Tag: blackboard ultra

Merging Courses 2025-26

WordPress User [kaw] Blackboard, Ultra Leave a comment

Now that the 2025-26 modules are available to teaching staff, we can link them together at the module co-ordinator’s request. This process is called merging courses (previously known as parent-childing) and works with courses in Blackboard Ultra. Linking courses together is an effective way of dealing with separate courses with the same content so you don’t have to upload materials to two or more different courses.

This process makes one course the Primary (previously parent), whilst the other course(s) becomes Secondary (previously child). There’s no limit on how many secondary courses you can make but there can only be one primary.

If you’d like to merge any courses, we invite module coordinators to contact elearning@aber.ac.uk 
indicating the module codes for the primary and every secondary course in the following format:

Primary module code: secondary module code/s

Examples from Aberystwyth

Many members of staff are currently using the merge course facility across the institution. Some examples are:

  1. Modules are taught the same content but there’s a module available for different years.
  2. Modules that bring together different degree schemes and have different module IDs, e.g. dissertation modules.

Essentially, any module/course that shares the same content is ideal for Merging courses.

What do students see?

Students will see the name of the course that they are enrolled on (even if it’s the secondary course) when they log into Blackboard but they will see all the content placed in the primary course. Instructors will not be able to place content in the secondary course.

Things to consider

Now, before the start of term and whilst course content is being built, is the perfect time for linking your courses. Whilst the linking of courses does save time in the loading of materials, here are some points to consider:

  • All content can be viewed as soon as the courses are merged (as long as students are enrolled on the course). In addition to PowerPoints and lecture materials, this also includes Announcements and other interactive tools on your primary course.
  • Historical student interactions on a secondary course (such as using blogs or posting in discussion boards) won’t be available once the courses have been merged.
  • Any submission points created on a secondary module before the merge takes place will no longer be able to be viewed. We would advise creating these again in the primary course.

How do I control content so that it is only viewable to a module cohort?

Whilst all content is automatically visible once the courses are merged, you can use groups and adaptive release if you only want the content to be visible to a specific module cohort. This might be useful, for example, if you have merged a 2nd year and 3rd year course but your students on the different courses have separate assignments. You can use groups – 1 for the 2nd year students and one for 3rd year students and limit who can see the assignment information and submission point. See our guidance on Creating Groups and Release Conditions (previously ‘adaptive relesease’ in Blackboard Original).

Merging Courses and the Grade Book

Once the merging takes place, all students will appear in the Grade Book of the primary course. You can, however, determine whether they are enrolled on the parent course as this information displays against the student in the Grade Book columns. 

If you’d like further information on this process or have any questions, please contact us on elearning@aber.ac.uk.

What’s New in Blackboard Learn Ultra – August 2024  

WordPress User [rsf09] Blackboard, Monthly Update, Ultra, Ultra Leave a comment

The August Blackboard Learn Ultra update includes enhancements to Ultra Documents, Forms, Release Conditions and Discussions. 

Enhancements to Blackboard Learn Ultra Documents 

The Blackboard Learn Ultra August update included enhancements to the creating and editing functionality of Blackboard Learn Ultra Documents.   

For those unfamiliar with Documents, they are an easy way to create content in Ultra, ensuring compatibility with mobile devices and Blackboard Ally. As this update to Documents is a significant change to content organisation, we have written a separate blog post which can be found here. 

Anonymous student responses for Forms 

Anonymous responses in forms encourage honest and candid feedback from students and help participants feel safe and secure knowing their identities are protected. Anonymity leads to more genuine responses that convey the respondents’ true opinions and experiences. Additionally, it increases participation rates and the overall quality of the results.  

Instructors can now collect anonymous submissions in Forms. The new Anonymous submissions option appears in the Grading & Submissions section of Form Settings. 

