{"id":7636,"date":"2020-06-30T05:40:09","date_gmt":"2020-06-30T05:40:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.northampton.ac.uk\/learntech\/?p=7636"},"modified":"2022-07-21T14:11:36","modified_gmt":"2022-07-21T14:11:36","slug":"uon-ultra-project-overview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.northampton.ac.uk\/learntech\/2020\/06\/30\/uon-ultra-project-overview\/","title":{"rendered":"UON Ultra \u2013 Project Overview"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What is UON Ultra?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>UON Ultra is a\u00a0five-year project\u00a0to\u00a0migrate the University\u2019s\u00a0Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), NILE, from Blackboard Learn Original\u00a0(hereafter Original)\u00a0to Blackboard Learn Ultra\u00a0(hereafter Ultra).\u00a0The purpose of moving from Original to Ultra is to ensure that the University is using a modern VLE that is intuitive, mobile friendly, device agnostic, responsive, and accessible: i.e., a VLE that best supports our students and our mode of teaching, and which works equally well regardless of whether it is accessed via a desktop, laptop, iPad, etc., or smartphone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Who will the project impact?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Original is the University\u2019s digital campus and&nbsp;has been used at Northampton&nbsp;since 2002. Original is&nbsp;embedded in all aspects&nbsp;of teaching and learning at the University: it is where online teaching and learning takes place;&nbsp;where online learning activities are&nbsp;engaged in;&nbsp;where teaching and learning materials are made available to students;&nbsp;and, since 2012, is where&nbsp;almost all&nbsp;students\u2019&nbsp;assignments are submitted, and where students receive&nbsp;their&nbsp;assignment grades and feedback.&nbsp;The project&nbsp;will&nbsp;therefore&nbsp;impact all University students and all academic staff&nbsp;at the University&nbsp;and at partner institutions.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Who are the project delivery team?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>UON Ultra will be delivered by the Learning Technology Team, in conjunction with academic staff from across the faculties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What are the key dates and milestones for the project?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>UON Ultra will be delivered in five\u00a0phases over five\u00a0academic years, starting in\u00a0late-2019 and ending in summer 2024.\u00a0The delivery timescale has been chosen and approved by UMT to ensure minimal impact to students\u00a0who are used to Original, and to allow staff as much time as possible to get used to working with Ultra.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Phase one \u2013 2019\/20<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2022 October to December 2019:&nbsp;Blackboard Original Managed Hosting (MH) to Software as a Service (SaaS) migration planning and testing.&nbsp;<br>\u2022 December 2019:&nbsp;Migrate&nbsp;all&nbsp;Original&nbsp;environments (Production, Staging, Test)&nbsp;from MH&nbsp;to&nbsp;SaaS.<br>\u2022 January 2020: Upgrade Original to Ultra Base Navigation (UBN) on Test.&nbsp;<br>\u2022 February 2020:&nbsp;Design and deliver pilot course EDUM129 via Ultra on Test.<br>\u2022 May 2020: Upgrade Original to UBN on Staging.<br>\u2022 June 2020: Upgrade Original&nbsp;UBN&nbsp;on Production.<br>\u2022 June to September&nbsp;2020: Recruit&nbsp;participants to Ultra pilot project and design&nbsp;modules&nbsp;(approx. 10)&nbsp;for Ultra delivery&nbsp;from&nbsp;September 2020.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Phase two \u2013 2020\/21<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2022 September 2020: First teaching of pilot Ultra modules.&nbsp;<br>\u2022 September 2020: Creation of test Ultra courses for all Level 4 modules.&nbsp;<br>\u2022 From September 2020: Ultra training for academic staff. Subject areas to receive bespoke training from their learning technologist.&nbsp;<br>\u2022 September&nbsp;2020&nbsp;to August 2021: Design of level 4 Ultra courses by academic staff (with support from the Learning Technology Team).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Phase three \u2013 2021\/22<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2022 September 2021: First teaching of all Level 4 modules via Ultra.&nbsp;<br>\u2022 September 2021: Creation of test Ultra courses for all Level&nbsp;5&nbsp;modules.&nbsp;<br>\u2022 From September 2021:&nbsp;Continuation&nbsp;of Ultra training for academic staff. Subject areas to receive bespoke training from their learning technologist.&nbsp;<br>\u2022 September&nbsp;2021&nbsp;to August 2022: Design of level 5 Ultra courses by academic staff (with support from the Learning Technology Team).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Phase four \u2013 2022\/23&nbsp;<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2022 September 2022: First teaching of all Level\u00a05\u00a0modules via Ultra.<br>\u2022 September 2022: Creation of test Ultra courses for all Level\u00a06\/7\/8\u00a0modules.\u00a0<br>\u2022 September 2022\u00a0to August 2023:\u00a0Continuation\u00a0of Ultra training for academic staff. Subject areas to receive bespoke training from their learning technologist.\u00a0<br>\u2022 September 2022 to August 2023: Design of level 6\/7\/8 Ultra courses by academic staff (with support from the Learning Technology Team).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Phase five &#8211; 2023\/24<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2022 September 2023: First teaching of all Level\u00a06, 7 and 8\u00a0modules via Ultra.<br>\u2022 September 2023: First use of Ultra programme-level courses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Where can I find out more about Ultra?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The Learning Technology Team will, of course, provide plenty of bespoke training on Ultra from September 2020 onwards, but Blackboard have also created training and support materials about Ultra which you can access.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Blackboard&#8217;s LearnUltra site contains a lot of information about Ultra and explains the benefits of using it: <a href=\"https:\/\/learnultra.blackboard.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/learnultra.blackboard.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Blackboard Ultra Training Videos: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/playlist?list=PLontYaReEU1tCbsCDP-u_wsKdkDBegIhH\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/playlist?list=PLontYaReEU1tCbsCDP-u_wsKdkDBegIhH<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Any questions?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If you have any questions about the UON Ultra project, please contact the Head of Learning Technology, Rob Howe, at <a href=\"mailto:rob.howe@northampton.ac.uk\">rob.howe@northampton.ac.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What is UON Ultra? <\/p>\n<p>UON Ultra is a\u00a0five-year project\u00a0to\u00a0migrate the University\u2019s\u00a0Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), NILE, from Blackboard Learn Original\u00a0(hereafter Original)\u00a0to Blackboard Learn Ultra\u00a0(hereafter Ultra).\u00a0The purpose of moving from Original to Ultra is to ensure that the University is using a modern VLE that is intuitive, mobile friendly, device agnostic, responsive, and accessible: i.e., a VLE [&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[12,261,290],"tags":[39,40,269],"class_list":["post-7636","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-learntech-news","category-nile-update","category-uon-ultra-project","tag-blackboard","tag-blackboard-learn","tag-ultra"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>UON Ultra \u2013 Project Overview - Learning Technology Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.northampton.ac.uk\/learntech\/2020\/06\/30\/uon-ultra-project-overview\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"UON Ultra \u2013 Project Overview - Learning Technology Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What is UON Ultra? 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