What’s New

Resolved - Blackboard Service Disruption - System Performance

Access to Blackboard & course content may be impacted

At 6:40 PM on September 22nd, Blackboard reported a system performance issue affecting clients in the US East region. This disruption may prevent users from accessing the Blackboard platform....

Posted: September 22, 2024, 11:19 PM

Effective course design helps welcome and orient students

Course Design Best Practices in Ultra - Part 1 of 2

This article focuses on ways to leverage features in Ultra to ensure your course is designed to optimize student learning and ensure students feel welcome and prepared, especially at the start of...

Posted: September 11, 2024, 4:37 PM

Vasbinder Creates OER Course from 2023 M.O.S.T. Faculty Grant

Dance History course offers inclusive, equitable curriculum

Jill Vasbinder, adjunct faculty, Department of Dance (Dance Appreciation, Dance History) has created an Open Educational Resource (OER) dance history course as a recipient of the 2023 Maryland...

Posted: September 9, 2024, 10:58 AM

Anthology to Change Layout of Ultra Courses on September 6

Design change aims to increase support for creating content

Anthology has announced that in early September, the Ultra course landing page will be redesigned to focus content on the left and course actions on the right. This change emphasizes Anthology’s...

Posted: August 20, 2024, 1:05 PM

DoIT Support for Collaborate Will End Next Summer, 2025

Alternate synchronous tools include Google, Microsoft, Webex

After many years of use, UMBC’s license for Class Collaborate (formerly Blackboard Collaborate) will end on July 31, 2025. As one of our longest licensed tools, Collaborate provided synchronous...

Posted: August 15, 2024, 11:32 AM

New Course Management Features in Poll Everywhere

Streamlined access to courses and activities

Update: This feature is postponed by the vendor to allow UMBC to review and verify functionality. Additional information about availability will be provided to the campus as soon as possible. In...

Posted: August 13, 2024, 12:45 PM

Ally Now Supports AI-Generated Descriptions for Images

Leverage AI to provide inclusive resources for students

Recent updates to federal guidelines for digital accessibility underscore the critical need for educators to ensure that all course materials are accessible to every student. One of the most...

Posted: August 13, 2024, 9:26 AM

Blackboard Course Copy: Easy Prep for a New Term

Join a virtual or drop-in session

It’s a new academic year and time to prepare your Blackboard course. The Ultra course copy tool simplifies the transfer of course materials, whether from Original or Ultra, into a new course site....

Posted: August 7, 2024, 9:14 AM

Enhanced Ultra Docs, Advanced Release Rules Coming in August

Follow discussions, anonymous forms & converted tests

Whether you're preparing your first Ultra course or updating existing content, the latest features released in August are designed to streamline your teaching experience.  The Ultra Document is...

Posted: August 5, 2024, 10:58 AM