eCampus Ultra 101 for Faculty
- Shana Blackshire
- Kathy Pepple
- Cassandra Rinker
This is an introductory guide to help you set up your first course from scratch in the new Ultra version of eCampus. This guide walks through the steps to add and manage content, customize your layout, create tests or assessments, interact with the gradebook, and use various course tools including the Collaborate online meeting tool. Read through the content sections below to learn more about the topics that interest you, or join us for a live training session during scheduled events.
Online Training
Getting Started with eCampus Ultra Training Sessions: the ITS Training group holds virtual training sessions for eCampus at the beginning of each semester. Visit the WVU Events Calendar page to see when classes are available or keep an eye on your email for eCampus training sessions.
You may also contact ITS Training to request one-on-one training or customized group trainings. We will design our content to meet your needs.
ITS Help Center: You will find a list of all eCampus Ultra for Faculty articles in our help center.
Blackboard Help: View Blackboard Anthology’s video tutorials or review the Blackboard Help guides.
eCampus 101 Topics
About eCampus Ultra
What is eCampus Ultra?
eCampus Ultra is a new version of WVU’s learning management system. At the moment, eCampus Ultra is only used by a small group of early adopters.
It is a comprehensive online teaching interface that allows for synchronous or asynchronous delivery for fully online courses, and easy communication and content delivery for face-to-face courses.
Synchronous Classroom: students and instructors are in the online class at the same time.
Asynchronous Classroom: students view and complete course material on their own schedule.
eCampus runs on Blackboard Anthology Learn and is integrated with the STAR (Banner) system, making it easy to transfer mid-term and final grades each semester. All WVU students, staff, and faculty can access eCampus from a web browser any time, from anywhere!
Advantages of eCampus Ultra
You can use eCampus to deliver learning content for online or in-person classes - from lecture notes and presentations to extra readings and video content. eCampus provides platforms for discussions and live or recorded lectures.
As a supplement to face-to-face classrooms, eCampus is an easy way to communicate with students and allows for discussion groups or posting additional content. You can provide a calendar for assignment or exam dates, administer quizzes or homework assignments online, and use the electronic grade book to track students and post grades to be easily seen.
Roles in eCampus
There are several access roles that are available, depending on your responsibilities in the course.
Student - This is the default course user role. Students can see the content of the course made available to them by the instructor. They do not have access to the course control panel.
Instructor - Instructors have full access to all parts of the course, including the ability to edit all content and manage the course via the course control panel. This role is generally assigned to the person developing, teaching, or facilitating the class.
Teaching Assistant - Users with the TA role are granted access to most of the control panel tools, including the Grade Center, but cannot edit student enrollment.
Course Builder - This role is for other staff who might help with building or organizing course content. The Course Builder role has access to most areas of the course and control panel, but not to student grades.
Auditor - There is no official auditor role in the system, however, if you need to enroll a student to audit a course for incomplete grades or other reasons, please place a request through the eRS (eCampus Request System) to have them enrolled.
Browser Check
On the eCampus log-in page, you will find a link to a tool that will check your current web browser for compatibility with eCampus and the necessary plug-ins. Use the Browser Check tool regularly to verify whether your browser can run eCampus.
Login to eCampus
All WVU faculty, staff, and students have access to log into eCampus (ecampus.wvu.edu) using their WVU Login account username and password, with two-factor authentication. You will see the institution page after successfully entering your credentials and authentication.
Layout and Navigation
On the main WVU eCampus page, you will find a menu to help you navigate to useful tools and locate your courses. Learn more about the eCampus Ultra navigation menus. We have upgraded to the new Blackboard Ultra navigation interface in eCampus, now the courses are Ultra too for the early adopters.
WVU eCampus Institution Page
On the Institution page, find some important messages and handy links, including Academic Integrity messages and links for student expectations of how to interact in online courses, important messages about copyright use and eCampus maintenance schedules, Faculty Resources – links to request support and find useful guides about the tool, and Campus Resources – additional links to libraries, admissions, portal, bookstore, and more.
Profile
On the Profile page, you can see your user account details, set notification preferences, and add name pronunciation (text and audio). Students can see the pronunciation info inside the course on the Roster page, and when you send messages in the course messages tool.
Activity Stream
The Activity Stream is a chronological list of upcoming and recent events and notifications in eCampus for you (announcements, due dates, etc.). Click an item to be taken to that course and page.
Courses
On the Courses page, you’ll see a list of your courses – click to open a course. Ultra courses are color-coded here, and on the Calendar and Messages pages as well. You can star a course to mark it as a favorite and move it to the top of the list. Click the ellipsis (…) to Hide a course that you don’t need to access right now.
There are also multiple ways to view the course list. Switch between the List or Tiles layout by clicking the page style buttons on the upper left. If you have a lot of courses, use the search field at the top left to find a course by name. You can also filter your course list to see only courses you teach, courses in which you are a student, or courses you teach, etc.
Calendar
The calendar page displays all of your personal eCampus calendar events for all courses.
