Want to know what the newest features are in Blackboard Ultra? We’ll list the newest releases here each month and provide links to past releases for you to review. Click on the links to take a deeper dive into each feature.
March 2025 Release Highlights (Released on March 6)
- Pop-out rubrics make it easier to view the rubric and submission side-by-side and apply grading criteria without navigating away from the submission.
- Due dates are now shown on the release conditions panel when modifying access dates.
- Turnitin Reports now provide additional information, including the specific courses where a flagged submission has been submitted previously.
- Analytics: New reports show course goal coverage and evaluate how well course goals are met.
- AI Design Assistant:
- Images are generated one at a time, streamlining the process and reducing energy use.
- When generating learning modules, the learning module images can be regenerated individually.
- Gradebook:
- Calculation columns can be hidden.
- Student Avatars are shown in the Students list. Avatars of students who can no longer access the course are shown with a strikethrough.
- Discussions:
- Posts now have a gray background for better visibility.
- Long posts are fully visible without scrolling.
- The number of posts and replies is shown on the discussion home page.
- The Edit button is now displayed above the post.
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- To address misuse, system administrators can reveal the identity of an anonymous post author. (Users who post anonymously are warned that their identity can be revealed by an authorized user.)
February 2025 Release Highlights (Released on February 6)
- Folders can now be turned into learning modules, and learning modules can be turned into folders.
- A Folder changed into a Learning Module gains all the advantages of a Learning Module: progress bar, thumbnail image, etc.
- A Learning Module changed into a Folder loses all its Learning Module functions.
- The AI Design Assistant can generate up to 20 Questions or Learning Modules can at once.
- Learning Modules can now be generated without descriptions.
- The new Image block option makes it easier to add images to Documents.
- All new Groups are now course-level groups.
- Course-level groups can now be created directly from a content item, making activity-level groups unnecessary.
- Existing activity-level groups will remain but cannot be reused.
- Recall that the August 2024 update removed the ability to add questions to new Assignments but did not affect existing Assignments. The February 2025 update includes a one-time bulk conversion of all Assignments that were created prior to the August 2024 update:
- Assignments without questions were converted to the updated Assignment interface.
- Assignments with questions have been classified as Tests and not converted.
- The settings menu for Tests no longer includes options that only apply to Assignments.
- Grading Improvements:
- Excluding an attempt now removes its “Needs Grading” flag and removes the attempt from the Needs Grading count in all gradebook views.
- Uploaded grades, as well as Discussion and Journal grades entered directly in the Grid view, are now applied to the appropriate submission rather than as overrides.
- Bb Annotate now renders files exactly as submitted, without formatting changes.
- The grading interface for Assignments and Tests has been streamlined: student and submission information, the grade pill, and previous/next student navigation controls are now in the black bar at the top.
January 2025 Release Highlights (Released on January 9)
- The AI Designer outputs have been improved, giving instructors more thorough descriptions for facilities using the AI Designer (modules, assignments, etc.).
- The quality of AI-generated images has been improved.
- Improved content block functionality in the Content Designer that prevents the block from collapsing.
- File uploads have been improved in the Content Designer. Files automatically default to View and Download, and the feature also includes Undo and Redo options.
- Attempt Submitted has been added as a Release Condition performance option.
- Primary course instructors now have better control of the visibility of grade book columns for other instructors, such as GAs.
- Direct grade entry allows instructors to enter grades in the grid view of the grade book or to override rubrics, which will now result in the New Submissions and Needs Grading status to disappear.
- Instructors have better control over course access in the Course Setting panel, making it easier to open and close courses.
December 2024 Release Highlights (Released on December 5)
- Rubric generation improvements for the AI Design Assistant that allow for more complex outputs than the previous version.
- “New” indicator in the Discussion module to better highlight posts and replies the user hasn’t seen.
- Easier access to the attempt log for an assignment with an Attempt Log button associated with each item.
- An Override indicator will now be visible on overidden grades for Discussions.
- Easier identification of late assignments with a clear Late indicator.
November 2024 Release Highlights (Released on November 7)
- AI Conversations allow students to engage in Socratic Questioning and Role Playing. You can set up scenarios for students to gain valuable industry practice by defining roles for both the student and the AI persona.
- Improvements have been made to block resizing in Documents. Instructors can now resize using the vertical bar for tall blocks of content.
- Instructors can now print tests that include questions from Question Pools. The answer key and corresponding test are now also combined to ensure a matching test and answer key.
- Indentations in the Discussions environment make it easier to distinguish between responses and replies.
- Student activity logs can now be downloaded to assist in cases of academic disputes.
