About thirty faculty and staff attended two boot camps focused on the new Blackboard course interface before the FA2018 semester started.

Informed by a SP18 Ultra experience faculty pilot, the 2-day comprehensive workshops were offered in mid- and late-August to the campus community. Participants took a deep dive into the new Ultra Course View including its basic course building features, changes to communication and engagement tools, updates to tests and assignments, and improvements to the Ultra gradebook. The boot camp also reviewed the course conversion process using the Ultra Course Preview and compared faculty options for converting an original Blackboard course to Ultra or redesigning using the new tools. “Regardless of your experience, you walked away with what you needed to get started,” said one instructor. 

Initial feedback from faculty was positive with participants citing Ultra's clean and simplified workflows, and the Ultra Experience continues to evolve with monthly innovation and enhancements. Several faculty opted to fully use the Ultra Experience this semester in five courses and to evaluate the new interface with another eight courses.

For more information about the new Blackboard course interface, please see the additional events posted to the Instructional Technology group at myUMBC:

• Skill Builder workshops on specific topics 
• Monthly Ultra Experience orientation sessions 
• Walk-in support clinics

As always, if you have any questions, please consider the following options:

Through a University System of Maryland partnership, DoIT has offered online training to UMBC full-time and part-time faculty via the Online Learning Consortium (OLC) over several years. UMBC remains a member of the Online Learning Consortium, but the partnership providing access to a large number of workshop seats is ending.

The OLC workshop format utilizes proven teaching strategies and learning activities while modeling best practices for online and hybrid learning. Participants engage with experienced instructors and collaborate with peers via synchronous (live) and asynchronous environments. Workshops are delivered online over 3-7 days. Faculty can take workshops through the end of the year, but registration must be completed by February 23, 2018. We have 100 seats remaining.

The following list identifies workshops and when they will be offered each semester. The workshop descriptions are linked in titles with the dates. If more than one date is available, it will be listed at the bottom of the description page.

Additionally, OLC offers three self-paced workshops with 365-days of access.

• Strategies for Increasing Interaction & Engagement 
• Giving Effective Feedback 
• ADA & Web Accessibility 

Finally, faculty who complete all four of OLC workshops on the topic of Accessibility and Universal Design for Learning in 2018 may receive a digital credential from OLC. The specific workshops are: 

• Fundamentals: ADA & Web Accessibility 
• Designing with Accessibility in Mind 
• Strategic Planning for Web Accessibility
• Applying Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Principles to Online Courses to Increase Accessibility and Engagement 

To register for a workshop, please open an RT ticket. Be sure to include the name of the workshop you would like to attend and the date(s). Instructional technology staff will assist with your registration, answer any questions you may have about the experience, etc. Please request your registration by Friday, February 23, 2018.