What’s New

Akindi Bubble Sheet Training

Learn more about the Scantron replacement

Are you ready for the move? At the end of the Spring 2021 semester, DoIT announced that test scoring services were moving to Akindi, a Scantron alternative. During this transition, we will be...

Posted: July 7, 2021, 1:43 PM

New Respondus Lockdown Browser Features Auto-Update in July

Students using Win/Mac must install to gain this feature

The July update to the Windows and Mac versions of Respondus LockDown Browser will feature a new Auto Update function that starts when the application opens.  To optimize the test proctoring...

Posted: June 28, 2021, 4:13 PM

Groups & gradebook enhancements planned for Ultra in July

Improved functionality for groups support larger enrollments

The groups tool in Ultra has been redesigned for the July update to improve overall performance, particularly for large courses. This redesign includes functionality to make it easier to find...

Posted: June 25, 2021, 9:18 AM

Panopto Upgrades and Downtime

6/26 Downtime & IE discontinued; 7/16 recorder upgrade

Cloud Downtime On Saturday, June 26, Panopto Cloud customers will be upgraded to the latest cloud release. The vendor anticipates up to 4 hours of downtime, with a target start time of 9:00 PM...

Posted: June 11, 2021, 9:30 AM

Event Reminder: WebExing Your Class!

Our Feature a Teacher & Tool Series continues Tuesday, 06/08

Don't forget to register and mark your calendars for this coming Tuesday, June 8th, at 12:00 PM to hear Professor Jamie Gurganus discuss her use of WebEx for some really exceptional instructional...

Posted: June 4, 2021, 11:42 AM

Panopto: Known Issue with Chromium-Based Browsers

"Refuse to connect" error message.

In the latest update to Chrome and Edge, Google made a change to one of their cookie settings, which may result in a “‘Refuse to connect’ error message. Using Firefox to access Panopto content...

Posted: June 4, 2021, 11:22 AM

Call for Proposals Open: 2021 Open Education Conference

Hosted by Maryland Open Source Textbook (MOST) Initiative

As this year’s virtual “host” of the 2021 Open Education Conference (October 18-22, 2021), the Maryland Open Source Textbook (M.O.S.T.) Initiative is excited to announce the call for proposals is...

Posted: May 25, 2021, 9:43 AM

June update supports written feedback via Ultra rubric rows

Also coming: Record short audio/video course announcements

6/5 update: The June release is delayed. As soon as we have more information, we will post it. 7/1 update: The June release was rolled into the July update. Rubrics can be an essential tool for...

Posted: May 13, 2021, 1:44 PM

Blackboard Courses Scheduled for Server Retirement in FA21

Courses Before Summer 2018 to be Retired

During the Summer 2021, DoIT staff and Blackboard will archive our entire instance of Blackboard, which will save individually backed-up copies of every course and organization through SP2021....

Posted: May 12, 2021, 4:24 PM

Test Scoring Moving to Akindi Bubble Sheets

Print or scan a test from any local computer

Beginning Fall 2021, UMBC will employ Akindi for paper-based, bubble sheet assessments. Akinidi is a Scantron alternative that allows instructors to print and score bubble sheets from any local...

Posted: May 12, 2021, 1:58 PM