The calendar defaults to show the current day’s schedule, with this week’s dates clickable at the top. Click on a day to see the schedule. Switch between Day and Month calendars by choosing a view option in the upper right corner. Click Due Dates (upper left) to view any assignments, tests, or upcoming events.
Click the plus sign above the Day/Month buttons to add events, meeting schedules, or office hours to a selected calendar. You can click the Gear icon to select which courses/calendars to show on this navigation calendar page.
Messages
The Messages page shows a list where you can click to go directly into the Messages tool for each course.
The number of unread messages will also appear in a red bubble next to the name of each course. Click the plus (+) at the right of the course messages list item to compose a new message from inside that course’s Messages tool. Click the course title link to view the messages Inbox and Sent box for the selected course. Close the course (X) to return to the main menu Messages page again.
Grades
On the Grades page of the navigation menu, you can view summary grade information for all courses. Faculty can see the overall grade average for all students in a course, and a list of gradable items that have submissions ready to grade, or grades to post.
Click the course title on the Grades navigation page to go to the Gradebook for that course.
Click on an assignment to view all submissions for that item in the gradebook.
Click Post to post already graded submissions where students can see their grades.
Click View all work to expand the Grades page list for this course to show all gradable items.
Tools
The Tools page displays links to additional resources such as the WVU eRS, My Mediasite, and Student Feedback on Instruction.
Sign Out
Clicking the Sign Out menu item will log you out of WVU eCampus, and return you to the main login page.
Setting Up an eCampus Ultra Course Shell
Navigate to the Courses page and click on the title of a course to open it.
A brand-new course in eCampus will be empty - you will need to add and organize content. In addition to the Content page, you’ll find tabs across the top to access the main communication and grading tools. Many more tools and options are available via menus. To create an engaging educational experience for your students, start by adding lectures, readings, media, links to other tools, assignments, and tests to the content page.
Course Layout
At the top of your eCampus course, tabs allow access to the main areas of your course: Content, Calendar, Announcements, Discussions, Gradebook, Messages, Analytics, and Groups.
Content
Course Faculty
This area at the upper right shows who the instructors are. Students can click here to send a message to their instructor(s).
Details & Actions
Below the faculty names is a list of links to additional tools that are available in eCampus and through third-party vendors. These include:
Roster - a grid of tiles (or list) showing who’s in the course. Students can also see this list.
You can filter by category by clicking the course members dropdown in the upper right.
Click the ellipses to the right of a student’s name to note any accommodations.
Course Groups – create and manage groups (for assignments, discussions, grading) for this course.
Progress Tracking – turn on progress tracking to use participatory grading for items in the course.
Course Image – Click Edit display settings to change the image that displays on the course list grid for this course.
Click the slider in the Course Image options panel to also use the image as a course banner at the top of the Content page.
Class Collaborate – join the default meeting room or click ellipsis to schedule, edit, access recordings, etc.
Attendance – Click Add Attendance to track attendance (graded or not)
Books & Tools – click View course & institution tools to see a menu of other tools you can use in your course.
Tools with a plus can be added as a Tool Link on the content page.
Scroll to the bottom of the list to click a link to Browse all course tools.
Question Banks – Click Manage banks to build or import pools of questions for use in assessments.
Course Schedule – When you first set up a new course, an option to set the course schedule appears at the bottom. Click Add course schedule to set your class' meeting schedule in eCampus. Click Skip if you don’t wish to do this; you can always add it later in the Calendar settings.
Course Content
This is the main space where you will share the educational content of the course.
To add content to an empty course, click the Add Content link. To add content to a course that has some content, click the plus sign ion the left side of the page.
A menu appears with the following options:
Create - begin the creation of an eCampus content item such as an assignment or test, a text document, web link, or discussion prompt.
Auto-Generate Modules - Let the AI Design Assistant create learning modules for you. You can provide information to increase the likelihood that applicable content will be generated.
Copy Content - copy items that already exist in another eCampus course.
Upload - select a file from your computer to share on the content page.
Cloud Storage - share a file from a Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, or Box account.
Content Market - share content items from 3rd party tools such as textbook publishers, and many more instructional tools.
Content Collection - browse your eCampus content collections (this course and others) to share files on the content page.
Calendar
The course Calendar displays the same information that you see on the eCampus navigation page calendar view - but you can only see this course. View the Schedule or click to switch to only a list of Due Dates; on the schedule view, switch between a day and month calendar. Click the plus to add an event, edit the course schedule, or add office hours to the calendar.
Announcements
Notify students of things you need them to know – it will show up in their eCampus Activity Stream, as a pop-up inside the course, and on the course announcements page. You can also opt to send a copy to their MIX email, or to schedule the announcement to occur in the future.
Discussions
Discussions provide a place to get students to share ideas and enrich each other’s understanding of the content, or just a place to connect with each other. Create discussions for help topics, readings discussions and more. You can also organize discussions into folders and add a link to a discussion in a learning module on the content page.
Gradebook
View and edit grades for assessments, create calculated columns, manage grade schemas, assignment categories, grading rubrics, and set up the overall grade for the course. There are multiple views of the grading details that allow you to easily drill down to details about each student or submission.
