The film, "Mill Stories: Remembering Sparrows Point Steel Mill," co-produced by the UMBC New Media Studio and Maryland Traditions, has been named a Bronze winner by the 37th Annual Telly Awards. The Telly Awards is the premier national award honoring the finest film and video productions, groundbreaking web commercials, videos and films, and outstanding local, regional, and cable TV commercials and programs. The annual Telly Awards receive over 10,000 entries from all 50 states and 5 continents. 

After 125 years of operation, the Sparrows Point Steel Mill (Baltimore, Maryland) finally closed its doors in 2012. “Mill Stories” examines the importance of the mill from the perspectives of former workers and community members while connecting their story to the larger narrative of industrial boom and bust. The film seeks to amplify the voices of former workers as a means of helping to safeguard and promote the living heritage of the recently closed mill and its surrounding areas. Combining video interviews and archival images, the film tells the story entirely in workers’ own words, sharing their sacrifices, struggles, senses of community and identity. “Mill Stories” has been screened at over 20 international film festivals, academic conferences, and community events.

The film was co-produced by Bill Shewbridge and Michelle Stefano. Dr. Shewbridge is Professor of the Practice in the Department of Media and Communication Studies and Executive Producer of the New Media Studio. Dr. Michelle Stefano is Co-Director of Maryland Traditions, the folklife program of the Maryland State Arts Council, and Visiting Assistant Professor in American Studies at UMBC.

Image credit: Freepik

As the campus begins the migration to TurningPoint Cloud this summer, students who purchased and registered their clickers on Blackboard prior to March 1, 2016  will receive Turning Account license codes via their UMBC email. Students will use these license codes to create their Turning Accounts and register clicker information on Blackboard.

License codes will be sent out to students starting the week of May 23. The length of a student's license subscription is based upon the student’s enrollment status during the Spring 2016 semester (e.g., freshman, sophomore etc). Please see below for more information.

Once students receive their license codes, they will need to log into Blackboard to create a Turning Account and register their clicker information.

The updated clicker registration link will be available in Blackboard starting on May 26.

Students who have not previously purchased and/or registered a clicker on Blackboard will be able to buy a clicker bundle from the UMBC Bookstore.

If you have any questions or concerns, please visit our Clicker FAQ page and/or contact Holly Owens at holly3@umbc.edu.

Through a University System of Maryland partnership with the Online Learning Consortium (OLC), DoIT is pleased to offer an exceptional online training opportunity to UMBC full-time and part-time faculty.

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. Normally these workshop cost about $300 each, but our partnership provides a limited number of seats at no cost to UMBC faculty.

These workshops require a time commitment of 3-7 days on average with some lasting up to 3 weeks. All workshops are delivered online with either a synchronous or asynchronous component. A full list of workshop titles is available through this year.  

Below you will find a list of recommended workshops for the SU2016 semester. The workshop descriptions are linked in titles.

June 2016

• Designing Gamified Learning Environments, 6/6-6/12

• Creating Rubrics, 6/8-6/10
• Exploring Open Education Resources (OER), 6/8-6/10
• Facilitating Group Work Online, 6/20-6/26
• Creating Effective Presentations, 6/20-6/26
• Exploring Learning Analytics, 6/20-6/26
• ADA & Web Accessibility, 6/20-6/26

July 2016

• Creating Infographics for Learning, 7/11-7/17
• Designing a Flipped Classroom, 7/11-7/17
• Creating Effective Assessments, 7/25-7/31
• Giving Effective Feedback, 7/25-7/31
• Designing Courses with a Multimodal Approach, 7/25-7/31
• Supporting New Online Learners, 7/25-7/31
• Strategies to Improve Retention, 7/25-7/31

August 2016

• Intro to Mobile Apps & Tablets, 8/8-8/14
• Exploring ePortfolios, 8/8-8/14
• Exploring Competency Based Instruction, 8/8-8/14
• Creating an Interactive Syllabus, 8/8-8/14
• Creating Interactive Video Tools, 8/10-8/12
• Facilitating Group Work Online, 8/22-8/28
• Increasing Interaction & Engagement, 8/22-8/28

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. Sign up early -- some workshops fill up due to popular demand.

[Note: The Mastery Series workshops are not eligible for the coupon code.]

Grading & The Blackboard Grade Center