What’s New

Delegated Grading, Import Calendars Come to Ultra in June

Learn what’s coming to Ultra & Collaborate next month

The June update to Blackboard brings delegated grading to Ultra courses. Renamed “parallel marking” in Ultra, this feature is designed to minimize bias when paired with anonymous grading. Parallel...

Posted: May 30, 2019, 1:25 PM

Advancing Student Success with Open Educational Resources

Supporting the UMBC Mission and Vision

Using Open Educational Resources (OER) is not just about inexpensive textbook alternatives, it is about advancing student retention, grades, and graduation rates. Given UMBC’s Mission and Vision...

Posted: May 10, 2019, 11:22 AM

UMBC Blackboard Update: SP/SU2019

UMBC Blackboard Update is provided by the Division of Information Technology for students, faculty and staff. If you have questions or need help, please consult the Blackboard Help FAQs or...

Posted: May 9, 2019, 2:51 PM

10 Things Faculty Should Do in Blackboard & Why

Lessons learned from DoIT's "bird's eye view"

Dear UMBC Faculty, This year, we learned UMBC’s Blackboard usage is much different and (I think) better than most colleges and universities, but one of the things I still like to do with DoIT's...

Posted: May 8, 2019, 4:21 PM

"Follow-the-Sun" Webinar Series for Global Accessibility Day

Learn more about inclusive education & digital access

Founded in 2012, Global Accessibility Awareness Day is dedicated to driving conversations and building awareness on the importance of accessibility. The seventh annual Global Accessibility...

Posted: May 6, 2019, 1:48 PM

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