Recently, Ashland University upgraded from using the normal Blackboard format system. Now students are using the latest version, Blackboard Learn Ultra. 

It’s described as a more effective and flexible way to transform the user interface in Blackboard Learn.  

“It’s very organized,” sophomore Briannon Pfeiffer said. 

Ultra offers a new setup for students which includes a global view for courses, global calendar and a grades page that shows their grading tasks organized by course.  

“I like this version better because it is easier to navigate,” sophomore Tori Kelly said.  

Also, students can now view the class roster, something that wasn’t accessible before in the original program. The reasoning behind it is so students can have access to classmates in case of group assignments or needing a contact.  

Within AU students, there was a common view that students noticed no difference from the original Blackboard to the new version.  

“I don’t notice any difference, the set up and the way it looks to me is completely the same,” sophomore Ali Stecker said.  

Though there are mentionable differences, it was found that the format between the two systems has little noticeable change. The change strictly being how the whole layout of the system was moved around with more content added.  

“It all looks the same to me except one thing on a different side like they kind of just switched around the sides so it’s all the same” sophomore Becca Lawrence said. 

A poll on campus app, Yik Yak, asked students if they preferred the newest version to the older one. It was found that 27% said yes, and 73% said no.  

Junior Brooke Tiberio said, “Yes, it’s cool sometimes I wish it was more customizable.” 

As sophomore students and upperclassmen adjust to the new version of Blackboard, there remains a divided opinion on the program itself though it seems Blackboard Ultra is here to stay.