Blackboard Ultra

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Watch Blackboard's introduction video for an overview of the Ultra experience.

Select a topic below for information, videos, and additional resources.

Coursework

Using Ultra's Editor

The Editor tool appears wherever you can format text in Ultra, such as assignments, discussions, tests, and journals. You only need to learn this tool one time, and you will be able to use it throughout your Ultra course.

The editor, also called WYSIWYG (which stands for What You See Is What You Get), gives you many options for adding and formatting content. It includes the tools you are familiar with from word processing programs.

Insert Content

The insert content button gives you several options, each of which opens a pop-up window:

Math: Enter math symbols or equations
Image: Insert image from web: paste the image url and alt text into the fields; if you want to upload an image from your computer, you can attach it as a file or upload from cloud storage (see below)
Media: Insert media from web: paste links to videos or other media and alt text into the fields
YouTube video: Blackboard has an integrated YouTube tool, which opens a search page.
Cloud storage: Import files from Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, etc
Content market: Access other tools provided by Wichita State

Folders/Modules

Your Blackboard course might contain two different types of "containers" for content, folders and modules.

Folders

Folders contain any type of item, and you can launch any available item at any time.

Modules

Modules also contain any type of item, but they encourage sequential viewing by including a link at the top of each page to advance to the next item on the list. Instructors may require sequential viewing, which will make it impossible for you to launch an item before you have viewed or completed the item before it.

For more detailed information about Modules, visit the Blackboard Learning Modules page.

Assignments

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If your instructor has added due dates, you can access your assignments in the activity stream or the calendar of the base navigation menu.

You can also find your assignments on the Course Content page.

When you select an assignment, a Details & Information panel opens. Here you can view:

Due date
Number of attempts allowed
Time limit, if imposed
Grading, including rubric, if included
Access code, if included

Your instructor provides the information you need to complete an assignment. If there are files attached to the assignment, you may see the following options. These icons show up throughout your course:

The ellipses icon allows you to download the original file
The chevron icon (if visible) allows you to view the attached file in Blackboard
The Ally icon allows you to download alternative formats of the attached file.

Create your submission by selecting the Submission box. For more information about using the content editor, visit the Content Editor section above.

If there is no time limit imposed, you can open the assignment to view it and add work without submitting it by selecting Save and Close. When you are ready to resume your work, select View assessment to continue working. When you are finished with your assignment, select Submit. A panel will appear showing you the date and time of your submission, and an option to review your work by selecting View submission.

If a time limit is imposed, instead of View assessment, you will see the option Start attempt. When you select it, a timer will pop up in a separate window. You will not be able to access the assignment until you start the timer. If you are not ready to start, select Cancel. After you begin the assignment, it will auto-submit when the time runs out.

Respondus LockDown Browser

Your instructor might decide to use Respondus to deliver tests and assignments. This promotes academic honesty.

For more information about Respondus, including steps for downloading and instructions for use, see Respondus LockDown Browser.

For more detailed information about Assignments, watche the video below or visit the Blackboard Assignments page.

Discussions

Discussion Boards

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The discussion board is a place where instructors and students can interact. Participants can post and reply to others' posts. Discussions may be graded.

Create a new thread:

Your instructor controls the settings for who can start discussions.

If you are permitted to start a new discussion, click the Add Discussion button.
Choose a name for your discussion and write your message. You can use the content editor to format text and add files, links, images, etc.
Select Save. Your new post now appears at the top of the list of discussions.

Reply to a discussion post:

Click a discussion topic to open the thread.
To respond to the topic of the thread, type your reply in the reponse box. Select Save Draft to save without responding; select Respond to post your reply.
To reply to a specific response to the discussion post, select Reply beneath the user's comment. Select Save Draft to save without responding; select Respond to post your reply.

Navigate discussions:

Click on a discussion topic to opent the thread. Unread posts and responses will appear purple.
If the discussion is graded, the Details & Information panel will include the due date and grading information.
Type a name into the Find Participants box or select a participant's name from the list to see posts written by a specific user.

Journals

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The journal is a place where you can communicate privately with our instructor.

Your instructor may use journal entries as assignments, which can be graded.

If your instructor adds a due date for a journal entry, you can access it from your Grades page, the calendar, and the activity stream.

You can also access your journals on the Course Content page.

Tests

You can access tests in the Course Content section. If your instructor includes a due date, you can access it in the Activity Stream or the Calendar.

