Last year, the Instructional Technology team held UMBC’s first TechFest. TechFest is designed to bring together UMBC students, faculty, and staff to share their favorite technologies with the campus community through workshops and presentations.
There are two types of sessions that will be offered at TechFest 2017:
Workshop Session (35 minutes)-Presenter(s) provide a brief overview of the instructional technology and offer information based on best practices and use. Participants are provided with at least three take aways implementing use of the technology.
Power Session (70 minutes)-Presenter(s) provide a more in-depth overview of the instructional technology and offer information based on best practices and use. In Power Sessions, participants are given the opportunity to explore the technology through "hands-on" activities.
Deadlines and Notifications
Proposals must be submitted no later than 5pm on FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10 by completing this Google Form. Applicants will be notified about acceptances approximately two weeks after the submission deadline. Selection will be based on how well the proposal connects to the themes, goals, and overall contribution to TechFest.
Mark your calendars: TechFest 2017 will be held on Monday, April 10, 2017. More details are forthcoming. Sign up here to be notified when registration opens for this event.
For more information, please contact Holly Owens at holly3@umbc.edu or Collin Sullivan at csulli1@umbc.edu.
A popular request from faculty is a tool to track student attendance. Many instructors who teach large classes use clickers to assign points for student engagement as a proxy for attendance. However, this method isn’t always conducive for smaller classes.
A new feature to UMBC’s Blackboard site, Qwickly Attendance enables faculty to take attendance that is automatically graded in the Bb Grade Center. Faculty can take attendance using a list on screen or allow students to check in on their own browser, validated by a PIN, during a countdown period set by the instructor.
Perhaps the most appealing feature of Qwickly Attendance is the grade center integration. If set up by the instructor in the Blackboard course shell, Qwickly Attendance will automatically create one grade center column and keep a running grade for each class for the whole semester or per session.
Earlier in the FA2016 semester, 30 courses piloted Qwickly Attendance. In a survey taken after the pilot, faculty who used the tool said it allowed them to focus more on teaching than attendance. Faculty also said the tool encouraged students to be more accountable for their own attendance since they can check their attendance record if the link is added to the course menu. The tool can also send a customizable email to students when they are marked as absent for the day.
Qwickly Attendance is a new tool at UMBC. Instructional Technology provides training during the Skill Builder Boot Camp as well as the Skill Builder Course Management workshop.
For more information about Qwickly Attendance:
Review the Qwickly Attendance FAQs or visit our extensive FAQ collection
Request a consult with a member of the instructional technology team
Blackboard engineers will perform a system upgrade and maintenance on Monday morning, December 26, 2016, from 6:30 AM to 6:30 PM. Blackboard will be offline during this period.
The downtime window will allow UMBC to update all courses to the new Blackboard Collaborate interface, which uses a new browser-based option. More than 900 faculty, staff, and students have tested the new “Ultra Experience” in Blackboard Collaborate since SU2015.
Collaborate with the Ultra Experience opens right in a web browser, so users do not have to install any software to join a session. The tool supports a basic whiteboard, PDF and PowerPoint file sharing, audio/video conferencing, breakout rooms, and polling. Two new roles, Presenter and Captioner, are now included. The Captioner role allows faculty to provide accessible alternatives to audio content for participants who are hearing impaired, as well as for participants whose native language is different from the moderator. The Participant role is designed to allow students to present without giving them full moderator privileges.
Additionally, UMBC students will enjoy the new Bb Student mobile app. The Bb Learn mobile app will be retired at end of 2016 and we encourage UMBC students who wish to access their Blackboard courses via mobile device to download and use the Bb Student app instead. UMBC students can download the Bb Student app for free from the Apple, Google, and Microsoft app stores.
Finally, support for competency-based learning allows instructors to align program objectives to evidence-based assessments. In the future, instructors and students will enjoy improved workflows such as drag & drop files, assignment submission receipts, and assignment reminders for missed work. New course activity reports will also be available for large enrollment courses with filters for groups.
In preparation for this downtime:
Instructors: If you need access to your gradebook during the downtime, please review this FAQ for information on downloading a copy of the Blackboard Grade Center to Excel.
After Blackboard is back online, please clear your Internet browser cache and cookies before logging in using these step-by-step instructions.
The UMBC Blackboard team identified a time period that should have a reduced impact on our users. If our Blackboard site is down longer than expected due to unforeseen circumstances, updates will be posted to this news article. We appreciate your patience as we continue to improve our systems to bring you a better Blackboard experience.
For more information about Instructional Technology:
Follow our Instructional Technology group page
Visit our FAQ collection
Open an RT ticket
Request an appointment with an instructional technology specialist
Concerned about Mother Nature's icy influence this winter? New to UMBC or teaching with Blackboard? Need to refresh your skills? Interested in an existing technology or resource?
