AI Initiatives

UMBC Shield and the black text UMBC Artificial Intelligence

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, BlueskyX, 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

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SU2020 Courses Created in Blackboard on April 21, 2020

Blackboard course shells for SU2020 were created on April 21, 2020. NOTE: In recognition of the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing social distancing practices, UMBC’s summer session will be offered...

Posted: April 22, 2020, 3:22 PM

Bb Webinars: Accelerate a Transition to Remote Instruction

Free 30-minute webinars on Blackboard, Collaborate

https://fdc.umbc.edu/resources/keep-on-teaching/Following guidance from the University System of Maryland in the rapidly developing public health response to COVID-19, UMBC will transition to...

Posted: March 14, 2020, 6:35 AM

Updated Ally indicators for Ultra courses in February update

Tweaks provided for self-enrolled groups & discussion boards

This month's Ultra update focuses on increasing the visibility of Ally in Ultra courses. Faculty who upload files directly to the Course Content area or within folders and learning modules will...

Posted: February 7, 2020, 12:32 PM

Google Assignments and File Embed Available for Bb Courses

Use Google's Rich Editor to Provide Student Feedback

In January 2018, Box discontinued Crocodoc in favor of the Box inline grading tool. The goal of this transition was to provide a similar and simpler experience users know from the traditional Box...

Posted: January 8, 2020, 11:32 AM

Students like Ultra design, organized courses

User surveys reveal consistent satisfaction with Ultra style

More than 70% of 606 student survey respondents who took a course that used Ultra during the FA2019 semester said they were satisfied with the experience. When asked, students described Ultra as...

Posted: December 17, 2019, 2:20 PM