Messages
The Messages tab gives everyone quick access to the in-system mail tool for eCampus. This is the same messages tool that you see on the navigation page. You will see any messages that you have sent or received in the course on this tab. Click the plus in the upper right to compose a new message.
Analytics
View a data table with student performance, run reports on Course Activity, Question Analysis, and SCORM content.
Student Preview Mode
New items added to your content page will be hidden from students be default. You will choose to show the item either when you create it or later by setting a date range for visibility. You can check the visibility of items, and even practice going through an assignment or test as a student by clicking the icon to see the course in Student Preview mode.
If you do complete an assessment and want to try grading it, make sure to save the student preview user data when you exit the preview session. Doing so will create a fake student in the gradebook named Instuctor Name_PreviewUser whose submissions can be reviewed and graded for practice.
Adding Course Content
When you first log into a new eCampus Ultra course shell, it will be empty – you will have to add content. All of your main educational content, assignments, and tests (aside from Discussions) will be placed on the Content tab of the course.
Blackboard Anthology Help Center: Create Content
Create a Content Item (eCampus Document)
Content Items are documents or containers for course material, such as notes, tests, and assignments. Begin from your Content page to create a welcome message for your students.
Click Add Content in the center of the Course Content area to add content to the course.
Click Create in the pop-up menu. A new panel will appear.
Select a Document in the Course Content Items section to create a welcome message for your course.
Your cursor will be in the title field at the top of the new page has opened. Enter a Name for the course welcome document you’re about to create.
Select the type of content block you’d like to add first - click Content to add a text block.
A text editing box will appear, with a number of formatting options. You can also clear formatting, place a link, add an attachment, or insert many other kinds of content from various sources.
Type or copy/paste a course welcome message into the text box.
Format the content, add links or additional images and media.
Click outside the text block to add other content to this document.
Click the plus + below the existing block (or at the top of document) to add other things to the document… an image, file attachment, link or other media.
Use the handle on any content block to drag items around the page.
Use the double arrows to resize items on the page.
Save your changes to this document. (Click Edit to make more changes.)
Set the release conditions for the welcome document. Choose Visible or Hidden to student view.
Click the x in the upper left to Close (X) the document, which will appear on the Content page.
Change the release conditions for any item without opening the edit view by clicking the drop-down under the Content item. Choose visible, hidden, or set conditions for visibility.
Create/Upload a Syllabus Document
From the main Course Content page, click the plus + symbol where you want to place the syllabus.
When you mouse over the horizontal rule between items, a plus will appear. Insert new content anywhere on the page. You can also move items after by dragging and dropping.
Select Upload from the menu to upload a syllabus from your computer.
Select the file from your computer and click Open.
Set the Edit File Options for the document.
The Display Name (what students will see on the content page) defaults to show the actual filename. You can enter something more descriptive instead.
Choose the File Options permission level to determine if students can view and/or download this file.
Save the uploaded file to the content page.
Click the visibility drop-down to make the syllabus file Visible to students when you’re ready to share it.
Content Accessibility and Alternate Formats
After you have added some files or edited content areas, you’ll see Ally accessibility icons next to files and on the editing page of eCampus items. Ally is an integrated tool in eCampus that can help make sure the content in your course is easy for everyone to access and consume. It provides alternate formats of shared files (such as a downloadable audio version of a document) that any student can use and shows the instructor simple ways to improve the web accessibility of other content. Ally automatically assesses the accessibility of files and content items at a granular level, so you will see the Instructor Feedback tool link usually on the edit view of that item. Ally options will appear for most kinds of uploaded documents.
Instructor Feedback - Click the meter to view the Instructor Feedback tool, which can walk you through the steps to improve the accessibility of both eCampus content items and uploaded documents.
Alternative Formats - Click the Ally download icon to view the Alternative Formats available to students (and you!) for this document. Download one and try it out yourself! Depending on the document type, options include audio, ePub, electronic braille, tagged PDF, HTML, and more.
Check Accessibility of an Item
After creating a document in eCampus, you can make changes to the content and check the accessibility of this item by opening the item and editing the text areas.
Click the document content item’s title to open (edit) it.
On the document edit page, click the ellipsis (…) at the upper corner of the text box, and choose Edit.
On the text editing screen, you can change, add to, or format the content of the text - and find the Ally accessibility instructor feedback link and Ally alternate formats link.
Click the instructor feedback meter to view any accessibility issues and how you can fix them.
Try adding an image without alt text or changing the font colors to play with the feedback meter.
Click the Ally icon to download your preferred alternate format for the document.
Try downloading an audio file of your text.
Save any changes to the text area.
Click X to close the item and return to the main Content page.
Create a Link
You can place a link on your content page to share documents, audio or video media, textbook links, or any other content with your students. Links can point to any URL on the web or to a place inside your course.
Create a Web Link
Click the Plus (+) symbol where you want to add the link to your content (in between items, inside a module, or in the main content list).
Click Create.
In the Create Item menu, under the Course Content Items section, click on Link.
Choose whether this link will be Visible or Hidden from students. Click the drop-down to pick.
