion to Ultra, we recommend that you nest your content two (2) levels deep, and keep your folder descriptions to up to 250 characters.

    G

    Goals and standards
    Assessments can be aligned to specific Goals, including Assignments, Tests (including individual questions), Discussions, and Rubrics.
    Gradebook
    The default Gradebook view is a list of graded items. Assign automatic zeroes for assessments that are not submitted by the due date. Grades are not visible to students by default; use Post when you have grades ready for your students to see. Keep track of assignment submissions: select the Grid view, search for the student in the search bar. View when students last accessed the course by switching to the student list view. Setup the Overall grade to display percentages instead of letter grades.
    Groups

    Create Groups manually or randomly from: 

    1. Course Groups: In the Details & Actions area, allow you to send Messages to a subset of students. 
    2. Discussion Groups: Created in the settings for a Discussion, allow you to limit students to viewing and interacting in discussion only within their group. 
    3. Assignment Groups: Created in the settings for an Assignment, allow students to make a single Assignment submission on behalf of their group and assigns the same grade to each member of the group.

    J

    Journals

    Journals can be created by using the + menu to create content, selecting Participation and Engagement > Journal.

    L

    Learning Modules
    Learning Modules can contain multiple files, Documents, Assignments, Tests, folders or Discussions, and you can force students to view the content sequentially by using Release Conditions and selecting the Sequence checkbox. This also allows students to track what they have completed in the module.
    Link

    To create a link to web content, you can create a link directly in your course by selecting the plus menu (+) Create >Link.

    M

    Messages

    The updated Messages tool allows you to communicate with students via email. Messages retain a copy of the conversations in Ultra Course View and include the option to send the contents to students via email. To access Messages, select the envelope icon in the upper-right corner of the course, or use the Messages link on the left-hand menu on the Institution Page. Additional capabilities are planned for sending messages based on course activity, course role, or group membership.

    P

    Parallel Grading
    Currently, parallel grading allows for two (2) non-student course members to grade the same student submission, and for a separate individual to reconcile the grades. Additional capabilities are planned.
    Peer Review
    Assignments can now be designated for peer review. Select Peer Review in the Assignment settings, then set up Peer Review settings such as the number of reviews per student, the due dates for initial submissions, and peer reviews. Peer reviews are anonymous, but the instructor can see the review assignments and who provided feedback. Students provide qualitative feedback. Connect it with a rubric to guide the review process.
    Profile
    To access the Profile, select your name in the left-hand menu on the Blackboard landing page. Use the Profile feature to add a photo of yourself, and update who can view your profile information. Full name and email address are automatically updated. To share additional information within each individual course, you can create a Document (page) with the information you would have included in your Contacts profile. Information about office hours can be added to the Calendar.
    Progress Tracking
    Progress Tracking helps students determine whether they have completed course requirements.

    Q

    Question Analysis
    Run Question Analysis for a single test by clicking the ellipsis (...) button next to it in the Course Content view, or by clicking the pie chart icon in the upper right. Additional capabilities are planned.

    R

    Release conditions
    Items can be made available based on date and time, performance (such as a grade on another item), and by individual or group membership.
    Roster

    Available in the Details & Actions area within an Ultra course. You can view the full student roster, enroll a teacher assistant or another Instructor, or add an accommodation for a student (such as extended timers) that apply to all assessments in the course.

    Rubrics
    Rubrics are available for all assessment types, adjusted to a maximum of fifteen rows and columns. Additional capabilities are planned.

    S

    SCORM

    To add a SCORM package in your Ultra course, select the plus sign (+) to add content, select Create > SCORM package > Upload SCORM package or Browse Content Collection.

    Student Activity
    This report summarises student activity on an assignment or a test. Access it by selecting the three dots menu next to the specific assignment or test, and choose Student Activity. It provides information about whether students have opened the assessment, how long they had it open, and their grade. Select the three stripes above the list of students to reveal date opened, started, time from start to finish, and grade. You can also download the student activity details as an Excel spreadsheet.
    Student Preview

    Access via the Enter student preview mode button in the Details & Actions area within an Ultra course. Click the ellipsis (...) menu in the upper-right corner to exit student preview.

    T

    Tests and Question Banks

    Reuse questions from other Tests or from Question Banks. 

    Manage Question Banks in the Details & Actions area. 

    Questions can be displayed in random order for each student, and can be randomly assigned from a pool (e.g., each student receives 5 random questions from a set of 10 questions). 

    Questions are displayed all-at-once or one-question-at-a-time. 

    Prevent Backtracking is available for one-question-at-a-time display. 

    A setting to prevent students from viewing their submission is available.

    V

    VoiceThread

    Add through Content Market option under the plus menu (+) in Course Content or in the Books & Tools course menu item.