Setting up a BB Ultra development area 2025/26
Blackboard Ultra development areas are identical to your regular teaching modules, except they are private; they do not contain registered students. Use your development area to try-out new techniques, content or items. You can then easily copy items or copy whole modules across to your live teaching area.
Instructions
Navigate to the Module Manager, and click on the Login with Blackboard button
The new Module Manager works on the same Single-Sign-On (SSO) as Blackboard, so you may need to log in to Blackboard first
For security reasons you will be logged out of the app after 5 minutes of inactivity. The maximum length of any session is 15 minutes after which you will be automatically logged out.
Then click on the Module Access button
You will be taken to the Request Access screen. Click on Request Development Area
Give your Blackboard Ultra development area a meaningful title e.g. “firstnamelastname” or “Modulecode”, then click on Request/ Request Another
Your request will take a few minutes, the Request button will change to “Processing …”
… before you get a success message:
Your course will appear in your Blackboard Courses list:
Your course is private and hidden from colleagues and students. To collaborate with colleagues in your dev area, email blackboardhelpdesk@ulster.ac.uk
Now you can begin to add items to your module, our Blackboard Ultra essentials page provides support on all the tasks needed to set up a teaching module
Related articles
Centre for Digital Learning Enhancement
ulster.ac.uk/learningengancement/cdle