This guide pertains to Ultra Course View.
If your course is in Original Course View, see the Original Course View tutorial collection.
Best Practice Recommendations
#1: Watch this short video on Migrating Content to Ultra
#2: Content migration is best completed by being able to view both versions of the course, one in Original Course View, the other in Ultra, simultaneously. Therefore, it is recommended migration be completed with (2) computer monitors, each displaying one of the course views. The 413D Classroom located in the Park Library within the Office of Curriculum and Instructional Support is set up with additional monitors for this purpose. On Fridays, CIS staff will be on hand to support faculty as they work on course migration. BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) Fridays are being offered in the CIS 413D Classroom from 9 am to 3 pm.
#3: Change the name on your Bb Ultra Sandbox shell to reflect the course designator. Each instructor has (3) Ultra sandbox shells to copy course content into. Personalize your sandbox shell to reflect the course designator by changing the name of the shell.
#4: Add your Ultra sandbox shells to your favorites by clicking on the star icon to move it to the top of your listings on the Courses tab of the Bb homepage.
Grid View of Course Card
List View of Course Card
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Reminder: Ultra only allows 3-layers of depth to content. The options are:
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Module > folder > other content items (links, documents, assessments)
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Folder > Folder > other content items (links, documents, assessments)
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Step 1: Education & Migration Prep
Prior to migrating your Original course to Ultra, it is highly recommended that you complete your training and education of Ultra, then prep your Original Course for migration using the Migration Prep Guide.
Step 2: Determining the Course Structure in Ultra
Review the Original Course Menu
Review the course menu in the Original shell. Course menu buttons for syllabus, instructor info, course introduction, Start Here, etc. will be housed in the Ultra course in the Course Orientation and Overview Module. Beyond the Orientation and Overview module, consider additional modules that will be needed to house content. Remember: separate modules will not be needed for assignments or assessments. These instead should be incorporated into the respective module for the week or unit they are due.
Determine the Ultra Course Structure
From the Ultra shell, determine the appropriate setup for your Ultra course by considering how to best organize your content within Ultra. If you would like to discuss ways to set up your Ultra course, contact CIS and a staff member can strategize with you.
Organizing content within modules (versus folders) is a best practice as it provides students easy access to all materials and assignments in one place, with logical progression determined by the instructor. Learn the difference between modules and folders.
Modules can take on the following formats:
- Weekly Modules: Materials and assignments are grouped by week
- Thematic Modules: Materials and assignments are grouped by Unit or theme
Module Naming Convention Best Practice: To aid students in navigation and readily identifying content, consider adding a title to your module that gives both the sequential order and the topic. For example:
- Module 1: Introduction to <Course Topic>
- Example: Module 1: Introduction to Training & Development
- Module 2: Next Topic in Course
- Example: Module 2: Training Needs Assessment
Determine the number of modules that will be needed and create them in your Ultra shell. See Creating Learning Modules in Ultra.
Step 3: Migrate Course Content
Copying Content Items
Copy content items and related graded activities from the Original Course to the Ultra course module by module. This allows for a focused migration of content, ensuring each module has been finalized with the appropriate visibility set, due dates added, formatting issues adjusted, and overall functional navigation in place.
To copy content, expand the desired module, click the purple plus, then Copy Content, search for your Original Course, then drill into the area where the desired content items are housed. See Copy Course Content to learn more.
NOTE: Folders within Folders do not copy over well. It is better to copy individual content items within a folder versus the folder and the content for (2) reasons:
- The 3-Layer Limitation: Content is limited to 3-layers and it is not possible to house items within items within items.
- Titles to content items are duplicated when an entire folder is copied (see yellow highlights). This creates a lengthy and confusing title to students.
Copying Graded Activities
Next, you will repeat the process of copying content from the Original Course to the Ultra course for graded activities. From the module where graded activities are to be completed, click the purple plus, Copy Content, locate the Original Course, then the graded activity, and copy it to the Ultra shell. Repeat as needed until all graded activities to be completed within a module have been migrated into the module. Arrange the graded activities via the drag-and-drop feature to place them in the order students should complete them.
If the course contains a semester-long graded activity, contact CIS staff to discuss the best method for communicating the activity and assignment submission links in your Ultra course.
Content Review
Once all content has been copied into a module, review the module for:
- Item titles that need to be adjusted/updated for clarity, consistency, and brevity.
- Placement of content items in proper, sequential order:
- Learning Objectives and Tasks at the top, followed by items in the order students should complete them.
- For example, provide content to learn the subject matter, then an opportunity for reflection or assessment.
- Ensure a consistent order of content items across all modules. Place graded activities in the order students should complete them and ensure this is done within all modules.
- Content visibility is set as needed for student access & viewing:
- Note: All content copied over to Ultra is hidden from the student view by default.
- Set Visibility for each content item so students can see and access it
- Review Graded Activities to ensure:
- Due Dates are added to all graded assessments. Due dates play an important role not only in keeping students on track in meeting deadlines but also in providing an accurate picture of a student’s academic standing in the course.
- Point values have been entered and rubrics (if any) are attached and accurate,
- If the activity is a Group Assignment, ensure groups are set up for the assessment.
