Blackboard Ultra gives instructors a modern, streamlined way to manage courses, communicate with students, and deliver engaging content in one centralized platform. This guide brings together essential instructor resources—covering navigation, announcements, discussions, course content, and student management—to help you work more efficiently and get the most out of Blackboard Ultra, whether you’re setting up a course for the first time or refining an existing one.
Navigation & Getting Started
Locate your course list immediately after logging in. You can view current, past, and upcoming courses from the “Courses” page in the global navigation menu.
Access global tools such as your Profile, Activity Stream, Calendar, Messages, and Grades from the main menu on the left side of the screen, outside of any specific course context.
Use the course navigation bar (usually at the top) to access Course Content, Calendar, Discussions, Gradebook, and Messages specific to that course.
This page (often the “Activity Stream”) highlights important updates such as new content, grades, and due dates, featuring institutional announcements at the top.
Helps students stay organized by automatically populating due dates from assessments and content. Instructors can also add custom events.
A tool to share updates, reminders, and weekly overviews with students. You can schedule them in advance to maintain consistent communication.
View your course exactly as students will see it before making it available. Use this feature to verify content visibility, layout, and the overall student-facing experience without publishing live changes.
Enter a temporary student account within your course to experience it as a student would. You can submit test submissions and review results to confirm that content and assessments behave as intended.
Customize how and when you receive alerts about student activity, discussion posts, assignment submissions, and course updates. Proper configuration helps you stay informed without being overwhelmed by notifications.
Learn how Blackboard Ultra supports an inclusive learning environment through built-in accessibility features, including screen reader compatibility, keyboard navigation, and tools for creating accessible course content.
Discussions & Communication
Facilitate class-wide conversations to encourage peer interaction and critical thinking. You can set up graded or ungraded forums.
Instructors and students can reply to threads and posts directly within the discussion board to maintain the conversation flow.
Monitor student engagement and participation levels within discussion forums to assess their activity.
View Discussion Performance and Analytics
Create discussions specific to groups of students to foster smaller, focused collaboration.
Edit, delete, or organize discussion threads and forums to keep the conversation relevant and appropriate.
Find specific posts or threads within the discussion board for review or grading.
Search and Collect Discussions
Communicate privately with students or groups within the course context. This is distinct from email and keeps course-related queries in one place.
View the list of enrolled students and other course members. It is often used to manage course roles and accommodations.
Access detailed progress reports and activity logs for individual students to track their performance and engagement.
Set up private or shared student journals to support individual reflection, formative writing, and ongoing communication between you and each student throughout the course.
Record audio or video feedback directly within the gradebook to provide students with richer, more personal responses to their work—an effective alternative to written-only comments.
Monitor and record student attendance directly within your course. You can manually update attendance records or configure automatic tracking tied to participation or login activity.
Content Management
The primary action to build your course. You can create new items, upload files, or import content from other sources using the plus (+) sign in the Course Content area.
Build content pages directly in the course that can combine text, images, and other media elements into a single viewable item.
Use the content editor to type instructions, descriptions, or lessons directly into Documents, Assignments, or Tests.
Upload files (documents, images, slides) from your computer directly into the text editor for students to view or download.
Insert Local File in the Content Editor
Blackboard supports a wide range of file formats for upload, including standard office documents, PDFs, and media files.
Create shortcuts within your course content that link students directly to other tools or materials (e.g., a link in Week 1 content that leads to a Test).
Add direct links to external websites and resources as standalone items in your course content.
Build structured, step-by-step learning paths that guide students through course materials in a set sequence. Learning Modules support conditional release to help you control the pace of student progress.
Set rules that control when content, assessments, or activities become accessible to students based on criteria such as specific dates, prior completions, or group membership.
Reuse materials by copying content items, folders, or entire banks from your previous courses into the current one.
Copy Content From Other Courses
Create a downloadable package of your course content for backup purposes or to share with another institution.
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