What is happening?
Blackboard Ultra does not support the following Blackboard Original tools / functions:
- Blackboard Wikis
- Blackboard Blogs
- Assessment integration for Blackboard Portfolio (instead, students will need to download a zipped file for upload to a Blackboard submission point).
- Peer-to-peer functionality for Blackboard Journals (i.e. the ability for students to view each other’s Journal entries).
We are contacting instructors who have deployed these tools in 2023/24 courses.
What should I do next?
- If you do not require these tools or particular functions for 2024/25, please disregard this notification.
- If you need to seek an alternatives, see suggestions and links to guidance below.
- If you would like further advice, please contact us as soon as possible via the DTS Service Desk or email dts@reading.ac.uk (to ensure there will be someone to help you, we will schedule a future date to meet). If your immediate teaching team is affected and you would like support, please coordinate as a group to liaise with us.
Possible alternatives using available tools?
The following are institutionally licenced and approved software.
| Tool and link to guidance | Ability to create templates?
|
For co-authoring activities? students can see and edit each other’s contributions |
For a shared viewing space? students can see (but not edit) each other’s contributions |
For a private space? students cannot see each other’s contributions |
| Blackboard Ultra Journal | N | N | N | Y |
| Microsoft 365 shared documents and/or folders | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| One Note or Class Notebook | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Microsoft 365 apps (Whiteboard, Sway, etc) | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Blackboard Ultra Discussions | N | N (students can only leave comments/replies) |
Y (anonymous posting unavailable for graded Discussions) | N
|
| Padlet (September institutional licence coming, subject to procurement) |
Y | Y | Y | Y |
Useful resources
- For further tools and technical guidance, see Digital Learning Activities in Blackboard Ultra
- For activity ideas and inspiration, see TEL toolkit: Digital Learning Activities (contains pedagogic guidance).