- It is particularly important to review tests migrated to Ultra to ensure the proper arrangement of test questions, insert page breaks if desired, and that test settings have been properly configured as desired. IMPORTANT NOTE: Assessment Feedback settings do not migrate to Ultra and will need to be set up once the test has been migrated. See Assessment Results & Feedback.
Once you are happy with how the first module copied into your Ultra shell, proceed to the next module and repeat these steps until all course materials have been copied over.
Announcements
Next, course Announcements should be copied into the Ultra course. From the 3-dot menu in the upper right corner, select Copy Items:
Locate the Original Course, drill into course by clicking the arrow on the right, and locate the Announcements folder. Assuming announcements in the Original course have been cleaned up and contain only messages pertinent to the course, check the box to the left of Announcements, then Start Copy:
Once announcements have migrated into the Ultra course, they will be found by clicking on the Announcements tab in the upper navigation tabs. By default, all announcements are copied into Ultra and placed into Draft format:
Each announcement should be reviewed for accuracy and to determine whether to post the announcement now, schedule it to be released at a later date, or leave it as is in draft format for the time being. See Managing Announcements to learn more.
Discussion Forums
Discussion Boards are not able to be copied to an Ultra course in the same manner as content, announcements, or assessments. Before Discussion forums are migrated from Original, we first need to determine the setup of the forums.
Determining the Type of Discussion Board Set Up In Your Course
Prompts are within the Forum
The majority of forums are set up with the prompt provided on the forum and students creating a thread to respond to the prompt and each other.
Example of discussion prompt placed within the forum:
Prompts are within Threads
Determine if discussions are set up where students click into the forum and see prompts in Threads, then respond on the thread in the example provided below.
Example of discussion prompt placed within threads:
Students click into the forum to see the prompts placed on threads, then respond to the thread:
For forums set up in this manner, Edit the Forum and ensure “Allow Members to Create New Threads” is Unchecked:
Small Group Discussions
If your course has groups set up and groups are to have discussions among their team using the Discussion Board associated with the group, we recommend you connect with CIS staff to discuss the best way to extract the forums and set them up in your Ultra course.
Extracting Discussion Forums
For courses where the prompt is placed directly within the forum, we need to extract the forums out using the Export feature. In the lower-left course menu, go to Packages & Utilities, then to Export/Archive Course:
At the next screen, select Export Package:
Scroll to the Select Course Materials section and check only the Discussion Board checkbox, then Submit
Click the Refresh button to see the Export File appear under Packages Created Manually:
Double-click on the title of the Export Zip File (shown in blue above, ending with ".zip"). The file is saved to the Download area on your computer.
Next, go to your Ultra shell, click the 3-dot menu in the upper corner and select Import Content:
In the side panel that opens, select Import Course Content:
In the box that opens on our screen, navigate to your computer's download area and locate the Export Zip File you exported from the Original course:
Double-Click on the Export Zip File created from the Original course. The import will begin as shown by the percentage of completion indicator:
Once the import has been completed, click on the Discussions tab. The discussion forums will now appear on this tab. You will want to review each forum for accuracy and to set point values, due dates, and other desired settings. It is important to note that all discussion forums come into the Ultra shell WITHOUT POINTS. Each forum will need to have points added to it if the activity is to be part of the student's grade.
If it is desired to have a link to the forum appear within the Module the forum is associated with, check the Display on Course Content Page box, then Save:
The discussion link then appears on the Content Tab at the bottom of the page. Expand the module where the discussion link is desired, then drag-and-drop the link into the module into the proper sequential order within the module content.
Resources
If your course contains resources students use throughout the course, first determine the best location for these resources within your Ultra course. Does it make sense to include those resources with the subject matter it is related to or with the graded activity it is associated with? Or does it make more sense for students to access these resources within it's own module? Once where to place resources has been decided, migrate those resources to your Ultra shell.
Special Note Resources & Standard Verbiage
If your course contains a Writing Tips, Writing Resources, or Team Collaboration Tips menu button, it is recommended you not migrate these content items from your Original shell but rather obtain a fresh, up-to-date version of these resources from the Bb-Repository-Ultra shell. All faculty have the ability to access Bb-Repository-Ultra shell to obtain helpful resources for their students along with standard verbiage on Bb tools such as Respondus Lockdown Browser and/or Monitor, SafeAssign, Panopto, or Virtual Meeting software (e.g. MS Teams or Webex). This information can be pulled into your Ultra shell and omits the need for you to have to create instructions for use. To review the materials and resources provided, locate the Bb-Repository-Ultra shell on the Courses tab under Assorted Dates. Once you have determined what information you would like to pull into your Ultra shell, go to Copy Items from your Ultra course, locate the Bb-Repository-Ultra shell then the desired content items and Start Copy.
Course Reserves
Course Reserves do not/should not be copied from your Original Course to your Ultra course. Course Reserve Librarians will load your course reserve articles into your Ultra teaching shell when the course is being offered.
Step 4: Post-Migration Review
Once all content items have been migrated from your Original course to your Ultra sandbox. The final step is to complete a Post-Migration Review.