Ultra Updates - Spring 2025
You can review . Please note that not all of the features listed in the official release notes are available to our faculty.
Gradebook Updates
Instructors can now track student engagement with feedback in the Gradebook. An indicator on the student Overview page shows whether feedback has been reviewed. Initially, grades are labeled as Not reviewed. Once a student reviews the feedback, the status changes to Reviewed with a timestamp. If grades are updated or multiple attempts are made, the timestamp updates accordingly. If all attempts are deleted, the labels are removed.
Additionally, Group Grading has been migrated to Flexible Grading, offering instructors a more streamlined experience for grading group assignments and tests. This update enhances the efficiency of the grading interface and workflow. While some features for individual submissions, like per question feedback and pop-out rubrics, will be added to group submissions in future updates, the current release focuses on improving the overall grading process for group work.
Messages Update
The Course Activity report now includes improved messaging options.
Instructors can select recipients using new group labels in the Recipients field: All students, Selected students, Selected students with alerts, and Selected students without alerts.
These enhancements make it easier to communicate with specific groups of students, especially in large classes.
Miscellaneous Updates
AI Assistant
The AI Design Assistant now generates one image at a time instead of four. Each generated image is saved for instructors to select from previously generated images. When an image is selected or the generation process is exited, all images are cleared. This method saves processing power and is more environmentally friendly.
Additionally, an enhancement was made to improve the user experience when generating learning modules. If an image isn't generated, a placeholder image is now used to prevent the title and description from shifting to the left, ensuring a consistent reading experience.
Instructional Design
Instructors and students can now print blackboard ultra Documents or save them to PDF, providing more ways to engage with content.
Additionally, LTI providers can now specify their desired height for embedded LTIs in Blackboard. Previously, all embedded LTIs were set to a fixed height, which often resulted in excessive white space below content.