
Ultra and Data-Informed Instruction
Meagan Knoll from the Seidman College of Business Management department shares how data can inform instruction and shared a moving story about making a student intervention after analyzing her Blackboard Ultra course data.
Did you know we have 258 faculty already teaching in Bb Learn Ultra?
What the migration means for you
- Starting with Spring/Summer 2023, all courses will use the new, much-updated Ultra Course View. The Ultra course experience focuses on:
- Improved workflows and seamless transition between mobile devices and desktops.
- An updated personalized interface that focuses on the learning process.
- Embedded analytics to help keep students informed about their progress and tells faculty quantitative stories about their students’ learning.
- Monthly Bb releases of new tools and updates allowing GVSU to adapt dynamically and progressively.
- Faculty have until then to move their courses from Classic Course View to Ultra Course View.
- Visit the eLearning page for a schedule of training opportunities for learning how to use Ultra Course View.
- Every faculty member has their own "Ultra Practice Test Course" where they can begin exploring how to use Ultra Course View.
- All faculty have been enrolled in a Blackboard site named "Blackboard Learn Ultra Self-Paced Training." You can use this site to become familiar with Ultra Course View at your own pace.
Who's Already Using Ultra Course View?
Keri Davis
Education
Elizabeth Davis
Nursing
Rick VanderMolen
Education
Christina Beaudoin
Exercise Science
Raymond Higbea
Public, Nonprofit, and Health Administration
Lara Jaskiewicz
Public, Nonprofit, and Health Administration
Alisha Karabinus
Digital Studies
George Lundskow
Sociology
Melissa Morison
Classics
Jeffrey Rothstein
Sociology
Daniel Giedeman
Economoics
Grand Valley faculty discuss the benefits of switching to Blackboard Ultra.
Hear even more success stories on our Ultra Champions page.

Record Numbers Attend Blackboard Ultra Workshops
On Friday February 3, 2023, eLearning Technologies held two in-person workshops devoted to Blackboard Ultra. Over 70 faculty and staff from across the university attended the events in the Kirkhof Center’s Pere Marquette room. On hand to lead one of the workshops and answer questions were representatives from Anthology, Blackboard's parent company.
The Migration Timeline
Moving to the Cloud

Learning Ultra
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Ultra Course View

