{"id":10972,"date":"2025-06-27T19:58:32","date_gmt":"2025-06-27T23:58:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/excellence\/?page_id=10972"},"modified":"2025-08-14T12:52:36","modified_gmt":"2025-08-14T16:52:36","slug":"readiness-checklist","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/excellence\/programs-services\/academic-technology\/ultra\/starter-kit\/readiness-checklist\/","title":{"rendered":"Ultra Readiness Checklist"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Use this checklist to prepare your course for teaching in Blackboard Ultra. These steps ensure your course is accessible, clearly organized, and fully functional for students.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

1. Course Shell Setup<\/strong>
\n\u2610 Access my Blackboard Ultra course shell.
\n\u2610 Review course layout or structure provided by my school or program.
\n\u2610 Update course title, welcome message, and contact information.<\/p>\n

2. Content & Navigation<\/strong>
\n\u2610 Upload or link required readings and multimedia content.
\n\u2610 Organize content into clearly labeled modules or learning units.
\n\u2610 Use Ultra\u2019s single-page layout to streamline access to materials.<\/p>\n

3. Assignments & Grading<\/strong>
\n\u2610 Create all assignments with clear instructions and due dates.
\n\u2610 Set up the Gradebook and confirmed grade calculation method.
\n\u2610 Add rubrics or grading criteria where appropriate.<\/p>\n

4. Communication & Engagement<\/strong>
\n\u2610 Post a course announcement to welcome students.
\n\u2610 Enable discussion boards or engagement tools (if applicable).
\n\u2610 Review notification settings and communication preferences.<\/p>\n

5. Accessibility & Inclusive Design<\/strong>
\n\u2610 Check documents for readability and accessibility (e.g., headers).
\n\u2610 Verify all videos have captions or transcripts and all images have alt text.
\n\u2610 Review layout for clarity, contrast, and ease of navigation.<\/p>\n

6. Final Review<\/strong>
\n\u2610 Preview course as a student to ensure usability.
\n\u2610 Confirm the Blackboard support in my department and what trainings are available from campus educational technology support teams.<\/p>\n

\n

Checklist created by:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"BronwynBronwyn Keefe<\/a>, PhD, MPH, MSW<\/strong>
\nAssistant Dean of Workforce and Professional Development & Research Associate Professor
\nResearch Assistant Professor
\nDirector, Center for Aging & Disability Education & Research (CADER) & Network for Professional Education
\nCoordinator, Aging Specialization and Lowy-GEM Program
\nSchool of Social Work<\/p>\n

\"KarenKaren Jacobs<\/a>, OT, EdD, OTR, CPE, FAOTA<\/strong>
\nAssociate Dean, Digital Learning and Innovation at the Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
\nClinical Professor
\nProgram Director, Online Post-professional Doctorate in Occupational Therapy (OTD) Program
\nDepartment of Occupational Therapy<\/p>\n

\"LyndseyLyndsey McMahan<\/a>, PhD, LCSW<\/strong>
\nAssistant Dean, Teaching and Innovation
\nSchool of Social Work<\/p>\n

\n
\n

Want a downloadable version of this page to take on the go? Please download this .pdf file: Ultra Readiness Checklist for Faculty<\/a>.<\/p>\n

If you’re looking for more Ultra support and resources, continue checking out our Ultra Starter Kit!<\/p>\n

\n\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\tLearn More<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\n<\/svg>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n<\/div><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

1. Course Shell Setup \u2610 Access my Blackboard Ultra course shell. \u2610 Review course layout or structure provided by my school or program. \u2610 Update course title, welcome message, and contact information. 2. Content & Navigation \u2610 Upload or link required readings and multimedia content. \u2610 Organize content into clearly labeled modules or learning units. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22504,"featured_media":0,"parent":10344,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-templates\/no-sidebars.php","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/excellence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/10972"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/excellence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/excellence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/excellence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22504"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/excellence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10972"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/excellence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/10972\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12092,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/excellence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/10972\/revisions\/12092"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/excellence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/10344"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/excellence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10972"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}