Four Blackboard course tools--ALEKS, Library Reserves, Pearson, and Qwickly--are undergoing updates, taking a significant leap forward by transitioning to the latest Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI) standards: LTI 1.3 and LTI Advantage. Each tool will be updated in late May. Please see below for information about each tool, where to find it, and new features.

ALEKS (McGraw-Hill)

The updated ALEKS Math tool will include enhancements to Blackboard gradebook synchronization and integrations with McGraw-Hill connect tools. Instructors will find ALEKS in the Blackboard Ultra Content Market and Original course content tools. 

Image 1. ALEKS Math Blackboard Content Market item.

Library Reserves

The Ares Library Reserves upgrade will allow instructors to link to their course reserves home, as before, but will also let instructors link directly to specific reserves items. This new feature supports module- and unit-based course organization by giving instructors more flexibility with content placement in Blackboard. Following the update, instructors will find the Library Reserves options in the Blackboard Ultra Content Market. Blackboard Original users will find the Library Reserves home link in course tools and the new deep link tool in Blackboard Original "build content" menu. Please see the Library Reserves FAQ for detailed information.

Image 2. Library Reserves Blackboard Content Market items.

Pearson

The new Pearson LTI 1.3 integration will enhance the Blackboard experience for Pearson MyLab, Mastering and Revel courseware. This update is scheduled to occur on May 25th. Note: This upgrade does not impact the "My Textbooks & Course Resources" links in courses using CMI materials with VitalSource, shown below for reference. If, in addition to VitalSource links, your course includes Pearson links, please see below for more details. 

Image 3. My Textbooks & Course Resources VitalSource Content Market item

In prior terms, instructors may have linked Pearson Content from the Blackboard Partner Cloud. Please do not replace existing links in Blackboard courses from prior terms, as we cannot retroactively link them to the new tool.

Image 4. Blackboard Partner Cloud Content Provider Links.

For Summer 2023 and Fall 2023 courses, instead of selecting the Pearson tool from the Blackboard Partner Cloud, please find the updated Pearson tool in the Blackboard Ultra Content Market and Original course tools. 

Image 5. New Pearson Blackboard Content Market Links.

If you have any questions regarding your summer course and Blackboard, please submit an RT request. For CMI-related questions, please reach out to Jocelyn Ochoa-Garcia (ochoa1@umbc.edu) in the UMBC Bookstore.

Qwickly Attendance

Qwickly's upgrade offers improved integration with Blackboard to support the security requirements of LTI 1.3. This transition to LTI 1.3 should not affect current or existing courses, and existing settings should remain the same. Qwickly will remain available in the Blackboard Ultra Content Market and Original course tools.

Image 6. Qwickly Attendance Blackboard Content Market item.

Connect with Instructional Technology

As always, if you have any questions about teaching, learning, and technology at UMBC, consider the following options:

• PIVOT |Academic Continuity |Student Technology Resources

• What's new in Ultra? |Known Issues 

• Open a ticket via RT

• Follow the Instructional Technology & DoIT myUMBC groups

• Request a consult with instructional technology staff

UMBC is committed to providing a consistent learning experience for everyone. The last day we will support Blackboard Original is December 31, 2024. Please check out our training and support:umbc.edu/go/ultra

Post thumbnail: Blackboard Icon (decorative)

1. Student Success and Retention: The grants welcome proposals that explore the relationships between activities and learning in one course and outcomes in other courses. By investigating these connections, instructors can gain insights into strategies that can improve student success and retention rates. This research is particularly crucial for courses with low success rates, critical progression points, or those imparting fundamental skills required for success in the major or program.
2. Faculty Development and Support: Recipients of the mini grants will receive a $2,000 professional development award, renewable annually, directed to their faculty member or department's PeopleSoft chart string account. In addition to access to warehouse data (REX), recipients will also receive support for Tableau, a powerful data visualization tool. Furthermore, participants will be expected to present a report at the conclusion of their project, and they will have the opportunity to engage with the LA Community of Practice. These grants also provide an opportunity for recipients to use their results to compete for the prestigious Hrabowski Innovation Fund award.

• Democratizing the Doer Effect: Using AI to Scale Learning by Doing (2/24/23)
• The Case of Test-Optional Admissions: A Pandemic Natural Experiment (3/3/23)
• How Analytics Informs UMBC's Strategic Planning (4/7/23)
• How Analytics Improved a Dept's Student Success & Enrollment (5/5/23)

As part of planned diversity, equity, and inclusion improvements from Blackboard, the first phase of pronoun support will display student pronouns in courses in time for summer 2023 courses. Providing this information within specific contexts of the course, particularly where engagement and collaboration occur, provides a means for instructors and classmates to address each other in ways that align with individual identity and expression. 

Pronouns are visible within many areas of an Ultra course including roster, discussions, groups, and gradebook. Pronoun support is limited in Original courses. Please review the list of locations where pronouns appear. 

Image 1: Example of Ultra discussion board with pronoun visible to all users 

The use of personal pronouns is an important aspect of self-expression and respect for one's identity. This feature helps foster a more inclusive and supportive learning environment for all students. Learn more about using pronouns (pdf).

How do faculty and staff select a pronoun to display in Blackboard? 

At this time, faculty and staff cannot choose a pronoun to display in Blackboard. Students may choose to indicate their pronouns via their myUMBC profile. This information is passed to Blackboard when a user's account is created or the pronoun is selected/updated. A pronoun is not required. If a pronoun is left blank, no information is passed to Blackboard in this field. 

How do I keep my pronouns private? 

Users control privacy by opting-in to pronoun selection in myUMBC. If no pronouns are selected, then pronouns are not displayed at all in Blackboard and other UMBC systems. 

