Following the May 2020 upgrade to the Ultra Base Navigation, faculty now have the option to adopt the Ultra Course View. Individual courses can either be presented in the Original format or the new Ultra format. This page is dedicated to providing an overview of the differences between the two formats so that instructors may choose which format they would like to utilize for the online resources of their course.

 

Original Courses Overview

The Original Course View includes all of the traditional workflows and depth of functions Blackboard Learn is known for.

The course menu appears on the left side of your window and is the cornerstone for the organization and navigation of your course. You create links on the course menu to present tools and materials to students.

The area after the course menu is the Control Panel. You can access the Grade Center and your file repository, and choose which course tools are available to your students. Students don’t see the Control Panel.

Your content appears in the main window to the right of the course menu. You use the functions above the main window to add content, such as Build Content and Assessments. Throughout your course, most items and tools have menus.

Ultra Courses Overview

In the Ultra Course View, you have simplified workflows, a modern look and feel, and a fully responsive interface on all devices.

On the Course Content page, select the plus sign wherever you want to create content. In a new, blank course, use the functions to add content, such as Create and Upload. Select the icons on the navigation bar to open frequently used tools, such as discussions.

All of your course content appears in the main part of the page. You can always see the left navigation area that peeks from behind layers.

Most content items, such as folders and assignments, have a menu with options. When you open a piece of content, it slides out in a layer on top of the Course Content page. Close layers to go back to a previous spot in your course.

 

Blackboard Learn Original vs Ultra Feature Comparison

Basic Features

Feature Name	In Original Course?	In Ultra Course?	More Planned for the Ultra Course?	Notes
Adaptive Release (‘Conditional Release’ in Ultra)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Date and time, force sequence (within Learning Modules) and performance based release are available now in Ultra Courses Conditional release by users and groups now available in Ultra Courses
Add a blank page	Yes	Yes	Yes	Blank pages are called Documents in Ultra.
Add item or page	Yes	Yes	Yes	Additional capabilities are planned for inclusion in Ultra Courses
Announcements (Course Level)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Text editor added to course announcements. Announcements can now be sent by email. Audio video content can now be added to announcements. Additional capabilities are planned for inclusion in Ultra Courses.
Assignments	Yes	Yes	Yes	Assignments are available in Ultra Courses
Attendance	Yes	Yes	Yes	Learn Ultra currently supports the attendance feature
Calendar	Yes	Yes	Yes	Calendar is available now in Learn Ultra Links added to calendar Calendar – export is available now in Learn Ultra and will synch with the Learn calendar 8 times a day Calendar – import is not yet available in Learn Ultra
Content Editor	Yes	Yes	Yes	The Content Editor is available now in Learn Ultra Additional capabilities are planned for inclusion in Learn Ultra
Course Messages	Yes	Yes	Yes	Course Messages are available now in Learn Ultra More capabilities are planned for inclusion in Ultra Courses
Discussions	Yes	Yes	Yes	Discussions are available now in Learn Ultra Additional capabilities are planned for inclusion in Learn Ultra
Email	Yes	Yes	Yes	Instructors may send Messages to students via Email (SMTP) Receiving notifications via Email (SMTP) is available in Ultra now.
Files	Yes	Yes	No	Files are available now in Ultra Courses
Folders	Yes	Yes	No	Folders are available now in Ultra Courses
Grade Center	Yes	Yes	Yes	Grade Center (“Gradebook” in Ultra Courses) is available now in Ultra Courses Student list view of the Gradebook is available now in Ultra Courses
Groups	Yes	Yes	Yes	Groups are available now in Ultra Courses for Assignments, Tests, and Discussions. Additional capabilities are planned for inclusion in Ultra Courses
Items	Yes	Yes	Yes	Items (“Documents” in Ultra Courses) are available now in Ultra Courses
Journals	Yes	Yes	Yes	Journals (graded and non-graded) are available now in Ultra Courses
Rubrics	Yes	Yes	Yes	Rubrics are available now in Ultra Courses Additional capabilities are planned for inclusion in Ultra Courses
Student Preview	Yes	Yes	Yes	Student Preview in Ultra allows for a reset of the room to test multiple variables easily.
Tests	Yes	Yes	Yes	Tests are currently available in Ultra Courses. Types available are: Essay Fill in the Blank Matching Multiple choice (single and multiple correct) True/False Calculated Formula Additional capabilities are planned for inclusion in Ultra Courses