About the Migration
In Winter 2021, Grand Valley began a process of selecting a new learning management system (LMS). Ultimately the decision was made to migrate to Blackboard's Learn Ultra product.
Get to Know Blackboard Learn Ultra
Ultra Base Navigation
Learn more about UBN in a webinar.
These sessions can be found in Sprout.4/12/23, 4/28/23, 5/3/23 (12:00 pm - 1:00pm)
Watch these video overviews of Ultra Base Navigation:
- The Institution Page
- The Profile Page
- The Activity Stream
- Courses and Organizations
- Calendar
- Messages
- Grades
- Blackboard Assist
- The Tools Page
Knowledge Base Articles
Ultra Course View
Blackboard Sponsored Training
https://go.blackboard.com/Instructor-webinar-series
Self-Paced Training
All faculty have been enrolled in a Blackboard site named "Blackboard Learn Ultra Self-Paced Training." You can use this site to become familiar with Ultra Course View at your own pace. Faculty can experiment in their Practice Test Course, or request an Ultra Course View template site.
Drop-in Bb Ultra Office Hours
We have two graduate assistants who are available Monday - Friday (9 - 4) to help with Ultra questions. Stop by KHS 4450 on the Allendale campus. No appointment is necessary. Daniel Rikkers and Sam Nyarega are ready and eager to help you with Bb Ultra.
Blackboard Ultra Essentials
This webinar is recommended for faculty/staff, who are comfortable learning new applications on their own and want to learn the most commonly used features of Blackboard Ultra.
4/24/23, 4/27/23, 5/9/23, 8/16/23 (11:00 am - noon)
5/1/23, 6/19/23, 8/14/23 (1:00 pm - 2:00 pm)
4/27/23, 6/22/23, 8/10/23 (7:00 pm - 8:00 pm)
Bb Ultra Lunch-and-Learns – Q&A Sessions
*All sessions begin at 12 noon. Bring your questions about Bb Ultra.
4/3/23 4/5/23, 4/11/23, 4/13/23, 4/17/23, 4/19/23, 4/25/23, 4/27/23, 5/2/23, 5/4/23, 5/8/23, 5/10/23
Blackboard Ultra Build-a-thon Sessions
*Webinars are scheduled for 3 hours. During Zoom sessions, participants will be put in breakout rooms with dedicated members of the eLearning team for guided practice.
4/11/23 9 am – 12 pm MAK B-2-226 (Allendale)
4/11/23 1 pm – 3 pm 119E DEV (Pew Campus)
4/12/23 9 am – 12 pm RFH 404 (Health Campus)
4/13/23 1 pm – 3 pm DCIH (Health Campus)
4/14/23 9 am – 12 pm Zoom
4/17/23 1 pm – 4 pm MAK B-2-226 (Allendale)
4/18/23 9 am – 11 am 119E DEV (Pew Campus)
7/27/23 1 pm – 4 pm Zoom
8/18/23 9 am – 12 pm Zoom
Bb Ultra Show-and-Tell
Want some advice about how to organize your Ultra course? Come and see how our early Bb Ultra adopters are organizing their courses and teaching in Ultra.
4/13/23 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
5 Steps for Course Design using Blackboard Ultra
This series uses best practices in course design in the most time-efficient process possible. Each webinar will cover pedagogy and strategies, as well as plenty of examples on the following topics for designing and building your course.
Step 1: Foundational Items
Foundational Items needed for the first step will be discussed (Syllabus, Course Schedule, Learning Objectives, Begin Here/Welcome content, Navigation instruction, and more).
( information on a future date for this session will be released soon )
Step 2: Assessments
Assessments ideas for student engagement and components available in Ultra will be discussed.
4/18/23 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Step 3: Activities
Learning activity ideas for student engagement, rubrics, and components available in Ultra will be discussed.
5/9//23 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Step 4: Navigation
5/30/23 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Step 5: Tech Check
6/20/23 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Blackboard Ultra Special Topics
Using Data in Learn Ultra
(5/11/23 11 am - noon and 6/6/23 1pm - 2pm)
Holding every student accountable and identifying individuals who are falling behind is made easier in the Blackboard Learn Ultra experience. This webinar will focus on the data and analytics that are available throughout your Ultra Course and include an overview of Blackboard’s Assessment and Accreditation solution, EAC Visual Data. During the session, we’ll guide instructors through the assignment analytics, student progress analytics, and course data that will allow you to measure and boost your students’ performance.
Blackboard Ultra Special Topics
Communication Tools
(5/11/23 1pm - 2pm and 8/21/23 10am - 11am)
Learn how to communicate with students in Blackboard Ultra using notifications, messages, discussions, conversations, and announcements.
Blackboard Ultra Special Topics
Gradebook
(5/16/23 2pm - 3pm, 6/29/23 10am - 11am and 8/22/23 10am - 11am)
Learn how to navigate and use the gradebook. You can access grades from Ultra Base Navigation or from the Gradebook tab in a course.
Blackboard Ultra Special Topics
Content Market
(5/18/23 11am - 12 ppm, 7/11/23 2pm - 3pm, and 8/23/23 10am - 11am)
Learn how to utilize course tools from the content market, which include the accessibility report, Google assignments, Panopto videos, quizzes, and assignments, Zoom, Hypothesis, etc.
Visit our eLearning Technologies webinar page to see a complete list of Blackboard Ultra training options.
Watch short video tutorials about its main features on this video playlist.
Faculty can also browse our list of Ultra Knowledge Base articles.
See our Top 10 Bb Tools which compare Bb Classic vs Bb Ultra features.
Important
Photo Roster, Bb Bookmark and Mobile Considerations
- Instructors your class photo roster is found in Banner. The way to find your students' ID photos can be found in the GVSU Faculty/Staff Additional Banner Applications "Class List" tool.
- The web address for Blackboard is https://lms.gvsu.edu
- If you access Blackboard on a mobile device, please delete the app and re-install it. See the Blackboard mobile app page for installation and getting started information.

Have Questions or Want to Learn More?
Please visit our Instructor Resources for Blackboard Ultra page in the Service Portal Knowledge Base, or the Student Resources for Blackboard Ultra page.
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