Image 1. Anonymous submissions option 

The Grading and Submission settings with Anonymous submissions selected

When you select Anonymous submissions, these settings are enabled by default:  

  • Due date 
  • Prohibit late submissions  
  • Prohibit new attempts after due date  
  • Complete/incomplete is selected as the grading schema for non-graded forms  
  • When grading, the submission earns the points assigned; you can’t edit or override the points earned 

Additional important details to note:  

  • Anonymous forms cannot be administered to groups.  
  • Class conversations are not supported when Anonymous submissions is selected.  
  • To ensure anonymity, student activity, exceptions, exemptions and accommodations are not supported.  
  • To ensure anonymity, student progress/statistics are not captured.  
  • Modifications to form questions and settings are not permitted if the form has submissions and the due date has passed.  

From the Submissions tab for a form, you can view an anonymized list of students participants along with this information and options:  

  • Student submission status 
  • Grading status and grade – At submission, the grading status is set to Complete and the grade is marked (for example., 5/5)  
  • Post — Graded forms post automatically  
  • Download all – You can download all form submissions 

To view responses, select an anonymous student from the list. You can enter overall feedback for their submission.  

  • For ungraded forms, the text “Submitted” or “Not submitted”  
  • For graded forms, the grade  

From the Gradebook, before the due date for an anonymous form, “Anonymous” appears in the cell for each student. After the due date, the cells display:  

From the Grades tab, you can select Download Gradebook to download responses to forms with anonymous submissions. 

Blackboard has taken care to ensure students know when their submission to a form is anonymous. The Anonymous icon and label appears on:  

  • the Content Page  
  • the Form panel where they start the attempt and view their submission  
  • the Details & Information section that appears while responding to the form 

Image 2. The Student view of the Anonymous label and icon for a form 

Student view of the Details and Information settings with the Anonymous label and icon for a form 

Improvements to creating assignments (not Turnitin) 

Instructors need robust, easy to use tools when creating their assessments.  

To create a better experience, the new Assignment page includes these improvements:  

  • A new Instructions box where instructors can use the full content editor to craft assignment instructions. 
  • There are no options to add questions to an assignment.  
  • The Settings panel now includes only options relevant to assignments.  
  • Blank attempts are no longer created when students view assignment instructions. The system only creates an attempt when students add content to the file drop zone / content editor. Note: Group or timed and proctored assignments continue to create attempts when students view the instructions. 

Image 1. Instructor view of the New Assignment page with the new Instructions box 

Instructor view of the New Assignment page with the new Instructions box 

Image 2. Instructor view of adding instructions to an assignment 

Instructor view of adding instructions to an assignment 

Image 3. Students view of the new Assignment Information panel and the View Instructions option 

Students view of the new Assignment Details and Information panel and the View Instructions option 

Image 4. Student view of the assignment instructions 

Student view of the assignment instructions 

Multiple rules for release conditions 

Instructors need to release course content based on performance criteria to sequence students on learning paths correctly. Sometimes they also need to release content to different groups using different criteria. To support this needed flexibility, instructors can now create multiple rules for release conditions.  

You can create rules for release conditions based on these criteria: date, time, and grade range performance criteria. You can also create rules for specific individual learners, groups, or for all members. 

Image 1. The new Release Conditions page 

The new Release Conditions page 

Ability to ‘Follow’ Discussions for Enhanced Engagement 

Discussions are an important part of the course experience, allowing for easy collaboration between all course members. The ability to engage and re-engage with discussions ensures that collaboration is active and lively. Users can re-engage when they know there are new posts by following the discussion.  

Key Enhancements:  

  • Follow Discussions: Users can follow select discussions and receive notifications for new contributions from peers or instructors.  
  • User Notification Settings: New notification options for the Activity Stream settings allow users to manage notification types for discussions:  
    • Activity on my responses  
    • Activity on responses I have replied to  
    • Responses from instructors  
    • Responses for followed discussions  
    • Replies for followed discussions  

Image 1. New ‘Follow’ option inside a discussion 

the new ‘Follow’ option inside a discussion 

Image 2. New user notification options for the Activity Stream 

New user notification options for the Activity Stream 

Image 3. Notifications being delivered to the Activity Stream 

Notifications being delivered to the Activity Stream 

Merging Courses 2024-25

WordPress User [brr26] Blackboard, Ultra Leave a comment

Now that the 2024-25 modules are available to teaching staff, we can link them together at the module co-ordinator’s request. This process is called merging courses (previously known as parent-childing) and works with courses in Blackboard Ultra. Linking courses together is an effective way of dealing with separate courses with the same content so you don’t have to upload materials to two or more different courses.

