New Batch Group Management Tool Available in Bb Ultra

Fri, 18 Sep 2020 12:25:04 -0400
blackboard, ultra-experience, ultra-update

Group management is one of the most important tools in a Blackboard course. For large courses, group management is a critical component of assigning students to groups and managing engagement or content. While conditional availability support for groups is currently in development, we are pleased to announce that the custom solution we've been working on with Blackboard is available for piloting!

This tool works like the Original version for bulk creating groups and enrolling students in those groups by using a CSV file. However, since it leverages Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI) standards, this tool works in both Ultra AND Original courses. Faculty who teach an Original course can use the default Groups tool or the new Users Groups Workflow tool as both will serve the same function.

The Users Groups Workflow tool is available now in all courses. Please note:

1. We are aware that the tool has some loading issues on Google Chrome Browser (v85) and, for some, Safari – a fix is in development. Please use Firefox instead.

2. Faculty who teach Original courses can test the new tool as it works the same as Ultra courses.

3. Faculty should NOT convert their live Original courses or previously taught Original courses to Ultra to test this tool. If you wish to try the tool specifically in Ultra, please open an RT to clone your course.

4. This new tool only supports bulk creation and enrollments. It does NOT create any group spaces for students, control content delivery, or filter groups in the gradebook.

5. Future development for conditional availability to release content to groups and smart views for groups in the gradebook is on the Ultra roadmap for SP/SU2021.

Instructional Technology staff continues to document faculty feedback and work with Ultra developers to improve the Ultra course experience. Please contact an Ultra Ambassador or open an RT ticket to share your feedback about the new groups tool.

As always, if you have any questions, please consider the following options:

Academic Continuity | Keep On Teaching | Student Technology Resources