Password protection & automated test feedback come to Ultra
Enhancements to Collaborate, gradebook & announcement tools
Password protection and automated feedback are two assessment tools coming to Ultra in September. These valuable features enhance the instructor's ability to secure assessments and provide just-in-time feedback to students as they take and complete tests in a course.
In an Ultra course, instructors will be able to add a randomly-generated passcode to their test. Since students must enter the password each time they start or continue an assessment, faculty can leverage test settings and the passcode to hide answers and restrict access to tests. The passcode prevents students from taking or submitting assessments after a due date has passed, but allows them to view their grades and feedback.
Automated feedback allow faculty to enter feedback for correct and incorrect answers on auto-graded question types (such as True/False) on an Ultra test. Students will automatically receive the feedback when they submit the assessment. Feedback from Original tests will also convert to Ultra except when it involves images, files or web links. The first generation of automated feedback must be enabled question by question. Future work will support feedback at the individual answer choices.
Additional updates for Ultra in September include:
- Blackboard added the ability to send course announcements by email to the entire class roster. As with Original courses, scheduled announcements cannot be emailed.
- The new student view in the Ultra gradebook allows faculty to see a row for each student instead of a row for each gradebook item. Each row will include date of last access date and CampusID.
Finally, Collaborate's September update, which comes in mid-September, will include includes private recording links by default to provide additional security. Previously recorded sessions will remain public unless you make them private. Additionally, Collaborate will remind moderators to start recording the session.
The next Blackboard Learn update will be posted to our test site around September 8 and pushed to production around October 1, 2020. Faculty who are interested in test driving new features before they are released to production should open an RT ticket to request early access.
As always, if you have any questions, please consider the following options:
- Academic Continuity | Keep On Teaching | Student Technology Resources
- Check our extensive FAQ collection
- Open a ticket via RT
- Follow the Instructional Technology & DoIT myUMBC groups
- Request a consult with instructional technology staff
Posted: August 31, 2020, 1:28 PM