This process makes one course the Primary (previously parent), whilst the other course(s) becomes Secondary (previously child). There’s no limit on how many secondary courses you can make but there can only be one primary.

If you’d like to merge any courses, we invite module coordinators to contact elearning@aber.ac.uk 
indicating the module codes for the primary and every secondary course.

Examples from Aberystwyth

Many members of staff are currently using the merge course facility across the institution. Some examples are:

  1. Modules are taught the same content but there’s a module available for different years.
  2. Modules that bring together different degree schemes and have different module IDs, e.g. dissertation modules.

Essentially, any module/course that shares the same content is ideal for Merging courses.

What do students see?

Students will see the name of the course that they are enrolled on (even if it’s the secondary course) when they log into Blackboard but they will see all the content placed in the primary course. Instructors will not be able to place content in the secondary course.

Things to consider

Now, before the start of term and whilst course content is being built, is the perfect time for linking your courses. Whilst the linking of courses does save time in the loading of materials, here are some points to consider:

  • All content can be viewed as soon as the courses are merged (as long as students are enrolled on the course). In addition to PowerPoints and lecture materials, this also includes Announcements and other interactive tools on your primary course.
  • Historical student interactions on a secondary course (such as using blogs or posting in discussion boards) won’t be available once the courses have been merged.
  • Any submission points created on a secondary module before the merge takes place will no longer be able to be viewed. We would advise creating these again in the primary course.

How do I control content so that it is only viewable to a module cohort?

Whilst all content is automatically visible once the courses are merged, you can use groups and adaptive release if you only want the content to be visible to a specific module cohort. This might be useful, for example, if you have merged a 2nd year and 3rd year course but your students on the different courses have separate assignments. You can use groups – 1 for the 2nd year students and one for 3rd year students and limit who can see the assignment information and submission point. See our guidance on Creating Groups and Release Conditions (previously ‘adaptive relesease’ in Blackboard Original).

Merging Courses and the Grade Book

Once the merging takes place, all students will appear in the Grade Book of the primary course. You can, however, determine whether they are enrolled on the parent course as this information displays against the student in the Grade Book columns. 

If you’d like further information on this process or have any questions, please contact us on elearning@aber.ac.uk.

What’s New in Blackboard Learn Ultra – June 2024

WordPress User [rsf09] Blackboard, Monthly Update, Tests, Ultra Leave a comment

Printing for Assessments (Tests)

Instructors can now print assessments. Printing provides a convenient solution for a variety of use cases: 

  • Accommodating students with specific needs or limited technology access 
  • Providing a printed assessment for testing in designated locations 
  • Backup and record keeping 
  • Conducting offline assessment 
  • Documentation and compliance 
  • Maintaining security and integrity 

The print option is available in Forms, Tests, and Assignments with questions. Printing also provides the option to save as PDF. 

To print an assessment, from Content and Settings, select Print. 

Note: Blackboard plan to support printing answer keys and question pools in upcoming releases. 

Image below: Print option from a test 

Print option from a test 

Image below: Select desired print options 

Select desired print options 

Filter out graded responses when grading by question 

The Needs Grading filter now filters out graded student responses by default. Filtering this way helps instructors to focus on any remaining ungraded responses for a given question. It also provides instructors with an improved view of their outstanding grading workload. If instructors want to include graded responses, they can select Show graded responses. This selection preference is now stored per course and it persists across assessments in each course. 

Image below: Grading by question option with the grading status of Needs Grading filter selected 

Grading by question option with the grading status of Needs Grading filter selected 

Image below: Grading by question view with the grading status filter of Needs Grading and Show graded responses options selected 

Grading by question view with the grading status filter of Needs Grading and Show graded responses options selected 

Post immediately when creating announcements 

Instructors can now post announcements as part of the drafting and editing processes. This makes the process of creating and posting announcements simpler.  

