Going Ultra: Distinctions Between Original and Ultra Course View

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

 Distinctions Between Original and Ultra Course View

Many Ultra features offer a very different experience from Original Course View or have capabilities that should be fully understood before being used.  This guide provides an overview of these major distinctions.

• Hidden from Student View:   By default, content added to a course is set as hidden from student view.

TIP!  Before making your course accessible to students, enter into Student Preview mode to confirm the visibility of materials.  If needed, use the Batch Edit feature to change content availability in mass.
 

• Automatic Zeros:  A score of zero is automatically placed in the Gradebook when deadlines are missed and work has not been submitted, giving students greater accuracy of where they stand in the course.
   
• Multiple Paths | Multiple Views:  Remember, there is often more than one way to get to a course area or feature.  Multiple views are often available, particularly in the Gradebook.
   
• Forced Sequence:  This feature is a great way to guide students through course content, ensuring materials are viewed in the order the instructor identifies.  However, it should be used with caution because Forced Sequence may also impede navigation.  For example, creating a Course link within a module that refers the user to content in another module is impossible to access.  When using Forced Sequence, be sure to enter into Student Preview mode to verify access and navigation through the course.
   
• Message Limitations:  Messages sent to students from within a course reside in Bb.  Messages are sent to the user’s CMU email as well, however, students do not have the ability to create or reply to a message.
   
• Powerful Analytics:  Ultra provides a variety of analytics built directly into the course giving instructors insight into student engagement, activity level, and academic performance.  Analytics only provide accurate results if the course is set up with due dates entered for all assignments and assessments, all graded activities to be completed in the course are represented in the Gradebook, and appropriate grading schema and point values are accurately configured.
   
• Discussion Analytics:  Discussions with grading enabled have detailed Discussion Analytics that gives an analysis of student responses and replies to discussion prompts.  These market-leading analytics provide a holistic overview of the level at which students are writing and may aid the instructor in grading discussions.  Before Discussion Analytics are used in grading, the instructor should have a thorough understanding of what each data point provides and how the measurement is calculated.

Original Features Not Available in Ultra

The following features are no longer available in Ultra:

• Glossary
• Blogs [Use Journals in Ultra]
• Wikis [Consider OneNote Class Notebook or Google Sites]
• Surveys [Coming to Ultra]
• Tests that contain these question types:
  • File Response
  • Jumbled Sentence
  • Opinion Scale/Likert
  • Ordering
  • Quiz Bowl