Trouble shooting Blackboard Ultra
This page covers a list of common issues and queries you may encounter when working in Blackboard Ultra.
- 1 I canât log in to Blackboard
- 1.1 Account conflicts - using other Microsoft accounts
- 1.2 Expired sessions
- 1.3 I donât have a university account
- 1.4 I donât know how to log in to Blackboard
- 1.5 Iâve forgotten my login details.
- 1.6 Iâve forgotten my network password
- 1.7 I canât use my Multi-factor Authentification.
- 1.8 Oops! Something went Wrong
- 2 I canât see any of my modules in Blackboard
- 3 I canât migrate my content from last year!
- 4 My Module is empty
- 5 Adding learning and assessment to Course Content
- 5.1 Copying content from a previous module
- 5.2 Create and add new items in the Course Content area
- 5.3 Add a Blackboard Assignment dropbox
- 5.4 Add a rubric to Blackboard Assignment
- 5.5 Adding a Turnitin assignment dropbox
- 5.6 Changing the name of an item in Ultra
- 5.7 Adding Accommodations and Exceptions
- 6 Using groups
- 7 Getting support
- 8 Related articles
- 9 Useful links
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Contact Digital Services if you need support with the technical infrastructure for online learning, passwords and email.
Contact the Blackboard helpdesk if you are having issues with setting up or accessing assignments or learning materials etc. within the Blackboard learning environment.
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I canât log in to Blackboard
Account conflicts - using other Microsoft accounts
Please note that we recommend signing out of any personal, or workplace Office/Office 365 accounts before signing in to Blackboard Learn.
Ulster University uses Microsoft Office 365 for Single Sign-on (SSO). If you are logged in/ or have recently logged into a non-UU Office 365 account, your browser may pick up this account and prevent you from logging into Blackboard.
If you have another office account this may be detected automatically, make sure you are using your ulster account:
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If another account is detected choose âUse another accountâ and enter your ulster email and address.
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A simple way of seeing which account you are logged into is to visit Microsoft Office and select your initials at the top right of the screen. This will display the name of the account you are currently logged in with (see image below).
If you are using a personal/workplace/non-Ulster University Office.com/Office 365 account you should first Sign out of that account (and close your browser) before attempting to login to Blackboard Learn using your Ulster University account details.
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Expired sessions
If you are logged into Blackboard Learn and leave the session open within your browser, the system will timeout after a set period of time (typically 8 hours) resulting in an error message. To resolve this issue we suggest going to Microsoft Office (logging in if you are not aready logged in), selecting your initials at the top right of the screen and choosing the Sign Out link (highlighted in red below):
Please note that we also recommend signing out of email if you are using the web version of Outlook
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You should then close and open your browser and try to login again.
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I donât have a university account
The majority of staff need a University email for access to Blackboard Learn.
New full time member of staff (with an e-code e123456) are automatically assigned an email and password. You will find these details in the personal email used on your application and or contract (check your spam if you canât see it in your inbox). Contact HR hr@ulster.ac.uk or servicedesk@ulster.ac.uk if you havenât received your new login details.
Associate members of staff e.g. those with part-time, short-term or temporary contracts (with an a-code a12345) will receive their welcome email and password reset in their personal email account used in their application (check your spam if you canât see it in your inbox). In addition, Associate members need their A-Code/email to set up their account. Contact the member of staff who sponsored your application, they will have received a notification email with your A-Code.
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I donât know how to log in to Blackboard
You need a staff code, a university email address and a network password.
Full-time / permanent members of staff automatically receive a staff code e1234567, email and password.
Temporary or part-time staff members (e-tutors, external examiners etc.) will need an associate account set up by a staff sponsor.
Follow the instructions for logging in to Blackboard (online)
Or follow these instructions for logging in to Blackboard (app)
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Iâve forgotten my login details.
Use the same credentials that you use for the MyDay Portal or University e-mail i.e. your Ulster University e-mail address and network password.
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Iâve forgotten my network password
You can reset your account on the Microsoft website at https://passwordreset.microsoftonline.com/ or by following the instructions at Self-Service Password Reset.
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I canât use my Multi-factor Authentification.
Ensure that you have Multi Factor Authentication (MFA) is enabled.
Log in to Microsoft 365, click on your initials or photograph in the top right hand corner
and click on View account
Click on Security info
Make sure the Default sign-in method is set to âMicrosoft Authenticator- notificationâ. If it is not click Change and select âMicrosoft Authenticator- notificationâ from the drop down menu.
