Drake uses Blackboard as our learning management system (LMS). The following information provides development resources available.
New to Blackboard? | Want a safe place to practice? | Need hands-on Help? | Looking for quick answers? | Improving course design?
Quick Links for all development opportunities on this page:
Click the image or this Fall 2026 Course Prep link to access the Internal Sites page that houses the slide show. Then, interact with the slide show for just-in-time help as your prepare for the semester. It includes a summary of updates to Blackboard, updated resources, and best practices related to sharing course materials, setting AI expectations with students, and increasing the accessibility of your courses.
Bring your laptop to Howard Hall (east of Sheslow Auditorium) to learn about exciting updates designed to help you prepare for the semester.
Wednesday, August 19
Location: Howard Hall Faculty Lounge (HOW 212)
- 10am – noon drop-in time
- 1pm – 3pm drop-in time
Wednesday, August 26
Location: Howard Hall Faculty Lounge (HOW 212) and on Teams
If you have questions outside of Blackboard Office Hours:
- Review the help guides for faculty, organized by topic, in Drake's Knowledge Base.
- Go directly to the upgraded Blackboard LMS Help Center.
- Click the question mark icon in the lower-right corner of most Blackboard pages to open Blackboard's related help pages.
Hosted by your colleagues from:
- Drake Online | Learning Design Services
- ITS | Academic and Emerging Technologies
- The Center for Teaching and Learning
The "Blackboard Instructor Orientation" course is available in Blackboard Ultra. Every Drake instructor has been enrolled in the course as a student. It is strongly encouraged to complete the instructor orientation so you can develop quality course resources on Blackboard.
If you cannot find this course or do not have this course, please submit a Blackboard Ultra Request and select the "Add/Change/Remove User" option.
Ultra sandbox courses are a great way to test new features before you build them into your live courses with students. If you would like to request a sandbox course or need additional sandbox courses, please submit a Blackboard Ultra Request and select the "Site Creation" option.
The sandbox courses:
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provide a risk-free environment for hands-on practice in an Ultra course (this is also where you will practice skills learned from instructor orientation)
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allow you to build or prepare a new course in Ultra (which can later be copied into a live course, if desired)
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allow you to copy a previously offered Blackboard Original course into an Ultra course (which can later be copied into a live course, if desired)
- On the Blackboard Webinars page, scroll down to the On-Demand Webinars title, which is filtered to show "LMS" webinars. Watch any webinar that sounds of interest, register for the webinar, or access the recording.
A Blackboard Ultra course layout has been designed to group course content into folders and learning modules to support clear organization and communication in courses. You can add, modify, or arrange content within your course after the layout is applied. Content that is already in the course will not be erased or changed with the addition of the layout. Request a Course Layout.
The copy process for courses that use the course layout is slightly different to ensure content is current and not duplicated. This article walks you through this easy process.
This rubric of specific review standards allows you to review your class to ensure it meets basic standards and creates an engaging and supportive online classroom for students. Open/Download the Rubric. Please note the copyright: do not copy or duplicate the rubric.
Need Assistance?
Course layout request: submit a ticket request
Blackboard technical consultation/support: Blackboard Ultra Request