Communications: Ultra Courses Activation Project

• monthly project progress reports to DLSC and DLPSC

• project plan presented to eLearning Operation Forum members including ITaLI managers, Library, ITS, and faculty leaders

• project plan approved by Digital Learning Program Steering Committee and DVCA (DLPSC) - 22 June 2023

• project plan approved by Digital Learning Sub Committee (DLSC) - 6 June 2023

Faciliated a range of workshops for key staff:

• 3 x 2 hour Getting Started with Ultra Courses workshops for Semester 1, 2024 Proof of Concept Course Coordinators 

  • 12 December, 2023

  • 17 January, 2024

  • 30 January, 2024

• 3 x 2 hour Getting Started with Ultra Courses for Learning Designers vendor-run workshops

  • 20 November, 2023

  • 29 November, 2023

  • 5 December, 2023:

• 2 x 1 hour Getting Started with Ultra Courses vendor-run workshops for Library AskUs team

  • 1 November, 2023

  • 20 November, 2023

• 4 x 2 hour Getting Started with Ultra Courses vendor-run workshops for eLearning team

  • 4 October, 2023

  • 10 October, 2023

  • 11 October 2023

  • 17 October, 2023

• 6 Nov 2023: invited Semester 1 2024 Proof of Concept Course Coordinators to register for workshops

• 30 August, 2023: invited key learning design staff to 3 x Getting Started with Ultra Courses workshops

• 28 August, 2023: liaised with Library AskUs Tier 2 Support in regards to training

• Consultations with school Professional staff to discuss the impact of Ultra on grade finalisation processes:

  • Professional staff in schools were contacted to arrange a Gradebook consultation - 21 February, 2024

  • Health and Rehabilitation Sciences - 28 March, 2024

  • Biomedical Sciences - 3 April, 2024

  • Mechanical and Mining Engineering - 19 April, 2024

  • Human Movement and Nutrition Science - 22 April, 2024

  • Pharmacy - 22 April, 2024

  • Chemial Engineering- 23 April, 2024

  • Economics - 23 April, 2024

  • Medicine - 23 April, 2024

  • Public Health - 23 April, 2024

  • Environment - 24 April, 2024

  • Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work - 26 April, 2024

  • Agriculture and Food Sustainability - 29 April, 2024

  • Civil Engineering - 29 April, 2024

  • Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences - 29 April, 2024

  • Electrical Engineering and Computer Science - 29 April, 2024

  • Historical and Philosophical Inquiry - 30 April, 2024

  • Maths and Physics - 30 April, 2024

  • Social Science - 30 April, 2024

  • Law - 1 May, 2024

  • Business - 2 May, 2024

  • Education - 2 May, 2024

  • Languages and Cultures - 2 May, 2024

  • Veterinary Science - 2 May, 2024

  • Dentistry - 8 May, 2024

• Consultations with Faculty Learning Designers and ITaLI teams:

  • BEL - 26 February, 2024

  • HABS - 26 February, 2024

  • EAIT - 27 February, 2024

  • Science - 27 February, 2024

  • HASS - 27 February, 2024

  • Medicine - 28 February, 2024

  • ITaLI Digital Learning Uplift team - 28 February, 2024

  • ITaLI Learning Designers & Digital Assessment Team - 28 February, 2024

• met with faculty Associate Deans (academic) to brief them on the project and identify Summer Semester, 2023 and Semester 1, 2024 Proof of Concept courses:

  • BEL - 18, 21 September 2023

  • EAIT - 12 September 2023

  • HABS - 3 October 2023

  • HASS - 13 September 2023

  • Science - 21 September

  • Medicine - 18 October 2023

• met with key support stakeholders across UQ to brief them on the project -

  • UQ College - 10 August, 2023

  • HABS - 9 August, 2023

  • ELIPSE - 3 August, 2023

  • Faculty of Science, School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, Faculty of HASS - 2 August, 2023

  • ITaLI Learning Analytics - 1 August, 2023 

  • Library - 31 July, 2023

  • School of Biomedical Sciences, School of Economics, School of Public Health - 26 July, 2023

  • Busines School, Faculty of EAIT, Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of BEL - 25 July, 2023

  • Examinations - 24 July, 2023

  • ITaLI Learning Designers Manager - 21 July, 2023

  • ITaLI Learning Designers - 18 July, 2023

  • ITaLI Digital Learning Uplift - 17 July, 2023

Regular presentations at the Learning Design and eLearning Update forum:

• 27 June, 2024: Ultra Project update

• 30 May, 2024: Ultra Project update - updates to template for S2, 2024

• 18 April, 2024: Ultra Project update - consultation on template changes

• 28 March, 2024: Ultra Project update - Original course design for Ultra, Declutter your course campaign