The Skill Builder Boot Camp is a comprehensive 2-day workshop to provide hands-on training in core components of Blackboard and supporting technologies (Bb Collaborate, TechSmith Relay, etc.) available to faculty at UMBC.
Learn more about academic continuity with instructional technology tools
Follow our Instructional Technology group page
Visit our FAQ collection
Open an RT ticket
Request an appointment with an instructional technology specialist
Blackboard course shells for WT/SP2017 were created on November 29, 2016.
Bb shells are available for all courses (designated as lecture, lab, field or discussion) listed in the UMBC Schedule of Classes (SOC), provided that there is an instructor of record listed. As new course sections and/or instructors are added to the SOC, corresponding Bb shells are automatically generated overnight. If you need a shell for a research or independent study course, please submit a new course request.
Instructors who teach multiple sections of the same course will find those enrollments merged into one Bb course shell. These sections can be split upon request by an RT ticket. Student enrollment in Bb mirrors the official registration in SA and updates hourly. However, courses are not accessible to students by default until the instructor makes them available.
If you are an instructor, and your name is not associated with the course you are teaching in the SOC, please see your departmental scheduling coordinator to resolve the issue. Once you are listed in the SOC, your Bb course shell will be created automatically. If not, please submit a support request by an RT ticket.
]]>During the summer of 2016, Blackboard archived our complete site, which saved individually backed-up copies of every course and organization through SP2016. As previously announced, courses from AY12-13 and AY13-14 will be retired by the end of SU2017. This includes the following terms:
Any courses older than five years
Fall 2012
Winter 2013
Spring 2013
Summer 2013
Fall 2013
Winter 2014
Spring 2014
Summer 2014
Additionally, any organization 2.5 GB in size or larger will also be retired. Community leaders with large archives will be contacted for migrating content to UMBC Box. If those organizations need to continue with a Blackboard presence, they will be recreated with a fresh shell upon request.
The Blackboard system’s overall performance and efficiency will improve by removing files and database transactions from the content server and database. AY14-15 and AY15-16 will remain on the server. Finally, as of FA2016, we now begin a new academic year of data retention (AY16-17).
Is my content gone forever?
No, Blackboard archived courses captured all course data, files, student submissions, discussions, grades, etc. through SP2016. These archives will reside on a secure drive with the Division of Information Technology.
Can I save a copy of my own courses?
Yes -- and we certainly encourage it. Instructors canexport (course content) and/or archive (course content & student data) their courses. You should alsodownload a copy of your grade book. We recommend saving these files to your UMBC Box account to ensure long-term access in the event you change computer systems.
How long will you keep the retired courses?
We will keep the retired courses for 2 years after Blackboard archives the courses. Faculty who may need content beyond 2 years should plan to save copies of their exported courses to UMBC Box.
As always, if you have any questions, please consider the following options:
Follow the Instructional Technology & DoIT myUMBC groups
Request a consult with a member of the instructional technology team
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 tab inside Blackboard or directly at www.umbc.edu/blackboard/help. You can also contact the Technology Support Center at 410.455.3838 or submit an RT (Request Tracker) ticket via the myUMBC Help Menu or directly at my.umbc.edu/help.
HEADLINES:
Blackboard & Instructional Technology
Training & Professional Development
Other DoIT News
As always, if you have any questions, please consider the following options:
Follow the Instructional Technology & DoIT myUMBC groups
Request a consult with a member of the instructional technology team
Introduced in early 2016, Skill Builder workshops are designed for faculty who need to learn how to use core components of Blackboard & other supporting instructional technologies at UMBC. Skill Builder workshops are also useful for faculty who want to refresh their skills. The workshops are typically delivered monthly during the semester. However, we are introducing a new, all-inclusive format for instructors who would like to complete all Skill Builder workshops in one setting.
What is the Skill Builder Boot Camp?
The Skill Builder Boot Camp is a comprehensive 2-day workshop to provide hands-on training in Blackboard, Bb Collaborate, TechSmith Relay, Box, and other essential tools. The focus is on the technical function of the tools with some best practices; the pedagogical application of these tools in actual course design and instruction is emphasized in greater detail through the Course Designer track.
Throughout the Skill Builder Boot Camp, faculty will be given hands-on time to apply what they’re learning into their own Blackboard courses. Lunch will be provided both days. Upon completion of the Skill Builder Boot Camp, faculty will also receive a certificate.
Giving Feedback on the Skill Builder Boot Camp
We are collecting faculty feedback with a brief 2-question survey to gauge interest in the Skill Builder Boot Camp and to identify the ideal time period for scheduling the first event. Additional feedback may be emailed to Mariann Hawken at mariannhawken@umbc.edu.
Learn more about the Skill Builder track and the complete Alternate Delivery Program, including Course Designer and Quality Booster tracks.
]]>If you have questions, please email the Instructional Technology team at instructionaltechnology@umbc.edu. See you at the workshops!