Ultra Documents

If your course is in Original Course View, see the Original Course View tutorial collection.

 

What Is An Ultra Document?

Creating a document as a content item allows for a variety of materials to be viewed together, such as text, multimedia, and attachments.  When students select the document title, the materials you added are all presented together on one page. Students see the content just as you see it, without the editing options.

For example, in a document, you can include introductory text, an image for your students to view and interact with, and links to web resources. The materials are all presented together in the content list. The longer your content item is, the more your students have to scroll to see all the other materials in the content area.
 

Special Notes: 

• If Progress Tracking is being used, this feature only counts the document itself as being accessed.  If the document contains many various elements, Progress Tracking does not track student access to each of these individual items -- only the document itself.
   
• Content that is accessible to all students has a profound impact on learning outcomes and the overall educational experience.  Use the Accessibility Checker to ensure the content you create in an Ultra Document meets accessibility requirements.  If issues are detected, the Accessibility Checker provides solutions to quickly and easily resolve them.

Creating a Document

Select the plus sign wherever you want to add a document. In the menu, select Create to open the Create Item panel and select Document. The New Document page opens.

You can also expand or create a folder or learning module to add a document within these items.

New Document Page

On the New Document page, give your document a name and use the options provided to add content. You can add as many text blocks and files as you want.

Add Content:  opens a content editor menu to add text, files, videos, or images within the content editor.

Add HTML:  use custom HTML or CSS in a document by writing or pasting HTML code into the editor and select Save. 

 

Upload from Computer:  Add files stored on your computer to a document.

Upload from Cloud Storage: You can upload files from cloud storage, such as OneDrive^® and Google Drive™. When you add a file from cloud storage, the system makes a copy of the file in your course. The files aren't linked. Any change you make to a file within your course doesn't apply to the file in cloud storage. If your browser allows, media files display inline.

• Type a title. On the Course Content page, the title appears as the link students select to view the materials. If you don't add a title, New Document and the date appear in the content list.
• Add text blocks. Select Add Text to open the editor. You can also paste text from a Word doc.
  • You can also use the editor to embed images and attach files along with your text. To use your keyboard to jump to the editor toolbar, press ALT + F10. On a Mac, press Fn + ALT + F10. Use the arrow keys to select an option, such as a numbered list.
• Add files. Select Upload from Computer and browse for or drag files from your computer, such as a Word doc and an audio file. You can't add a folder of items. You're asked if you want to add the individual items inside the folder. Your institution controls the maximum size of a file that you can upload.

• Add Office 365 files. You can embed enterprise Office365 files directly into your content. Select Share in your Office365 file to create a link to the file. Choose which permissions you want the user to have and select Copy Link. This copies the link to your clipboard. To embed the content, select Insert/Edit Media from Web from the editor. Paste the link in Media URL. Select Insert.

  

• Show or hide the document. Students can't see a document until you choose to show it. You can create all your content ahead of time and choose what you want students to see based on your schedule. You can also set availability conditions based on date, time, and performance on other items in the course gradebook. On the Course Content page, students can see when the document is set to be available.
• Allow class conversations. What if your students have questions? You can allow conversations within a document, and anyone can contribute. Select the Settings icon to open the Document Settings panel and select the conversations check box. As the conversation develops, it appears only with the document.
• Add goals and standards. You and your institution can use goals to measure student achievement across programs and curriculums. When you create a document, you can align one or multiple goals. In the document, select the Settings icon. Select Align with goals to search for available goals to align with the document. Students won't be able to see the goals you align with a document.
• Add an optional description. The description appears with the document title on the Course Content page. Content item descriptions are limited to 250 characters.

  

 

Upload from Content Collection:  content can be added from the Content Collection which provides access to files already housed within the course or the ability to extract files housed in other courses you are an instructor of or from the Institution Files area of the Content Collection.

Add More Content

After you add your first piece of content, select the plus sign wherever you want to add more content. You can add as many text blocks and files as you want, wherever you want.

Save Your Document

After you save, the document appears in the content list. You can change the document's content at any time and change the order of the items you added to the document.

In their activity streams, students are notified a new document is available.

 

Edit, Reorder, or Delete Documents

You can make changes to existing documents and change where they appear on your Course Content page. Press the Move icon in a document's row and move it to a new location. You can also move a document into an expanded folder.

In a document's row, open the menu to select Edit, Conversations, and Delete.

You can use your keyboard to move a document.

1. Tab to an item's Move icon.
2. Press Enter to activate move mode.
3. Use the arrow keys to choose a location.
4. Press Enter to drop the item in the new location.

Delete Documents

You can delete a document from your course or hide it from students to preserve the information. Students can't access hidden documents on the Course Content page.

Edit Documents and Media Files

Based on the document element, you can move, edit, delete, or download it.

Open an element's menu to access the options. Press the Move icon to move an element to a new location on the document page.

Select the plus sign wherever you want to add another file or text block on the document page.

Media Viewing Options

If your browser allows, media files you add to documents display inline by default. If your browser can't display a media file inline, it appears as an attachment.

Images that display inline are embedded in a 768-pixel block at the biggest breakpoints. The closer to that size the images are, the less padding appears around them.

You can also add alternative text to describe images you add. Alternative text is read aloud by screen readers and helps describe what some users can't see.

You can edit the file's settings, including the display name, alternative text, and display behavior. Choose whether to insert the file as a link in the editor or to embed the file directly so it appears inline with other content you've added. To edit the file's alternative text or display behavior, select the file in the editor and then select the Edit Attachment icon.

In most browsers, you can select where the files that you open in courses are downloaded. For example, in Chrome, navigate to Settings > Advanced > Downloads. You can select the location for file downloads and choose if you want the browser to ask each time. In Safari, you have the same capabilities. Navigate to Preferences > General > File download location. You can perform an internet search to learn about file download choices in other browsers.