What's New in Ultra: TILT'Ed
by Dani Reilley
What’s New in Ultra: TILT’ed is your monthly guide to the latest updates and features in Blackboard Ultra, hosted by Thomas Mathews Horne and Danielle Reilley from Fort Hays State University’s Teaching Innovation and Learning Technologies (TILT) team. Each episode breaks down the newest release highlights in clear, practical terms—showing how small changes can make a big impact on teaching, learning, and course design. From gradebook improvements and communication tools to AI features and accessibility updates, Thomas and Dani help faculty stay informed, save time, and make the most of Ultra’s evolving capabilities. Whether you’re a seasoned online instructor or just getting started, this podcast keeps you connected to what’s new, what’s next, and what works in digital teaching.
Episodes
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TILT Talk: TILT'Ed - What's New in Blackboard Ultra Ep. 18
This month on What’s New in Ultra – TILT’Ed, Thomas and Dani return for Part 2 of the October 2026 release, covering the second of two Blackboard Ultra updates this month, along with new Ally enhancements. They explore improvements to the content editor, immersive AI Conversations, language...
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TILT Talk: TILTed - What's New in Blackboard Ultra Ep. 17
In Episode 17 of What’s New in Ultra: TILT’Ed, Thomas and Dani explore the September 2026 Blackboard Ultra release, featuring improvements to the beta Content Editor and a new way to restrict accepted file types for assignment submissions. Learn how these updates improve accessibility, simplify...
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TILT Talk: TILT'Ed - What's New in Blackboard Ultra Ep. 16
This month on What's New in Ultra – TILT'Ed, Thomas and Dani explore the packed August 2026 Blackboard Ultra release, featuring a brand-new Content Editor, major Groups improvements, notification fixes, discussion sorting, and a redesigned Gradebook Grid View. They discuss the new Content…
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TILT Talk: TILT'Ed - What's New in Blackboard Ultra Ep. 15
This month on What's New in Ultra – TILT'Ed, Thomas and Dani celebrate the podcast's first anniversary while exploring the July 2026 Blackboard Ultra release. They discuss new description fields for discussions and journals, flexible time limits for AI Conversations, Favorites in the Course...
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TILT Talk: TILT'Ed - What's New in Blackboard Ultra Ep. 14
In this episode of What's New in Ultra: TILT'Ed, we explore the June 2026 Blackboard Ultra release, featuring updates that enhance flexibility, communication, and feedback workflows. Learn about locked answer positions for randomized assessments, improved rubric grading workflows, student-level...
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TILT Talk: TILT'Ed - What's New in Blackboard Ultra Ep. 13
In this episode of What's New in Ultra: TILT'Ed, we explore the May 2026 Blackboard Ultra release, focused on streamlining everyday workflows and improving the user experience. Learn about the redesigned Groups Management interface, enhanced discussion due date visibility, inherited release...
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TILT Talk: TILT'Ed - What's New in Blackboard Ultra Ep. 12
In this episode of What’s New in Ultra: TILT’Ed, Dani and Thomas break down the April 2026 Blackboard Ultra updates, highlighting improvements designed to simplify workflows and enhance usability. From clearer discussion due date visibility and AI conversation message limits to streamlined...
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TILT Talk: TILT'Ed - What's New in Blackboard Ultra Ep. 11
In this episode of What’s New in Ultra: TILT’Ed, we highlight the March 2026 Blackboard Ultra release (version 4000.10). Learn about improved Course Message threading, larger SafeAssign file uploads, flexible discussion participation requirements, and updates to assessment tools like partial…
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TILT Talk: TILT'Ed - Special Accessibility Edition - Part 1
In this special edition of What’s New in Ultra: TILT’Ed, we begin a two-part conversation about digital accessibility and the upcoming April 24, 2026 compliance deadline. In Part 1, we discuss what the WCAG 2.1 Level AA standard is, why the difference between accessibility and accommodations...
