Introduction

The Blackboard homepage has been given a new look. The landing page has changed. When you log in, you will see that the tabs are no longer at the top of Blackboard. Blackboard courses, course functions and workflows remain unchanged. After you log in to Blackboard, you will see that the Blackboard landing page looks different. All tabs and modules are gone and a new streamlined menu called Ultra Base Navigation appears on the left. Some information from these tabs is now on the Institution Page, the new landing page.

On the left you’ll see a menu that provides quick access to some of the most commonly used tools in Blackboard. Right of this menu

The main section of the Institution Page provides notifications, alerts, support, etc. Students have a similar, but student-centric experience when logging into Blackboard. Features such as My Blackboard, Personal settings are still available but are housed elsewhere in the interface.

Institution page

The institutional page is a page that provides general information about Utrecht University:.

In the following overview we explain how to use the new interface and where the functionality is located.

Some information previously accessible via tabs at the top is now in modules on the Institution Page, the first button in the UBN menu. This system level menu cannot be customized. The interface provides simplified tools for Instructors to focus on student performance (i.e. activity flows, agenda due dates and it introduces course layering).

With one simple click, teachers, for example at Grades, know which students have submitted assignments, which students are late and what has been assessed.

Institution Page: Is the main information center and replaces the tabs at the top of Blackboard.
Your profile: customize your profile, add a photo, change settings as notification settings.
Activity Stream: view real-time activity updates for all your courses.
Courses: navigate to past, current and future courses. You can switch between list and tile views. To access the course, click on the name.
Calendar: view course events and due dates.
Messages: view and send messages in all courses.
Grades: see what needs to be graded for all your courses.
Tools: access common features outside your courses
Sign Out: log out of Blackboard

Activity stream

The Activity stream page is new in the desktop version of Blackboard, but you already know it from the mobile version. The Activity Stream provides an overview of alerts and updates for all your Courses. Important information is listed at the top. The updates include notifications about overdue assignments or (if you are a student) Messages from teachers. Assignments or events taking place in the coming days will be shown as ‘Upcoming’. Events, discussions, or assignments due today, and any new content added today, will be listed here in the Today section. Recently completed events are listed in the “Recent” area so you can keep track of what has been accomplished. Students see recently graded assignments and can access a grade directly via an update in the Activity Stream.

Select the Filter option to focus on specific types of information you want to see. The filter menu appears next to the stream page title in the top right corner.

This page displays all new activities that have taken place in courses for which you are registered.

Stream Settings: select the Stream Settings icon (gear icon in the top right corner) to open the Settings panel. Due dates for tests, assignments, and graded discussions always appear in your activity stream, but you can choose to hide or show the following activity types in your activity stream: new calendar items; new course content; new Grades and feedback; new messages; replies to discussions; and performance, activity and action alerts.

Note: stream notifications are all on, email notification and push notifications are all off. This can be adjusted to personal needs

Courses

Select ‘Courses’ to view your course list. You can view current, planned or previous Courses at the top of the filters.

Users can view a list of their Courses in List View or Tile View. Users can search for Courses and filter how many are displayed per page. All Courses mention the Course ID and then the title of the course. On the Courses page you will find an overview of all the courses for which you are registered. This page replaces the overview that was under ‘My Blackboard’ on the left in the old version.

Courses listed as “Private” can only be viewed by the Instructor/Teacher, students will see these courses in the course list, but will not have access to the courses. Instructors can adjust the availability of their Courses by clicking to the right of the course (three dots) and selecting ‘Open Course’. Instructors can also hide a course from their view here if they are not using a specific course. In tile view, Instructors can also edit the course image. The image must be at least 1200 x 240 pixels. Images with text do not scale properly. This is also displayed as the banner within the course.

The Courses page offers various options to customize the view of the Courses. For example, you can choose an overview in blocks or an overview with all courses together. When you click on your course, your course will be displayed. You can still see the underlying UBN navigation menu as there are now two layers. Your course menu and the format of your original Learn course remain unchanged, and you have the same tools available to you, including the lock icon to make your course available. To return to the UBN menu, click the yellow X in the top left corner.

Note: Blackboard has a responsive design, which means it depends on the screen size. As the screen shrinks, modules, tool tiles, and other items are rearranged into a stack so they’re still within reach.

See the courses below as a list and as a tile:

list view:

tile view:

Calender

All assignments and other items that use Blackboard due dates are automatically added to Course Calendars and the Calendar accessible from the UBN menu collects all events and due dates for Courses. Setting due dates for discussions, assignments, tests, and other Blackboard assessments can be helpful for student success. Users can also add personal events to the UBN Calendar.

Users can switch between “Schedule and Due Date” view, and Day or Month view. Users can add events and Instructors can also edit schedules and add business hours. All users can filter what is displayed by clicking the gear icon in the top right corner.

Messages

Messages aren’t new, but Ultra Base Navigation provides a more efficient way to manage Messages across all your Courses as you use them. Please note that Messages are internal to Blackboard and students will not receive them in an email unless you check the “Send an email copy to recipients” box. Although similar to email, you must be logged into a course to read and send Course Messages. However, if you prefer the Email tool over Messages, you can continue to use the Send Email tool from Courses.

• Messages (also called Course Messages) are private and secure text-based communications that take place within your course and between students.
• You must be logged in to Blackboard to read or send Course Messages.
• Course Messages are different from emails sent from Blackboard, which are sent from Blackboard to the campus email server and read by students using a separate email program, such as Outlook.

Grades

View an overview of assessment tasks for all your Courses. Instructors see blocks for each course they teach, showing which assignments need to be graded or reviewed. Instructors click on the title of an assessment to rate the submissions.

What is the number in the pill-shaped icon at the top right?
This number represents the average course grade based on all items submitted and graded in the course to date. As more items are graded, the grade will automatically update. By default, this number is the average of the Total column in the Grade Center.

Red text means the due date has passed and one or more students have not submitted anything for that item.

Tools

The Tools page in Ultra Base Navigation is not the same as the course tools (e.g. Announcements, SafeAssign). Those course tools are still available within your Courses. Only institution-wide Tools appear here. You can find your portfolio under Tools:

Communities

The Communities page is structured in the same way as the Courses page. You previously found this overview under My Blackboard on the left side under My Communities:

Notifications

Settings for notifications from Blackboard can be found in two places. You can go to your profile via the menu on the left, where you will find the Global Notification Settings on the right. This will open a Notifications Settings pop-up.

These settings can also be found at the top right of the Activity Stream under the gear:

The Notifications Settings consist of 3 tabs for the different types of notifications.

• Stream Notifications, these are all turned on by default. These are the notifications you get in the Activity Stream.
• Email Notifications are turned off by default. You can easily adjust this by checking/unchecking the checkbox and clicking save.
• Push Notifications are turned off by default. You can easily adjust this by checking/unchecking the checkbox and clicking save.