Dear colleagues –

As promised, this is the second in a series of updates that I hope will be helpful as you prepare for your fall courses.  Last week, I shared a note with updates on five topics: an updated syllabus template for fall 2024, migration to Blackboard Learn Ultra view which offers more mobility and accessibility than Blackboard Original view, use of Generative AI in teaching and learning, upcoming Teaching & Learning sessions and our fall Education Retreat, and an update from the Registrar’s Office on the new student information system called Campus Solutions.

Today, I want to provide more detail to set up your Blackboard site for fall 2024, as the process to copy a Blackboard Learn Original view site is different from years past, and the process to migrate over to Blackboard Learn Ultra view is new to all.  For those new to Blackboard or considering migrating to Blackboard Ultra, this site includes a video overview of Blackboard Learn Original and a video overview of Blackboard Learn Ultra (both are short!).  It also includes a table with side-by-side comparisons of key features.  Lastly, our colleagues in BUMC Educational Technology also prepared an EdTech guide to Blackboard Learn and Ultra here.

Copying a Blackboard Site

For those planning to stay with Blackboard Learn Original view, you can copy a Blackboard site from a prior semester in the new Blackboard Portal.  Once you enter the portal, you will see in the left-hand column, under Source, a listing of all your courses, organized by semester, where you were the instructor of record.  If you click the plus sign next to a particular semester, you will see each of your specific courses for that semester.  Listed in the right-hand column, under Destination, are your upcoming courses.

To copy a Blackboard Original view site from a prior semester, click the open circle next to that course (under Source) and the open circle next to the upcoming course (under Destination) and then click the copy button at the top of the screen.  Please note that there is a link at the top of the screen to the Blackboard Ultra Portal – this is to copy Blackboard Ultra Courses, not to create new Ultra course sites.  The steps for creating a new Blackboard Ultra course site are detailed below.

Creating a Blackboard Learn Ultra View Site

Depending on the nature of the content and functionality you use in your course, it may not be advisable to copy a Blackboard Learn Original site over to Blackboard Learn Ultra site directly as some content cannot be automatically turned into the Ultra format, requiring manual updating.  In addition, the architecture of Blackboard Ultra is different, and you might consider laying out your course content differently.

Thus, the best approach is to meet with one of our colleagues in BUMC-IT Educational Technology to discuss the best approach for your course.  This is initiated by sending an e-mail to edtechhelp@bu.edu to request a consultation.  In your e-mail, be sure to include the Blackboard course ID (e.g., 23fallsphph###_a1), course number, name and semester of your Original (source) Blackboard Learn course, and the course number, name and semester of your new Blackboard Ultra course (for fall 2024).  If you wish to migrate your course over to Blackboard Ultra for fall 2024, you must initiate the process before August 16, 2024 to ensure that there is sufficient time to migrate content over before the semester begins.  If you cannot initiate this process by mid-August, you can continue with Blackboard Learn Original view for fall 2024, and move over to Ultra in spring 2025.

And as we noted in last week’s message, our Digital Learning Designer Emelia Nunn (enunn@bu.edu) is available to provide 1-on-1 guidance on the transition to Ultra. You can sign up for a 1-on-1 meeting with Emelia here.

As always, please do not hesitate if you have any questions or need anything.

Sincerely,

Lisa Sullivan

Associate Dean for Education

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