Advanced Features

Feature Name	In Original Course?	In Ultra Course?	More Planned for the Ultra Course?	Notes
Achievements	Yes	No	Yes	Achievements are planned for inclusion in Ultra Courses.
Additional Attempts to students in specific Assessments	Yes	Yes	Yes	This is included in Ultra Courses Due date exceptions will be covered in a later release
Anonymous Grading	Yes	Yes	Yes	Anonymous Grading is available in Learn Ultra Additional capabilities are planned for inclusion in Learn Ultra
Audio/Video Feedback	Yes	Yes	Yes	Audio/Video feedback is available for assessments and announcements More areas are planned for inclusion in the future.
Batch (Bulk) Edit	No	Yes	Yes	Available now in Ultra with a more streamlined workflow
Blackboard Mobile App	Yes	Yes	N/A	Available now for Learn Ultra (formerly called Bb Student)
Blogs	Yes	No	Yes	Blogs are planned for inclusion in Ultra Courses.
Bulk Download	Yes	Yes	Yes	Bulk download of assessments is now available in Ultra
Calculated Formula	Yes	Yes	No	Calculated Formula test type is now available in Ultra
Calculated Numeric	Yes	No	Yes	Calculated Numeric test type is being considered for inclusion in Ultra
Contacts	Yes	No	No	Contacts are not currently planned for inclusion in Learn Ultra
Content Collection	Yes	Yes	Yes	Content Collection is available now in Learn Ultra Additional capabilities are planned for inclusion in Learn Ultra
Course Builder Role	Yes	No	Yes	Course Builder role is planned for inclusion in Learn Ultra
Course Link	Yes	No	Yes	Course links are planned for inclusion in Ultra Courses
Course Reports	Yes	Yes	Yes	Course Reports (“Student Activity” in Ultra Courses) are available now in Learn Ultra The exact details of the reports vary between Learn Original and Ultra courses
Course Structures	Yes	No	No	Course Structures are not currently planned for inclusion in Ultra Courses
Course Surveys	Yes	No	Yes	Course Surveys are planned for inclusion in Learn Ultra
Course Themes	Yes	No	Yes	Course Themes are planned for inclusion in Learn Ultra
Date Management	Yes	Yes	Yes	Date Management (known as “Batch edit due dates” is available now in Learn Ultra Additional capabilities are planned for inclusion in Ultra Courses
Decimal Points in Tests	Yes	Yes	No	Decimal points in tests is now supported in Ultra
Delegated Grading	Yes	Yes	Yes	Delegated Grading is available now in Learn Ultra Additional capabilities are planned for inclusion in Learn Ultra
Discussion Analysis	No	Yes	Yes	Discussion Analysis is available in Ultra Courses
Dropping Grades	Yes	Yes	Yes	Now in Ultra Courses, users will be able to drop X grades within a category when using the overall grade calculation by categories.
Embedded Insights	No	Yes	Yes	Embedded Insights are part of the Ultra Course View
Glossary	Yes	No	No	Glossary is not currently planned for inclusion in Ultra Courses
Goals	Yes	Yes	Yes	Goals are available now in Ultra Courses Goal Reporting is planned for inclusion in Ultra Courses
Grade Center Filter and Search	No	Yes	Yes	Ultra Course view allows for quick searches and rapid filter options. Advanced filters are now included in Ultra Courses.
Groups – Manual Enrollment	Yes	Yes	No	Manual group enrollment is available in Ultra
Groups – Random Enrollment	Yes	Yes	No	Random group enrollment is available in Ultra
Groups – Self-Enrollment	Yes	Yes	Yes	Self-enrollment is available in Ultra
