Faculty FAQ

Ultra is Blackboard’s most current learning management system (LMS), providing a mobile-friendly, accessible, and intuitive LMS experience for students. It has two components, Ultra Base Navigation, which Georgian enabled at the beginning of January 2022, and Ultra Learn Course View. Over the next 24 months, Georgian will transition courses from the Blackboard Original format to Ultra Course View.

In consultation with faculty, Georgian periodically scans the education environment and assesses the benefits of emerging technologies. Although every LMS has its strengths and challenges, the decision to move to Blackboard Ultra was based on features, functionality, familiarity, ease of implementation, support and cost. Blackboard has a strong reputation and serves approximately 40% of the postsecondary market worldwide.

The move to Ultra is an opportunity to improve the student experience, engagement and retention. Ultra is a superior product, built on next generation software, providing a streamlined look and feel with new and powerful tools for students and faculty. Its mobile-first approach means a better browsing experience on smaller screens like phones and tablets. The visual design allows greater adherence to accessibility guidelines and the consistent layout makes it easier for students to find and engage in content across all of their courses. For faculty, Ultra represents an improved workflow for how course material is structured, designed and maintained.

Eventually, software needs to be upgraded. Georgian is lagging behind other colleges and risks having our current system become obsolete. Under our Digital Innovation Strategy, Georgian’s Board of Governors made a commitment to invest in this upgrade. Students are asking for a more consistent, easy-to-navigate and mobile-friendly LMS that allows them to feel connected to their learning. As we expand our flexible delivery offerings, having a high-functioning LMS becomes an extension of the learning environment and an essential tool for effective pedagogy.

In addition to providing students with a modern, intuitive LMS experience, Ultra offers many features that support effective pedagogy. The streamlined look-and-feel allows students to navigate their courses with ease. Knowing where to find similar content from course-to-course reduces stress and allows students to focus on their learning. Empowering students with a cleaner LMS means fewer unnecessary questions directed at faculty. The platform enables accessibility with the addition of tools such as screen readers, audio, braille access, etc.

Georgian is committed to continuous quality improvement of our programs and courses. Faculty have always supported this principle. Once the migration is complete, faculty will continuously shape their courses over time, as is our normal practice. Blackboard Ultra will provide students with a consistent and better learning experience.

Our migration schedule was designed to balance the needs of students and faculty. Program areas are being coordinated to migrate collectively in assigned semesters, to minimize disruption. However, this does mean that some students may experience two Blackboard interfaces when considering General Education and Communication courses. Students will receive training and support through an enhanced service delivery model. While we know this won’t offset all issues students may encounter, we’re working closely with the Student Success team to explore new options to ensure students are well supported.

Yes. The goal is to fully move all content from Original to Ultra Course View by the end of August 2023. Any courses faculty wish to retain will need to be migrated by the end of 2023 when Blackboard Original will be disabled.

Starting this fall, faculty will be assigned a semester in which to migrate their courses and will deliver in Ultra Course View the following semester. See the Course View Migration Roadmap.

With this transition, like any change, we’ll all have uncomfortable moments learning new skills. We appreciate faculty’s efforts to share their expertise with colleagues and support one another in order to make this transition as smooth as possible for us all! The Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL) will facilitate training, host drop-in sessions, share resources and identify faculty champions who can provide additional support and mentoring along the way.

Yes. In their migration semester, faculty will be provided with training and support through CTL. The team is currently working with a pilot group of faculty to identify tips, tools and resources that will make migration as seamless as possible. Faculty will migrate to Ultra Course View as a cohort and benefit from peer mentoring through this transition. We appreciate those of you who quickly develop Ultra skills and are able to share your knowledge. We’re all in this together and, just like our students, we’ll learn and develop comfort at different rates. We thank everyone for their patience, and perseverance and collaboration.

Once faculty are trained and have converted their first course, the process will become more routine. Some complex test banks, however, are proving to be more difficult to move from Original into Ultra Course View. If you’ve custom-built a large (2,000 +) test pool in your Blackboard shell, the CTL team will work with you to find a solution. We encourage faculty in these exceptional cases to have a conversation with their dean or associate dean and the CTL team will provide additional support.

Mistakes happen (or so I'm told) so it’s entirely possible that your name was provided to us in error. If you feel you were added to this Cohort in error, reach out and let us know. We can update our records accordingly.

Training will be delivered online (live) and recorded for future reference. Meeting invitations will follow as groups are assigned.

No. It’s expected that you participate in the live training sessions during Week One, Two, and Three. Each session builds on previous content in an effort to scaffold your learning journey. There will be no required training delivered during Week Four onward but Drop In sessions will be offered Tuesday through Friday until the end of term. Speak with your Academic Area if you have concerns about meeting this requirement.

As college instructors ourselves, we fully understand and appreciate how busy the first weeks can be, so be assured that considerable thought and planning has gone into this training strategy. The reality is that we need to get resources and information available for all faculty involved as early as possible. Respecting that faculty have a diverse level of skill and comfort with Blackboard, and a greater range of diversity in their course design and structure, we also know the importance of coming alongside training participants and supporting their learning.

Additionally, there are many faculty who are already concerned about having enough time to complete this so delaying the training would only compress their time and increase their stress. We feel it is more equitable to make the training available early for those who need it and make the recordings available for those who feel it would be more convenient to engage in the training later, with the understanding that courses will need to be ready for delivery in Ultra in time for the January start.

No. For organizational purposes and to minimize confusion, participants will be put into groups in our Blackboard Training. Communication will be organized and, wherever possible, catered according to these sessions times. We ask that you select times that will work for you during the first three weeks of the term.

Yes. There will be at least one recording made available for each session offered. Spielberg wasn’t available so don’t expect anything too epic though. Just moderately epic.

You sure do! In fact, we’ll do you one better! You’ll be set up with a developmental (DEVU) shell for each course you are migrating AND a brand new SANDBOX (SDBXU) Shell. This won’t be associated with any courses, but a place where you can play around, make a mess, and test things out without breaking your courses… just like a real sandbox.

Goodness me no, who told you this? This is a puzzling misunderstanding that we are glad was brought forward to our attention. Cohort A will be teaching Fall 2022 courses in ORIGINAL (current format) and developing them in Ultra for future delivery. As of Winter 2023, your courses will be delivered in ULTRA.

Nobody likes make-work projects. If you have a course that will NEVER be taught again after Fall 2022, there’s no reason to develop it in Ultra. If you are responsible for courses that are being cancelled due to program review or otherwise, please confirm with your academic area if ‘Ultrafy-ing it’ is required.

A fair compensation model has been developed for full- and part-time instructors. Speak with your Dean or Associate Dean for more information.

All course content in Blackboard Ultra will continue to align with the college’s Intellectual Property Academic Procedure.