Blackboard Ultra provides an efficient way to structure course content using modules and folders, enhancing navigation, student engagement, and learning. It ensures a consistent experience for students and offers faculty a dedicated Course Content area to upload, build, and organize materials. To improve accessibility, content should be divided into manageable units by module, topic, or another meaningful method. Ultra supports two types of content containers for organization.
Modules and Folders
Both folders and modules structure course materials but serve distinct purposes.
Similarities
- Structured Navigation: Both provide a flexible, file-like organization for easy access.
- Customizable Content: Support documents, assignments, tests, and discussions.
- Drag-and-Drop: Easily reorder content.
- Collapsible View: Expand or collapse sections as needed.
- Sub-Folders: Allow up to two levels of nesting.
- Progress Tracking: Items are marked as unopened, viewed, or completed.
- Release Conditions: Content can be scheduled based on date, performance, or student group.
Modules
Modules provide a clear and structured progression through course content, allowing students to move forward or backward using navigation arrows. This helps enhance their access to the material. One of the key benefits of learning modules is the ability to enforce a sequential order, where instructors can require students to complete certain content before moving on. Additionally, a completion bar clearly displays overall progress within the module, giving students a visual indicator of how much they’ve accomplished.
Benefits of Modules
- Sequential Navigation: Students progress using forward/back arrows.
- Enforced Order: Instructors can require completion of content before proceeding.
- Completion Bar: Clearly displays overall progress within the module.
Folders
Folders can group related documents, projects, and activities, providing a structured approach to content management. For example, assignments with multiple related components can be grouped in a folder for seamless navigation.
Ultra supports up to three levels of nested folders. The top level can be used for either modules or folders, with two additional levels of folders nested within it.
Create a Module
- On the Course Content page, in the desired location, click on the + icon.
- Select Create to open the Create Item panel
- Select Learning Module from the Create Item panel.
- Type a descriptive name.
- The search feature can be used on the title of course items, not the description or content of the item. To help students find specific items, use distinct and specific naming conventions for each title. (i.e., Introduction – Module 1, instead of just Introduction)
- Select appropriate visibility
- In addition to visible or hidden, instructors can set Release Conditions.
- Release content by date can be used to ensure content is covered in a specific order and tests are available on a specific day and time.
- Release content based on performance requires students to demonstrate understanding by earning a specific score on an assessment.
- Enter a short description.
- A text editor is not available in this location. Text will automatically wrap and is limited to 750 characters.
- Decide whether to force sequence.
- Forced sequence refers to a setting that instructors can apply to course content, ensuring that students’ progress through the material in a predetermined order. This means that students must complete one item before they can access the next one.
- Add an image to personalize your module.
- Click Save to save your changes
Create a Folder
- On the Course Content page, in the desired location, click on the + icon.
- Select Create to open the Create Item panel
- Select Folder from the Create Item panel.
- Type a descriptive name for the Folder.
- The search feature can be used on the title of course items, not the description or content of the item. To help students find specific items, use distinct and specific naming conventions for each title. (i.e., Introduction – Folder 1, instead of just Introduction)
- Select appropriate visibility
- In addition to visible or hidden, instructors can set Release Conditions.
- Release content by date can be used to ensure content is covered in a specific order and tests are available on a specific day and time.
- Release content based on performance requires students to demonstrate understanding by earning a specific score on an assessment.
- Enter a short description
- A text editor is not available in this location. Text will automatically wrap and is limited to 750 characters.
- Click Save to save your changes
