What’s New

Student Preview & Question Banks Come to Ultra in May

Learn what’s coming to Ultra

A core feature in an Original Blackboard course, Student Preview is used by faculty to review the content and tool functionality in a virtual environment before releasing to students -- and it is...

Posted: May 2, 2019, 10:27 AM

SU2019 Courses Created in Blackboard on April 26, 2019

Blackboard course shells for SU2019 were created on April 26, 2019. The Ultra Course Preview setting is again enabled in SU2019 courses to allow faculty adoption. The Ultra Course Preview tool...

Posted: May 2, 2019, 10:25 AM

Free Webinar on Accessibility of Course Materials

Thursday, May 9, 2019 3:00 - 4:00 pm ET

The National Center on Accessible Education at CAST, Inc. is sponsoring a free webinar on accessibility. Free Webinar: Accessibility of Course Materials & Your University Thursday, May...

Posted: May 1, 2019, 9:59 PM

DoIT Welcomes Susan Biro as Online Learning Coordinator

I am pleased to announce that Dr. Susan Biro has accepted UMBC’s Online Learning Coordinator position in the Division of Information Technology (DoIT). She will start full-time on Wednesday, May...

Posted: May 1, 2019, 8:19 PM

UMBC Makes Major Investment in Instructional Technology

Phased rollout of Bb Ultra better supports campus e-Learning

Earlier this week the Provost and Deans agreed to a DoIT proposal to go forward with a broad investment in instructional technology support staff, software tools and training stipends for faculty....

Posted: April 4, 2019, 8:06 AM

Free Course on Web Accessibility beginning April 8, 2019

Learn first-hand how to remove the barriers to web content

Interested in web accessibility and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0) by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)? Here's a good opportunity to participate in a MOOC: Introduction...

Posted: March 15, 2019, 1:28 PM

Deadline Extended - M.O.S.T. High-impact OER Grant Program

Mini-Grant Program Call for Proposals - Submit by 3/22/19

The deadline to submit a proposal for the Maryland Open Source Textbook (M.O.S.T.) initiative 2019 High-impact OER Mini-Grant Program has been extended by one week to Friday, March 22,...

Posted: March 15, 2019, 1:17 PM

Improve Accessibility of Blackboard Course Content with Ally

Build inclusive environment for all student learning styles

To support UMBC’s ongoing commitment to a more inclusive campus, DoIT is pleased to introduce a new tool called Ally into Ultra courses to help improve the accessibility of course content in...

Posted: March 13, 2019, 11:35 AM

Learn the Basics of Inclusive Design for Online Education

Check out this Free Coursera MOOC!

Free Coursera MOOC - Learn the Basics of Developing an Inclusive & Accessible Course This 5 week course provides instruction and strategies to support you in developing a course that is...

Posted: March 11, 2019, 10:32 AM

TechFest & Ultra Early Adopter Raffle Winners Announced!

On Friday, March 1, 2019, DoIT's Instructional Technology Team held its 4th annual TechFest.  As part of TechFest, participants were asked to complete evaluation surveys for each of the three...

Posted: March 8, 2019, 10:09 AM