In this edition of our eLearning Technologies newsletter, we have curated a wealth of valuable information. Uncover practical tips for grading in Blackboard Ultra, delve into the latest Blackboard updates in the June release, and get reminders about the F word—Fall courses and their upcoming availability. We are pleased to provide a registration link to join an FTLC Blackboard Ultra working group, information on how to take full advantage of our virtual and in-person office hours, and links to register for our upcoming professional development webinars.
In this issue:
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The F Word—Fall Courses!
Fall 2023 course sites will be created and available to instructors listed as the instructor of record in Banner beginning July 10, 2023. Those who want to begin working on their courses early can request a template course site.
Like your practice test course, template sites are always available. They serve as a great place to work on building your courses over time, as well as a great place to keep track of resources or ideas that you might use in the future. Once a new semester arrives, the content from your template site can be copied into the new term's site. You can request as many template sites as you need, and the form will also ask you to identify other faculty that might need shared access to your template.
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Pedagogical Best Practices in Learn Ultra
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Glenna Decker
Senior Instructional Design Specialist
Grand Valley State University
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David Nivala
Instructional Technology Project Specialist
Grand Valley State University
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On June 27 at 11am, Glenna Decker and David Nivala will be copresenting "The Instructor Perspective: Pedagogical Best Practices in Learn Ultra" for Anthology as part of their Ambassador panel. Join them for a one-hour live virtual panel discussion and Q&A session where they will discuss how to leverage Learn Ultra to create efficiencies, increase engagement, track and maximize student progress, and much more. Register at this website to receive your webinar link.
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Tips for Grading in Blackboard Ultra
Grading is laborious. Instructors need to make the best of their time for grading without worrying about the grade book's functionality. Fortunately, Blackboard Ultra provides many tools for grading and organizing your gradebook.
Setting Up the Gradebook
As you create assignments, tests, graded discussions, or journals in our courses, Blackboard Ultra is automatically creating the columns. Sometimes you may also need an extra column in your gradebook to track a non-assessment grade, a total points column, or a weighted grade column. Several knowledge base articles in the service portal assist with setting up the gradebook. In the Setting Up the Gradebook category, you’ll find tutorial articles on:
The Joy of Grading!
Everyone has their own grading strategies and practices. Blackboard Ultra offers tools to streamline those practices. The Grading category in the knowledge base offers tutorial articles on:
Gradebook Management
Managing the gradebook can involve something as simple as filtering it or analyzing data to assess student performance. From the Gradebook Management category, consider these articles:
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What’s New in the June Ultra Release
Each month, Bb Ultra brings a range of exciting new features that can enhance the teaching and learning journey. For the complete list of releases, see the June 2023 release notes. In this edition, we are focusing on three feature enhancements.
1) Announcements moved to the top navigation bar!
While the functionality of Announcements will stay the same, this move makes it easier to find and review announcements.
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2) Upload Questions from a File to Tests and Assignments
Creating test questions can be time-consuming and tedious. This update can help you be more efficient by creating questions in applications that allow for more familiar workflows, like Microsoft Excel. Once uploaded, the questions can be used and edited just like questions created manually. The questions must be formatted in specific ways, and the file must be saved as a txt file. Learn more about creating and uploading question files and download a sample file.
Note that this feature only applies to Tests initially; a future update will extend this feature to Question Banks. In the meantime, you can import questions to a Test and then use the Reuse Questions functionality to copy them to a Question Bank.
3) Add Exceptions from the Gradebook Grid View and the Student Overview Page
Instructors may need to grant an exception to a student for specific tests or assignments. These exceptions may include the following:
- Providing additional attempts
- Rescheduling due dates
- Granting extended access
Until now, exceptions were only accessible from the submissions page for an assessment. Now, instructors can access the exceptions workflow from the gradebook grid view and Student Overview page. More information about this update can be found in this article.
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Virtual and In-Person Office Hours for Ongoing Support
Have a Blackboard Ultra question? Need some advice? Virtual office hours are back this spring-summer semester from 12–1 pm.
- June 14, 20, 22, 26, 28
- July 6, 10, 12, 18, 20, 24, 26
- August 1, 3, 7, 15, 17, 21, 23, 29, 31
Stay as little or as long as you need in one of our upcoming sessions. Registration is not required. Use this Zoom meeting link to access our office hours.
Walk-in Assistance for Blackboard Ultra
In addition to your dedicated eLearning liaisons and our virtual office hour appointments, two graduate assistants are available Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday (9am–4pm) to help with Ultra questions. Stop by KHS 4450 on the Allendale campus. No appointment is necessary. Daniel Rikkers and Sam Nyarega are ready and eager to help you with Blackboard Ultra.
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Refresh your Foundations of Online and Hybrid Teaching Skills
If you previously participated in a Foundations training to become certified to teach online or hybrid courses at the university, we have auto-enrolled you in our brand new self-paced course, found under the Professional Development category in Blackboard.
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The Foundations of Online and Hybrid Course Development course provides a valuable opportunity to update your skills and revisit the application of quality standards in developing online and hybrid courses. You’ll have access to updated examples demonstrating these best practices in the Blackboard Ultra format, including videos, readings, and hands-on activities.
While the course allows you the flexibility to learn at your own pace, it's important to remember that you’re not alone in this journey. We encourage you to contact your eLearning liaisons or submit a ticket using the IT Service Portal if you want consultation assistance. Faculty members who were not previously certified and would like access to the updated Foundations course are encouraged to visit our website which includes instructions on how to self-enroll.
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Join the FTLC- Sponsored Blackboard Ultra Working Group
The Pew Faculty Teaching and Learning Center is sponsoring a Blackboard Ultra Working Group which will be facilitated by an expert graduate of the ACUE course on effective teaching strategies who is also an Ultra early adopter. Over the summer, the group will work together in making the move to Ultra course view, aligning with the best and most effective teaching practices. The group will meet either in person or virtually. Use this registration link to join.
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Webinars to help with Brainstorming/Collaboration, Course Design, and Supporting Instructor Presence!
Additional webinars can be found in Sprout.
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Sincerely,
Kim Kenward
Director of eLearning Technologies
GVSU Information Technology
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