September 2024 Instructor News from The Center for Instructional Technology

September 6th, 2024
in -Instructional Technology News

Greetings from your Center for Instructional Technology! CIT provides training, support, and consultations for UA’s instructional technologies and technology accessibility. Visit cit.ua.edu to find step-by-step guides with pictures, discover upcoming workshops and webinars, or book an appointment. You can also reach us at cit@ua.edu or 205-348-3532 or visit us in A203 Gordon Palmer Hall.

‌This month’s CIT Instructor News features Ultra Course Content page changes and summer Ultra happenings; Blackboard and Turnitin highlights; and other information and resources to support teaching and learning.

Get on Blackboard Day

Thanks to the UA Student Government Association and Cassidy Matwiyoff, SGA VP of Academic Affairs, for hosting Get On Blackboard Day on Tuesday, August 27 in The Student Center Forum. Targeted to new students who need assistance on how to access vital academic resources, the event offered information about Student IT Resources, instructional technologies and support, and instruction on Blackboard Basics for Students.

CIT Instructional Technologist Melissa Fortson presents at Get on Blackboard Day

Meet the Simpler, More Modern Blackboard – Blackboard Ultra

‌‌Blackboard Ultra Course View (“Ultra”) offers a simple, modern, intuitive, and consistent interface across devices and a more streamlined experience for instructors and students. All Blackboard courses will be designed and delivered in Ultra by Spring 2026, and instructors of non-OTIDE-supported courses can teach with Ultra now (OTIDE-supported courses are designated as OL or OLM). Visit the CIT site to learn more about Ultra and UA’s plans, join or watch a recorded demonstration/information session, or request a practice course: Blackboard Ultra Course View

Ultra Course Content Page Changes

‌Ultra’s latest update includes some exciting user interface changes to the Course Content page that serves as the home page and entry point for all Ultra courses. The most apparent change is that areas previously on the left side of the page -Course Faculty, Details & Actions, etc. – have shifted to the right.

Student view: Course Content page

Other improvements include:

‌Greater visual depth – subtle gradients and softer edges, a more cohesive color palette, intuitive navigation which reduces cognitive load
‌Improved page structure
‌Differentiation among course elements – improved differentiation among learning modules, folders, and content items
‌An enhanced presentation of top-level and nested content

‌Learn more about these improvements by reading Anthology’s release notes: Course Content Page Enhancements– 3900.100

Ultra Good Summer

Summer is a great time to explore or prepare to teach with a new technology! This summer, we shared tips, tricks, and things to try in Ultra in a dedicated channel of the Ultra Team (a Microsoft Team that serves as a community of practice for those teaching or working with Ultra). Here’s an abbreviated list.

‌Ultra Good Summer Tip #1: Favorite your Ultra course(s)

View your Ultra course(s) quickly: If you access a course frequently, select Add to your favorites, represented by a star icon that turns purple. This will pin the course at the top of your course list.

A favorited course at the top of the Blackboard course list

‌To “un-favorite” a course, select the same star button so that it is no longer purple. This will unpin the course from the top of your course list.

‌This tip comes to us from CIT’s Instructional Technology knowledge base: How do I organize my list of courses?

Ultra Good Summer Tip #2: Set up a banner for your Ultra course

Instructors and administrators can upload an image to be the course banner inside courses in Blackboard. The course banner also appears in the grid view of the Courses page of Blackboard’s base navigation.

Course banner for the Introduction to Humanities course

‌Course banners have many uses:

Improve the way your Ultra Course View landing pages appear
‌Provide a visual identity for your course for students who are visual learners
‌Bring consistency between what the base navigation displays and the actual course
‌Help your students to identify your course and locate course details

‌Ready to give it a try? Follow these step-by-step instructions, with pictures, to set up a banner for your Ultra course: Set up a banner for your course

‌Ultra Good Summer Tip #3: Navigate inside your Ultra course

Ultra boasts a simpler, more modern course experience for students and instructors. Workflows and tools are easy to find and use in Ultra. Learn more about the Ultra environment by watching a video and exploring specific features.

Video: Navigate Inside a course – Blackboard

‌Explore:

Ultra Good Summer Tip #4: Create a Document

Ultra users can create Documents that combine a variety of materials to view together, such as text, multimedia, and attachments. Select the plus sign to create a Document and design it by selecting from a variety of block types, including Knowledge check (a multiple choice/multiple answer question to check comprehension) and Convert a file (converts PDF, PowerPoint, and Word files to Ultra Documents).

Video: Create Document – Blackboard

‌Explore:

Ultra Good Summer Tip #5: Copy Content from Other Courses

In the Ultra Course View, you can copy content from other courses you teach. You can copy entire courses and/or select individual items from other courses you’re teaching or have taught in the past. You can also combine items from multiple courses with a full course copy or individual item copies by selecting the checkboxes. Try copying an item to your Ultra course!

Video: Copy Content in Blackboard

Explore:

Panopto in Ultra

You can now use Panopto content and folders with Ultra Course View! From the CIT Knowledge Base:

‌You can also Embed a Video into a Blackboard Ultra Course anywhere you have access to the text editor. Additionally, you can allow students to record videos by creating a video assignment in Blackboard Ultra or using assignment folders. Panopto’s complete guide is available here: How to Use Panopto with Blackboard Ultra for Instructors

Turnitin Now Available for Blackboard Ultra Assignments

Instructors can now enable the Turnitin Originality Report when creating or editing a Blackboard Ultra assignment, allowing student submissions to be matched against the Turnitin database. When grading assessments, the Turnitin Originality score will appear in the Assessment Content panel of a student submission.

‌From the CIT Knowledge Base:

‌Blackboard Help resources:

CIT Technology and Tool Highlights

‌Blackboard

Known Issue – Sporadic invalid format error for third-party tools – Some student users are receiving an “Invalid locale format: false.” error when accessing third-party tools in Blackboard. Visit the knowledge base for a workaround.

‌Turnitin

Enhanced Similarity Report – You can now choose between new and classic views of the Turnitin Similarity Report. See Using the New Similarity Report for an overview of the redesigned look and feel and new match groups, and check out a sample report here: View the New Similarity Report in Action

Upcoming Learning Opportunities

Learn with us! CIT regularly hosts workshops and webinars on UA instructional technologies and technology accessibility. We are also pleased to offer individual consultations and group instruction by request.

‌09.10 | Getting Started with Panopto webinar

‌09.10 | People.ua.edu workshop

‌09.19 | Meet the New Blackboard: Blackboard Ultra webinar

‌Partner events include offerings from Blackboard (Ultra User Group), Panopto (Weekly Q&A, Basic Training Webinar), Respondus (Lockdown Browser, Respondus Monitor, Respondus 4 and the Test Bank Network), and more. You can find a complete list of CIT and partner offerings on the CIT website and UA Events Calendar.

September 2024 Instructor News from The Center for Instructional Technology