Blackboard Ultra Updates: November 2024
1. Role Play Option for AI Conversation
The AI Conversation feature is expanded to include a role play option. Role play can enhance learning by providing active learning opportunities. It also encourages critical thinking and provides an opportunity for students to apply knowledge in a simulated environment.
For example, a student could role play a doctor by speaking to a patient, played by the AI persona. In this scenario, a student gains practical experience in a safe environment for experimentation.
Instructors customize the AI persona by giving it a name and image. Instructors also define the AI persona's personality traits and select the complexity of the responses.
Instructors should always preview an AI conversation before releasing the activity to students. AI tools can hallucinate and introduce bias. It is important to ensure that instructions are clear and that the AI persona responds in an expected and appropriate way.
We also introduced a stepped setup. This approach makes it easier for instructors to select the type of conversation and define the topic, student role, and AI persona.
Image 1. Select the conversation type
Image 2. Describe the conversation and define the student’s role
Image 3. Set up the AI persona
2. Tests & Assignments - Print Tests with Questions from Question Pools and Other Improvements
Instructors can now print tests that include questions from Question Pools. We also combined the answer key and the corresponding test. This ensures that users always have an answer key that matches the test. We recommend generating the answer key and printing it ahead of the test. We also labeled the answer key to ensure awareness.
The system generates a different version of the answer key and test each time a test is printed when the test:
Randomizes questions or answer options
Includes Question Pools
Instructors can use the print option to save the answer key and test as a PDF.
3. Indentations Added to Discussions
To better distinguish between responses and replies, we added indentation.
Image 1. Indented discussion replies
We removed the delete option for the discussion topic. Instructors can edit discussion topics as needed.
Image 2. Edit option for Discussion Topic
We're improving the usability and appearance of discussions. Areas of focus include navigation, clearer calls to action, updating UI elements, terminology updates, and others. We’ll release small changes in several releases to benefit users as soon as we can make them available.