Center for Teaching and Learning
Faculty Learn Ultra Getting Started
Welcome to Blackboard Learn Ultra! This section serves as a comprehensive guide for instructors aiming to efficiently navigate the platform. Here, you will discover essential strategies for setting up your courses, utilizing the user-friendly interface, and accessing vital tools for effective teaching and communication. Whether you are preparing your inaugural course or seeking to enhance your existing workflow, the topics covered in this guide will provide you with foundational steps to maximize your experience on Blackboard. Engage with this resource to foster an enriched learning environment for both you and your students.
Blackboard Ultra serves as a learning management system (LMS) that enables instructors to deliver course content, facilitate communication with students, manage assessments, and track academic progress, thus enhancing the overall educational experience through streamlined course management.
Before your course commences, establish a thorough setup to facilitate a seamless experience for students. Focus on developing a clear course structure, uploading a custom banner, adjusting course settings, organizing the calendar, and defining appropriate course roles.
Open the Setting Up Your Course tutorial to learn more.
Instructors are encouraged to build and finalize course content and assessments prior to the term’s start. Course materials can be created by copying resources from past courses via the Course Copy tool or by developing entirely new content. Once finalized, it is essential to review the course structure and materials thoroughly. Utilizing the Student Preview mode allows instructors to evaluate the student experience and identify potential issues or improvements.
Open the Course structure and content tutorial to learn more.
Instructors have the flexibility to configure grade settings in their Gradebook at any point during the semester. This can be done directly in the Gradebook or through the Assessment Settings and Test Settings panels when creating or editing assessments and tests. Once students submit their work, instructors can begin grading and providing timely feedback to keep students informed and engaged. Regular grading and feedback are essential to maintaining student motivation and promoting academic success.
Open the Gradebook set up tutorial to learn more.
Enhance your Blackboard course with a custom banner for easy recognition. Keep content organized by hiding unfinished or future materials, ensuring a clean and intuitive learning environment for students.
Open the Course appearance and organization tutorial to learn more.
Ensure your Blackboard Learn course calendar is accurate. Add manual events like office hours, live sessions, and exams. Double-check that your time zone is correctly aligned to avoid scheduling conflicts.
Open the Calendar and scheduling tutorial to learn more.
Set up Blackboard Learn for faculty communication. Post a welcome announcement, optionally with a video intro via Video Studio. If using Discussions, create an "Introduce Yourself" prompt to encourage student interaction.
Open the Communication setup tutorial to learn more.
Blackboard Learn assessments now offer enhanced rubric integration for assignments and discussions. Review settings like attempts, visibility, and accommodations. Confirm feedback options, including inline comments and overall feedback, for a more robust evaluation experience.
Open the Assessment enhancements tutorial to learn more.
As an instructor, your Blackboard account serves as the foundation of your teaching experience, providing a centralized hub for managing your courses and interacting with students. To get started, it's essential to familiarize yourself with the basics of your account. This includes logging in, personalizing your profile, and selecting your preferred language to ensure a seamless user experience. Additionally, managing notifications allows you to stay informed about important updates and activities within your courses.
To access GovState Blackboard, instructors can log in from the GovState homepage, through the myGSU portal, or directly via URL. Once logged in, instructors can manage their courses, post announcements, and engage with students.
Open the Blackboard Login tutorial to learn more.
Your profile includes your full name, pronunciation, and email address. All of these options are editable in the event that any of them change.
Open the Change Account Information text tutorial to learn more.
Your account images will appear in Discussions, Blogs, Journals, Wikis, and group activity. Instructor account images will appear in the notification modules. If you do not upload an image file, a generic silhouette is used.
Open the Upload Account Image text tutorial to learn more.
Instructors can tailor their notification preferences on the Activity page's Notification Settings panel to stay informed about course activity. To customize notifications, users can adjust settings for their stream, email, and push notifications.
Open the Notifications tutorial to learn more.
To ensure seamless functionality and reliability, Blackboard prioritizes support for the most recent web browser versions immediately upon release. By aligning with cutting‑edge browser technologies, Blackboard enhances performance, security, and compatibility, enabling educators to focus on teaching without technical barriers. Regular updates also ensure instructors can leverage the latest features, such as improved multimedia integration and responsive design, to create dynamic, inclusive learning environments.
The supported browsers are listed below, along with a link explaining how to update to the latest version.
Google Chrome: the most recent stable version and one preceding version.
Open the How to Update Chrome to the Latest Version tutorial to learn more.
Mozilla Firefox: the most recent stable version and one preceding version.
Open the How to Update Firefox to the Latest Version tutorial to learn more.
Apple Safari: the most recent stable version and one preceding version.
Open the How to Update Safari to the Latest Version tutorial to learn more.
Microsoft Edge: the most recent stable version and one preceding version.
Open the How to Update Edge to the Latest Version tutorial to learn more.
As an instructor, navigating your course list is a straightforward process. From the Base Navigation menu, where your name appears, simply select "Courses" to view a comprehensive list of your current and past courses. This feature allows you to easily return to previous courses, review relevant content, and reuse materials as needed. By accessing your course history, you can efficiently prepare for future courses, update lesson plans, and refine your teaching strategies.
Open the Find Your Courses tutorial to learn more.
As an instructor, once you log in, you gain access to the core features of the Base Navigation menu. This menu provides a centralized hub for managing your courses and tasks. By selecting any link from the Base Navigation menu, you can easily access all your courses, streamlining your workflow. For instance, the Grades link organizes all your grading tasks by course, eliminating the need to navigate to each individual course. The Base Navigation menu includes essential items such as Institution Page, Profile, Activity, Courses, Organizations, Calendar, Messages, Grades, and Tools, allowing you to efficiently manage your courses, access important information, and perform various tasks.
Open the Navigate Outside a Course tutorial to learn more.
Instructors benefit from an intuitive course interface designed to enhance workflow efficiency. All course materials are displayed in the central page area, ensuring clear organization and easy access. When opening content items—such as tests, modules, or assignments—a sliding panel overlays the existing page, allowing focused interaction without disrupting context. This layered approach enables seamless transitions between tasks, letting educators review, edit, or distribute resources with minimal navigation steps. Closing the panel instantly returns users to their prior location, maintaining continuity during lesson preparation or content management. By minimizing clutter and prioritizing direct access, this structure supports instructors in managing dynamic course elements while keeping core content readily visible.
Open the Navigate Inside a Course tutorial to learn more.
Instructors can enhance student engagement and organization by activating the progress‑tracking function in their course. This feature allows students to easily monitor their completed tasks and assignments, promoting a sense of accomplishment and motivation. Even if progress tracking is turned on mid‑course, participatory items such as submitted assessments are automatically marked as complete, providing an accurate reflection of student progress. However, non‑participatory items like Ultra Documents require manual marking by students. By leveraging this feature, instructors can streamline student tracking and focus on providing personalized support and guidance.
Open the Progress Tracking and Student Progress Reports tutorial to learn more.
Contact Us
- Center for Teaching and Learning
- Governors State University - C Building
- 708-534-4115
- blackboard@govst.edu