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TILT Talk: TILT'Ed - Special Accessibility Edition Part 2
In Part 2 of this special accessibility series of What’s New in Ultra: TILT’Ed, we focus on practical steps faculty can take to improve course accessibility before the upcoming course-copy cycle. This episode explores how to use Blackboard Ally to review your Course Accessibility Report…
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TILT Talk: TILTed - What's New in Blackboard Ultra Ep. 10
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...
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TILT Talk: TILT'Ed - What's New in Blackboard Ultra Ep. 9
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...
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TILT Talk: TILT'Ed - What's New in Blackboard Ultra Ep. 8
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...
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TILT Talk: TILT'Ed - What's New in Blackboard Ultra Ep. 7
In this episode of What’s New in Ultra: TILT’Ed, Thomas and Dani celebrate a major milestone with the Blackboard Ultra 4000.1 release. This update focuses on practical, time-saving improvements that make teaching and grading more efficient. Highlights include the long-awaited ability to bulk edit...
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TILT Talk: TILT'Ed - What's New in Blackboard Ultra Ep. 6
In this month’s episode of What’s New in Ultra: TILT’Ed, Thomas and Dani dive into the October Blackboard Ultra release (3902.1), packed with thoughtful refinements that make teaching smoother and communication clearer. From the sleek new Course Messages redesign—with chat bubbles and avatars—to...
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TILT Talk: TILT'Ed - What's New in Blackboard Ultra Ep. 5 (September 2025)
The September 2025 Blackboard Ultra release (3900.125) is one of the most significant updates yet, with improvements spanning instructional design, grading, assessments, communication, and accessibility. In this episode, Thomas Mathews Horne and Danielle Reilley break down the highlights,...
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TILT Talk: TILT'Ed - What's New in Blackboard Ultra Ep. 4
In this episode of What’s New in Ultra: TILT’Ed, Thomas and Dani break down the August 2025 Blackboard Ultra release (3900.123), featuring new document styling options, Video Studio in Announcements, improved Learning Module navigation, accessibility upgrades with semantic HTML tables, and...
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TILT Talk: TILT'Ed - What's New in Blackboard Ultra Ep. 3
In this jam-packed episode of What’s New in Ultra: TILT’Ed, Thomas and Dani break down the feature-rich 3900.121 release in Blackboard Ultra. From time-saving grading enhancements and QTI question imports to long-awaited upgrades like image captions, MathJax support, and retroactive achievements,...
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TILT Talk: TILT'Ed - What's New in Blackboard Ultra Ep. 2 - June 2025
In this episode, Dani and Thomas walk through the latest Blackboard Ultra updates from the 3900.118 release. From new jumbled sentence question types (including AI-generated ones!) to improved discussion tracking and streamlined Knowledge Checks, this month’s enhancements are all about smarter...
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TILT Talk: TILT'Ed - What's New in Blackboard Ultra Ep. 1
In this inaugural May episode of What’s New in Ultra: TILT'Ed, Thomas Mathews Horne and Danielle Reilley from the TILT team at Fort Hays State University dive into the latest Blackboard Ultra release (3900.116). Discover how the new AI Design Assistant feature streamlines interactive learning,...
About this show
What’s New in Ultra: TILT’ed is your monthly guide to the latest updates and features in Blackboard Ultra, hosted by Thomas Mathews Horne and Danielle Reilley from Fort Hays State University’s Teaching Innovation and Learning Technologies (TILT) team. Each episode breaks down the newest release highlights in clear, practical terms—showing how small changes can make a big impact on teaching, learning, and course design. From gradebook improvements and communication tools to AI features and accessibility updates, Thomas and Dani help faculty stay informed, save time, and make the most of Ultra’s evolving capabilities. Whether you’re a seasoned online instructor or just getting started, this podcast keeps you connected to what’s new, what’s next, and what works in digital teaching.
Hosted by
Dani Reilley
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