In this episode, we break down the February 2026 Blackboard Ultra release (version 4000.8), featuring two thoughtful updates designed to reduce friction for instructors. We explore smarter automations that can automatically remind students to review unread feedback—helping close the feedback loop without extra manual follow-up—and new Document layout enhancements that allow blocks to be stacked vertically for cleaner, more flexible, and mobile-friendly course content. We also share updates on the launch of the new TigerLearn.FHSU.edu resource hub and where to find continued support, ideas, and community inspiration. Whether you’re focused on efficiency, design, or student engagement, this release brings practical improvements you can use right away.

In this episode, Dani Reilley and Thomas Mathews Horne kick off 2026 with a deep dive into Blackboard Ultra’s 4000.6 release, featuring a completely refreshed user interface. Learn how the new full-screen course experience, redesigned navigation, and improved accessibility aim to reduce friction and make everyday workflows more intuitive for instructors, students, and administrators. The episode also covers document layout improvements, enhanced test and assignment options, gradebook refinements, and new automation activity logs. Tune in for a practical overview of how these updates focus on polish, usability, and a smoother teaching and learning experience in Ultra.

In this month’s episode, Thomas and Dani walk through Blackboard Ultra’s December 2025 release—version 4000.4—which brings clearer workflows, more instructor control, and thoughtful quality-of-life updates. Highlights include setting release conditions on any content item, adjusting group memberships mid-project, seeing accurate submission counts in the Gradebook, enjoying a consistent tabbed grading interface, setting participation requirements for discussions, managing AI originality reports, improved audio/video feedback playback, an instructor view of the Learning Module table of contents, and enhanced MathJax support. Thomas and Dani agree: this release focuses on flexibility, consistency, and helping instructors guide students through courses more smoothly than ever.