Best Practices for Teaching in Blackboard Ultra
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Best Practices
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Organize your course in modules
Structuring your course in modules helps students easily navigate and focus on learning, reducing cognitive load.
Modules can include files, documents, media, tests, and discussions.
Organize content by topic.
Build collections of resources & activities.
Reverse Chronological Order
If you release content over time (e.g. weekly), arrange modules on the Course Content area in reverse chronological order to keep the current one at the top. This simplifies access for students.
Writing for the Web
Present information in chunks.
Use brief sentences and bulleted lists.
Avoid ALL CAPS and underlining (students might assume it’s a web link).
Ensure clean, simple pages with plenty of white space.
Use headings and a consistent color scheme (no more than 5 colors).
Keep titles of modules and content short to avoid shortening on mobile devices.
Accessibility and Layout
Use the Heading Styles menu in Blackboard’s text editor to create accessible content.
Add a profile image to your Blackboard profile to foster a connection with students.
Add a course banner, ensuring the important content is centered for mobile responsiveness.
Maintain a clean and predictable layout, using high-contrast color schemes.
Ensure links are descriptive and meaningful.
Add alternative text to describe images for screen readers.
Use Ally, a built in accessibility checker, to make your Blackboard files accessible.
Well-structured paragraphs
Focus on one idea per paragraph, limiting them to 2-4 sentences.
Begin with the most important information.
Aim for 50% fewer words than in print content.
Break up longer pages into shorter ones for easier navigation.
Using graphics
Choose the right format: PNG for simple graphics, JPG for photos.
Crop images to reduce the file size and improve load times.
Avoid background images; use simple, high contrast text on plain backgrounds.
Reduce course size
Be mindful of file sizes.
Reduce file size of Microsoft Office files and save them as PDFs before uploading to your course.
Resize images before uploading using tools like TinyPNG.
Folders and Learning Modules
Plan your course structure before creating folders and modules.
Use large bucket names like “Week 1” or “Module 1” for easy navigation.
Automate content release dates using visibility settings.
Plan your course structure with your syllabus. Create a folder/learning module for each topic or each week. Add related assignments and information to each folder/learning module.
Adding Files
Rename files after uploading them to make their purpose clear.
Add descriptions for files and images.
Use drag-and-drop-for quicker uploads.
Ensure files are in accessible formats for students.
Plus sign and Upload to add file
Drag-and-drop files for quicker uploads
Adding Links
Set links to open in a new window to minimize distractions.
Use the description field to clarify link actions for students.
Ensure links are relevant and regularly test their availability.
Good example of a link
You can find more information on the Center for Instructional Technology website for more details.
Bad example of a link
For more information click here.
Ultra Documents
Be consistent in document formatting.
Use headings to improve navigation and accessibility.
Add alternative text for images.
Discussions
Begin with non-academic discussions to warm up students.
Create one discussion per topic and use open ended questions.
Organize discussions with clear, concise titles.
State expectations in the description.
Use the post-first feature to promote original thinking.
Allow time for thoughtful, well-developed responses.
Non-academic question for discussions: “What's a memorable travel experience you've had and what did you learn from it?.”
Journals
Set clear goals for journal activities and model desired responses.
Use open-ended prompts that engage students' thoughts and understanding.
Focus on insights rather than grammar.
Create a grading rubric and provide prompt feedback.
Open-ended questions are great for going more in-depth on a topic. Closed-ended questions may tell you the “what,” but open-ended questions will tell you the “why.”