Instructors can still post from the announcements page.  

Image below: When creating or editing an announcement, there is now an option to post 

When creating or editing an announcement, there is now an option to post 

Blackboard Learn Ultra Courses 2024-25

WordPress User [rsf09] Blackboard, Ultra 1 Comment

Blackboard Learn Ultra Course Creation for 2024-25 will take place on Monday 3 June this year. After this date instructors will be able to add content and customise their new courses.

Courses will contain the default template which includes leaning modules for Module Information, Assessment and Feedback and External Examiners. Content from previous years will not be copied over automatically.

We have made some improvements to the default course template based upon staff and student feedback and also enabled the AI Design Assistant.

For general help using Blackboard Learn please see our Blackboard Ultra guide for staff.

Accessing 2024-25 Courses

Instructors can access their 2024-25 courses by using the Terms filter dropdown menu on the Courses page and selecting Cyrsiau 2024-25 Courses. Courses under 2024-25 will move to the default Courses page on 1 September.

Learning Modules

The Module Information, Assessment and Feedback and External Examiners areas remain, but are now learning modules rather than folders. Learning modules have all the functionality of folders in terms of how content is added and accessed but are more visually appealing and are easier to navigate, especially from a student’s perspective.

Learning modules each have a default image, but we encourage instructors to choose a more relevant and meaningful image for their learning modules. Adding an image to a learning module provides a visual identity to a course and helps students locate the learning module. Instructions on how to customise learning modules appearance can be found in  this section of the Blackboard help page for Learning Modules.

Blackboard Ultra Course template with Module Information, Assessment and Feedback, and a hidden External Examiners Learning Module

Content can be added to learning modules in the same way as folders; by expanding them and clicking the plus symbol. Create, Copy Content and Upload options remain unchanged.

GIF of expanding Learning Module and adding content

All the usual hidden/visible and release conditions settings are also available.

Instructors can continue to use folders if they wish, or they may wish to create additional learning modules and copy existing content into them from folders. The options to add additional learning modules and folders can be found by clicking the plus symbol and Create.

Please note that Learning Modules can only be added to the landing page of Content and not within folders.

Screenshot of the Course Content Items Creation menu

For more information on learning modules see the Blackboard help page on Learning Modules.

Class Register

The class register is now hidden from students. They can still see staff on the course under Course Staff, but they can no longer see the other students of the course. You are welcome to make the Class Register visible again if you like.

GIF showing how to make class roster visible to other students

Progress Tracking

Progress tracking is now enabled by default for students. Progress tracking gives students an easy wat to keep track of what they have done in the course. 

Screenshot of progress tracker from a student's perspective

Additionally, on the Student Overview page Instructors can access the Progress tab for each Student which tracks progress in a course. You can see completed and uncompleted tasks for each Student. For more information see  the Blackboard help page on Progress Tracking.

AI Design Assistant

Context and Guidance Principles

Anthology, the vendor of Blackboard Learn, have added AI tools to Blackboard as part of their ‘AI Design Assistant’. Anthology’s approach is to empower staff to use AI to “promote authentic assessment, engaging learning experiences and academic integrity, while also providing efficiency for educators and improved outcomes for students as a result.”

Anthology have published their Trustworthy AI Approach, with the key principles being:

  • Fairness: Minimizing harmful bias in AI systems.
  • Reliability: Taking measures to ensure the output of AI systems is valid and reliable.
  • Humans in Control: Ensuring humans ultimately make decisions that have legal or otherwise significant impact.
  • Transparency and Explainability: Explaining to users when AI systems are used, how the AI systems work, and help users interpret and appropriately use the output of the AI systems.
  • Privacy, Security and Safety: AI systems should be secure, safe, and privacy friendly.
  • Value alignment: AI systems should be aligned to human values, in particular those of our clients and users.
  • Accountability: Ensuring there is clear accountability regarding the trustworthy use of AI systems within Anthology as well as between Anthology, its clients, and its providers of AI systems.

