Blackboard Help
Blackboard has a new interface! It's available for you at UAS, but you have to take action to take advantage of it.
What is Blackboard Ultra?
Blackboard Ultra is a modern, streamlined version of the Blackboard learning management system (LMS), introduced in 2016. It is designed to enhance user experience with a simplified interface and improved navigation for online teaching and learning. Courses at UAS are all created in the older interface but any faculty can switch to Ultra before any semester begins! Find out more below.
How do I switch to Blackboard Ultra?
When your course is created at UAS, it is created in Original, the old Blackboard interface. Even if your URL says "ultra" in it, if you have a black menu on the left in your course, then you are still using "Original"!
As long as the semester that your course is in has not begun, then you can elect to move into the new interface, known as Blackboard Ultra. To do so, scroll down in the menu under tools to find the “x regenerate ultra course" at the very bottom.
WARNING: Courses that have been regenerated into ultra cannot be converted back to original! We can make a request for an administrator to recreate a live course from scratch in original if this happens to you, but at that time you would lose all content from the ultra course!
If you are sure you want to convert anyway, then when prompted, select that you are sure and your course will be re-created with the new interface.
If you are not sure for any reason, or are confused about how to do this, send us an email at uas.celt@alaska.edu right away. We will be happy to meet and help you go over options for testing Blackboard Ultra out before you convert.
Our Knowledge Base has more information!
If you are looking for answers to a specific question, we have many articles in our Knowledge Base covering all of the main functions of Blackboard, including a section with articles on Ultra! For example, you can find out more about the following:
Course Copy and Date Management
Course copy allows you to copy material from an old course into your new course which will save you hours of uploading and posting.
Course Linking
Course linking allows you to link multiple sections of the same course so that they appear in one Blackboard course site and grade center.
Self-Paced Blackboard Tutorial
If you're new to Blackboard, this self-paced Blackboard Ultra Orientation for Instructors Course will give you an opportunity to experiment with all of Blackboard's features.
More Tips and Troubleshooting
Browsers
- Make sure you're using Google Chrome or Firefox. These browsers work best with Blackboard. If you're using a Mac, avoid using Safari.
- If you are having trouble with your grade display jumping around when you use the scroll bar, use the arrows instead. If you don't see arrows on your scroll bar, try a different browser.
Printing Blackboard Pages
If you want to print off a page of Blackboard such as your instructional content folders, open your Blackboard course in Firefox, right-click on the webpage, select "This Frame" and then click on "Print this Frame". You will be able to print everything on the webpage instead of just what can be seen on your monitor.
CELT also has a YouTube page with helpful videos about Blackboard and other topics.