Provide a Display Name for the link that students will see on the page. (*required)
Type or paste in a Link URL. (*required)
Choose whether this link will open in a new window or stay in the same window. Check the box to open in a new window.
In the box at the bottom, enter a Description of where this link will take them, or what you’d like students to read or observe.
Click Save in the bottom right to place the link on the page. If desired, drag-and-drop the link up or down to where it should display on the content page.
A web link is a great way to share links to other storage outside of eCampus, such as your Mediasite, or Google Drive content.
Create a Course Link
Click the Plus (+) symbol where you want to add the link to your content (in between items, inside a module, or on the main page).
Click Create.
In the Create Item menu, under the Course Content Items section, click on Link.
Click the tab at the top to switch to Course Link details.
Locate the course item you want to link to by using the Keyword or Categories filters.
Type the name (or partial name) of the item in the Keyword field, or
Click the box next to any Categories of items you want to view.
Click Search at the bottom of the search panel to see all course items that match.
Click the radio button to select the item for which you want to share a link.
Enter a Description to go with the link if desired.
Click Save in the bottom right to place the link on the page. If desired, drag-and-drop the link up or down to where it should display on the content page.
Create an Assessment (Assignment)
Assignments can take any format that you like. You can build a quiz using some of the many question types, or write up instructions for a term paper, audio or video submission, or written problem solution. You can include a grading rubric or attach institutional goals & standards for grading to an assignment. However you like to structure learning exercises, you’ll find options for graded assignments.
Blackboard Anthology Help Center: Create and Edit Assignments
Create a Basic Essay Assignment
Click the plus + sign in the center of the Course Content area. Place the item inside a learning module, or in-between other assignments if desired.
Click Create to open the Create Item panel.
In the Assessment section, click Assignment. A new assignment page will open.
Give the assignment a Name in the field at the top.
Click the Plus + in the center content area to add questions, instructions, or documents.
Choose Add text to type or paste in instructions for the assignment.
In the text box, enter the instructions and details about the assignment. Use formatting, tables, links, attachments, etc. to describe what you want them to do.
Click to Save the text content. You’ll now see that text on the assignment page. Click the plus above or below the text section to add other content to the assignment.
There are a number of settings you can choose related to access, submission, and grading. Click the Assignment Settings Gear or one of the provided links to:
Choose a due date and set late submission and collection options.
Choose whether to allow class conversations so that students can converse with each other and the instructor about mechanics of the assignment.
Opt to collect student submissions for this assignment offline.
Set presentation options (for eCampus question types only) that will show only one question at a time, prohibit backtracking, or randomize questions, answers, or pages.
Make this a formative assessment for graded participation in this class; it will not be automatically excluded from grade calculations.
Choose grading & submission options like the grade category, number of attempts, points/letter/percentage grading, number of points available, and grader options. Also set whether this assignment will be automatically posted for student view as soon as it’s graded.
Choose which assessment results are visible (for eCampus question types only) after a student submits this assignment.
Select assessment security options that can require an access code to begin the assessment or the use of Respondus LockDown browser (which ensures no other applications are open).
Implement additional tools such as setting Time Limits, including a Grading Rubric, aligning the assignment with goals & standards, or assigning this item by groups.
At the bottom of the settings for an assessment you will find a text box to enter a description. Enter a brief sentence or so to tell the students about this assignment.
Now choose when you’d like this assignment to be visible to students and any other release conditions.
At the top of the assignment page, click the drop-down that will default to “Hidden from students.”
If you want students to see this assignment immediately, click Visible to students.
If you want to wait, and make this visible later, leave the Hidden from students setting.
If you want access to this assignment to be restricted to a certain date range or certain students, click Release conditions.
Close (X in the left corner) the new assignment to see it has been added to the content page.
Organize Course Content
Learning Modules and Folders can help you to group content items, links, shared files, discussions, assignments, tests, etc. into lessons. Learning modules can focus lessons and content into units and help students focus on concepts. Learning modules permit forced sequential viewing, so that students will be required to review or complete assessments in a specified order. Folders are simply containers, just like in your computer’s file management. Folders can sit on the main content page, or inside a learning module or other folder. Use a folder to group files of the same type or related to one lesson in your content area.
Blackboard Anthology Help: Create Course Containers
Create a Learning Module
Click the Plus (+) on the content page.
Click Create.
Click Learning Module under the Course Content Items list.
Name the learning module at the top of the new panel.
Choose whether this module will be Visible/Hidden from students. You can always change this option later when you’re ready.
Enter a Description of this module that will show for students on the content page. (max 750 characters)
Select whether to force sequential viewing of the module items by clicking the check-box in the Advance in sequence section of the panel.
If you force sequential viewing, students cannot access advanced portions of the lesson until they have reviewed or completed previous ones.
Click Save to place the learning module on the content page.
Now, you can create content items, assessments, links, documents, and more inside the module - or you can drag-and-drop existing content or assessments into the new module box.
Create a Folder
Click the Plus (+) on the content page or inside a learning module.
Click Create.
Click Folder under the Course Content Items list.