If Instructors opt to make use of the AI Design Assistant, we recommend:

1. Generating and checking content

AI-generated content is never automatically added to a course. It will not be released to students without instructors making that decision. Instructors will always need to approve content before it is made available to students.

Instructors can always review and change AI-generated content. For example, if an instructor generates Test questions, it is likely some will not be useful. The instructor should choose what they would like to use and edit them as needed. It is important for instructors to ensure everything generated by AI is checked before it is added to a course and made available to students.

2. Consider adding a Use of Artificial Intelligence statement to a course

In line with University artificial intelligence guidance, if content is substantially generated using an AI tool, this should be declared clearly to the students.  A statement on the use of artificial intelligence in a Blackboard Learn course can be added in the Module Information learning module area using the Document feature.

AI Design Assistant Tools

The following tools are available to Instructors on courses.

Generate Learning Modules

This feature allows a course structure to be created using learning modules based on the name of the course and any additional information that has been provided. Learning modules are akin to folders.

The AI Design Assistant can generate one or more learning modules which will consist of a title, an image, and a description. For further information see the section on course structure suggestions on the AI Design Assistant help page.

Generate Test Questions & Question Banks

This feature generates test questions and question banks based on the content that is included in the course. Instructors can specify the level and the types of questions that are asked.  The complexity and question type can be adjusted. For further information see the section on test question generation on the AI Design Assistant help page.

Generate Keywords for Unsplash

Unsplash is a copyright free image library accessible from within Blackboard. The AI tool will generate relevant keywords based upon the course name and content with which to search Unsplash.

Generate Journals

Based on course name and content, journal activities are proposed and created. For further information see the section on journal generation on the AI Design Assistant help page.

Generate Discussions

Based on course name and content, discussion activities are proposed and can be created. For further information see the section on how to auto-generate discussions on the AI Design Assistant help page.

Generate Assignments

The assignment generator will create prompts for assignments, using Bloom’s taxonomy to include different levels of complexity. This complexity can be adjusted. This only applies to the inbuilt Blackboard assignment tool and not Turnitin. For further information see the section on assignment prompt generation on the AI Design Assistant Help Page.

Note: The Blackboard AI Design Assistant does have a Rubric generator and an AI image Generator which we have not enabled.

For further information on the AI Design Assistant see Blackboard Help and our University webpages.

What’s New in Blackboard Learn Ultra May 2024 

WordPress User [rsf09] Blackboard, Monthly Update, Ultra Leave a comment

Please find below some of the latest enhancements from the May update of Blackboard Learn Ultra that the Learning and Teaching Enhancement Unit would like to highlight to Instructors. 

Supporting multiple performance criteria in release conditions

Release conditions determine when students can view course content. Release conditions are on the content’s visibility setting on the course content page. Currently, you can set:

  • Which course members or groups have access;
  • When the course content is accessible, visible, and hidden;
  • When student performance is necessary for completing an assignment or scoring.

Instructors can now set more than one performance criteria per content item. 

Image below: Release condition panel with additional performance criteria selected.

Release condition panel with additional performance criteria selected.

Add question feedback when grading a test by question

When grading by student or by question, Instructors can now provide contextual feedback and can add this feedback to all question types. Question level feedback promotes deeper understanding and personal growth among students while also enhancing both overall submission feedback and automated feedback for auto-graded questions.

Image below: Instructor view of adding per-question feedback when grading by question.

Instructor view of adding per-question feedback when grading by question.

Image below: Instructor view of question with saved feedback.

Instructor view of question with saved feedback.

After scores are posted, students can access their feedback in the Gradebook. Students can access both overall feedback and question-specific feedback.

Image below: Student view of feedback added to an essay question.

Student view of feedback added to an essay question.

Improved Gradebook navigation

To create a more intuitive navigation, Blackboard have replaced the grid and list view buttons with text links. The options are now: 

  • Gradable Items
  • Grades (grid view)
  • Students

The Gradebook will remember the last view you used in each course.

Image below: Instructor view of the new gradebook navigation menu

Instructor view of the new gradebook navigation menu

Proportionally and Equally weighted column calculations

Instructors have diverse grade calculation needs. Some instructors use weighted calculations to help with aggregating calculations like midterm or final grades.

