Author: jamie.gilder

Ultra Update – July 2025

Posted on by jamie.gilder

One of the advantages of our move to Blackboard Ultra is the ongoing potential for new feature releases and updates. New releases take place on the first Thursday of every month, which is much more frequently than for Blackboard Original. We will communicate about new features and changes via this blog. If you want to be kept up to date with the latest information, we recommend subscribing to the blog. 

This release has new or updated features in the following areas:   

  • Instructional design; 
  • Tests and assignments; 
  • Gradebook; 
  • Learner progression and personalised experience; 
  • Blackboard Core. 

These improvements impact instructors, students, and administrators. Below you’ll find our highlights, and more detail on the most relevant updates.

Highlights

Add captions to image blocks in Documents

Instructors can now add captions to image blocks in Documents. Added above or below an image, captions can provide context and aid understanding.

Screenshot showing the Edit File Options menu. The menu has Display Name and Image caption fields, and a caption position option. The above image position is selected.
Image 1. Instructors can use the Edit File Options menu to choose the position of the caption.
An image of a tabby cat with a caption above that reads 'Tabby is one of the most common fur patterns in cats'.
Image 2. An example of an image with a caption above.

Expanded activity page for instructors

The Activity page now has a courses section which shows new activity in current, open courses since an instructor last logged into Blackboard. The courses section includes shortcuts. These are numbered indicators for each course which instructors can select to view:

  • Items that need marking 
  • Messages
  • Students with alerts
A screenshot showing the activity page. The activity stream is on the right hand side, and the courses section is in the middle of the page. The top of the courses section reads 'Current courses' and there are four courses, with an image for each, displayed below it. On several of the courses, numbered purple indicator icons are shown.
Image 1. The new Activity page has a courses section as well as the activity stream.

Please see the Release Notes for further information.

Render mathematical formulas with MathJax

The formula rendering experience in the Content Editor has been enhanced through the implementation of MathJax, a powerful tool for displaying mathematical notation. This update improves the visual accuracy and consistency of LaTeX-based formulas, aligning them more closely with scientific and academic standards. 

MathJax offers a more precise rendering style preferred by many STEM instructors. When activated, MathJax will automatically render LaTeX code entered directly in the Content Editor across supported areas of Blackboard. MathJax in Ultra is currently only working with $$…$$ delimiters, not \(…\) or \[…\], but it will work for creating inline maths with the $$…$$ delimiters, not just standalone formulae. Please see this MathJax support page for information on Tex and LaTex support.

Other updates include:

Please see the Release notes for further information on these updates and others in this release.

Further help and support

For more guidance on using Blackboard Ultra, please explore Ultra Essential Guidance. 

Students can view an Ultra orientation and advice on using Ultra from their Help for Students sections (or equivalent) in your Blackboard course. 

Ultra Update – June 2025

Posted on by jamie.gilder

One of the advantages of our move to Blackboard Ultra is the ongoing potential for new feature releases and updates. New releases take place on the first Thursday of every month, which is much more frequently than for Blackboard Original. We will communicate about new features and changes via this blog. If you want to be kept up to date with the latest information, we recommend subscribing to the blog.

This release has new or updated features in the following areas:

  • Instructional design;
  • Communication and collaboration;
  • Tests and assignments;
  • Learner progression and personalised experience;
  • Gradebook;
  • Blackboard Core.

These improvements impact instructors, students, and administrators. Below you’ll find our highlights, and more detail on the most relevant updates.

Highlights

Add dividers to documents

Instructors can now add divider blocks to Documents. Dividers provide a clear way to structure a Document into sections. They can be resized to span up to four columns.

Screenshot of the Document block creation screen: Divider is shown as a block type and highlighted with a blue square.
Image 1. Dividers are now included as a block type.
Screenshot of a Document with several columns: text stating learning outcomes and an image of three people kayaking. The divider at the bottom has been expanded across multiple columns.
Image 2. Dividers can span multiple columns in a Document.

Create jumbled sentence questions

Instructors can now create jumbled sentence questions for tests. This question type lets instructors define one or more paragraphs with blanks for students to complete. Additionally, instructors can:

  • Add distractors
  • Add automated feedback for correct and incorrect answers
  • Designate questions as extra credit
  • Use accessibility tools, such as keyboard-only workflows, to create this question type. 

To create a Jumbled Sentence question, enter the question text and define the blanks by enclosing the correct answers in square brackets (see image below).

Screenshot of creating a jumbled sentence question. The question text reads: Single water molecules are held together by [covalent] bonds and multiple water molecules are held together by [hydrogen] bonds. The kind of bond where atoms are sharing electrons but are not sharing them equally is [polar covalent bond].
Image 3. Creating a jumbled sentence question.

Please see the Release Notes for further information.

Unread discussion post indicator

An indicator has been added to the Discussions tab which shows the number of unread discussion posts from anywhere in a course.

A screenshot showing an 'Introduction to Humanities' course. The course has one unread discussion post which is indicated by a purple 1 next to the discussions tab.
Image 4. New unread discussion post indicator.

Other updates include:

Please see the Release Notes for full details on other updates in this release.

Further help and support

For more guidance on using Blackboard Ultra, please explore Ultra Essential Guidance. 

Students can view an Ultra orientation and advice on using Ultra from their Help for Students sections (or equivalent) in your Blackboard course.