Blackboard Ultra
Blackboard Learn is the Learning Management System (LMS) used by The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley faculty, staff, teaching assistants, and students. As a result, Blackboard Learn continues to be an important platform to facilitate the delivery of teaching and learning online and hybrid courses.
At a Glance
The major change to Blackboard Learn is a new landing page that allows students and instructors to more easily access important course information, including Learning Materials, Grades, Messages, Calendars, and relevant links arranged in the Activity Stream.
Training
Training materials—including tip sheets, instructional videos, and live training opportunities—are now available.
Technical Support
The COLTT Help Desk is available 24/7. Call (956) 665-5327 or submit a case at utrgv.edu/coltthelp. In addition, you can also review FAQs for more information.
Training & Resources
Video Tutorials
Blackboard Help
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I try out the Ultra Course View?
How can I convert my course to Ultra?
We have enabled the Base Navigation (Ultra experience), you are know allowed to have a mix of courses in the Ultra Course View and the Original Course View. Choose the course view that works best for each of your courses. Both course views appear seamlessly in your course list.
You can fully explore your Original course in the Ultra preview before you switch to the Ultra Course View. You can also review a list of features and functions that change or won't carry forward if you convert. Learn more about the Ultra Course Preview.
Should I use a Folder or a Learning Module to organize my content?
Folders and Learning Modules are both great ways to organize your course materials so that it is easier for students to find what they are looking for. Learning Modules offer additional benefits over folders, however.
BENEFITS OF FOLDERS AND LEARNING MODULES
- Both present content in an organized manner for easy navigation
- Both collapse for a streamlined view of materials
- Both include a sub-folder (i.e., a folder inside of a folder or a folder inside of a learning module; you can not nest a learning module inside a learning module, nest a learning module inside of a folder, or nest beyond 2 levels)
- Both can be used to set overall release conditions to control access to content, such as releasing content on a specific date or to a specific group of students
- Both can be copied from past courses as a block of materials with all of the contents inside
BENEFITS OF LEARNING MODULES
- Students can navigate from one item to the next via forward and back arrows
- You can enable sequential viewing to require that students view content or complete an assessment before moving to the next item
- With sequential viewing enabled, the learning module displays checkmarks to show students what they have completed
LIMITATIONS OF LEARNING MODULES
- Contents of folders can be copied granularly from one course to another (e.g., you can copy a single file from within a folder)
- Learning Modules must be copied in their entirety from one course to another (e.g., you must copy the entire learning module and its contents, as opposed to a single item inside of the learning module)
Can I convert my course back to the Original Course View if I have confirmed the conversion to the Ultra Course View?
After I convert my course materials from Original to Ultra Course View, why is it so difficult to move content around?
The Ultra Course View only permits 2 levels of course folders. However, when you convert a course from Original to Ultra Course View, the content areas from your course menu become top level folders in the Ultra Course View. If you had more than a single level of folder within a content area, you can end up with three folders nested in the course in the Ultra Course View. This makes it difficult or impossible for you to create new content or move content in the course.
For example, if you had a content area named "Course Modules", with a folder for each module, and a folder for the activities within that module, that is 3 levels of folder: Course Modules > Module 1 > Activities.
To make it easier to move and create content in your Ultra course, we recommend moving the second level (e.g., Module 1) out of the top level (Course Modules) folder. Once you have moved them, everything should work as expected.