If you do not have Multi-factor authentication (MFA) set-up, follow the the guide to setting-up MFA or follow this Digital Services guide for MFA.
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Oops! Something went Wrong
If you see the error screen above, donât panic, itâs probably just a permissions issue.
Check you are assigned to the module you expected to see, if you are then contact the Blackboard Helpdesk with the module code, problem description and your details.
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I canât see any of my modules in Blackboard
Make sure you are in Courses view in Blackboard.
Once you are logged into Blackboard you are automatically taken to Activity stream, click on Courses in the left hand menu.
If no courses appear in Courses view, check your course filters at the top of the page
Check your Course filters
If no courses appear in Courses view, check your filter settings at the top of the page, Terms filter should be set to All terms and Filters all courses.
Getting assigned to a module
If you still can not see your course in Blackboard course view, you may need to be assigned to the module. while students enrol on a course and are automatically assigned to a course, staff need manually assigned to their course. You can use module manager to get access to a module.
Remember modules may share the same name with courses that run on different campuses or different semesters, make sure you select the right one. Each module has a unique CRN, Course Reference number, use this to select the right course.
Follow these instructions to get access to your course using Module manager.
If you are still having problems contact the module coordinator.
Setting up your module in Module Manager
Every academic year, a new version of your course must be created for a new cohort of students. If you are the named Module co-ordinator for a course, you can set up your course in Module Manager for the new academic year.
As Blackboard is being upgraded to Blackboard Ultra, academic year 24/25 modules will be automatically assigned a Blackboard Ultra Module template
If your course is blank, you can easily copy content from your Blackboard Original modules or add new content.
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I canât migrate my content from last year!
In academic year 24/25, all modules will be automatically assigned a Blackboard Ultra Module template.
See My Module is empty for guidance
My Module is empty
As Blackboard is being upgraded to Blackboard Ultra, all academic year 24/25 modules feature the new Blackboard Ultra module template. However, you can only migrate content from other Ultra modules, otherwise your course will be assigned a blank Ultra module template.
Donât panic! You can âŠ
Adding learning and assessment to Course Content
Copying content from a previous module
To copy into the course content area; in your Ultra module, you can either âŠ
at the top of the course content area, click the ellipsis (three dots)
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Or mouse over where you want to add an item, click on the plus icon.
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the select Copy Content from the drop-down menu.
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This will bring up the Copy Items dialogue box. Enter the module code you wish to copy from, in the Course name or ID search box.
For more detailed instructions on
or add new learning content from scratch
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Create and add new items in the Course Content area
Mouse over where you want to add an item, click on the plus icon.
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This brings up the add content context menu, select Create
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This brings up the Create Item context menu. Select the type of item you wish to add (NB use Context Market for Turnitin)
Follow the links to more detailed instructions on
Adding Learning Modules and Folders
Adding a Blackboard test
Add a Blackboard Assignment dropbox
Mouse over where you want to add an item, click on the plus icon. This brings up the add content context menu, select Create
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This brings up the Create Item context menu. Select Assignment in the Assessment section.
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Add a meaningful title, add instructions for your students and click Save.
Use the cog to access the full range of Assessment settings
Find out more about adding a Blackboard dropbox
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Add a rubric to Blackboard Assignment
Click on the cog icon in your Blackboard assignment dropbox to access your assignment settings, scroll down to âAdditional toolsâ.
Select Add marking rubric.
Either select Add to add an existing rubric or select Create to create a new rubric.
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This will open up an empty rubric template with four achievement columns with percentage marks and four empty criteria rows each weighted at 25%.
Click on âNew Rubricâ to add a meaningful name to your rubric.
Select your preferred rubric type e.g. Percentage Range from the Rubric Type drop-down menu.
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Along the top of the columns, you have the levels of achievement: Excellent, Satisfactory etc. If you need to add another achievement column, e.g Very Good, mouse over the vertical border between the cells in the top row between Excellent and Satisfactory. Click on the plus that appears
Add in the achievement level in the text box, click outside the textbox to confirm the edit.
To edit an achievement level, mouse over the right hand side of the cell and a pencil icon will appear. Click on it to edit the name of the column. Click outside the cell to confirm the text edit.
In the first column, mouse over the right hand side of each cell until the pencil appears ⊠then click to add text to the Criterion text box
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If you need to add another criterion row, mouse over the border of the cells in the first column and click on the plus.
Add your criterion and then add in the weighting of that category. When you add the weighting youâll get a warning that your weighting isnât balanced. You can choose to add your own weighting or balance the values evenly using Balance Criteria.
