Both Campuses
Both campuses upgraded eLearning/Blackboard to Ultra Base Navigation on May 10, 2023.
What is Ultra Base Navigation?
Ultra Base Navigation, or UBN, is a new navigation interface that replaces the previous My Institution page, which is the landing page in eLearning/Blackboard. Instead of landing on a page with tabs at the top right (My Institution, My Courses) and modules in columns in the center of the page (My Courses, Tools, My Announcements, etc.), UBN put all of these options along the left side of the page and, most importantly, matches the layout and style of the Blackboard mobile app.
UBN does not affect the layout of courses*. RCSJ will still be using Original Courses.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: When I send an Announcement and select "Send a copy of this announcement immediately" does it go to students' RCSJ email or their Course Messages?
A: It will go to their RCSJ email.
Q: (GLOUCESTER CAMPUS) One of the new features is that courses appear as "private" to students until the course start date. Can instructors still open their courses early to students?
A: Yes, instructors at the Gloucester Campus will still be able to open their courses early, though the process to do so may be different than what you're doing now. You can read more about how to do that here: How to Open your Course Early for Students (Gloucester Campus)
Q: What happens to a course when it ends? Will it be private again? What if I have a student who needs to finish out an incomplete?
A: Once the end date of the course has passed, yes, the course will be moved to private again and it won't be listed in the Current Courses area any longer. Faculty can change the end date of their course if they'd like the course to remain open to their students for longer. If you have a student working on an incomplete, it is best to work with your eLearning team to ensure the student has access to the course.
Q: For notifications, will notifications automatically be turned on for course messages? Right now I have to go turn on that setting for all my courses.
A: The default setup is that all users always receive a notification in their Activity Stream when they receive a course message, and this won't be able to be turned off. Additionally, the default setup is that users will receive an RCSJ email when they receive a course message, but users are able to turn this off if they prefer not to get an email notification.
Q: Will students need a faster computer for Base Navigation to work?
A: If students have a computer that meets RCSJ's laptop requirements, they will have no issues with UBN.
Q: (CUMBERLAND CAMPUS) Where is the Starfish link?
A: The link to Starfish is on the Institution page. The link for faculty is under the Helpful Links - Faculty area, and the link for students is under the Helpful Links - Students area.
Q: (GLOUCESTER CAMPUS) How will DEV shells appear? Will they all be listed under the Current Courses area?
A: Yes, they are all in the Current Courses area because the term they are associated with is always available, but they are listed in their own area of the Current Courses page, under the "DEV Shell" term. So there may be a lot of courses listed on that page, but they are organized by term. If you want to have your DEV shells removed, you can fill out the form.
Q: Are we still able to use Respondus Monitor/LockDown Browser?
A: Yes. All tools that work inside courses will continue to work. UBN only impacts navigation outside of courses.
Q. What is Assist?
A: Assist is a tool that allows an institution to provide links to various resources in one central location. UBN features a link to the Assist tool on the base navigation menu. Assist provides students with links to all sorts of student resources available to them. Assist also allows us to "feature" two resources at any given time, moving them to the top of the page and allowing us to add an eye-catching image. We will always feature eLearning Support, but we will rotate the second featured resource throughout the year to best serve students. A cool thing about Assist for instructors and students at the Gloucester campus is that we will no longer load RCSJ Student Resources into courses since all of that content will be in Assist and on the Institution page.
Q: Are there any features inside courses that are affected or unavailable on UBN?
A: The only feature that existed inside courses that is unavailable on UBN is called "Course-to-Course Navigation." This was a feature found at the top left of your screen when you were inside a course. Next to your course name at the top left you saw a small drop-down arrow. If you clicked this, you could see a list of other courses you were enrolled in and you were able to jump to these other courses. This feature is not available in UBN. See the screenshots below for more information.
Image 1 - Course-to-Course Navigation Button
Image 2 - Course-to-Course Feature in use
Image 3 - No Course-to-Course Navigation in UBN
