Used by more than 5,000 students, UMBC has standardized its student response system, or “clickers,” on the Turning Technologies  platform. This systems supports instant student feedback to questions posed by faculty in the classroom, which can be integrated into PowerPoint presentations or faculty can asked questions on the fly. The results display of all student responses and allows the instructor to tailor instructor based on what students do (or don’t) understand before moving on to new content. Turning Point  also integrates with Blackboard so that instructors can access participant list of registered users and send grades to the gradebook. Using the clickers is a great way to engage your students and assess their knowledge of course content.

To learn more about using the Turning Point Clickers:

• visit our clickers  FAQ page  

• open an  RT ticket  for any technical issues

• view the schedule of training workshops on the  DoIT group page

• contact  the Instructional Technology Team with any questions or concerns

UMBC students, faculty, and staff now have access to a new online collection of Baltimore photographs through UMBC’s Digital Collections. The Baltimore Collection, which includes approximately 96 photographs and negatives, represents contributions from various donors that have been compiled to showcase the rich history of our city.  The original photographs are available for view at Special Collections.

The Baltimore Collection features a wide range of images that capture prominent historical figures and events in Baltimore, as well as scenes from daily life in and around the city. These photographs offer a detailed and vivid look at life in Baltimore in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, highlighting memorable events that have shaped the city’s past and defined its landscape while showcasing the Baltimoreans who lived during this time.

Highlights  

Among the photographs in the Baltimore Collection are several images depicting the aftermath of the Great Baltimore Fire, which took place on February 7 and 8, 1904. Nearly 86 city blocks and over 1500 buildings were destroyed during the fire. Images in the collection portray the extent of the fire’s damage, from crumbling foundations of former buildings to wide expanses of city streets that have been reduced to piles of rubble.

 The Baltimore Collection also features images of the Baltimore Sesqui-Centennial in 1880, which celebrated the 150^th anniversary of the founding of Baltimore. The photographs show streets and buildings throughout Baltimore, including the Washington Monument in Mount Vernon Place and the Baltimore Sun Building, decorated with flags, banners, and commemorative arches.

In addition to images of historic events and daily life, the Baltimore Collection also contains negatives of the iconic Edgar Allan Poe. These images include portraits and magazine photographs of Poe as a younger man and later in life. The collection also features photographs of Poe’s memorial grave in the Westminster Burying Ground in Baltimore.

Access the digital images of the Baltimore Collections here to learn more about the people, places, and events that have shaped Baltimore’s history!

UMBC’s Special Collections is also open to the public by appointment in the summer and as well as Monday through Friday from 1pm-4pm, with extended hours on Thursday until 8 pm during the semester. 

This post was written by Special Collections & Reference student assistant Sarah Klimek.  Sarah helped to digitize, create metadata, produce contextual information for the collection, make the landing page, and publicize it all while volunteering in Special Collections during spring 2015. Thanks, Sarah!

The University of Maryland Baltimore (UMB) is sponsoring the University System of Maryland-wide Dissertation House at the PROMISE Summer Success Institute, August 13-15, 2015. All participants will work on their dissertations on Thursday evening, and all day Friday, and will attend activities for the #ThinkBigDiversity 2015 PROMISE Summer Success Institute on Saturday, August 15, 2015.

All events will be held at The Hotel at Arundel Preserve. As part of the Dissertation House, and as a transition to the events for the Saturday PROMISE SSI, there will be a special evening dessert session and book discussion: Sisters in the Dissertation House on Friday night, hosted by book author Dr. Jennifer Bacon, and led by Dr. Shanna Smith.

For more information about the Dissertation House, and to apply for this opportunity to work on your dissertation, visit the 2015 USM-side Dissertation House page on the website for the Dissertation House:

https://dissertationhouse.wordpress.com/2015/06/25/dissertation-house-at-the-2015-promise-summer-success-institute-ssi-aug-13-15/

All participants must apply for the Dissertation House using the link above, *AND* register for the #ThinkBigDiversity PROMISE 2015 Summer Success Institute.

University System of Maryland (USM) Dissertation House at the PROMISE Summer Success Institute – August 13-15, 2015

The University of Maryland, Baltimore  and PROMISE Maryland’s AGEP are sponsoring a system-wide Dissertation House for graduate students in STEM programs.  The writing and research retreat will take place at the Hotel at Arundel Preserve.   Lodging for 2 nights and meals are provided for student participants.   Twelve students from the USM system schools will be chosen to participate in this research and writing retreat.  http://www.thehotelarundel.com/

