Blackboard Tutorials
This page includes links to short tutorials highlighting various features of Blackboard and including tips and best practices in teaching. Some tutorials are developed by NIU, while others have either been developed by other institutions and linked to with permission or made available by Blackboard.
To be notified when new tutorials are made available, follow @NIUBlackboard on Twitter.
Getting Started
- Accessing and Logging Into Blackboard
- Experience Blackboard Learn Ultra
- Requesting a New Course
- Requesting a New Shell
- Requesting a Master Course When the Sections Have Not Yet Been Requested
- Requesting a Master Course by Combining Two or More Course Sections
- Edit Your Profile in Blackboard Ultra
- Activity Stream in Blackboard Ultra
- Calendar in Blackboard Ultra
- Blackboard Instructor Mobile App Tour
Ultra Course View
Building Your Course in Ultra Course View
- Ultra Course Preview
- Add Content to Your Course in Blackboard Ultra
- Content Editor in Blackboard Ultra
- Create Learning Modules in Blackboard Ultra
- Batch Edit in Blackboard Ultra
Assessing Learners in Ultra Course View
- Gradebook in Blackboard Ultra
- Accommodations in Blackboard Ultra
- Create an Assignment in Blackboard Ultra
- Use SafeAssign in the Ultra Course View
- Create Group Assignments in Blackboard Ultra
- Analytics in Blackboard Ultra
- Create a Test in Blackboard Ultra
- Use Question Pools on a Test in the Ultra Course View
- Assessment Exceptions in Blackboard Ultra
- Import Original Course View Questions in the Ultra Course View
- Reuse Questions in Blackboard Ultra
- Create a Rubric in Blackboard Ultra
- Associate a Rubric in Blackboard Ultra
- Grade Using a Rubric in Blackboard Ultra
- Attendance Grades in Blackboard Ultra
- Submitting Final Grades to MyNIU in the Ultra Course View
Communicating and Collaborating in Ultra Course View
- Announcements in Blackboard Ultra
- Messages in Blackboard Ultra
- Create Course Groups in Blackboard Ultra
- Self-enroll in a Group in the Ultra Course View
- Create a Discussion in Blackboard Ultra
- Discussion Analysis in Blackboard Ultra
- Create a Microsoft Teams Meeting in the Ultra Course View
- Journals in the Ultra Course View
Blackboard Collaborate Web Conferencing
- Blackboard Collaborate with the Ultra Experience User Interface Tour
- Blackboard Collaborate Attendee Management
- Blackboard Collaborate Closed Captioning
- Blackboard Collaborate Breakout Groups
- Blackboard Collaborate Polls
- Blackboard Collaborate Private Chat
- Blackboard Collaborate Session Settings
Portfolios
- Getting Started with Portfolios
- Building the Structure of a Portfolio
- Adding Text to a Section of a Portfolio
- Adding Artifacts to Portfolios
- Adding Photos to Portfolios
- Customizing the Look of a Portfolio
- Sharing a Portfolio with an NIU User
- Sharing a Portfolio with External Users
- Downloading Your Portfolio
Self-paced workshop: Original Course View

Original Course View
- The Course Interface
- Overview of the Course Home Page
- Make Your Course Available
- Adding Someone to Your Course
Building Your Course
- Adding Content to Your Course
- Adding Files from Course File in Blackboard
- Adding a Link to a Website
- Automatically Adjusting Dates in a Copied Course
- Creating a Great First Experience in Your Course
- Creating a Journal
- Creating a Wiki
- Customizing Your Course Menu
- How to Create Discussion Board Forums
- Importing Your Course
- MEDIAL - Instructor Workflow
- MEDIAL - Student Workflow
- MEDIAL - Grading an Assignment
- Organizing Your Course
- Previewing Your Course as a Student
Assessing Learners
- Accessing and Using the Retention Center
- Anonymous and Delegated Grading
- Assessment Tools
- Attaching Rubrics to Assessment
- Creating a Test
- Creating a Random Block of Test Questions
- Creating a Rubric for Grading Student Work
- Creating a Smart View of Grade Center Data
- Downloading and Uploading Grades from Grade Center
- Grading Assignments with the Inline Grading View
- Grading in the Blackboard Instructor App
- Grading Using Interactive Rubrics
- How to Customize the Grade Center
- Mark Attendance in Blackboard
- SafeAssign Integration with Assignments
- Submitting Final Grades to MyNIU
- Uploading Test Questions from Microsoft Excel
- Using Item Analysis
- Using Grade Details to See Attempts and Assign Grades
Communicating and Collaborating
- Communicating with Students
- Create a Microsoft Teams Meeting in the Original Course View
- Creating and Editing a Blog Entry
- Deciding on Which Communication Tools to Use
- Exploring the Content Editor
- How to Create Announcements in Blackboard
- How to Create a Blank Page in Blackboard
- How to Create and Edit Wiki Pages
- Interacting in Discussions
For Students
- Blackboard App Tour
- Customizing Your Group Home Page
- How to Check Your Grades
- Check Attendance Grades in Blackboard Ultra**
- Introducing the Blackboard App
- Managing My Blackboard Profile
- Submitting an Assignment
- Taking a Test Online
** = New feature not yet available, coming in future update, release date still to be determined
Last updated: 07/09/2020