Blackboard Learn Ultra: Cloud LMS Upgrades That Help Teachers Teach
Blackboard partnered with SEP to reimagine Blackboard Learn as a modern, cloud-based tool designed for teachers and students. With faster features, simple workflows, and an accessible design, Learn Ultra helps educators share lessons more easily and keep classrooms connected.
Opportunity
Blackboard set out to modernize its LMS so teachers could spend less time with technology and more time teaching. They needed faster feature updates, better accessibility, and a flexible platform that could grow with the needs of classrooms and institutions.
Results
- Tripled Ultra adoption
- Scalable microservice architecture
- Faster, accessible features
- Expanded university partnerships
Client
Global Leader in Educational Technology
Blackboard is a global leader in educational technology, serving more than 100 million learners across 90+ countries. Their flagship product, Blackboard Learn, is one of the most widely used learning management systems (LMS) in higher education, K–12, government, and corporate training.
Known for combining powerful functionality with accessibility, Blackboard provides tools that help institutions deliver engaging, inclusive, and effective learning experiences.
About Blackboard
Industry
EdTech
Headquarters
United States
Type
Private
Market
Global
Opportunity
Meeting the Demands of Modern Learning
Learning management systems (LMS) are the backbone of how teachers and students connect online. Blackboard needed to evolve its long‑standing Blackboard Learn product into a cloud‑based platform with a modern, accessible design to meet the growing needs of colleges and universities worldwide. The goal was clear: give teachers faster, easier ways to share lessons and give students a more connected learning experience.
Blackboard turned to SEP to accelerate development and make that vision a reality.
What We Did
Cloud Development
DevOps Strategy
Forecasting/Estimation
Methodology Coaching
Performance Testing
Product Ownership
Testing
Web Development
Solution
Engineering for Agility and Scale
Together with Blackboard, SEP designed and delivered new, intuitive workflows for Learn Ultra that aligned with the daily needs of teachers and students. The result was a responsive, web‑based experience that works on any device and reduces the time educators spend managing technology.
We introduced modern agile practices to help Blackboard teams collaborate more effectively and keep the user at the center of decisions. By combining product management, design, and engineering, we encouraged a stronger product owner role to ensure teachers’ and students’ needs stayed front and center.
Future‑Ready Architecture
To prepare Learn Ultra for the future, SEP added flexibility around integrations, fixed critical bugs, and implemented a microservice architecture. This allowed Blackboard to update smaller parts of the system without disrupting the whole platform—keeping classrooms running smoothly while extending the life of the application.
We also worked with Blackboard’s DevOps team to create new delivery pipelines, so code could reach users more quickly and reliably. This partnership shifted ownership of released code to both development and operations, improving quality and accountability.
Developing Features Educators Love
SEP worked side‑by‑side with Blackboard to deliver features that made daily teaching tasks simpler and more connected. We focused on tools instructors had asked for and improvements that would directly benefit classrooms. Together we:
- Introduced batch editing of class materials, giving teachers back valuable time
- Built a new text editor to meet key requests from institutions
- Enabled localization services so schools worldwide could adapt Learn Ultra affordably
- Created course copy tools that let instructors reuse and adapt content with ease
- Delivered video feedback and accessibility enhancements to support inclusive learning
Tech Stack
Angular
AWS
Docker
Java
Kubernetes
Node (JavaScript)
PostgresQL
React
Selenium
TypeScript
Results
Delivering Features Faster, Growing Customer Impact
SEP worked with Blackboard to make Learn Ultra easier to use and more valuable for classrooms. Teachers gained tools that saved time, students experienced more accessible learning, and schools benefited from a platform ready to grow with them.
The improvements also supported Blackboard’s partnership with the University of Phoenix, rolling out Ultra across more than 2,000 courses.
Tripled Ultra adoption
2,000+ University of Phoenix courses supported
Batch editing, video feedback, and localization delivered
Improved performance with microservices and automated testing
Stronger pipelines sped reliable releases
Global reach enabled with scalable localization