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October brings student receipts & bigger rubrics for Ultra

Tables also available in the Ultra content editor

Rubrics are grading tools that help instructors to assess student performance and give feedback in detail. Prior to the October update, rubrics were limited to 10 rows and 10 columns. Now faculty...

Posted: October 8, 2021, 9:15 AM

More UMBC students like Ultra and want Ultra courses

86% of UMBC students express satisfaction with Ultra

In a survey of 608 students taking Ultra courses during the SP2021 semester, 86% indicated satisfaction with Ultra, marking a 14% increase compared to the last survey in FA2019. Students again...

Posted: August 19, 2021, 9:04 AM

FA2021 Courses Created in Blackboard on July 26, 2021

Blackboard course shells for FA2021 were created on July 26, 2021. The Ultra Course Preview setting is again enabled in FA2021 courses, which allows faculty to convert a new Original course to...

Posted: July 27, 2021, 10:06 AM

Gradebook filters, progress tracking, badges ready for Ultra

New course navigation & other enhancements coming in August

This upcoming FA2021 semester features new development in the Ultra gradebook, starting with gradebook filters. This function allows faculty to view data and content in the gradebook by multiple...

Posted: July 27, 2021, 8:50 AM

Groups & gradebook enhancements planned for Ultra in July

Improved functionality for groups support larger enrollments

The groups tool in Ultra has been redesigned for the July update to improve overall performance, particularly for large courses. This redesign includes functionality to make it easier to find...

Posted: June 25, 2021, 9:18 AM

June update supports written feedback via Ultra rubric rows

Also coming: Record short audio/video course announcements

6/5 update: The June release is delayed. As soon as we have more information, we will post it. 7/1 update: The June release was rolled into the July update. Rubrics can be an essential tool for...

Posted: May 13, 2021, 1:44 PM

Faculty prioritize grading & assessments for Ultra’s future

About 76% of current & planned Ultra aligns with Original

When Ultra was first introduced at UMBC in SP2018, four adventurous faculty opted to use a newly redesigned Blackboard course interface in their courses. Ultra represented a new phase of...

Posted: May 11, 2021, 11:27 AM

Finalize Ultra gradebooks with new drop grades function

Much needed feature finally arrives to Ultra courses in May

An easier way to drop multiple grades from a category in the final grade calculation has been a frequent request from Ultra faculty for the Ultra course gradebook. With the May release, just in...

Posted: April 21, 2021, 10:12 AM

Group content release, peer assessment coming to Ultra

Frequently requested features available in April

In early April, a frequently requested feature finally comes to Ultra courses. Conditional release of content to groups or individual students allows faculty to create remedial paths to certain...

Posted: March 29, 2021, 10:57 AM

Ultra enhances test feedback & journal grading for winter

Create HTML content & provide activity logs to support

Four exciting updates come to Ultra for winter courses. Grading enhancements for journals, test feedback release settings, an updated content editor, and support for HTML content are new features...

Posted: December 11, 2020, 11:37 AM