Ultra's Progress Tracking Tools Help Instructors Identify, Connect, and Support Learners
Create Your Strategy to Monitor and Reach Out to Students
This article focuses on Ultra's progress tracking tools and strategies for student identification, outreach, and support. It follows Part 1 - Course Design Best Practices in Ultra, which showcased features in Ultra to ensure your course is designed to optimize student learning and ensure they feel welcome and prepared.
As the semester enters week four, there is an opportunity to assess how students are doing in your course when it comes to participating, meeting deadlines, and completing discussions or knowledge checks. Did you know that Ultra offers a variety of reports and analytics that benefit both instructors and students in tracking individual progress?
Progress Tracking
Instructors can monitor student progress through a variety of tools including options that support tracking by content item, submission activity, and test attempt. When tracking student progress in a particular set of content, instructors can filter by student and progress status, or select students and send an individualized message or reminder. In conjunction with early academic alerts, instructors can decide when and how to reach out to students by using details and insights from Ultra’s progress reports.
Student View of Progress Tracking
Students can also leverage Ultra’s progress tracking capabilities to monitor their engagement with content, assignments, and tests. This feature provides visual indicators of student progress, motivating them to stay on track. Students can also see a summary of their progress within learning modules, making it easier to manage their workload and prioritize tasks.
Instructors who have not seen what the Student View of progress tracking looks like may want to go into “Student Preview” mode once the course is open and see how this appears. Each item has a status circle to the left of the item title. An empty circle means the student has not yet accessed content; a partially filled circle indicates the item has been opened or accessed through Ally; and a green check mark appears when the item has been completed. (See image below)
While in “Student View,” instructors can see that students may mark content items “complete” after opening them. This gives students a tangible way to keep track of their progress within the course. Assigned submissions will change automatically to denote completion. (See image below)
Student Overview (Instructor View)
Ultra’s Student Overview offers instructors a single place to access relevant information on a student and personalize outreach. Details such as when a student last accessed the course, overall grade, or any accommodations can be found in the Student Overview.
Student Overview can be accessed in multiple ways including Gradebook on the Students tab, within the course roster, via messages or discussions, or within the table view of the Course Activity Report. Instructors can also contact students through Student Overview by sending a message about grades or progress.
Gradebook Progress & Instructor Notes
Progress tracking features in the Ultra gradebook offer instructors several views including a list of all assignments, a view of students and assignments, or an individual list of students. By selecting the “Progress” tab, instructors can see a list of all content items in the course and status for each item. For students who may be behind or have not opened all content in a module, instructors can select “Send Message” and reach out to a student directly.
In the student view of the Gradebook, instructors have access to a “Notes” tab. This newer feature in Ultra is a dedicated space in the course where you can take notes about students for quick reference as the semester progresses. Instructor notes are private only to you and limited only to the course. Instructor notes do NOT travel to other courses and students do not see them.
Course Activity Report
The Course Activity Report provides an overview of how a student interacts with the course over time. Instructors can observe how a student’s engagement or performance have changed on a weekly basis or over a longer period of time. In the image below, this is the list view of the report and supports instructors who want to filter students based on overall grade, missed due dates, hours spent in the course, or number of days since they last accessed. After filtering the list, instructors can send messages to students from this window and also configure alerts.
Within the Report, you can enable and customize student alert flags to fit your teaching style. These alerts will be visible in the Course Activity Report and are related to factors such as overall grade, missed due dates, or days since a student last accessed the course. Comprehensive reports let instructors see which students have opened, started, or completed content, helping them tailor teaching strategies.
Exploring and leveraging Ultra's progress tracking tools can make identifying and intervening on behalf of students who may be struggling in the course easier and efficient for instructors.
Upcoming events about progress tracking and student support:
For more information on how to use Ultra’s reports and analytics for student tracking and support, check out these resources:
If you haven't already, make sure to drop off your clothes at one of our donation boxes around campus!
When you drop off your clothes, make sure to fill our this
Google Form so we know you donated!
Location of donation boxes:
☆ Commons Donation Section
☆ In front of the Women's Center (next to Dunkin)
☆ Harbor Hall Lobby
☆ Erickson Hall Lobby
☆ Apartment Community Center
☆ In front of the Shriver Center (in the Public Policy building)
We look forward to seeing you! <3
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Our semesterly clothing exchange is THIS FRIDAY! If you haven't already, make sure to drop off your clothes at one of our donation boxes around campus! When you drop off your clothes,...
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Sisterhood: A Women of Color Coalition
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Mon, 23 Sep 2024 14:33:17 -0400
Retrievers are upping their research game in the 2024-25 Fulbright U.S. Student Program cohort
At the height of COVID-19, Nicole Attram developed severe lower back pain which impeded her mobility and flexibility. While physical therapy helped mitigate the symptoms, the cause is still unknown. That experience determined the course of her career. After graduating from UMBC in 2023, Attram, mechanical engineering, received a 2024 – 2025 Fulbright U.S. Student award to study in Milan, Italy, in a master’s program in international healthcare management, economics, and policy specializing in pharmaceuticals and medical technology at the SDA Bocconi School of Management.
“This experience has inspired my interest in orthopedic biomechanics, particularly prosthetics, and exoskeletons, to help restore autonomy to individuals with lifelong mobility challenges,” shares Attram on her website. “I aim to conduct research at the intersection of systemic racism, healthcare policy, and orthopedic biomechanics to offer holistic care and assistive technology to underserved communities.”