Now instructors can assign equal weights to items in the same categories. The chosen calculation method, whether proportional or equal, applies to all categories. In the past, weighted items in the same category had proportional weights. These weighted items were based on the possible points of each item.

To better understand student performance, some instructors use drop rules to remove outliers. Because it’s important to know the weighting method when managing these settings, Blackboard now displays the instructor’s chosen weighting option in the calculation rules panel.

Image below: Instructor view of the new Proportionally weighted calculation options.

Instructor view of the new Proportionally weighted calculation options.

Image below: Instructor view of the new proportional weighted calculation option. Instructors can see what percentage each item in the category contributes to the overall category weighting.

Instructor view of the new proportional weighted calculation option. Instructors can see what percentage each item in the category contributes to the overall category weighting.

Image below: Instructor view of the equally weighted calculation option; Instructors are informed of the equal percentage that items count towards the overall category weighting.

Instructor view of the equally weighted calculation option; Instructors are informed of the equal percentage that items count towards the overall category weighting.

Image below. Instructor view of the updated Edit calculation rule panel confirming the selected category weighting option.

Instructor view of the updated Edit calculation rule panel confirming the selected category weighting option.

What’s New in Blackboard Learn Ultra – March 2024

WordPress User [rsf09] Blackboard, Ultra Leave a comment

This month Blackboard brings us the ability to see Gradebook item statistics, being able to set assessments with no due date and some tweaks to message notifications.

Gradebook item statistics 

Item statistics give insight to course members’ overall performance on a graded content. Now, instructors can select a column in the gradebook to access summary statistics for any graded item. The statistics page displays key metrics such as: 

  • Minimum and maximum value 
  • Range 
  • Average 
  • Median 
  • Standard deviation 
  • Variance 

The number of submissions requiring grading and the distribution of grades also displays. 

Image below: Access to item statistics from the Grid view. 

Access to item statistics from the grid view

Image below:  Access to item statistics from the Gradeable Items view.

Access to item statistics from the Gradable Items view

Image below: Item Statistics page.

Item statistics page

No Due Date assessment option

Due dates are an important aspect of the teaching and learning process. In some scenarios, such as self-paced learning, an instructor may not want to apply a due date. To make the option for not having a due date more evident, we’ve added a “No due date” option for Tests and Assignments. 

Image below: Test Settings panel showing the new “No due date” option. 

Test Settings panel showing the new “No due date” option

We also updated the default due date and time to tomorrow’s date at 11:59 pm. 

Image below: Test Settings panel displaying the new default due date and time. 

Test Settings panel displaying the new default due date and time

There may be cases when the “No due date” selection conflicts with the Assessment Results settings. When this occurs, the instructor is prompted to review the settings. 

Image below: A warning banner appears when the “No due date” selection conflicts with Assessment Results settings. 

A warning banner appears when the “No due date” selection conflicts with Assessment Results settings

Instructors can navigate to the Assessment Results section in the Settings via the link in the banner. 

Image below: Assessment results timing options when there is no due date. 

Assessment results timing options when there is no due date

Please note that for summative and high stakes assessment, we still advise having a due date and time. To discuss your requirements for test settings, please contact the Learning and Teaching Enhancement Unit (elearning@aber.ac.uk).  

Announcement indicators and mark announcements as read/unread

Announcements are an important communications channel within a course. It is important to help create awareness of new announcements and read/unread controls. 

Now, there is a number indicator next to the announcement tab in the course. The indicator signals the number of unread announcements available. 

Additionally, students can now mark announcements as read or unread. On the New Course Announcement pop-up, users have the option to mark the read state. Students can also mark announcements as read or unread from the Announcement page. 

Image below: Number of unread Announcements next to the Announcement tab 

Number of unread Announcements next to the Announcement tab

Image below: Announcements pop-up with the option to mark as read/unread 

Announcements pop-up with the option to mark as read/unread

Image below: Announcements page with the option to mark as read/unread. 

