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Blackboard Ultra: Faculty Workshops

  1. Blackboard Ultra
  2. Faculty Workshops

Workshop Offerings

Blackboard Ultra, our official Learning Management System (LMS), is integrated into every class at Mercy. Each course has a designated Blackboard Ultra shell for instructors to utilize. Since not all faculty members may be familiar with Blackboard Ultra, we offer various training and support options and encourage you to take advantage of these resources.

All of Mercy Online’s blackboard training courses are virtual. Drop-In Clinics and Blackboard Ultra 101 are via Zoom.

Drop-In-Clinics

Drop-in Clinics are 20 minute, one on one faculty consultations where you should come with a specific question.

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Blackboard Ultra 101

The Blackboard Ultra 101 Workshop is 2 hours long and is a pre-requisite for the Blackboard Ultra 102 asynchronous training. You will learn how to navigate the platform, create and manage discussions and assignments, and set up and use the gradebook effectively. By the end of the workshop, you will have a solid understanding of the basics of Blackboard Ultra.

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Blackboard Ultra 102

Part 2 – only after completing Blackboard Ultra 101

In Blackboard Ultra 102, you take what you learned a step further. In this asynchronous, self-paced training module, you will learn about utilizing and deploying various tools within your course. These tools include but are not limited to Artificial Intelligence (AI), Rubrics, Groups and Tests.

Blackboard Ultra Gradebook Consultation

This Gradebook Consultation will allow you to meet with a member of Mercy Online to set up your gradebook.

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ultra Ai made simple (group training)

 

Blackboard Ultra is getting smarter—and easier! Join us for Ultra AI Made Simple, a hands-on session that demystifies Blackboard’s new AI-powered tools. You’ll learn how to use these built-in features to save time, spark ideas, and enhance student learning—all while staying true to your teaching voice.

 

We’ll walk through how AI can help with course setup, activity creation, and feedback, plus share best practices for using these tools responsibly and effectively. Come curious—leave confident!

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Lights, Camera, Ultra Video Studio!

Blackboard Ultra’s new Video Studio puts powerful, easy-to-use video tools right at your fingertips. In this one-hour session, you’ll learn how to record, and share videos directly within your course—no special software or tech skills required.

Discover creative ways to use video to connect with students, give feedback, and build presence in your online or hybrid classroom.We will also cover ways you can have students submit online work via video through their use of Video Studio.

Whether you’re camera-shy or camera-ready, you’ll leave with practical tips and the confidence to make your teaching more personal and engaging.

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Blackboard Ultra AI individualized Consultation

The Blackboard Ultra AI Consultation allows you and another professor to work with an instructional designer to build AI elements within your course.

We will focus on using Blackboard Ultra's AI Role Play Tool. Additionally, we can work together to develop rubrics, assignments, discussions, and journals using Blackboards built in AI.

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Frequently Asked Questions

You need to complete Blackboard Ultra 101 (via Zoom) and Blackboard Ultra 102 (asynchronous)

To ensure you are prepared to teach on Blackboard Ultra, it is essential to complete your training beforehand. For graduate courses, this training should have been completed before the start of teaching in Spring 2025. For undergraduate courses, it must be completed before the start of teaching in Fall 2025.

We are rolling over courses from the previous academic year. For example, this means that if you taught a course in Fall 2024, it will be rolled into Fall 2025 (if you are teaching it again). If you did not teach it in the previous academic year, then you will want to fill out the following form to let us know what you need:  

Yes, you still need to be trained in Blackboard Ultra at ß÷ßäÉçÇø so that you are aware of Blackboard Ultra requirements and Blackboard Ultra Templates specific to ß÷ßäÉçÇø.

Blackboard Ultra will be fully rolled out in Fall of 2025.  Please note that you should complete both Blackboard Ultra 101 and 102 prior to teaching.

Students will receive a mandatory 20-minute orientation video that they must watch before gaining access to their courses. 

If you have any technical questions relating to log-in problems, passwords, browsers or immediate assistance with Blackboard please contact the IT 24/7 help desk number at 914-674-7526 or email them at helpdesk@mercy.edu.

Reach out to mercyonline@mercy.edu and one of our staff will assist you.