Each year, more than 10,000 students apply to the Fulbright U.S. Student Program with just over 2,000 selected from hundreds of colleges and universities across the U.S. In the last decade, UMBC students and alumni have received more than 85 Fulbright U.S. Student Program awards for research and teaching placements in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, the Middle East, South America, and Europe. UMBC was named a Fulbright Top Producing Institution for the third time in five years for the 2023 – 2024 cycle.
Attram’s mentor Maria C. Sanchez, director of the Grand Challenge Scholars Program, professor of the practice, and director of the Engineering and Computing Education Program, says, “Nicole always displayed the motivation, perseverance, and inquisitiveness of a successful researcher. She also demonstrated a high level of global awareness that was refreshing to see in a non-international undergraduate student.”
Advancing global research
Attram is among eight recent graduates and alumni in UMBC’s 2024 – 2025 Fulbright U.S. Student Program class who are sharing their knowledge and building community around the world by earning a master’s degree, conducting research, or teaching English. This year is especially significant, as six of eight awards are research-focused, marking the highest number of research awards in UMBC’s Fulbright history. Students seeking research awards must develop a proposal in coordination with potential advisers in the universities and laboratories where they want to study as part of their application. Graduate degree awards require submitting both Fulbright and graduate school applications.
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Arpita Tuladhar ’23 public health, Research Award to Germany
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Jennifer Sorrells ’22, political science, Research Award to North Macedonia
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Jolie Greer ’24, psychology, Research Award to Bulgaria
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Lauren Mister ’24, teaching English to speakers of other languages, English Teaching Award to Bahrain
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Sarah-Fatime Yoda ’24, chemical engineering, Research Award to France
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Stuart Holton ’24, political science, English Teaching Award to Slovakia
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Timothy Mallard, M.A. ’21, teaching English to speakers of other languages, Research Award to Uganda
“This year’s cohort of Fulbright recipients and alternates shows the country and the globe what we at UMBC already know,” says Brian Souders, Ph.D. ’09, language, literacy, and culture, M.A.’19, TESOL, the associate director of global learning at UMBC’s Center for Global Engagement. In this role, Souders, who received a 2023 Fulbright International Education Administrator Award to Germany, has led hundreds of Retrievers through the Fulbright application process as UMBC’s Fulbright Program advisor. “We produce world-class graduates who will lead the future with their work in laboratories, in the field, and in the classrooms throughout the world.” (Image by Marlayna Demond ’11/UMBC)
Learn more about UMBC’s Fulbright Program.
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At the height of COVID-19, Nicole Attram developed severe lower back pain which impeded her mobility and flexibility. While physical therapy helped mitigate the symptoms, the cause is still...
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Mon, 23 Sep 2024 14:32:36 -0400
Mon, 23 Sep 2024 14:32:36 -0400
Scholarships for Study-Abroad
New scholarship opportunity for study in East Asia!
The Asian Studies Program is pleased to offer a scholarship to help offset the costs associated with studying abroad in East Asia. This scholarship should be applied for in tandem with other similar opportunities, including the CAHSS Dean’s Education Abroad Scholarship (https://umbc.academicworks.com/opportunities/5878.)
Asian Studies majors or minors are eligible: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc3XD6DqfQ-zqJ8tH6Iye6J71i23O2ViXbCn7ar1PAwJqpEAA/viewform
Deadline is Nov. 1 for spring programs and Feb. 10 for summer/fall programs.
For more information, contact Prof. Constantine Vaporis, Interim Director, Asian Studies program (vaporis@umbc.edu).
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The Asian Studies Program is pleased to offer a scholarship to help offset the costs associated with studying abroad in East Asia. This scholarship should be applied for in tandem with other...
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Asian Studies Program
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Mon, 23 Sep 2024 13:49:03 -0400
Respond to a Survey on Community Engagement
Dear UMBC Community,
We are conducting a self-study to renew our classification as a Carnegie Community Engaged campus. The classification reflects who we are as an institution of higher learning. Community engagement is embedded in UMBC’s vision and mission. It defines and activates our values of inclusive excellence, social justice, civic engagement, and service for the public good. It also affirms our collaborative approach to teaching, scholarship, and service, in partnerships that range from local to global. This campus-wide self-study is an opportunity for UMBC to further elevate community engagement in our strategic plan for the future.
Your timely response by October 15, 2024, to a short survey will ensure that the story we tell is comprehensive and inclusive. The survey will take no more than two minutes of your time.
Thank you for your participation.
Sincerely,
Manfred H. M. van Dulmen
Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs
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Dear UMBC Community, We are conducting a self-study to renew our classification as a Carnegie Community Engaged campus. The classification reflects who we are as an institution of higher...
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Announcements - Campus
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Mon, 23 Sep 2024 13:43:09 -0400
Prados & Disasters Avoided Team featured in UNDRR Global Assessment Report 2024
On September 18, 2024,
Dr. Ana Prados and the Disasters Avoided team, through work partly funded by NASA’s Wildfires Program, were featured in the launch of the United Nations Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) Global Assessment Report 2024. Read and download the report here:
https://lnkd.in/ervFvQxJ.
According to Dr. Prados, "The key novel aspect of the report was the analysis of 10 case studies in disaster resilience through a forensics approach. The 6 factors of the Disaster Avoided Model were included in the report and applied to the 10 case studies. One of the factors in the model is “good data”, including those from Earth Observations."
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On September 18, 2024, Dr. Ana Prados and the Disasters Avoided team, through work partly funded by NASA’s Wildfires Program, were featured in the launch of the United Nations Disaster Risk...
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Earth and Space Institute
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Mon, 23 Sep 2024 13:22:26 -0400
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