Name the folder at the top of the new panel.
Choose whether this folder will be Visible/Hidden from students. You can always change this option later when you’re ready.
Enter a Description of this module that will show for students on the content page. (max 750 characters).
Click Save to place the folder on the content page or in the module/folder you selected.
Fill the folder with content:
Click on the folder to expand its content.
Click the plus inside the expanded folder to add content (of any type) here.
Drag-and-drop content items from the content page into the folder.
Tests in eCampus Ultra
Tests can contain many types of questions and content that assess students' grasp of the content. There are numerous built-in question types including multiple choice, matching, essay, fill in the blank, true/false, calculated formula, and more. You can also use questions from existing eCampus pools or computer files. Questions can include all the kinds of text or information that you can place in any other text box in eCampus - images, links, formatted content! Try out the options. You can keep the test hidden until you’re ready to make it visible to students.
WVU ITS Help: Creating a Test in eCampus Ultra
Blackboard Anthology Help: Create Tests
Create a Test in eCampus Ultra
On the Content page (or inside a Learning Module box on the content page), click the Plus + to open the content menu.
Click Create to open the Create Item panel.
Under the Assessment section, click Test.
At the top of the test page, enter a Name for the test.
Click the plus (+) in the center of the page to add questions.
Choose the question type (from a pool, calculated formulas, essays, fill in the blank, hotspot, matching, multiple choice, true/false, or add text or upload a file)
To create a multiple-choice question:
Click in the Question text box to type the question. Use formatting tools, or add content like images from the tool bar.
In the multiple answer boxes, type the answers.
Check the correct answer box for at least one.
Change the points or credit for this question at the top.
Click Save to place the question on the test.
To create a true/false question:
Type the T/F statement in the text box.
Select whether it’s true or false
Edit the # of points or make extra credit, then Save
To crate an essay question:
Enter a question / essay prompt in the text box.
Enter an example correct response by clicking the box below.
After you’ve added all the questions select the Test Settings you’d like this test to have:
Click the gear icon to view all test settings.
Due Date – choose a date and time when students must submit their test, also select whether to allow late submissions, any attempts after the due date, conversations about the test, or offline submissions.
Presentation Options – display one question at a time, prohibit backtracking, randomize question, answers, or pages.
Grading & Submission – grade book category, number of attempts allowed, grade method (points, percent, letter), max number of points, grading and evaluation options.
Assessment results – what students can see about their submitted test and grade, and when; what answers they submitted, any automated feedback, scores for each question, what was the correct answer, etc.
Assessment Security – set an access code, require Respondus LockDown Browser
Additional Tools – set a time limit for the test, use a grading rubric (only if your test does not use auto-graded questions), Goals & Standards tool, group assignments.
Goals & standards are set up by the ITS eCampus administrators after you submit a request with details about the goal. Submit a request for a goal by completing the form at eCampus Support - WVU ITS - Jira Service Management (atlassian.net).
Description – add a description of this test for students to see under the title
Click Save to save the test options you’ve selected.
Choose whether to allow students to add Additional Content at the end of the test. (checkmark slider)
Hidden/Visible: select whether this test will be visible or hidden for now (top of page)
Click the X to close the test editor page.
Drag and drop the test to move it into the appropriate module or folder on the content page.
Blackboard Anthology Help: Goals
Communication Tools
There are several built-in communications options to allow you to send announcements, share upcoming deadlines or events, send and receive mail messages, and engage in discussions or Q&A with your students. Tabs at the top of the course area link to these tools.
WVU ITS Help: Communication Tools for Faculty in eCampus Ultra
Messages
The Messages tool is the built-in eCampus email application. The Messages tab you see inside of each course is the same tool that you can access from the eCampus navigation page. Messages allows you to send out communications to selected members of the course or to everyone and sends an email copy to their MIX account.
Blackboard Anthology Help: Send Messages
Send a Message
Click the Messages tab in the top menu.
A list of your received messages for this course will appear. Click on the message to view its full content, or click the trash icon to delete it.
Click the plus + in the upper right corner to start a New Message.
Click in the Recipients field to select course members by name or grouping. You can also begin typing to see a list of matching people and groups.
Click on individual or group names to select recipients.
Click a checkbox to choose whether to allow replies to this message in eCampus.
Type or copy/paste the information to be shared in the Message field. Use the formatting options to edit or attach things like you would for any other content in eCampus.
Click Send at the bottom of the page.
You will also receive any replies in this tool, visible on both the Messages tab in-course and on the eCampus navigation page.
Course Calendar
The Calendar tab will display this course’s calendar from the eCampus Calendar tool (as seen from the navigation page). Use the calendar to help everyone keep track of upcoming deadlines, exams, or meetings or special events. There are multiple ways to view the calendar data: by day, week, or month, or by due dates; see and edit the course schedule and your office hours too.
Blackboard Anthology Help: Calendar
Set the Course Meeting Schedule
Click the Calendar tab at the top of your course to open the Schedule view of the calendar.
Click the plus + in the upper right corner (next to the Day/Month buttons) to choose to add to the calendar.
