Ultra Café

The Blackboard Ultra Café is a day of snacks, coffee, and course building. Blackboard experts offer guidance in an in-person interactive workshop and an in-person open workspace.

The interactive workshop and the open workspace are offered in the Morning Café and the Afternoon Café in separate rooms. If you aren’t able to attend both on the same day, feel free to register for one on another date.

Morning Café: 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM
Afternoon Café: 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM

Upcoming Sessions

Save the date and register for upcoming sessions on one or more of the following dates:

Ultra Office Hours

Got questions about Blackboard Ultra? Join our Office Hours for one-on-one support, quick tips, and personalized guidance. Whether you’re troubleshooting a tricky feature or just curious about what’s new, we’re here to help—no appointment needed!

CIT Office Hours – STARTING SEPT. 19

Every Friday from 2:00-3:30 in A232 Gordon Palmer Hall.

Virtual Ultra Office Hours – STARTING SEPT. 16

Every Tuesday from 2:00-3:00 through Teams.

Upcoming Special Topic Sessions

• October 20, 1-2 PM
• November 17, 1-2 PM
• December 15, 1-2 PM

Blackboard Ultra Demo and Info Session

Join us for a 30-minute presentation followed by Q&A to see Ultra for yourself and find out what you need to do to prepare.

Upcoming sessions

Select a session link to register for a virtual session. Registration is not required for in-person sessions.

Blackboard Ultra Basics

The new Blackboard is here! Join this session to learn the basics: navigation, key features, and how to build course content from scratch and by copying from Original courses. This session is for instructors, teaching assistants, and course designers and builders.

Upcoming sessions

Select a session link to register for a virtual session. Registration is not required for in-person sessions.

10 Things You Didn’t Know About Ultra

Think you know Blackboard Ultra? Think again! Join us for a fast-paced, interactive session where we reveal 10 surprising, time-saving, and just plain cool features hiding in plain sight. Whether you’re a seasoned Ultra user or just dipping your toes in, this workshop will leave you saying, “Wait… it can do THAT?!”

Upcoming Sessions

Select a session link to join a virtual session. Registration is not required for in-person sessions.

Transitioning Original Courses to Ultra Courses

In Ultra, you can copy content from other courses you teach so you don’t have to start with a blank slate. Join this session to learn how to copy an entire course or individual course items from Original to Ultra courses. We’ll also look at Ultra Course Preview, which instructors can use to see changes before converting their courses permanently, and CIT resources for course conversion.

Upcoming sessions

Select a session link to register an in-person session.

Creating Dynamic Content

Build your Ultra course! Learn how to create new content, copy content from other courses, and add content from external sources, such as academic publishers. This session is for instructors, teaching assistants, and course designers and builders.

Upcoming sessions

Select a session link to register for a virtual session. Registration is not required for in-person sessions.

Communication Features in Ultra

Learn how to use Announcements, Messages, Discussions, and email to communicate with students. We’ll also explore Class Conversations, an Ultra feature than allows students to discuss course content with you and their classmates.

Upcoming sessions

Select a session link to join a virtual session. Registration is not required for in-person sessions.

Blackboard AI Design Assistant

Use Blackboard’s generative AI tool to help you design your Ultra course. Instructors can auto-generate the following: learning modules, assignment prompts, discussion prompts, journal prompts, test questions, question banks, grading rubrics, images, and document layouts. This session is for instructors, teaching assistants, and course designers and builders.

Upcoming sessions

Select a session link to register for a virtual session. Registration is not required for in-person sessions.

Assessing Student Learning

Learn how to create and evaluate Assignments, Tests, and other assessments in your Ultra course. We’ll also talk about grades and feedback, rubrics, and accommodations. This session is for instructors, teaching assistants, and course designers and builders.

Upcoming sessions

Select a session link to register for a virtual session. Registration is not required for in-person sessions.

• Register for 9/19 Virtual Assessing session – 11 AM–12 PM
• Register for 10/13 Virtual Assessing session – 2–3 PM
• Register for 11/7 Virtual Assessing session – 11 AM–12 PM

Grading and Managing the Gradebook

Explore grading workflows, set up and adjust the Gradebook, and navigate the Gradebook’s student view.

Upcoming sessions

Select a session link to register for a virtual session. Registration is not required for in-person sessions.

• Register for 9/26 Virtual Grading/Gradebook session – 2–3 PM
• Register for 10/16 Virtual Grading/Gradebook session – 11 AM–12 PM
• 11/13 Grading/Gradebook session, A232 Gordon Palmer Hall, 11:30 AM–12:30 P
• Register for 12/12 Virtual Grading/Gradebook session – 12–1 PM

Analytics, Performance and Activity

Learn about Ultra features you can use to keep track of how your students are performing and how they are interacting with your course. This session is for instructors, teaching assistants, and course designers and builders.

Upcoming sessions

Select a session link to register for a virtual session. Registration is not required for in-person sessions.

• Register for 10/21 Virtual Analytics session – 1–2 PM
• Register for 11/10 Virtual Analytics session – 11 AM–12 PM