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New Faculty Orientation to Blackboard

New to Bb? Get your course ready for day 1 of the semester

Location

Online

Date & Time

August 17, 2023, 6:00 pm7:00 pm

Description

For new faculty who may be teaching with Blackboard (Bb) for the first time, getting started may feel overwhelming. During this orientation, Instructional Technology staff will review the basics of getting started with Bb Ultra to ensure your course is ready the first day of the semester. 

Topics covered during this session include: 
  • Convert your Blackboard course shell to Ultra
  • Content
    • Creating folders and modules
    • Uploading content 
    • Externally linking to cloud storage
  • Communication
    • Adding instructor contact information and communication expectations
    • Posting announcements and sending student emails
    • Creating discussion boards (including student introductions)
  • Gradebook
    • Creating assignments
    • Setting up a grade book to match your grading schema
Additionally, faculty who are more familiar with Blackboard and want to learn more about other UMBC-supported technologies can be enrolled in a self-paced, asynchronous course. This session will be facilitated by Josh Abrams, instructional design specialist, and Dr. Susan Biro, manager, online learning. 

To RSVP for this event, please click “Going” below and be sure to add the event to your calendar!

For instructors who have not yet received their myUMBC account and would like to attend, please email Susan Biro at sbiro@umbc.edu to register and receive a guest link.   

*Note: This session will only proceed with 10 or more registrants. 

The webinar will take place in a Blackboard Collaborate virtual conference room. Enter the webinar up to 10 minutes before the start time. Use the "Join Online Event" link above to join the session.


Prior to the event

  1. For the best viewing experience, we recommend using Chrome or Firefox, preferably the most recent updates to those browsers. Closing any unnecessary browser tabs will help conserve your bandwidth.  

  2. If this is your first time joining one of our webinars, please review the Bb Getting Started Guide or our Quick Start Guide for All Users. You will also find additional helpful information for using Blackboard Collaborate at our extensive FAQs.

  3. After joining the session, please configure your audio. Having trouble accessing Collaborate? Please see our Troubleshooting Audio Problems or Networking Issues for Collaborate guides.

This session will be recorded. If you are unable to attend and would like to receive a copy of the recording, please still mark "Going" on this event!