WHY CHANGE TO BLACKBOARD ULTRA NOW?
Because students urgently need a mobile-friendly, more accessible learning management system (LMS). When the pandemic forced schools online, it exacerbated a known issue: students were struggling accessing courses on their mobile devices because our current LMS was not up to the task. Now, more than 70% of students are accessing their courses on mobile devices. Blackboard Ultra will resolve many of these issues and serve our students better.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS IN DOING THIS?
• Ultra is mobile friendly, more accessible, and more modern.
• The Ultra Course Experience is more learner-centered, and easier to navigate and locate content.
• The design of Ultra means a consistent course experience for everyone.
• Blackboard Ultra is easier to learn and easier to use for instructors and students.
Moving to Ultra Timeline
| Dates | Required/Choice |
| Fall 2022 Intersession | Required |
| Spring 2023 | Instructors Choice |
| Summer 2023 | Required |
| Fall 2023 | All Instructors Required |
Ultra Course View Training Overview
A small pilot group will go through training this Fall. This group consists of the Division Directors, those who will be teaching a December Intersession Course and a few other select individuals who represent curriculum areas not taught during this intersession. Those individuals have already been contacted.
This training will be conducted during the months of October and November. We will be using the Test server for delivery of Training Materials provided by Blackboard & Anthology which have been tailored to our needs at NTCC. The goal is to help instructors continue delivering the excellent course content we are delivering now in the Original Course View, learning how to access those same tools in the Ultra Environment and learning what new tools Ultra may provide for us.
As many of our classes are using third party resources, each of which interacts with Blackboard in a unique way, an organization has been created on the Production server, called Faculty Resources, which will host all the training materials provided by the publishers so each instructor will have access to their specific needs at any time. There will also be a FAQs section for Blackboard which will be continually evolving as more questions arise during the training and as new tools are developed. The organization is going to be directed toward the Ultra Course View, so each instructor will be added to the organization as they are beginning the training.
We will have a sign-up form in the portal for you to select the training time that might work best for you Spring 2023 and Summer 2023 to go through similar training. As summer courses will be delivered in the Ultra Course View, if you teach a summer class, you need to select one of the Spring training teams. More than likely, there will be a few adjustments to the training as we work through these materials together. We welcome constructive feedback and questions.