Select Edit Course Schedule.
Click the plus + to enter the regular meeting time for your course.
The Nickname field allows you to give the calendar item a friendlier name. Enter a shorter course title or meeting name.
Use the date and time selectors to choose the Start date and time, and the End date and time of your regular class meetings (online or in-person).
Check the All Day box only if your meetings are in fact, all-day affairs.
Select the recurrence and frequency of your meetings:
Choose to track the recurrence by days, weeks, or months.
Choose to set the meeting frequency. You’ll see some different options depending on your choice.
Enter a Location for the scheduled course meetings. The location can be a physical place, your class Collaborate meeting room, or a URL to join a meeting.
Click Save to place the meeting schedule on everyone’s course calendar.
Create a Calendar Event
Click the Calendar tab at the top of your course to open the Schedule view of the calendar. You’ll see this week’s dates across the top, and today’s hourly schedule below that.
Students can click Due Dates to see any assigned activities with upcoming due dates.
Click the Month button to change the view to a monthly calendar. You will see any scheduled events or assignments with due dates on the calendar.
Click the plus + from any view to add an event to the calendar. You’ll see the menu also shows options to edit the Course Schedule (set regular meeting times) and add Office Hours when students can meet with you.
Click Add Event to create a new event for your course.
Enter a Name for the event at the top of the Add Event panel.
In the Add to Calendar field, the current course will be populated.
Select the dates and times for the event. You can select a single day and period of time, or choose a range of dates, or set repeating occurrences.
Enter a Location for the event, including physical or online meeting spaces.
Enter a Description of the event that students will see on the calendar item.
Click Save at the bottom of the panel. The event will appear on the course calendar for all course members.
Announcements
Use the Announcements tool to send a message that will appear on students' Activity Stream on the main eCampus navigation page and as both a pop-up and listed announcement inside the course. Share information about upcoming exams, deadlines, or schedule changes.
Blackboard Anthology Help: Announcements
Create an Announcement
Click the Announcements tab at the top of the course page. You will see any previously posted announcements listed.
Click the plus (+) in the upper right corner of the Announcements page to create a new announcement.
On the New Announcement page, you’ll see all three fields are required:
Title - enter a title to let course members know what this is about.
Recipients - all course members receive announcements.
Message - type up a message to convey the necessary details.
Optionally, you can select check-boxes to:
Send an email copy to recipients - so they will get a copy in their MIX email account, or
Schedule the announcement to display at a future date. (You can't select a display date in the future if you send an email copy.)
Click Save to share the announcement now or at the time you’ve chosen. The announcement will appear on everyone’s navigation page Activity Stream and course announcements page.
Discussions
Discussion boards are built into the course in eCampus Ultra as a tab at the top of the course. Discussions can provide opportunity for thoughtful back-and-forth on the actual course topics or a place for students to ask questions about the logistics of the course. Discussions can be graded, and they can be organized into folders – for example if they will participate in a new discussion for assigned readings every week, you can group those discussions together.
Blackboard Anthology Help: Discussions
WVU ITS Help: Discussions in eCampus Ultra
Create a Discussion for General Questions
Click the Discussions tab to switch to that page of the course.
Click New Discussion to create a forum for a discussion topic.
Enter a Name for the new discussion at the top of the page, such as Help with this Course.
In the text box, type a discussion prompt to get the discussion started. Use the formatting and editing options to clarify your content or add links, files, or media.
Suggest a question you would like students to answer about a lesson,
or state the topic about which they should ask their own questions.
Save your post to this new discussion thread. You will see any responses listed below your post.
Click the gear icon to edit Discussion Settings, including:
Display on Course Content page - selected by default, this option will place a link to this discussion on the main course content page. If your content lives in learning modules or folders, you can drag-and-drop the discussion into that container.
Post first - hides any discussion activity until students respond to the discussion
Prevent editing - once published, students cannot edit or delete their posts
Grade discussion - turn on grading for this discussion. You will be able to read and provide a grade for students' contributions to the discussion.
Align with Goals & Standards - select from a list of institutional goals and grading standards that apply for this discussion/assessment.
Group discussion - select and assign groups who will participate in this discussion.
Save any changes to the settings.
Select the release conditions from the drop-down in the upper right corner to choose whether students will see this discussion topic now, or later. Note that this will also affect the visibility of the Course Content page link.
Close (X) the new discussion page to return to all Discussions.
Use the eCampus Gradebook
The Gradebook is the built-in grading tool for eCampus, which automatically collects information for any assessments that you have created in this course based on the grading detail you provide. The Gradebook tool lets you add or remove assignment columns, or edit the grades as needed. You can even download a spreadsheet copy to work with off-line. You will find the Gradebook in the tabs at the top of the course, with the number of items to be graded in an oval.
Blackboard Anthology Help: Grading
Blackboard Anthology Help: Navigate Grading
Gradebook Views
The gradebook contains four views: an overview, a gradable items list view, a grades spreadsheet view, and a students list view. The last three views provide options to filter what you see by students, groups, assessment categories, and more. You’ll find the same data in those three views of the gradebook, so take some time to navigate through them and choose the most comfortable format for you!
