What’s New

National Distance Learning Week 2020 Lunchtime Series

Surviving to Thriving: Rocking the New Normal of e-Learning

One in four students take some of their courses online, and two-thirds do so at a public institution in the same state where they live (Allen, Seaman, Pouline, & Straut, 2016; Allen &...

Posted: October 13, 2020, 5:48 PM

More than 40% of UMBC Blackboard Courses Using Ultra

Ultra adoption continues to grow as UMBC faculty shifted to online learning in response to COVID-19 safety precautions. More than 40% of all active Blackboard courses are now using Ultra in the...

Posted: October 9, 2020, 1:33 PM

USM OnTrack Announces 2 New Workshops on Adaptive Learning

Explore how adaptive tools can support online learning!

  USM OnTrack  will be offering two additional free professional development workshops this month that will explore the ways adaptive learning tools can support online learning, particularly in...

Posted: October 2, 2020, 2:52 PM

Learn how to use VoiceThread with more free workshops!

Add media-rich, asynchronous engagement in your courses

VoiceThread is a collaborative, multimedia slide show that holds images, documents, and videos and allows people to navigate slides and leave comments in several ways – text, voice, audio file, or...

Posted: September 30, 2020, 1:58 PM

Get Ready for Winter and Spring Semesters with Labster!

Attend Live Demos for Faculty of the Virtual Lab Platform

As a reminder, the USM OnTrack initiative is covering the costs of using Labster this year as part of their commitment to supporting faculty. There is no cost to UMBC or to students to use...

Posted: September 29, 2020, 7:31 PM

Chromebook Extension for Respondus Lockdown Browser in Beta

Currently supports Original courses only

The beta release of a new Chromebook extension for Respondus LockDown Browser is currently available for assessments in Original Blackboard courses. This version of the Chromebook extension also...

Posted: September 25, 2020, 10:23 AM

New Batch Group Management Tool Available in Bb Ultra

Custom solution works in both Ultra & Original courses

Group management is one of the most important tools in a Blackboard course. For large courses, group management is a critical component of assigning students to groups and managing engagement or...

Posted: September 18, 2020, 12:25 PM

Use Blackboard's Ally Tool to Provide Accessible Content

Attend a product overview and demo on 9/30 from 2 - 3 p.m.

Overview and Demo: Using Ally to Provide Accessible Content Wednesday, September 30 from 2:00 p.m.  - 3:00 p.m. Please attend an overview of Ally, Blackboard’s accessibility software...

Posted: September 14, 2020, 4:07 PM

USM OnTrack: New Resources on How to Use Labster Available!

Recommendations for enhancing traditionally taught courses

USM OnTrack is continuing to support adoption of Labster for online courses. Please see below recommended resources for enhancing traditionally taught courses with Labster below:     A...

Posted: September 8, 2020, 7:06 PM

USM OnTrack: Understanding Students’ Readiness to Learn

New online resources to help identify and address challenges

USM OnTrack WEBSITE  New Online Resources:  Understanding Students’ Readiness to Learn  Last spring’s move to emergency remote teaching may impact how ready students are to learn coming into...

Posted: September 8, 2020, 6:59 PM