Improve Course Accessibility with Image Captions & MathJax Formulas in July's Ultra Update

Tue, 24 Jun 2025 13:11:30 -0400
accessibility, announcements, blackboard, gradebook, grading, learner-engagement, question-banks, ultra-experience, ultra-update

How do you know if students actually read that important course announcement? What if you could make your content more accessible by adding image captions or rendering complex math more clearly for your STEM students?

The July 2025 release brings features designed to improve visibility into student engagement, better accessibility for images and equations, and tools that streamline how you monitor activity and manage grading. Whether you’re preparing for fall or refining your summer courses, these enhancements make it easier to connect with students and deliver content that works for everyone.

Add Captions to Images for Context and Accessibility

Instructors can now add captions above or below image blocks in Ultra Documents, providing valuable context to visual content embedded in course materials. This simple but impactful change helps students interpret images more effectively, improves comprehension for visual learners, and enhances digital accessibility by supporting screen reader users and reinforcing meaning beyond alternative text.

Image 1. Instructors can go to Edit File Options to add image captions and set positions.

Render Math with Clarity Using MathJax

MathJax will automatically render LaTeX equations when used in the Content Editor, offering a more precise and visually clean presentation of mathematical expressions across supported areas of Ultra. Especially helpful for STEM faculty, this update gives instructors more control over how complex formulas appear and improves the accessibility and readability of math-based content for students.

Image 2: Example of a formula formatted in LaTeX

Track Student Engagement with Announcements

The Announcements page now includes a viewer count, allowing instructors to quickly see which students have opened an announcement and which have not. Clicking the count reveals a list of viewers and non-viewers, with the ability to message students who haven’t read the post. This feature supports more effective communication by helping faculty ensure that important updates, reminders, and instructions are actually reaching students.

Image 3. The list of viewers for an announcement shows that two students have read the announcement and one hasn’t.

Additional updates include:

Instructors can now import QTI v2.1 formatted questions directly into question banks.

A new “No Category” option is now available in the Gradebook, allowing instructors to remove items from a grading category without needing to assign them to another one.

The instructor Activity Page has been redesigned to show new course activity at a glance, including recent updates, grading needs, new messages, and alerts tied to student performance.

Improvements to the pop-out rubric in the Gradebook include a save warning prompt when closing unsaved work and enhanced keyboard navigation using arrow keys and tab controls.

Instructors grading group assignments can navigate through submissions with new Previous and Next buttons in the group header bar.

When you can expect the update

Faculty should see the latest updates in their Ultra courses around July 3-4 2025. The next update to our Ultra test environment will take place on July 8, 2025; release notes are posted to the What's New in Ultra that same week. Faculty who are interested in test driving new features before they are released to production should open an RT ticket to request early access. Please watch the FAQs, including the What's New with Ultra page, and myUMBC for additional information about Ultra.

Connect with Instructional Technology

As always, if you have any questions about teaching, learning, and technology at UMBC, please consider the following options:

Check our extensive FAQ collection

What's new in Ultra? | Known Issues

Open a ticket via RT

Follow the Instructional Technology & DoIT myUMBC groups

Request a consult with instructional technology staff

Thumbnail-image: New to Ultra [decorative]