 2015 PROMISE SSI Dissertation House Schedule:

• Thursday 8/13, 3:00 PM Hotel Check-in
• Thursday 8/13, 5:00 PM Dissertation House Opening Session, Dr. Wendy Carter-Veale (Dissertation Coach) 
• Thursday 8/13, 6 PM – 7 PM:  Dinner Meeting
• Thursday 8/13, 7 PM – 12 midnight: Work Session #1
• Friday 8/14, 8 AM – 9 AM: Breakfast
• Friday 8/14, 9 AM – 9:15 AM: Welcome – Dr. Erin Golembewski (UMB)
• Friday 8/14, 9:15 AM – 10 AM: Mini Lecture –  Dr. Wendy Carter-Veale
• Friday 8/14, 10 AM – 12 noon: Work Session #2
• Friday 8/14, 12 PM – 1PM: Working Lunch
• Friday 8/14, 1 PM – 2PM: “Writing Lab” Seminar with Clancy Clawson of the UMB Writing Center
• Friday 8/14, 2 PM – 6  PM Work Session #3
• Friday 8/14, 6 PM – 7  PM Dinner Meeting
• Friday 8/14, 7 PM -12 midnight Work Session #4
• Saturday 8/15, 8 AM – 3 PM: PROMISE Summer Success Institute Program, includes #ThinkBigDiversity breakout session for “Continuing Students.”
• Saturday 8/15, HOTEL Late checkout (time TBA)

OPTIONS

• SSI Suite – Hotel at Arundel Preserve: Friday 8/14, 8:30PM – 10 PM: Sisters in the Dissertation House Book Discussion & Dessert Session –  Optional DH activity, part of the PROMISE SSI, open to others outside of the DH event (sponsored by the PROMISE AGEP, with DH Alumni Dr. Jennifer Bacon and Dr. Shanna Smith)
• Students who want to stay until Sunday are encouraged to book an extra night on their own for a Saturday night – Sunday stay: Guests can call the hotel’s main line and reference “PROMISE AGEP SSI 2015” or group code “3065” to book remaining group discounted rates: 410-796-9830, http://hotelarundel.com/
• Anyone who stays Saturday-Sunday will have the option to have additional one-on-one, or small group mentoring sessions with Dr. Renetta Tull, PROMISE Director. 

Eligibility for the SSI Dissertation House:

1) Enrolled in a STEM graduate program (based on the NSF-supported fields per the NSFGRFP) at one of the schools within the University System of Maryland

2) Underrepresented according to the NSF Definition for AGEP, U.S. Citizen

Per NSF.gov: AGEP is committed to the national goal of increasing the numbers of underrepresented minorities (URMs), including those with disabilities, entering and completing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) graduate education and postdoctoral training to levels representative of the available pool. URMs include African Americans, Hispanic Americans, American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders.

This event is part of the 2015 PROMISE Summer Success Institute. Following the Dissertation House (DH) sessions on Thursday and Friday, all DH participants will be required to continue participation in the PROMISE SSI on Saturday, August 15, 2015 at The Hotel at Arundel Preserve:

https://promiseagep.wordpress.com/2015/03/31/promise-summer-success-institute-ssi-august-15-2015/

All 12 participants will check in on Thursday, and check out on Saturday.

________________________________________________

TO APPLY: Follow the instructions outlined on the application page: https://dissertationhouse.wordpress.com/apply/

DEADLINE: Friday, July 24, 2015

________________________________________________

The host for the 2015 USM-wide Dissertation House will be the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB).

UMB’s Sr. Associate Dean of the Graduate School, Dr. Erin Golembewski, and the team from UMB (Coordinator –  LaNette Parson, Writing Center Coordinator – Clancy Clawson) welcome applicants from around the state to UMB’s 2015 PROMISE Dissertation House. As part of the PROMISE SSI Dissertation House structure, complimentary hotel lodging will be provided for DH participants. Students from western Maryland and the Eastern Shore, e.g., Frostburg University, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, and Salisbury University, are particularly encouraged to participate. Learn more about PROMISE at UMB:

http://www.graduate.umaryland.edu/Current-Students/PROMISE-Program/

________________________________________________

Dissertation Coach: Dr. Wendy Carter-Veale

We wanted to remind everyone that on Saturday June 13th around 8am we will be migrating the main campus website environment so it is running on new hardware and software. This past fall an emergency preparedness exercise was conducted by the campus and it became clear that in the event of an emergency one of our main methods of communications, the campus web server, would be unable to respond to the demands placed on it. The new web environment will be running a modern set of web protocols and the infrastructure will be able to scale and meet the demands of the campus moving forward.

To help prepare for this transition we have been working with OIA to test compatibility between the main website as well as some of the departmental websites hosted on the main campus web server. We have been working with various departmental web administrators throughout the campus to help make this transition as smooth as possible. 

If you notice any issues after the upgrade please either contact your department's web administrator or open a RT ticket at http://rt.umbc.edu.

Thank You