WVU ITS Help: eCampus Ultra Gradebook Overview
Overview
The Overview shows a list of items, such as tests or assignments, that need to be graded, and a list of items that need to be posted. Clicking Grade now takes you directly to the items needing to be graded. Clicking Post now shows a dialog box allowing you to verify that you are ready to post these grades, which will enable the students to view the grades.
Gradable Items
Gradable Items shows a list of all assignments, tests, and graded items (discussions).
View the Item name and the number of students who have submitted their work, the item’s Due Date, Grading Status, and Post status.
Click any graded item in this list to see and edit all students’ scores for that item.
Close (X) the item page to go back to the Gradable Items list.
Grades
The Grades view displays a traditional spreadsheet version of the gradebook, with columns for each graded item or calculation and rows for each student. Click in a cell to grade a submission, edit the current grade, and see more options (i.e., setting exemptions or exceptions).
Rows display students: Columns display assessments (or calculated grades).
Click the Grade Now link in a cell to view student submissions and enter a grade. Or click in any cell with an existing grade to edit/change a grade. Just type a new value.
Filter the data in the gradebook multiple ways:
Search for a student or assessment in the search box at the top of the page.
Click the Filter button to choose which Students, Groups, Gradable Items, or Categories to display.
Click Clear All to remove all filters.
Click any Student Name to see the same student grades page that you can access from the students list view above.
view their grades for each assessment as well as links to a report on student activity in the course, notes on any accommodations, and to send a message to this student.
For the selected student, you’ll see a list of all assessments with the Status of their submission and their Grade on each assessment, and any Feedback you’ve provided.
Click the ellipsis (…) to Add or Edit Exemptions for each item (for this student only).
Close (X) the student grades page to return to the list view of the main Gradebook.
Students
Students shows a list of all students in the course and their Overall Grade. In the Students view, click on a person in the list to see that student’s grades on all assignments, with additional options for tracking student activity and accommodations and eCampus messages.
View the students' Full Name, eCampus Username, their Last Access date, and their Overall Grade for the course. You can search for a student by name, ID, or username in the field at the top.
Click on a student row to view their grades for each assessment as well as links to a report on student activity in the course, notes on any accommodations, and to send a message to this student.
For the selected student, you’ll see a list of all assessments with the Status of their submission and their Grade on each assessment, and any Feedback you’ve provided.
Click the ellipsis (…) to Add or Edit Exemptions for each item (for this student only).
WVU ITS Help: Accommodations, Exemptions, ExceptionsClose (X) the student grades page to return to the list view of the main Gradebook.
Gradebook Settings
From any view of the gradebook, click the gear icon at the top right corner to choose the way the gradebook will be set up to track student performance.
Grade Schemas - click the Manage Grade Schemas link to edit the existing grading scales, or add a new personalized grade schema.
Student Performance - set up alerts that will appear in your eCampus activity stream to notify you when any student is not active in the course or when their grade falls below a designated percentage.
Automatic Zeros - check a box to select whether eCampus will automatically assign a zero when students fail to submit work by the due date.
Overall Grade - click the Manage overall grade settings link to setup how the final/total grade for the course will be calculated.
Students Visibility - hide students in the gradebook who no longer have access to the course.
Grade Categories - default categories include basic types of graded assessments: assignments, tests, discussions, journals, exams, homework, presentations, and quizzes. You can create new categories, too.
Course Rubrics - rubrics can help students to know what criteria will be used for grading an assessment, and ensure that everyone’s paper is graded according to the same standard. Click Create New Rubric to design one.
Overall Grade Notations - create a mark (outside of the regular course grading scheme) that can be recorded as a student’s Overall Grade; for example, to note that a student has withdrawn from the course. Click the individual’s Overall Grade from the grid view to select a notation grade (like a 'W') instead.
Set Up the Overall Grade
eCampus Ultra lets you build a final grade formula in the Overall Grade column. With a brand-new course shell, you will see a Set it up link on the main content page inviting you to set up the overall grade. That link will take you to the Gradebook Settings, which is also easily accessed from the Gradebook page of the course.
Click the Gradebook tab at the top of the course page.
Click the gear icon to open the Settings panel.
Scroll down a bit to see the Overall Grade section, and click on Setup up overall grade.
Choose a type of grading setup (click to show examples):
a total Points grading setup,
a Weighted grade setup for items or categories,
or Advanced to use the formula builder to create a specific grade formula.
Click Next after selecting the grading format to see the Overall Grade editing page.
You can still switch the calculation type by clicking the buttons at the top.
For each Category, you can click Edit calculation rules to choose to drop the lowest or highest scores, or use only the highest or lowest score.
Expand (click drop-down) any category to see the assessments in that category, see how many points each is worth, exclude an item, or unlink it from its current category grouping.
Under Overall Grade Settings, click the drop-down to select how the overall grade is displayed: letter, points, or percentage.
The default display will also show this calculation to students in their view of the gradebook. Uncheck the show to students checkbox to hide this gradebook item.
