(For those who are familiar with the Base Navigation, you could jump to 0:42 for the new Ultra Course View.)
Retirement of Blackboard Original Course View (Original)
Anthology, service provider of Blackboard, will retire Original on 31 Dec 2026.
- December 2026: Final month to use Original
- January 2027: Original courses enter ‘Read Only’ mode
- January 2028: All remaining Original courses are converted into Ultra courses (Ultra).
In response to the change above:
- 2025-26 Term 1 (2025R1, 2025Y1): The default course view is Original. Early adoption of Ultra is welcome.
- 2025-26 Term 2 to Summer Term (2025R2, 2025R3, 2025R4, 2025S1): The default course view is Ultra. Original can still be requested in case needed.
- 2026-27 academic year onwards: Newly created courses will be in Ultra.
If you would like to use Ultra for your 2025-26 Term 1 teaching, please fill out Blackboard (Ultra) Request Form for the early adoption.
Key Benefits of Ultra
- Continuous innovation with monthly updates
- Built-in smart tools (e.g., AI Conversation, AI Design Assistant)
- Streamlined workflows
- Improved student experience
- Insightful analytics
To gain a firsthand understanding of Ultra:
- Enrol yourself in Blackboard Orientation for Learners (ITSC-BL-BOL) to explore Ultra from a student’s perspective.
- Explore the short video tutorials to get a quick overview of Ultra's features.
- A copy of your 2024-25 courses in Ultra will be available (tentatively around late July / August 2025) on Blackboard for your preview of your existing courses. Stay tuned.
- If you typically reuse content by copying courses, we recommend reviewing the converted course first. This will help you decide whether to rebuild the course in Ultra or continue using the course copy feature in Ultra.
Your Learning Guide
- Webinars (2025-26)
- The Educator Insights series (English) (The Cantonese version will be ready in late July / August 2025)
- Online training courses
- Blackboard Learn Ultra End User Training (Aug 2025)
- Blackboard Teaching Guide
- Course and User Management
- This article outlines five types of requests you can submit: Combining courses, Disabling course(s), Creating Non-CUSIS course(s), Copying course(s), and Enrolling User(s).
- Integrations:
- Blackboard is integrated with several platforms to enhance your teaching and learning experience. Explore this article to discover the full range of features available through Blackboard and its integrated tools.
- Resources:
- This page offers resources on Blackboard Ultra and other eLearning-related information to support your academic needs.
Hands-on
Ready to put your knowledge into action? Use these resources to reinforce and experiment with what you have learnt.
- Around late July / August 2025 , a sandbox (blank testing course, with no enrolment) is assigned to staff users who have Instructor/TA/Support Staff role in 2024-25 Blackboard courses. Feel free to play around and try out the features.
- Quick start checklist: A step-by-step guide for you to master the core features
- In case you…
- cannot find the sandbox on Blackboard Courses page
- need extra sandboxes
- would like to specifically try out the gradebook feature in a practice course (i.e., a course with mock data)
- are eager to be an early adopter in 2025-26 Term 1
Please fill out Blackboard (Ultra) Request Form.
Feedback and Support
- Blackboard (Ultra) Evaluation Form
- Contact us: ITSC Service Desk (https://servicedesk.itsc.cuhk.edu.hk) or elearning@cuhk.edu.hk