What’s New

Ultra enhances usability, gradebook, test timer in November

Flag student retention and other grade alerts in your stream

Usability and a few gradebook improvements come to Ultra in November. New, larger icons with thicker line strokes and blue backgrounds improve accessibility and better support quick scanning of...

Posted: October 23, 2020, 12:29 PM

GO Chat Recap: Badging & Micro-credentialing

Here's what you missed from our Go Online Chat!

Last week, we welcomed Sherri Braxton, Senior Director of Instructional Technology, as our inaugural guest on GO Chat to talk about her work on campus and beyond the loop for badging and...

Posted: October 23, 2020, 10:50 AM

New Content Editor Coming for Original Courses on November 6

Improved support for accessibility, file sharing, and coding

An updated, easier-to-use, more powerful Content Editor is coming to Original courses on November 6. There are lots of great reasons to like the updated Content Editor. Adding content has been...

Posted: October 16, 2020, 8:47 AM

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