After you select a test, you will see the Details & Information panel, where you can see:

Due date
Number of attempts allowed
Time limit, if imposed
Grading, including rubric, if included
Access code, if included

Taking a Test

If there is no time limit imposed, you can open the test to view it and do some work without submitting it by selecting Save and Close. When you are ready to resume your work, select View assessment to continue working. When you are finished with your assignment, select Submit. A panel will appear showing you the date and time of your submission, and an option to review your work by selecting View submission.

Read all of the instructions for the test before beginning. Your instructor may attach files that are necessary to complete the test. Select the file name and choose to preview or download.

Answer the questions or add your submission by using the Content Editor. You may attach files by selecting the Insert Content icon.

When you are finished, select Submit. If your instructor has imposed a time limit, your test will be automatically submitted when the timer runs out.

Respondus LockDown Browser

Your instructor might decide to use Respondus to deliver tests and assignments. Respondus Lockdown Browser is a secure browser that prevents students from printing, copying, going to another URL, or accessing other applications during a test.

For more information about Respondus, including steps for downloading and instructions for use, see Respondus LockDown Browser.

For more detailed information about Tests, visit the Blackboard Tests page.

Groups

Your instructor may create Group assignments, tests, and discussions where you can communicate and collaborate with other students. These are found on the Course Content page.

For group projects and discussions, your group name is listed after the item's title

Your instructor may assign you to a group or ask you to join a group.

If you have been assigned to a group, you will see the group name under the Item.

If you need to join a group, you will see a link to Join a group to participate.

Once you are enrolled in a group, you will have access to item.

Working in a Group

When you open a group item, you can see everyone in your group.

If your instructor has enabled conversations, select the conversation icon to share information or ask and answer questions within your group.

Select View Assessment to view it or add some work. Select Save and Close to save work you have completed without submitting the item. All members of the group will see the latest version of the work. You will be able to access the item as many times as you want until a group member selects Submit.

For more detailed information about Groups, watch the video below.

Troubleshooting in Blackboard

If you are experiencing difficulties in Blackboard, you may find these simple troubleshooting techniques helpful:

Make Sure You Are On the Internet. Especially if you are using Wifi, you may find that you have lost your connection.
Switch Browsers. A "browser" is the program you use to get on the Internet. Because these programs are owned by companies other than Blackboard, sometimes updates on one system will cause problems. Good browsers to try for Blackboard include Chrome and Firefox. If you are a Mac user, Safari usually works well too. When you try a different browser remember to login to Blackboard directly by typing blackboard.wichita.edu into the address bar. Do not login through MyWSU. Also, remember that Internet Explorer and Edge are not good choices when using Blackboard.
Clear Your Cache. When computers are on the Internet, they use different techniques to improve the user experience and speed load times for webpages. Sometimes these techniques can cause problems and you need to force your system to load in webpages from scratch. To do that, you need to clear your browser's webpage memory or "cache." Each browser has its own cache, and you need to follow the instructions for the browser you are using. Here are links to these instructions for Safari, Chrome, and Firefox.
Check Your Physical Connections. It may seem unbelieveable, but many of the problems we see in help tickets are related to someone's computer (microphone, camera, monitor, etc.) getting unplugged. Make sure everything is plugged in tightly, including cables at the back of your machine.
Get Help. If none of the troubleshooting steps above worked, it's time to get help by contacting the OneStop.

Grades

Accessing Grades

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You can access your grades in several places in Blackboard.

In Ultra Base Navigation, you will see your grades on the Grades Tab and the Activity Sream.

Grades Tab: Grades are organized by course name and term in alphabetical order. Select an item to view its details. Select a course name to go to your gradebook for that course. If your instructor has set up the overall grade, select the grade pill next to the name of the course to see more information. View more on the Overall Grade in the tab below.

Activity Stream: When your professor posts a grade, you will receive a notification in your Activity Stream. Select View my grade.

In Course view, you can view your grades on the Gradebook tab.

If your instructor has set up the overall grade, you can select the pill to see how the overall grade is caluclated.
For each item, you will see the status and number of attempts you have.
Select an item to open the Details & Information panel
Select the grade pill to access your submission.

After a due date passes, you may see zeroes for work you haven't submitted.

For more detailed information about Accessing Grades, watch the video below or visit the Blackboard Grades page.

Viewing Feedback

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To review your grade and instructor feedback, access the item under the Gradebook tab in your course.

If your instructor has included feedback, you will see an icon in the Feedback column.

Select the item title to open your submission.

Select the Feedback icon to open the feedback panel, where you instructor can leave comments and attach documents or recordings.

For more information on Feedback, watch the feedback walkthrough video below (WSU sign-on required) or visit the Blackboard Grades page.

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