​These are the highlights of this month’s new and improved features in Blackboard Ultra that will be live Thursday, January 8th. The most relevant updates are related to a few key areas:

• Instructional Design
• Tests & Assignments
• Blackboard Core

Instructional Design

Usability improvements for Document Block Layout

To improve usability and accessibility, Anthology has restructured the menu for document block layouts. Previously, all options for changing the row, size, or position of a block were in a single dropdown list. Now, these options are organized by type of change (row, size, and position).

Selecting the edit icon for a block prompts a menu with three options: Change row, Change [block/column] size, and Change [block/column] position. Each of these options have a sub-menu, with the related actions.

• Change row
  • Move to row above
  • Move to row below
  • New row above
• Change [block/column] size
  • Expand to the left
  • Expand to the right
  • Shrink from the left
  • Shrink from the right
• Change [block/column] position
  • Move to the left
  • Move to the right

Tests & Assignments

Expanded question options for true/false

Anthology has expanded the display options for true/false questions to include:

• True/False
• Yes/No
• Right/Wrong
• Agree/Disagree

Enhanced multiple choice and multiple answer workflow

To reduce setup time when creating a multiple choice question, Anthology has changed the default number of answer options from three to four. Instructors can add or remove answer options.

Instructors can now define the number of answer selections that a student can make for each multiple choice question. When the student takes the assessment, the system enforces the instructor’s selection limit.

Blackboard Core

Navigate courses and tools faster with refreshed user interface

The changes reflect extensive feedback from instructors, administrators, and students and aim to:

• Use screen space more effectively
• Reduce navigation errors, such as accidental exits
• Improve performance and page load times
• Provide clearer context and orientation
• Minimize motion for smoother navigation

The changes include the following, but please learn more about these changes if you’d like;

• Refreshed base navigation
• Course panels become full-screen course pages
• The Home button replaces the Exit button
• Course ID and title in the header bar
• Full-width banner
• Course switcher

For more information, please read more at Anthology’s Blackboard website.

Contact the Innovative Learning Support Centre if you need support. We are here to help!