Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google


Anthology to Debut AI-Powered Assessment Tool for Blackboard Learn Ultra

  • By Kate Lucariello
  • 10/31/23

Anthology plans to expand its AI Design Assistant suite of learning tools in Blackboard Learn Ultra to include an AI-powered authentic assessment generator to make it easier for educators to determine student learning mastery, the company said. The new tool will be released in December 2023.

Based on Blackboard Learn Ultra's test question creator being its most used feature, Anthology said the new tool, aligned to learning objectives and Bloom's Taxonomy, will develop prompts that promote critical thinking skills such as analysis, creation, and evaluation. These prompts make it possible for students to demonstrate deeper mastery of such skills and "can require learners to work together with peers and take the shape of real-world tasks," the company said, thus simulating "the context of challenges to be faced in a learner's future workplace."

"Developing deeper forms of assessment that demonstrate a learner's understanding isn't new but are time intensive and are taking on a new urgency as AI challenges the current landscape of academic integrity," said JD White, Anthology's chief product officer. "By inspiring instructors to develop authentic assessments more seamlessly, we are charting a way forward where instructors can effectively and efficiently evaluate learners."

The new feature has been announced less than two months after Anthology released AI Design Assistant for Blackboard Learn Ultra. The company said the new tool will also follow its overall Trustworthy AI Approach "to ensure that clients and instructors stay in control and that their data stays safe."

Visit Anthology's "What's New in Blackboard Learn Ultra – October 2023" blog page to learn about other enhancements to the program.

About the Author

Kate Lucariello is a former newspaper editor, EAST Lab high school teacher and college English teacher.

Featured

  • CIS Sandbox Tutor Eli Blouin at Bentley University imagines a future technology learning partner that supports curiosity, critical thinking, feedback, and personalized learning.

    Student Voices: Technology as a Future Learning Partner

    A data analytics and marketing major at Bentley University and a distinguished lecturer at the university explore the future of "technology learning partners" — technologies that participate in the learning process by asking questions and giving feedback, not just information search results.

  • lock symbol with quantum bits in dynamic motion

    Microsoft Accelerates Focus on Quantum-Safe Security

    Microsoft is speeding up its quantum-safe security timeline, saying advances in quantum computing and new federal requirements have pushed post-quantum cryptography from a future planning issue into an immediate engineering priority.

  • interconnected nodes with currency symbols

    Gartner: Half of Gen AI Projects Could Exceed Budget by 2028

    Organizations may be underestimating the actual cost of generative AI as they move from experimentation to production, according to Gartner's "10 Best Practices for Optimizing Generative and Agentic AI Costs" report.

  • robot hand holding stacks of coins

    Designing AI Systems for Financial Aid

    Financial aid offices have been slow to adopt AI, risking technological stagnation at a critical early student touchpoint. Systematic AI integration can improve student experiences and strengthen institutional positioning.