Announcements page with the option to mark as read/unread

Image below: Matching announcement and messages indicators for consistency 

Matching announcement and messages indicators for consistency

Reminder: Access the Course Activity Report and message students from within it. 

The Course Activity report helps you understand how well your students are performing and how much they are interacting with your course. The Course Activity Report enables Instructors to: 

  • Message students who are falling behind and encourage them to increase their course activity 
  • Identify struggling students based on their overall grade, missed due dates, the number of hours they spend in your course, and the number of days since their last access 
  • Congratulate students performing well in your course and ask them to be mentors 
  • Customize your course alerts to identify struggling students when their overall grade drops below a specific value, they’ve missed due dates, or they haven’t accessed the course for a certain number of days 
  • Download the table view to a CSV (comma-separated values) file to analyse the data with other tools 
  • Download the scatter plot as a PDF or image to share information with other instructors or mentors of the course 

To access the Course Activity Report select Course Activity in your course’s Analytics tab. 

Image below: Accessing the Course Activity Report from the Analytics tab 

The table view of the Course Activity report on the Analytics tab, with a blue box around Analytics and Course Activity.

Sending Messages 

Instructors can select students and send them messages from Course Activity by selecting the Send message button. When you send a message to multiple students, each student will receive an individual message and will not know which other students were included. 

Image below: A student selected to be contacted and the Send message button highlighted 

The table view of the Course Activity report on the Analytics tab, with a blue box around a student selection and Send message.

For more information on the Course Activity Report see the Blackboard Help Page on the Course Activity Report. 

Reminder: Grading Tests with Flexible Grading 

It is possible to grade tests either by student or by question —making it easy to compare answers across the course and ensure fairness and consistency in grading. Marking by student is currently limited to non-anonymous submissions. Marking anonymous submissions will be included in a future update 

For more information on Flexible Grading see the Blackboard Help Page on Flexible Grading. 

January 2024 Blackboard Learn Ultra Update

WordPress User [rsf09] Blackboard Leave a comment

Please find below some of the latest enhancements from the January update of Blackboard Learn Ultra that the Learning and Teaching Enhancement Unit would like to highlight to Instructors. 

Batch Edit: Change to specific date and/or time.

Instructors often want to change the date and time for several selected items in their course at the same time. The problem with making that change is that it would be very tedious if you had to do one item at a time. 

Using Batch Edit, instructors can now override the existing date and/or time for selected items. The same feature also works on show on and hide after dates and times. 

Note: Batch edit of dates/time only works with items that have pre-existing date and time values. Items without a date or time value will not have one applied.

Image below: Accessing Batch Edit from Course Content. 

Image below: Change to a specific date and/or time option for Batch Edit.

Total and Weighted Column Calculations

Instructors need a gradebook that supports diverse grading scenarios. The gradebook supports the creation of calculated columns and an overall course grade. We are expanding gradebook functionality to also support total and weighted calculated columns. These types of calculations are helpful for specific events or periods, such as midterms or finals. 

Total calculated columns can be point-based or weighted calculations. Like setting up the Overall Grade, instructors may link/unlink items in a category in the calculation. They may also choose to exclude categories from the calculation. For an included category, instructors may edit the calculation rule. The calculation rule allows instructors to drop scores or to include only the lowest or highest score in the category. 

Instructors may wish to define a total calculated column for their own use. In this case, they can choose to hide from students. If desired, instructors can include a total calculated column in the overall grade calculation. 

Image below: Add a Total Calculation column from the Grid view.

Image below. Add a Total Calculation column from Gradable Items view.

Image below: Editing a Weighted Total Calculation Column.

Image below: Define rules for the Weighted Total Calculation column.

Attempt logs for enhanced assessment integrity for Blackboard Tests and Assignments.

The Attempt Logs prove to be an indispensable tool for validating issues students may encounter during an assessment. The logs also help instructors identify signs of academic dishonesty.

Note: Attempt logs can be used with Blackboard Tests and Assignments, not with Turnitin.

