Update your Profile with a professional headshot 
Your profile picture appears on the opening page of a Course (if you are listed as the only instructor). In addition to being a nice aesthetic feature, it’s also a great introduction for your students.  

Adding PDFs that open in the browser 
From the Content area of the course, select the add (+) button and choose Upload. All other methods of adding documents from your computer require students to download them. Blackboard Learn Ultra has announced that other file types and methods of adding files will eventually also be able to open in the browser. 

About Assignments 
You can now add questions to Assignments. Be aware though that adding questions restricts the use of some of the available settings such as rubrics and SafeAssign (an originality checker tool). 

Peer review for qualitative assignments are now available in an updated version. Not all features are available, but more features are expected. In the future, this feature will allow students to use an instructor-built rubric for peer review. 

About Student Preview 
NOTE: If you test your assignments and tests using the Student Preview feature of Learn Ultra, any student-based submission will prevent instructors from editing the assignment or test. You will need to Reset the Student Preview to clear submissions to allow editing. The system blocks editing of an assignment or test after any student submissions have begun. You may adjust using the regrade feature after student submissions are complete. This will ensure that all students have the same experience.  

About Grading 
Due dates are not restrictive. Students can submit after a due date, but based on your course policy (typically in your syllabus), you don’t have to grade late assignments. If your policy is not to grade late assignments, please read the information below on setting automatic zeros. 

Add accommodations (e.g., time-and-a-half for assessments) for a student at the course level. You can also still add one-time individual exceptions. 

Set gradebooks to automatic zero. If your course policy is to not grade late assignments, using this setting will automatically add a zero while continuing to provide students with late notices. Remember to update your syllabi to include your course policies around these Blackboard settings, if applicable.  

 Learn more about Overall Grades, the name of the Total column in Ultra courses.  

—Karly Good, ITS