The Blackboard Ultra Migration Project are offering both in-person and online staff development sessions to help build your knowledge and understanding when migrating to Blackboard Ultra.
From September 2024 (Semester 1, AY 24/25), everyone delivering a Foundation and Year 1 (undergraduate) module will be teaching on Blackboard Ultra. All applicable courses will need to be updated before teaching starts in Semester 1.
There is no automatic rollover for the first-time migration of a module to Ultra, so migrating your module will require manually moving content from the current version of Blackboard to Ultra. This process is intended to be more than just a ‘lift and shift’ exercise; it provides an opportunity to enhance your virtual learning environment module design and consider what you want to achieve as part of a holistic learner experience with support from the Ultra Project Team.
Professor Deborah Gill, Vice-President (Education) continues to encourage teams to sign up, “I am very aware that this will take programme teams some time to do well, but I ask you to set aside time to get to know Blackboard Ultra, to attend the staff development sessions and to think, with your students, about how you can best use the VLE in your programme.”
Additional sessions now available
Additional training sessions are now available for you to book to support your move. We encourage you to sign up early to assess what will be required for your module and learn more from the experiences of our Early Adopters. These sessions will cover a variety of topics to help academic staff, as well as brand-new material specifically for administrative staff.
To sign up, please visit the Staff Development Programme.
We strongly recommend those delivering Foundation and Year 1 (undergraduate) modules to sign up as soon as possible so you are ready for the next academic year.
Equally if you are a Year 2 Semester 2 module lead, we encourage you to attend training sessions over the summer to allow you to start migrating your module, helping to alleviate your workload in the new year.
More about the project
Since January, the Early Adopters group have given their time to help test, explore and feedback on Blackboard Ultra. We have been following John Schulz, Professor in Digital Education, and Luke Myers, Associate Professor (School of Engineering), who are both part of this group, sharing their experiences through the documentary series, “My Ultra Journey”.
Check out the third and final episode of this series, reflecting on their journey and sharing their top three tips for migrating modules.
Further information
A detailed plan of the migration timeline is now available, explaining what modules are part of each migration wave and specific exceptions.
Please visit the Blackboard Ultra SharePoint site where you can find out more information. If you have any questions, please contact the project team via [email protected].