Instructional technologies provide many opportunities to support assessment and track student performance in Blackboard.
The following articles provide details describing the best practices we regularly publish to support our pedagogical community of practice.
Showing items tagged ultra-update. Show All
Restrict File Types in Assignment Submissions in Blackboard's September Update
Preview Outcomes mastery also available in gradebook
A student submits their essay as a Pages file. Another turns in a .zip when you asked for a single PDF. By the time you notice, you're chasing down a resubmission instead of grading. September's...
Posted: September 17, 2026, 3:00 PM
13 Tips to Get Your Blackboard Course Ready
Checklist to optimize your course before the semester starts
The week before the semester starts can feel like a sprint: A full inbox, a syllabus that still needs one more edit, and a course shell that isn’t quite ready for students yet. Before the scramble...
Posted: August 12, 2026, 10:00 AM
Blackboard's August Update Redesigns Grading, Navigation, and Group Tools
A quick rundown of what's new for faculty & students
Blackboard's August update is one of the bigger releases we've seen in a while, touching grading, navigation, assessments, and course workflows all at once. Here's what's changing, organized by...
Posted: August 7, 2026, 3:31 PM
Blackboard Launches New Gradebook on August 7
Same grades, less clicking.
After a year-long redesign with faculty feedback sessions – including on-site at UMBC – Blackboard will launch a new gradebook starting August 7, 2026. The redesigned gradebook grid view will...
Posted: July 20, 2026, 10:00 AM
July Update Brings Rubric Evaluation Report to Ultra Courses
Discussion descriptions, AI conversation timers, course favs
This month's Ultra update provides a new report that gives instructors class-wide rubric data at a glance, and a dedicated field that separates discussion context from prompt. Paired with clearer...
Posted: July 2, 2026, 10:29 AM
Smarter Feedback and Flexible Rubric Improvements Arrive in the June Ultra Update
Turn every answer choice into a teachable moment
What if a wrong answer could teach just as much as a right one? This month’s Blackboard update brings tools that let instructors do exactly that: Guiding students not just to the correct response,...
Posted: May 28, 2026, 10:32 AM
Redesigned Groups, Cascading Release Conditions in the May Ultra Update
Smarter tools for course design and student support
Have you ever spent more time wrestling with Blackboard's Groups tool than actually designing the group work itself, especially in a large course? The May Ultra update delivers meaningful...
Posted: May 5, 2026, 9:03 AM
Set Multiple Due Dates for Discussions & Define Assignment Types in April Ultra Update
New tools for clarity, consistency, and control in your Ultr
Have you ever wanted students to see exactly what's expected of them in a discussion, without having to navigate back to the assignment details to check? Or needed to recognize that one group...
Posted: April 3, 2026, 8:20 AM
Simplified Course Navigation and Supercharged Test Setup with the January Ultra Release
Redesigned course layout and time-saving test tools
In January, UMBC faculty and students will experience a redesigned course navigation in Ultra that makes key areas easier to access and understand. The updated layout brings a full-width header...
Posted: January 6, 2026, 9:50 AM
Blackboard Revamps Course Navigation to Streamline Workflows
A cleaner, faster course experience arrives around Jan 8-9
Blackboard will roll out a refreshed interface in early January, introducing a cleaner, more intuitive design that aims to make everyday teaching tasks faster and more efficient. One change is...
Posted: December 10, 2025, 2:47 PM
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