Blackboard Learn Ultra
Blackboard Learn Ultra features a fully responsive (mobile friendly) and streamlined navigation with a modern, clean design. The Blackboard Learn Ultra experience makes it easier for instructors to create, deliver, and manage courses and for students to access content and resources that support their learning journey.
Learn more about Blackboard Learn Ultra new window.
Blackboard Learn Ultra offers...
- Continuity – This modern learning management system (LMS) is an extended and upgraded version
of what we are used to in Blackboard Learn Original. Because Learn Original and Learn
Ultra both fall under the same LMS, transitioning to Blackboard Learn Ultra will ensure
an uninterrupted teaching and learning experience for faculty, students, and staff
at MC.
- Streamlined Interface – Blackboard Learn Ultra offers a more organized and consistent course layout, facilitating
course development and enhancing student learning experience. The modern, intuitive
interface simplifies navigation, making it easier and quicker for faculty to find
what they need and allowing students to focus on learning rather than navigating.
- Mobile-friendly Design – The Blackboard Learn Ultra experience is centered on a responsive, mobile-friendly
design that allows faculty and students to access their courses easily from the devices
at their fingertips. Blackboard Learn Ultra works seamlessly across desktops, tablets,
and smartphones, ensuring access anytime, anywhere.
- Accessibility Improvements – Transitioning to Blackboard Learn Ultra furthers MC’s commitment to inclusivity
and accessibility. Built-in accessibility features ensure that all students have equal
access to course tools and materials, and the streamlined interface allows students
to focus on the content they are learning without distractions.
- Enhanced Communication Tools – Enhanced discussion boards, messaging systems, and real-time notifications connect
students and instructors. These tools foster a collaborative learning environment
and ensure more straightforward and effective communication.
- Advanced Analytics – Faculty will benefit from advanced analytics that provide insights into student
performance and learning trends. This data-driven approach supports informed decision-making
and the ability to tailor instruction to meet the needs of all students.
- Integrated Learning Tools – Blackboard Learn Ultra continues to seamlessly integrate a range of learning tools
and third-party applications that enhance the educational experience for students
and faculty.
- Strategic Alignment – This transition aligns with MC’s transformational aspirations and our 2023-2028 strategic plan goal of enhancing educational and organizational effectiveness.
Blackboard Tools
The Blackboard app provides an intuitive way to interact with different types of features, depending on your role, be it an instructor or a student.
For instance, if you’re an instructor, you’ll only be shown the courses where you're enrolled as an instructor, TA, course builder, or other custom role. If you are a student, you’ll only be shown the courses where you're enrolled as a student.
In the Blackboard app, you can perform these tasks:
Instructor
- Preview course items, assignments, and tests • Create and upload course content
- Participate in discussions
- Send announcements
- Grade assignments and update assessment settings
- Change item settings for assessments and other content
- Work with both Original and Ultra courses
Student
- View course items and course announcements
- Take assignments and tests
- Participate in discussions
- Access both Original and Ultra courses
For more information, see Blackboard app website new window.
Ally is an accessibility tool that helps improve the usability and inclusiveness of digital content. It automatically checks files and pages for accessibility issues and provides alternative formats to support a wide range of user needs and preferences. When content is added to a platform, Ally scans it for accessibility issues and generates alternative formats such as audio, ePub, electronic braille, and translated versions.
Students benefit from alternative formats that suit their learning preferences, while instructors receive guidance on how to improve the accessibility of their course materials.
Ally offers several key benefits:
- Supports inclusive access to content
- Provides alternative formats automatically
- Offers guidance to improve accessibility
- Helps meet accessibility standards and regulations
- Delivers insights through institutional reporting
Visit Ally for Learning Management Systems Help new window for additional information.
Hypothesis is a social annotation tool installed directly in Blackboard. Adding Hypothesis to readings in Blackboard supports student success by placing active discussion right on top of course readings, enabling students and teachers to add comments and start conversations in the margins of texts.
View the Hypothesis website new window for additional information.
A Windows application that enhances the functionality and usability of Blackboard’s quiz, survey, and self-test tools. This software is available to faculty who have course sites on Montgomery College’s online learning Blackboard system.
Respondus Tutorials
SafeAssign is a plagiarism detection tool that is integrated into the Blackboard learning management system.
SafeAssign uploads the submitted work to the Montgomery College SafeAssign database for comparison against other student papers, as well as academic articles and internet resources, to generate an "Originality Report" that identifies areas of potential plagiarized work or poorly cited content.
SafeAssign is a tool that can guide students to properly cite and paraphrase sources and in turn discourage academic dishonesty.
View SafeAssign Guide (PDF, 
) for additional information.