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Course Setup Checklist
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This page guides instructors through setting up the essential features of their Blackboard Ultra course. It is designed to encourage best practices for course setup that can save you work later in the semester. |
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Working from your syllabus during the course creation process will help ensure that your course is fully set up and organized effectively. |
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Course OrganizationBlackboard Ultra courses have a single course content page where all course materials are organized using modules, |
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folders, and multimedia documents |
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As you create your course, we recommend using your syllabus as a guide to assist you in the setup process. |
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Course Organization
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that users click to expand. Please visit Ultra Course - Navigation |
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for more details. Modules and Folders are the two main ways instructors can group course material. It's helpful to determine your course structure and create the folders or modules you need for the content before you begin creating/copying course materials. Our course structure gallery has examples of approaches you can take. If you are using modules, you can take advantage of the AI module generator to help create them quickly.
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Create Content |
Content can be created anywhere the 
is found. Chose "Create" to access course content items, and items for assessment and participation and engagement. For more ideas and information about course content, visit our creating content and /wiki/spaces/blackboard01/pages/154388661 pages.
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Once your course organization is in place, click to expand the folder/module and display the plus sign
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Create a learning module to allow students to navigate from one content item to the next without distractions or extra clicks. A learning module can help keep students focused on the lesson or concept. Instructors now have the option to customize the module. Choose to upload an image of your own, or select from Stock images from Unsplash. Additionally, you can auto generate images using the AI Design assistant.
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Folders
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You can create three levels of folders to organize your content. You cannot add modules to folders.
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Documents
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Create a scrolling document with text, audio, video and/or images. Combining a variety of materials to view together in one document allows you to present your content on one page for your students. Take advantage of Blackboard’s built in accessibility checker, powered by Ally, to ensure that your content is accessible for diverse learners.
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Links
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Create a web link or create course links within your course.
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Create tests. Instructors can also create tests for groups of students.
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Forms
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Use journals to communicate privately with students. Instructors can grade student contributions.
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SCORM Package
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Add web-based content packages from academic publishers or instructional designers. SCORM packages open in a new window and can count for a grade.
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Teaching Tools with LTI connection
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Instructors and course builders can enter a web link to ready-made material from textbook publishers to enhance their curriculum and provide students with supplementary materials that aid in learning.
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Discussions function slightly different than previously in Blackboard Original. Forums are absennt in Ultra but you can organize discussions into folders in the discussions area. |
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Utilize groups to establish collaborative spaces for students. Employ groups for both assignments and discussions, and also to apply release conditions to a specific set of students.
Creating groups:
- To add a group set, Press the
icon on the upper right side to add a new custom group set. A new group set panel will appear. - Enter the title at the top left of the panel. Group sets can be set to visible by students by clicking on "hidden from students" in the upper right of the panel then by selecting "visible to students" from the drop down menu. This is necessary to be able to use the "self-enrollment" option. If the group is hidden to student, then selecting "self-enrollment will not be possible and it will appear in a light grey color.
The dropdown menu next to "group student" has three options:
Custom: Create specific groups needed for that particular project or discussion
Randomly assigned: Blackboard's system will assign students at random based on set number of group members
Self-enrollment: Allow students the option to join a group of their choosing, with a limit on the number of students that can enroll in each group.
"Content Market" is the Blackboard location where non-Blackboard tools can be embedded into a course. The content market includes link embedding for SU-licensed tools which are supported by ITS and available campus-wide, including Kaltura, PlayPosit, Turnitin, and Zoom, as well as links for major e-textbook publishers that are frequently licensed by individual departments/programs such as McGraw Hill or Pearson.
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To embed a link to an external tool into your Blackboard course, open the course content area and click the Add Content icon, then select "Content Market" from the menu.
The full Content Market list will open in a pop out panel. The list is alphabetical; scroll down until you find the tool you wish to link in your Blackboard course.
Note that some tiles in the list have a an Add Content icon in the lower right corner. Click this icon to create a new link in your Blackboard course. Doing so will close the content market menu and return you to the course content area. Click the newly-created link to open the tool and configure the link settings for your students (such as directing the link to a specific chapter in an e-textbook or a specific file or video in a shared cloud drive)
If there is no plus icon in the corner of the content market tile, simply click the name of the tool itself to create and configure the Blackboard link in one step.
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For more ideas and information about course content, visit our creating content and copying content pages. |
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Gradebook SetupWhile gradebook setup |
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can be performed at any point in your course, |
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setting up your gradebook at the outset minimizes additional work when calculating final grades at |
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a semester's end. |
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The following settings can be adjusted by clicking the gear icon within the Gradebook section of your course:
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Manual columns can be utilized for items included in your overall grade such as participation or presentations and can be added by hovering in between two columns and clicking → "Add Item." You can access the overall grade from the pop up that prompts you to set up your overall grade "set it up" or from inside of the gradebook settings and going to "manage overall grade". Points, weighted, or an advanced calculation can be used for the overall grade. For more information please visit: Overall Grade.
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To create a rubric in your Ultra course:
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Use progress tracking to monitor student progress in your course. For more information please visit, Progress Tracking. For additional information about the gradebook including additional settings , please visit Ultra Gradebook and Ultra Gradebook Settings. For information about how to apply accommodations for students, exceptions, and exceptions, please visit our answers page Accommodations, Exceptions, and Exemptions . |
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Course CommunicationBlackboard Ultra has multiple ways to communicate with your students |
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including announcements and messages |
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. Due dates post automatically to the course calendar and you can add additional events, like office hours |
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Item visibility
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Item visibility
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Opening Your CourseOnce |
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your course is configured, |
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it is ready for students to view. To open your course |
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from inside it:
You can also open your course from the tile on the Courses page:
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