These are the highlights of this month’s new and improved features in Blackboard Ultra that will be live Thursday, June 5th. The most relevant updates are related to a few key key areas:

• Instructional design
• Tests & Assignments
• Communication & Collaboration
• and Gradebook

Learn more about the full update at Anthology’s Blackboard website here!

 

Instructional Design

Add resizable dividers to Documents

Anthology has added a divider block to Documents. Dividers can be used to help students easily identify related and unrelated sections. This new feature will greatly improve the readability and structure of educational materials.

Key Features: 

• Flexible: Dividers can be used in various ways to suit different instructional needs.
• Resizable: Dividers can be resized across up to four columns, providing flexible options.

Enhanced overall appearance and usability of Knowledge Checks

Anthology has made several adjustments to the appearance and responsive behavior of Knowledge Checks. These changes enhance the visual effects and usability for both instructors and students.

Changes impacting instructors and students:

• Answer Choices: The letters of answer choices now display at the top of each answer option, rather than in the middle.
• Answer Labels: Correct and incorrect answer labels have been moved from the side of an answer option to the top.
• Question Text Padding: Padding on the right side of question text that extended past the answer text has been removed.
• Small Screen Adjustments: On very small screens, the “Correct answer” label is now shortened to “Correct.”

Changes impacting only instructors:

• Answer Metrics: Answer metrics now appear at the top of answer text alongside the correct and incorrect answer labels.
• Visual Indicators: Instead of highlighting questions with red and green to indicate the correctness of the answer, a colored bar now appears at the top of a question.
• Result Labels: Result labels are now displayed in lowercase instead of all capital letters.
• Small Screen Padding: Padding to the left and right of the Knowledge Check results has been removed for smaller screens.
• Participation Count: The number of students who participated is no longer shown as a fraction. Instead, students are described as part of a number. For example, “2 of 8 students participated.”

 

Tests & Assignments

Create Jumbled Sentence Questions

Instructors can now create jumbled sentence questions for tests in Blackboard. This feature lets instructors define one or more paragraphs with blanks for students to complete. Additionally, instructors can:

• Define distractors to challenge students
• Add automated feedback for correct and incorrect answers
• Designate questions as extra credit
• Use accessibility tools, such as keyboard-only workflows, to create this question type

To create a variable, insert the variable in square brackets within the paragraph. Each variable is automatically recognized as the correct answer. Instructors can enable partial credit to award points for partially correct responses. For example, if half of the answers are correct, half of the max points are awarded.

Variables can include the following characters:

• Letters
• Digits (0-9)
• Periods (.)
• Underscores (_)
• Hyphens (-)

The question text and variable input are validated for syntax correctness, notifying instructors of any errors, such as a missing bracket.

 

With the release of the new jumbled sentence question type, instructors can use AI to generate jumbled sentence questions!

 

Communication & Collaboration

Enhance student engagement with discussion activity indicator

Anthology has improved the discussion experience by adding another indicator of activity. This addition encourages student engagement and makes it easier for instructors to track student activity.

• Unread Discussion Posts: The Discussions page now shows the number of unread discussion posts from anywhere in a course.

 

Gradebook

Perform Bulk Category Changes in Item Management

Instructors can select one or more gradebook columns on the Item Management page and assign them to an existing category.

This feature allows instructors to efficiently organize and manage gradebook items. Changing the category of a gradebook item updates the category label for display purposes without altering the item itself. The process follows the familiar Bulk Edit interface pattern, where instructors can select items, select Change Category, and use the modal to view and select available categories.

 

Navigate the Gradable Items tab in the Gradebook

 

Anthology has an ongoing commitment to the usability and accessibility of the Gradebook. The Gradable Items tab uses a table-based layout to improve navigation and interaction for instructors who use keyboards and screen readers. This makes the Gradebook more accessible for all instructors.

 

How to Navigate the Gradable Items tab by keyboard:

1. Use the Tab key to go to the Gradable Items tab.
2. Tab to the Gradable Items table header to enter the table.
3. Use the arrow keys to navigate the table.
4. The Tab key will take you out of the table and to the Close button. Shift + Tab returns you to the Settings button.

How to Navigate the Gradable Items tab with screen readers:

Screen reader users can navigate to the Gradable Items tab using the keyboard instructions. You can also use the specialized keyboard combination for your screen reader to go directly to the table.

• JAWS: Use Insert + Control + T
• NVDA: Use T, then Control + Down arrow to enter the table
• VoiceOver: Use Control + Option + Command + Right arrow key to choose the table option

1. Once in the table, screen reader users can use table navigation (Control + Alt + arrow keys) to navigate the table.
2. If you want to add content, use the down arrow to go to the More options button at the end of the row. The next down arrow will be the Add content button.

Note for JAWS users!

1. JAWS users can move left or right in any row by using table navigation keys.
2. To move up and down between assignment rows, navigate to the Item column first.

 

Student Activity Log: Simplify review of student content access

Anthology has added two new features to the Student Activity Log to enhance tracking and reviewing student engagement. These updates streamline the evaluation process and provide more comprehensive data for instructors.

• Content Access Filter: The Student Activity Log now includes a filter for content access, recording information not available elsewhere, such as Kaltura content. This allows instructors to easily review students’ access without needing to download and manually filter CSV files, saving time and simplifying the process.
• Enhanced LTI Access Filter: The LTI access filter now includes all types of LTI items, including LTI placeholders. This provides instructors with more detailed insights into how students interact with LTI elements in their courses.

 

Need support? Contact the Innovative Learning Support Centre. We are here to help!