Continue to add your content to the cells, mousing over each cell, click on the pencil icon to edit achievement descriptions and values.
Select Save at the bottom of the rubric and Save in the settings
Find out more about creating rubrics.
Adding a Turnitin assignment dropbox
Navigate to the folder / section you want to place the drop box in. Click on the + icon
Then click on âContent Marketâ
Content Market shows all the tools integrated with Blackboard, select and click on Turnitin to add a Turnitin dropbox and then adjust your settings.
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For more detailed instructions on how to add a Turnitin assignment dropbox
Changing the name of an item in Ultra
To change the name of an item in Ultra, click on the three dots (ellipsis) and select edit.
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Then mouse over the title and click when you see the title underlined and the pencil icon appears
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when you see the flashing cursor you can edit
No need to save, just use the purple X to close.
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Adding Accommodations and Exceptions
You can set up an accommodation for a student with Reasonable Adjustments (RARs) in Gradebook. That accommodation will affect all forms of assessment within the module. Students with accommodations are identified throughout the module with a purple flag beside their name.
To add an accommodation, go into Gradebook and click on Students view:
Click on the three dots (ellipses) to the far right of the row for the student you wish to add an accommodation for:
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Select âAccommodationsâ and then tick âTime limit accommodationâ. Then add in the custom percentage for the student as per their RAR > Click SAVE.
Find out more about adding accommodations in Gradebook
An exception is associated with one assessment and is used for exceptional circumstances like a hospital appointment. An exception will be denoted by a timer in the student's row in the column of that assessment in Gradebook (Marks view)
Set up an exception by going to Marks view in Gradebook
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In the Blackboard assignment column, click on the student's cell and select Add or edit exceptions.
This opens up the Exception settings panel for that assignment, choose from Assessment due date, show and hide and attempts allowed and click Save.
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The student will have the timer symbol appear beside their name.
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Using groups
How do I set up groups?
Your groups will sit under the Groups tab in the Course toolbar
Groups sit within Group Sets, for instance one Group Set may contain five groups that divide your cohort into five groups for one project.
You can either create your group sets manually by clicking on New Group Set, or import your group set and group members using spreadsheets saved as .CSV files.
If you are creating your groups manually click on New Group Set
This brings up the Group Set options page, give your Group set a name then select how you want to create groups within the Group set, by selecting an option in the Group students drop down menu.
Chose from:
Custom: manually add students to groups
Randomly assign: automatically add students to groups at random
Self-enrolment: lets student choose their group
Find out more about creating Group sets manually
How do I set up a Group Discussion?
Use Group sets for group discussions
Select the Discussions tab along the top navigation panel.
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Click âNew Discussionâ
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Once you have given your discussion a title and a topic/context /a question or a starting point etc. you can adjust the settings by clicking on the cog in upper right hand side.
Under the Group discussion section, select Assign to Groups.
This will open up the group setting for your discussion. Select Custom in the Group students drop-down menu and select the appropriate Group set from those listed (NB Group sets, not groups are displayed). Click Save.
You will return to the Discussion Settings menu, â1 groupâ should now appear under Group discussion, click Save.
Find out more about creating Group Discussions
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Release Conditions making content available to certain students or groups?
Use Release Conditions to make content available to certain groups or students.
Click on the Visible/Hidden from Students underneath the name of the item in Course Content. Select Release Conditions from the drop-down.
You can use rules to show or hide your items to students based on certain criteria.
For instance if you want your folder or learning module to release to your class on a certain date.
Set rule 1: select All members and Date/time checkbox, then enter the date you want the item to become visible:
Select Save and then select Hide:
You can also add more than one rule to the same item.
For instance, you can set an earlier release time for a specific student, by selecting Specific members or groups and using the drop-down arrow to find the student. Then you can set Date/time as before
Find out more about using Release conditions
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Getting support
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Getting support from Digital Services
Digital Services support the technical infrastructure for online learning and provides technical support and training.
Digital services provide support for email, password, Staff portal, Eduroam wifi, hardware, software, and printing.
Check out the Digital Services website.
Or contact the Digital Services Service desk
Online Servicedesk
Phone: 028 9536 7776
Email: servicedesk@ulster.ac.uk
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Contacting the Blackboard helpdesk
Contact the Blackboard helpdesk if you are having issues with setting up or accessing assignments or learning materials etc. within the Blackboard learning environment.
For issues within Blackboard, you can
or call: +44 28 9536 7188
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Example email to Blackboard helpdesk
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Related articles
Useful links
Centre for Digital Learning Enhancement
ulster.ac.uk/learningengancement/cdle