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Reusing Blackboard Learn Original content in your 2024/25 course

What is happening to blackboard course rollover? How are courses being set up for 2024/25?

The annual automated copying of Blackboard courses, ‘rollover,’ is not happening this year. A different approach is required, to enable the move to the new streamlined content structure for Blackboard Learn Ultra and accommodate the re-design of modules following Portfolio Review. Instead of the usual automated rollover process (that makes direct copies of a course) you will receive a new blank course containing a course template, to populate with your chosen content. This could include choosing to copy selected content from previous Blackboard Learn Original courses.

 

Can I reuse all content from blackboard Original courses?

Most Blackboard Original content types can be reused, however, it may not always be suitable to transfer content from an Original course:

  • Do not transfer content that is newly created each year. These are YuJa Classroom recordings and online Assignment submission points including Turnitin, Blackboard Assignments and Gradescope.
  • Some content types do not exist in Ultra; alternatives are required (Blackboard items, blogs, wikis, and some test questions).
  • Some content may need restructuring, to take advantage of the revised structure and presentation of content in Ultra. For example, organising content into the Ultra course template, reducing folder nesting to 2 levels or building Ultra Documents.

 

What is the best way to transfer content from an Original course?

When adding or transferring content into your Ultra Course, follow these guidelines to  get the best experience and maximise efficiency:

Step

Guidelines
1. Prepare your content
  • Plan the Ultra course structure, using the course template. Once you have a plan for content grouping (we recommend drafting on paper) then set up and title folders and Ultra Documents in your 2024/25 course before adding content to these spaces.
  • Identify only relevant content to bring over from Original courses. Do not use your Ultra course as a repository for files, your previous Original course will remain open to you for a number of years.
  • Download and save files locally that need to be amended or updated. If you have resized PowerPoint slides, it is advisable to set back to the default widescreen 16:9″ (for optimal display within Ultra).
2. Upload files or use the new Ultra ‘copy content’ function
  • Work through your Ultra course in small sections. Open the folder or Ultra Document you wish to populate, then upload or copy content directly into the ‘open’ area (as opposed to moving content around/within the Ultra course, as the move function can become fiddly and time-consuming).
  • Add locally saved files using ‘drag & drop’ directly into the location you want within the course content.
  • Use the new Ultra ‘Copy Content’ function to bring across content that cannot be downloaded from Original, or does not need to be updated/restructured before transferring. Follow the guidance below to get the best results, as some content types may not copy as expected.
3. Check your content and apply settings
  • Check the format of copied content and any technical errors. Ultra provides a Copy Exceptions report, but you should still make your own visual check.
  • Make the content visible to students. By default content is ’hidden’ from students when added, you can batch edit visibility to students.
  • Apply any release settings, for example restrict access to a group or by date. These settings do not copy across when transferring content so will need to be reapplied.

 

Are there any ‘copy content’ advisories?

Ultra offers a new ‘Copy Content’ function that can be used to bring across Original content into your Ultra course. It is simple and easy to use, however, proceed with caution because not all content copies as expected (which can create additional work in fixing or restructuring content).

Do not attempt to copy an entire Blackboard Original module or entire folders in a single ‘copy content’ action.

Copying content in bulk can require excessive restructuring and ‘fixing’ to make the content usable, which can be time-consuming and frustrating. It is strongly recommended not to do this.

  • The copy content function does not allow you to choose multiple destinations for copied content, it will copy to a single course location only. If you need to move copied content into the various locations of the course template, this can soon become overwhelming if you have lots of content to sort.
  • Any Original content deeper than two folder levels will be rearranged to higher folder levels, which will result in additional time spent reviewing and sorting content.
  • Original ‘items’ copy as Ultra Documents; where there are lots of course ‘items’ it is often best to combine these into a single Ultra Document, which cannot be done via the copy content function (instead you will need to copy and paste item text).

Check the table below if you intend to use the ‘copy content’ function, to see what can and cannot be copied and how it appears in Ultra.

Original Content Ultra ‘Copy Content’ advisory
Announcements These will copy as ‘draft’ and any formatting will need to be reapplied. You can initiate the copy from anywhere in the course content area, the announcement will display under the announcements tab only.
Blogs and Wikis These are not currently present in Ultra and cannot be copied.
Course banner Course banners do not copy, they will need to be re-added.
Course links These do not copy and will be removed if contained within content that is being copied.
Discussion boards Discussion boards are called Discussions in Ultra. It is simplest to create new discussion boards, then copy and paste Original prompt text. However, if you wish to convert Original discussion boards into Ultra Discussions you should be aware that:

  • If the “allow members to create new threads” setting isn’t ‘On’  for the forum, the forum converts into a folder in the Ultra Course View. All threads in the forum are converted into Discussions and are placed inside the created folder.
Files
  • Usually, it is simplest and quickest to download content from Original, make amendments then drag/drop multiple files directly into sections of the Ultra course.
  • Occasionally, it may be quicker to copy files using the Ultra copy content function, for example, where multiple ‘up-to-date’ files need to be transferred into a single course location.
  • If you have resized PowerPoint slides, ensure they are set back to the default widescreen 16:9″ (for optimal display within Ultra). Additionally, note that slide animations and videos do not play within Ultra (students would need to download the PowerPoint to access slide animations/videos).
Folders
  • Copying a folder will usually result in the need to rearrange/sort content due to limited 2 level folder nesting in Ultra. Instead of selecting a folder, select individual pieces of content from within a folder (this will prevent complications arising from Ultra restricted folder nesting).
  • Note, where you need to make updates to content, it is usually quicker to download folder content>update files>drag/drop files directly into the open sections of your Ultra course.
Groups Blackboard Ultra Groups allows .csv import of group members.
Items Original ‘Items’ will copy as Ultra ‘Documents’:

  • There may be a loss of formatting where the item contains edits made via the Original text editor. If needed, formatting can be reapplied using the Document text editor.
  • If the item contains files, these will be grouped in alphabetical order at the end of the Document.
  • If your Original course has lots of ‘Items’, it is often best practice to merge these into fewer Ultra Documents; simply copy and paste selectable text (note: do not copy and paste file links, these will not display inline or be accessible to students using alternative file formats via Blackboard Ally). 
Journal Copies with the Journal prompt and settings. Ultra Journals do not allow peer review (i.e. students cannot view each other’s journal entries).
Online submissions: Blackboard assessments, Turnitin and Gradescope. These should not be copied, they should be created fresh every year. Ultra allows tagging of ‘formative’ and summative’ assessment, for filtering the Gradebook (Ultra name for Grade Centre).
Rubrics
  • Turnitin rubrics are managed in the same way as Original, via the Turnitin dashboard.
  • Blackboard ‘no-points’ rubrics are not (yet) available in Ultra but this is an upcoming feature. Instead, you will use a ‘0-points’ scoring rubric. You can initiate the Blackboard rubric copy from anywhere in the course content area, the rubric will be imported to the course Gradebook (Ultra name for Grade Centre) ready for you to attach to assessments when they are set up.
SCORM packages
  • These can be copied, but Blackboard doesn’t copy the Grade Centre settings or give any options to set the SCORM up in the Ultra Gradebook (to record student progress). You will need to set these up in the Ultra course.
Online Reading List (Talis) See library guidance about managing online reading lists in Ultra.
Tests It is possible to copy Original Tests into an Ultra Course however you should carefully check Ultra Test advisories before doing so. The Test tool has been re-designed, meaning some question types are unavailable and some settings may work differently.
YuJa YuJa works in the same way as Original. Classroom recordings should not be copied or embedded into your Course.