AI Initiatives

The Division of Information Technology’s AI site will help the UMBC community with information on using artificial intelligence (AI), especially generative AI (GenAI), to support UMBC’s Administrative, Instructional, and Research efforts. This site has been created to help employees advance their use of GenAI.

We recommend that our UMBC community begin by visiting GenAI Tools, a page that highlights free resources and provides guidance on using GenAI while safeguarding UMBC institutional data safely.

For staff seeking support, we encourage people to look at Administrative AI, as a starting point. Our goal is to save folks time, improve the quality of their work, and increase productivity. We showcase tools that DoIT provides to support these objectives.

We have launched myUMBC Answers, an AI-supported search bar. We are seeking partners to expand this tool. The key to leveraging myUMBC Answers is providing validated and accurate content, such as annual FAQs or handbooks.

Faculty, are encouraged to explore Instructional AI and Research AI. The UMBC Center for AI in the College of Engineering is an excellent resource for AI-related research and innovation.  Stay informed by following the center’s social media chnnels on LinkedIn, Bluesky, X, and Facebook.

Members of the UMBC community can subscribe to the UMBC AI Group to receive email about AI-related news and events. If you have news to share with the UMBC AI community or suggestions or comments on the site, please send them to umbc-ai@cs.umbc.edu.

 

AI News

Showing items tagged blackboard. Show All

Reminder: Blackboard Courses Scheduled for Server Retirement

Courses before Summer 2019 to be retired beginning 7/1

During Summer 2022, DoIT staff and Blackboard will archive our entire instance of Blackboard, which will save individually backed-up copies of every course and organization through SP2022. Courses...

Posted: June 7, 2022, 1:29 PM

Display files in Ultra Docs, Improve Weighted Grades in June

Feedback matters: Continued focus on assessment & grading

Summer brings four enhancements to Ultra course including three focused on assessment and grading. Enhancement to Overall Grade Weighting: Instructors can weigh individual items (e.g., tests,...

Posted: May 31, 2022, 11:21 AM

Akindi Importer Tool Available on 7/1

Write Questions in MS Word and Quickly Add to Blackboard

In the spirit of promoting academic integrity in testing, faculty in both Biology and Chemistry have been leveraging large question pools in their courses. Beginning July 1, the Akindi Importer...

Posted: May 11, 2022, 10:25 AM

Postponed: Equitable & Inclusive Course for Faculty

An immersive cohort on equity and inclusive course design

After much consideration of the workshop facilitators and subject matter experts, we have decided not to offer a session during Fall 2022. We hope to offer a session during Spring 2023. Thank you...

Posted: May 5, 2022, 11:55 AM

Workflow improvements for Ultra grading & assessments in May

New test question filter for student assessment experience

As the semester concludes, the May update to Ultra brings some improvements centered on assessment and grading workflows and usability improvements. Weighted Calculations: With this upgrade,...

Posted: May 3, 2022, 9:40 AM