How do pronouns pass over to third-party tools linked in Blackboard? 

At this time, pronouns are passed over with the user's name to Qwickly Attendance. Pronouns cannot be passed over with the user's name to third-party tools such as VoiceThread, Webex, among many others. While the major learning management systems all support pronouns, web conferencing tools and other engagement platforms have not developed support for this type of data. Some tools may allow users to rename themselves within the platform itself. 

If you need support: 

For technical questions about this feature, please open an RT ticket. 

For all other questions about inclusivity at UMBC: 

The Office of Equity and Inclusion (OEI) is responsible for promoting and coordinating the University's core values of inclusive excellence and equity, and has primary responsibility for managing UMBC's efforts related to Title IX, gender identity, and sexual orientation, as well as, other civil rights issues. If you are experiencing discrimination based on your gender identity or sexual orientation you can report it using OEI's online reporting/confidential referral form.

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UMBC is committed to providing a consistent learning experience for everyone. The last day we will support Blackboard Original is December 31, 2024. Please check out our training and support: umbc.edu/go/ultra

As UMBC gears up to fully adopt Blackboard Ultra by the Spring 2025 term, multiple training and support resources are available to help instructors become familiar with Ultra and successfully navigate the migration process. Ultra is designed with ease of use in mind, offering an intuitive interface and user-friendly features. Whether you are new to Ultra or need a refresher, many of these resources are designed to help leverage Ultra's innovative functionality. 

Training

Our training allows participants to learn directly from experts, ask questions, and gain insights in real-time. Instructional Technology offers Ultra Essentials, a series of five specific workshops tailored to various aspects of Ultra such as course design, assessment tools, grading, communication, and planning your migration roadmap. Other topics available include Ally and accessibility and deeper dives into tests and question banks, rubrics, managing groups, and supporting large courses.

Additionally, we offer: 

• Extensive recording archives for faculty to access training materials to revisit - Available Now

• Our What's New in Ultra for Teaching and Learning webinars provides the latest information about new features in Ultra - Offered in January, May, and August every year.

• A course migration and design guide to help instructors migrate their courses from Original to Ultra - Available in December 2023

Our training formats support the unique needs and preferences of the UMBC community including live webinars, faculty show and tell, and multi-model (e.g., hyflex). Typically scheduled during the lunch break, training can also be customized to meet department needs or schedules.

Support & Outreach

UMBC offers multiple options for getting help and staying informed. 

• Users can submit an RT ticket to address specific concerns or issues or browse the comprehensive FAQs for quick answers to common questions.

• Take advantage of virtual drop-in hours to receive real-time support. The Ultra Ambassadors program and Instructional Technology's consulting services also offer personalized guidance. 

• Monthly Ultra updates are posted to the FAQs and myUMBC to provide the latest information about enhancements and features. We also share effective practices for using Ultra and other instructional technologies.

• The DoIT News Bulletin, distributed via email, keeps the UMBC community updated on the latest news and development. You may observe contextual messages within Blackboard when you log in or mouseover certain areas or tools.

By leveraging these varied training, support, and outreach formats, the UMBC community remains informed, connected, and equipped to adapt to the evolving landscape of Blackboard Ultra as we progress towards full adoption in Spring 2025.

Blackboard course shells for SU2023 were created on April 27, 2023.

UMBC is committed to providing a consistent learning experience for everyone. The Ultra Course Preview setting is again enabled in SU2023 courses, which allows faculty to convert a new Original course to see what it looks like in Ultra and adopt Ultra. The last day we will support Blackboard Original is December 31, 2024. 

• Please review the release notes for the latest Ultra updates as well as feature parity charts -- more than 150 new updates and enhancements were added over the year including multiple grading schema, assessment exemptions, drag & drop improvements, course content search, hot spot and extra credit questions, student progress tracking, points-based gradebook and rubrics, question banks, and more! 
• Learn more about What's New in Ultra for Teaching & Learning on May 17, 2023.
• Enroll in our self-paced workshop, Ultra for Instructors, designed to provide a starting point to help you prepare your courses in Ultra.
• Have a question about Ultra? Ask an Ultra Ambassador!
• For all other resources about Ultra, please visit: umbc.edu/go/ultra 

Ally, an accessibility tool, is always enabled in all course shells. Ally automatically scans uploaded and created course content, then performs a series of steps to make that content more accessible. Please review the Ally FAQs for more information about the accessibility indicators on course content and alternative formats.

For faculty who will be teaching hybrid or online, the instructional technology team would like to share several resources to support online course development and instruction.

1. Choose from our PIVOT Solo lessons to refresh or enhance your online teaching preparation. Five key topics cover course organization, active learning, community building, assessment, and supporting students. 
2. Explore our Panopto folder for a wide variety of recorded webinars on various instructional technologies available at UMBC.

• 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 you and your Department Scheduling Coordinator believe you are correctly assigned as the instructor of record in the SOC and you do not see your course shell in Blackboard, please submit a Request Tracker (RT) ticket via my.umbc.edu/help.
• If you need a Bb 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 may be split upon request by an RT ticket, which we recommend submitting at least one week before the semester starts, if not as soon as courses are created in Blackboard. NOTE: Courses should not be split after student grade data and engagement activity is recorded since it will be purged as part of the separation process.

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 of record makes them available.

Connect with Instructional Technology

As always, if you have any questions about teaching, learning, and technology at UMBC, consider the following options:

• PIVOT | Academic Continuity | Student Technology Resources

• What's new in Ultra? | Known Issues 

• Open a ticket via RT

• Follow the Instructional Technology & DoIT myUMBC groups

• Request a consult with instructional technology staff