• 29 February, 2024: Ultra Project update - timeline and conversion process

• 26 October, 2023: Ultra Project update - Group feature demo​

• 28 September, 2023: Tool demonstration - Conversations and Discussions in Ultra courses

• 5 September, 2023: Stimulus Questions in tests

• 31 August, 2023: Tool demonstration - Ultra Courses test tool​

• 26 October, 2023: Group feature demo

• 30 May, 2024: Ultra Project update

Regular updates to the Learning Design & eLearning community and Semester 1, 2024 proof of concept participants through Microsoft Teams:

• 2 July, 2024: Ultra Tip Tuesday Summary

• 24 June, 2024: Ultra Example Course

• 11 June, 2024: Declutter your course - change management pack

• 7 June, 2024: Blackboard Learn updated 7 June

• 4 June, 2024: Ultra Tip - 5 Tips for end of semester

• 28 May, 2024: Ultra Tip - Blackboard Mobile App

• 14 May, 2024: Ultra Tip - Roles in Ultra courses

• 8 May, 2024: Ultra template updates for Semester 2, 2024 courses

• 7 May, 2024: Ultra Tip - Improved Gradebook navigation

• 3 May, 2024: Blackboard Learn updated 3 May

• 30 April, 2024: Ultra Tip - Content release conditions

• 23 April, 2024: Ultra Tip - Complex calculations in Gradebook

• 10 April, 2024: Blackboard Learn updated 5 April

• 9 April, 2024: Ultra Tip - Improved navigation for learning modules

• 2 April, 2024: Original course design for Ultra

• 2 April, 2024: Ultra Tip - Accommodations and Exceptions

• 26 March, 2024: Ultra Tip - Functionality limitations for improved accessibility

• 19 March, 2024: Ultra Tip - Column and user statistics in Gradebook

• 12 March 2024: Ultra Tip - Posting marks in Gradebook

• 5 March 2024: Ultra Tip - Copying content between courses

• 27 February 2024: Ultra Tip - Group Discussions

• 20 February 2024: Ultra Tip - Delegated Marking

• 20 February 2024: Support for S1 Ultra participants

• 19 February 2024: Ultra courses settings

• 16 February 2024: Ultra Courses Project update

• 13 February 2024: Ultra Tip - Course Schedule & Calendar

• 6 February 2024: Ultra Tip - Unsplash image integration

• 15 January, 2024: Ultra sandboxes available

• 30 November, 2023: Ultra course activation project update

• 21 November 2023: UItra Tip - Ultra Accessibility Checker

• 14 November 2023: Ultra Tip - Additional randomisation options for Blackboard Tests

• 7 November 2023: Ultra Tip - Automatic zeros for unsubmitted work

• 31 October 2023: Ultra Tip - Students can move between self-enrol groups

• 24 October 2023: Ultra Tip - Assign Primary Instructor(s)

• 17 October 2023: Ultra Tip - Adding and moving content in Ultra courses

• 10 October 2023: Ultra Tip - Improved accessibility with up to 3 content levels

• 3 October 2023: Ultra Tip - Unsplash for course banners

• 27 September 2023: Extra spots available in early bird Ultra courses workshops

• 26 September 2023: Ultra Tip - Search within a course

• 19 September 2023: Ultra Tip - Enabling conversations on content items

• 12 September 2023: Ultra Tip - Searchable Gradebook with multiple views

• 5 September 2023: Ultra Tip - Blackboard Test questions with stimulus

• 30 August 2023: Ultra course access plans for November

• 29 August 2023: Ultra Tip - Automated functionality for Groups

• 22 August 2023: Ultra Tip - Learning modules and progress tracking

• 27 July, 2023: Ultra Courses Activation Project​ update

Regular Teaching and eLearning News articles:

• 24 June, 2024: Blackboard Ultra Example site 
• 24 June, 2024: Declutter your Semester 2 course site to make it more manageable
• 4 June, 2024: Have you ordered a Blackboard Ultra Preview site? 
• 4 June, 2024: Declutter your Semester 2 course site to make it more manageable 
• 20 May, 2024: Does your course contain old undeployed Blackboard Test? 
• 16 April, 2024: Have you ordered a Blackboard Ultra Sandbox site? 
• 16 April, 2024: Delete hidden folders containing unused content 
• 26 February, 2024: Blackboard Ultra sandbox sites available 
• 8 January, 2024: Ultra Course sandboxes now available 
• 8 January, 2024: Declutter your Learn.UQ course site 
• 28 August, 2023: Ultra Courses Activation project 

Articles published in the ITS Tech Times:

• 30 April, 2024: Blackboard Ultra courses trial

Articles published in the UQ Update:

• 1 July, 2024: Learn.UQ Ultra course preview
• 8 July, 2024: Declutter your Learn.UQ course site