Guest Access	Yes	No	Yes	Guest role is planned for inclusion in Learn Ultra
Insert Item from Web	No	Yes	Yes	Ultra Courses natively embed videos from multiple websites including: VidGrid Panotpto FlipGrid SlideShare Prezi VoiceThread KhanAcademy Kaltura soundcloud spotify Genial.ly NearPod Quizlet Vimeo YouTube EdPuzzle H5P
Item Analysis	Yes	Yes	Yes	Called Question analysis in Ultra and is more accessible in Ultra Courses
Learning Modules	Yes	Yes	Yes	Learning Modules are available now in Ultra Courses
Lesson Plans	Yes	No	No	Lesson Plans are not currently planned for inclusion in Ultra Courses
Observer Access	Yes	No	Yes	The Observer role is planned for inclusion in Ultra Courses
Organizations	Yes	Yes	Yes	Organizations are available now in Learn Ultra
Office 365/G Suite Integration	Yes	Yes	Yes	Plan to continue to deepen the Office 365/ G Suite integration over time
Parallel Grading	Yes	Yes	Yes	Ultra parallel grading offers improved workflows Additional capabilities are planned for inclusion in Ultra Courses
Password Protected Assessments	Yes	Yes	Yes	Access code functionality is now available on Ultra Courses.
Performance Dashboard	Yes	No	No	Performance Dashboard is not currently planned for inclusion in Ultra Courses, many of the use cases provided by the Performance Dashboard are accommodated via Embedded Analytics.
Portfolio	Yes	No	Yes	Portfolios are available now in Learn Ultra Base Navigation Additional capabilities are planned for inclusion in Ultra Courses
Progress Tracking	Yes	Yes	Yes	Called Review status in Original Students able to mark their progress inside Ultra Courses. Additional capabilities are planned for inclusion in Ultra Courses
Rich Text Editor (RTE)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Ultra Course View does have a RTE. We do have plans to increase the functionality of this tool to include items such as: Emoji, Tables, and more. Font, size and color options are now available.
Question Banks	Yes	Yes	Yes	Question banks can be created/imported in Ultra.
Question Pools	Yes	Yes	Yes	This is the replacement to Original’s Random Blocks and Question Sets.
Question Regrading	Yes	Yes	Yes	Question regrading is available in Ultra Courses
SafeAssign	Yes	Yes	Yes	SafeAssign is available for Assignments and Essay questions in Tests in Ultra Courses
SafeAssign Direct Submit	Yes	Yes	Yes	SafeAssign Direct Submit is planned for inclusion in Ultra Courses
Score per Question	Yes	Yes	No	Score per question is available now in Ultra Courses
SCORM	Yes	Yes	Yes	SCORM is available now in Ultra Courses
Self and Peer Assessment	Yes	No	Yes	Qualitative peer assessment is now available in Ultra Courses. More capabilities planned in the future.
Tasks	Yes	No	No	Tasks are not currently planned for inclusion in Learn Ultra
Tests – Additional Time	No	Yes	Yes	Available in Ultra with options of 50%, 100%, and Unlimited
Video Everywhere / Browse My YouTube Videos	Yes	Yes	Yes	Video Everywhere, or Browse My YouTube Videos, is called Insert YouTube Video in Ultra Courses
Web Link	Yes	Yes	No	Web Links (HTTP/HTTPS/LTI) are currently available in Ultra Courses
Wikis	Yes	No	No	Wikis are not planned for inclusion in Ultra Courses
Unsubmitted Work Counts as Zero	No	Yes	Yes	Unsubmitted work counts as zero is an Ultra only feature and is currently available Additional capabilities are planned for inclusion in Ultra Courses