Click Save to create the new calculation as a gradable item (column in the gradebook).
Close (X) the Overall Grade page to return to the main gradebook settings panel.
Close (X) the Gradebook Settings panel to see the new Overall Grade appear as a gradable item.
Grading Submitted Assessments
There are multiple ways you can access items that require manual grading in eCampus Ultra. You approach will depend on how you administer evaluations and what kind of content you will be grading.
WVU ITS Help: Grading Assignments & Tests in eCampus Ultra
Grade Items from the Gradebook
Click the Gradebook tab at the top of your course.
Click Gradable Items to make sure you are looking at the list of gradable assessments.
Click the Item Name in the Item column, or the # to grade link in the Grading Status column to view all grades and attempts to be graded on the Submissions page of this assessment.
If this is an assignment that has been submitted in-person or just not in eCampus, where you’d want to simply type in a grade for each student, click in the Grade column and enter a grade.
If this assessment was submitted via eCampus with essay questions, text responses, uploaded submissions, or uses a grading rubric, click the attempt to grade link to view the student’s submitted attempt.
On the grading page you can evaluate the student’s submission, select values from a rubric’s scales, and leave feedback.
Make sure you have either selected a score via rubric, or entered a Grade.
Save the grade and feedback you’ve entered, then close (X) the submitted item.
After a grade has been entered, you can still click the Grade to manually override and type in a new value.
Post the grade(s) when you’re ready, if the assessment is not set to automatically post.
Grading with Rubrics
Creating assignments with rubrics lets the students see what you will be looking for, and grading on, for the assignment. It also helps the instructor apply the same standard across so many student papers. Rubrics can be used with assessments that don’t have questions (meaning the Blackboard question types) – only a text box describing the assignment.
Blackboard Anthology Ultra Help: Create Rubrics
Blackboard Anthology Ultra Help: Grade with Rubrics
Meeting and Recording Lectures
Class Collaborate
Class Collaborate is eCampus' integrated meeting tool you can use for to deliver synchronous or asynchronous content. It is already built into all courses and is hosted by Blackboard Anthology. Collaborate facilitates online class meetings, study sessions, discussion groups, and office hours meetings - and you can use Collaborate to record lectures (or anything else) for students to review.
Access Collaborate from the Details & Actions menu on the Content page. Students will also find the links for Collaborate under Details & Actions, or you can link to a recording by its URL.
Click the Join Session link to open the default course meeting room.
Click the ellipsis (…) to view the various options within Collaborate, such as:
Click Manage all sessions to schedule future or recurring meetings, or to open or lock the default course meeting room for privacy.
Click View all recordings to see any recorded sessions and download, change the settings, or get a link you can share in the content area.
WVU ITS Help: Collaborate in eCampus Ultra
Class Collaborate Moderator Guide
MediaSite
MediaSite Desktop Recorder and storage tool is available to all faculty at WVU. You may use Mediasite either to record video you’d like to share like lectures, performances, or interviews, or to upload and host other video content. Find a link to the My Mediasite interface on the TOOLS page of the navigation menu. You can then link to the recordings in your course.
Link to a Mediasite Recording
On the main eCampus navigation page, click the Tools menu link, then click on My Mediasite (Instructors only) button. An LTI connection will launch Mediasite in a new browser tab, showing your My Presentations list.
Click on the title or thumbnail image for a video you’d like to share to view the details page for that recording.
Click the Share Presentation button in the column on the right to get a quick link to the video.
Click the Copy button to copy the URL for the video to your computer’s clipboard.
Switch back over to the browser tab containing your eCampus course.
Click on Courses, and click to open your course.
On the Content page, click the plus (+) to add content, and choose Create.
On the Create Item panel, click Link.
On the New Link screen, set up the link as you want the students to see it:
Make the link Visible,
enter a Display Name (title) for this link,
paste in the Link URL that you copied from Mediasite.
Then, add a Description to tell students what they’ll see or learn in the video
, and Save the link to place it on the content page.
Books and Course Tools
You can access more tools from the Books & Tools link under Details & Actions on the main content page. Some tools require a step to connect the LTI tool to eCampus (like an email authorization or button click). You can add many of the additional tools to the Course Content page for students, too. Click the PLUS next to a tool in the list to add it to the page.
A few of the tools you can add or utilize:
Zoom – host Zoom sessions from your eCampus course, and place a link in your content area to your course’s Zoom meetings.
Ally Accessibility Report – view an interactive report for the accessibility of all items in your course, and get guided help on how to make items more accessible.
Content Collection – access your course’s file storage area (and other eCampus courses’ collections).
Blackboard Anthology: Content Collection > About Files and Folders
WVU ITS Help: eCampus File Size Limits and Course QuotasRespondus – you can require students to use Respondus LockDown Browser to complete tests and assignments from the Respondus dashboard. Click other tabs in the Respondus interface for guides and tutorials.
Keep Going!
Now you have a start on some basic content and assessment items in your course, you can keep adding more. Import content you’ve already used in other formats, create brand new media or documents to share, and try out all the many instructional tools available with eCampus to enrich your class.