What’s New

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

Submit a Proposal for the M.O.S.T. 2020 OER Grant Program

Three grant programs (2 new!) announced for 2020

The Maryland Open Source Textbook (M.O.S.T.) Initiative is pleased to announce a Request for Proposals for the 2020 OER Grant Program. For 2020, M.O.S.T. is seeking proposals for two grant...

Posted: December 16, 2019, 11:01 AM

New group enhancements scheduled for December Ultra update

Ungraded assignments also coming this month

Managing large numbers of students and groups is an important tool in Blackboard. In the current version of Ultra, faculty had to create assignments and discussions before they could create and...

Posted: December 3, 2019, 11:26 AM

WT/SP2020 Courses Created in Blackboard on December 2, 2019

Blackboard course shells for WT2020 and SP2020 were created on December 2, 2019. The Ultra Course Preview setting is again enabled in WT/SP2020 courses to allow faculty adoption with an updated...

Posted: December 3, 2019, 8:06 AM

DoIT Adjusts Support of Bb Ultra Rollout

All faculty still decide when to migrate before FA21

Based on new analysis of how Blackboard (Bb) Ultra has been adopted across campus, DoIT has decided to modify its approach to faculty support across colleges.  Specifically, DoIT will focus on...

Posted: November 26, 2019, 7:57 AM

Why CNMS Student Bb Use is So High

Use of Assessments is Key -- and Informs Ultra Rollout

When DoIT announced the phased rollout of Blackboard (Bb) Ultra on April 4 of this year, we did so based on the number of courses typically using Bb in each college as of Spring 2019, starting...

Posted: November 25, 2019, 10:59 PM

End of Semester Sprint Offers Customized Consults to Faculty

Three Sprints. One Day. Choose your time & topic.

The end of semester is a busy time of year for everyone, especially faculty. Instructional Technology will host three 90-minute sprint sessions on Wednesday, December 11, 2019 for faculty to...

Posted: November 11, 2019, 2:46 PM

Improved accessibility support for Ultra courses in November

Light update also features new icons throughout Ultra system

As a fully redesigned system, Ultra benefits from an intentional focus on accessibility and mobile responsiveness. In addition to extensive checks to meet accessibility standards, Ultra includes...

Posted: November 5, 2019, 9:52 AM

Open Educational Resources Support Student Access, Equity

Faculty share OER experiences, use cases, resources

One in four students take some of their courses online, and two-thirds do so at a public institution (Allen, Seaman, Pouline, & Straut, 2016). In early November, UMBC celebrates National...

Posted: October 30, 2019, 8:25 AM

National Distance Learning Week 2019 Lunchtime Series

Learn about ADP, Ultra, Panopto, Ally, accessibility, OERs

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 16, 2019, 12:20 PM