For Tests, the logs provide the following: 

  • Detailed information, including the date and time of the start and answers to each question. 
  • Question-specific details, such as question number, a preview of the question, and estimated time spent on each question. 
  • Submission receipt number, final grade, and attempt grade. 
  • Easy toggling between all in-progress and submitted attempts for comprehensive assessment tracking. 

Image below: Test attempt log with multiple attempts made by the student. 

For Assignments, the logs offer: 

  • Start and submission date and time. 
  • Submission receipt number. 
  • Seamless toggling between different attempts for a holistic view. 

Image below: Assignment attempt log.

Instructors can access the Attempt Logs from two primary areas: 

  • Context Menu on Submission Page – exclusive to individual assessments. 
  • Grades Tab under Student Overview Page – available for both group and individual assessments. 

Image below: Access from the Submission tab.

Image below: Access from the Grades tab from the student overview. 

For anonymous assessments, the report becomes active after grades are posted, and the anonymity is lifted. This ensures that the Attempt Logs report is a robust tool even in scenarios where student identities are initially concealed. 

Grade visible to students in Gradebook when item is hidden by release conditions.

Release conditions provide options for custom learning paths through course content. When instructors set release conditions, content is unavailable until students meet those conditions. An option to ‘Hide’ selected content from students is available. This setting also hides the grade from the student view of the gradebook. 

Now, instructors can set release conditions without concern of hiding grades. Regardless of the setting in “When will content appear?”, students can see the grade. All other functionality of release conditions is unchanged. 

Image below: Release conditions settings with date/time release condition set in combination with Hide state in “When will content appear?” 

Image below: Student Gradebook view with display of student’s grade regardless of the release condition setting in the image above. 

Note: It is still possible for Instructors to hide grades and Gradebook columns should this be necessary for exam boards or moderation purposes. Once the associated Test or Assessment is complete; Click on the column in the Gradebook, select Edit, then adjust the Release Conditions to Hidden from Students.

Image below: Changing Release Conditions to Hidden from Students. 

Unused files management tool. 

To help instructors understand the usage of files in their course and reduce their digital footprint Blackboard have created the Unused Files tool. This tool helps instructors find and delete course files that are not in use. Instructors can locate the Unused Files tool in the three-dot menu on the Course Content page.  

Image below: Unused Files tool. 

There are two views available; unused files (default view0 or all files. The file name, upload date, and file size display along with an option to download a copy of the local file. Instructors can easily delete unused files. 

Image below: List of unused files.

Image below: List of All files.

Creating Blackboard Tests for Online Exams in Ultra

WordPress User [brr26] Blackboard, Blackboard Tests, Ultra, Uncategorised Leave a comment

Test settings have changed in Blackboard Ultra and the arrangements for conducting an exam have also been updated this year.

These are the main changes:

  • Only one random access code may be generated prior to the test. This code is automatically generated in the form of a 6-digit numerical code when you check the ‘Access code required’ option, which will be the case for ALL online in-person Exams using BB tests.
  • Module coordinators will attend the face-to-face examination for their module (for the first 30 minutes). If it is not possible to attend, arrange a substitute. Being physically present for the examination enables the Module coordinators to generate a second access code 30 minutes after the exams starts and to circulate this code with the exam team.
  • Module coordinators can liaise with the exams office via eosstaff@aber.ac.uk prior to exam day to discover which invigilating staff will be in attendance during their exam and collate their names and usernames.

We have prepared new guidance which explains these changes fully: Blackboard Tests for In-person Exams Guide. It’s an idea to set aside enough time to prepare the test and read the new guidance.

Due to these changes, the E-learning team will be offering additional training sessions on ‘Preparing for Online Exams’ on 5 and 11 December. Register for the training on: CPD Staff Training.

There is also an updated FAQ on Blackboard with more information on creating Blackboard tests for online exams. If you require further assistance with your test, the E-learning team are available on Teams Sessions. Contact to elearning@aber.ac.uk to arrange a session.

The E-learning team will be available to check yout test settings before the exam period between 4-20 December 2023. Remember, we are unable to check your test settings without a confirmed date or time.

Contact us if you have any queries regarding Blackboard tests on elearning@aber.ac.uk.