Set Clear Expectations for Discussions in the December Ultra Update

Tue, 02 Dec 2025 14:57:30 -0500
ava, blackboard, discussions, learning-module, release-conditions, ultra-experience, ultra-update, video-feedback

What if your discussion assignments could set clear expectations up front? Could your students benefit if your course could respond to their questions before you checked your inbox?

The December Ultra update closes out the year with enhancements that bring clarity, efficiency, and a touch of automation to your teaching. From AI-powered responses to customizable release conditions and upgraded discussion tools, these features help faculty support learners more effectively without adding to their workload.

To help set clearer expectations for student interaction, instructors can now add participation requirements to discussions. You can specify the number of posts and/or replies required, in addition to setting due dates. These requirements are visible to students and encourage more intentional and timely engagement. This is especially helpful in courses where discussions are graded or tied to reflection, collaboration, or community-building goals, and it allows students to better understand what “participation” looks like in your course.

Image 1: Instructors set participation requirements in discussion settings.

The Anthology Virtual Assistant (AVA) can now assist instructors by generating AI-powered responses to individual student messages. When this feature is activated by the instructor in a course, AVA scans the course to generate answers about due dates, visible content, learner progress, accommodations, and exceptions. Instructors can see the exchange between AVA and the student, and clarify responses. AVA responses are limited to course-visible data and do not include external files, third-party tools, or group messages. This feature is opt-in, requiring the instructor to enable it in each course where it will be used. The feature will not be automatically turned on by default. AVA will be available through June 30, 2026.

Image 2: AVA responding to a student’s message.

Ultra’s Learning Module Table of Contents is now available to instructors, providing a collapsible navigation panel that mirrors the student experience. You can quickly jump between content items and preview materials that are not yet released -- without switching to Student Preview or changing availability settings. This consistent view across roles improves usability during course design and review, making it easier to check flow, spot gaps, or make edits while keeping future content hidden from students.

Image 3: Instructor view of a Learning Module with the Table of Contents panel open.

Ultra now supports improved audio and video feedback directly within the feedback editor. Whether you’re working in Flexible Grading or providing overall feedback on an assignment, you can record your audio, video, and desktop, generate captions and transcripts, and use simple editing tools to polish your message. This upgrade makes it easier to deliver accessible, personalized feedback in multimedia format, enhancing your teaching presence and giving students a richer understanding of your comments. Note: Feedback videos are associated to the student's assessment and stay archived with the course.

Image 4: Video Studio recording embedded in the instructor feedback panel.

Finally, Instructors can now set release conditions based on whether a student has simply opened a previous item. This lightweight prerequisite option -- "Unopened" or "Opened or Started" -- lets you guide students through your course in a structured sequence without requiring them to complete a graded task. It's especially useful in module-based courses where students need to engage with foundational materials before progressing to more advanced topics, activities, or discussions.

Additional updates for December include:

Originality Reporting option has been removed from the settings panel for AI Conversations because the activity involves interaction with an AI persona and does not generate a meaningful report.

Blackboard updated the grade pill display for the Complete/Incomplete grade schema to improve clarity for instructors and students. Grade pills for incomplete items now appear in gray, making them visually distinct from graded submissions.

MathJax support in the Content Editor now includes additional LaTeX delimiters (e.g., \(...\) for inline and display equations) for rendering mathematical formulas to improve compatibility with standard STEM workflows and simplify uploading exam content without changing source files. These options are in addition to the existing $ delimiters.

When you can expect the update

Faculty should see the latest updates in their Ultra courses around December 4-5, 2025. The next update to our Ultra test environment will take place on December 9, 2025; release notes are posted to the What's New in Ultra that same week. Faculty who are interested in test driving new features before they are released to production should open an RT ticket to request early access. Please watch the FAQs, including the What's New with Ultra page, and myUMBC for additional information about Ultra.

Connect with Instructional Technology

As always, if you have any questions about teaching, learning, and technology at UMBC, please consider the following options:

Check our extensive FAQ collection

What's new in Ultra? | Known Issues

Open a ticket via RT

Follow the Instructional Technology & DoIT myUMBC groups

Request a consult with instructional technology staff

Thumbnail-image: New to Ultra [decorative]