by Learning Tech Dev | Oct 6, 2026 | Blackboard Ultra, Ed Tech Tools, Featured, Integrations, YuJa Lumina
Welcome back! This week I have put together three quick guides to help streamline your Blackboard environment, protect assessment integrity, and make video assignments far easier to manage. Here is what we are covering in this edition: GoReact vs. YuJa: Choosing...
by Lara Tompkins | Sep 9, 2026 | Accessibility, Ally, Blackboard Ultra
COD faculty are already doing meaningful work to make course materials more accessible this fall! During Kickoff Week and the first week of classes, faculty opened Ally’s Instructor Feedback 2,341 times and made 1,441 accessibility fixes. Faculty also opened the...
by Christine Monnier | Jul 22, 2026 | Blackboard Ultra, Christine Monnier, Featured, Guest Blogger
Ok, There is a lot that does not change, so I will start with that: All gradebook columns, categories, and overall grade calculations Grade schemas and grading settings Flexible grading (opens and works the same) The List View / Gradable Items (no changes) <- my...
by Christine Monnier | Jun 23, 2026 | Accessibility, Ally, Blackboard Ultra, Christine Monnier, Featured, Guest Blogger
In my note to the chairs, last week, I noted that even though our college-wide accessibility score is about 73.5%, that percentage drops much lower if we consider the accessibility of files posted in our courses: Yeah, that’s … not great. And yes, the bulk...
by Christine Monnier | Jun 15, 2026 | Accessibility, Ally, Blackboard Ultra, Christine Monnier, Featured, Guest Blogger
As you know, we got a one year reprieve on the deadline to be compliant with the new DOJ web accessibility compliance standards (although there is a lawsuit pending on this). So we have a little less than a year to at least make significant progress on our web...
by Christine Monnier | Apr 7, 2026 | Blackboard Ultra, Christine Monnier, Do One Thing in Ultra, Guest Blogger
When you want to grade an assignment, by default, Ultra will list your submissions in alphabetical order. But what if you wanted a different order? For instance, I prefer grading in chronological order: the oldest submissions get graded first. Ultra gives you four...
