April Financial Webinars with Retirement Vendors Fidelity, Nationwide/MSRP, TIAA Join our retirement vendors for live and pre-recorded Financial Education sessions.  Topics include:

Fidelity
  • Take the First Step to Investing

Nationwide/Maryland Supplemental Retirement Plan (MSRP)
  • Did Someone Say...Taxes in Retirement?
  • Taming the Credit Monster

TIAA
  • The Power of Savings: Gaining financial insights for life
  • Paying Yourself: Income Options in Retirement
]]> Join our retirement vendors for live and pre-recorded Financial Education sessions.  Topics include: Fidelity Take the First Step to Investing Nationwide/Maryland Supplemental... https://my3.my.umbc.edu/api/v0/pixel/news/132262/guest@my.umbc.edu/97842373c9487d8975f6e9b452fd049f/api/pixel education retirement savings Training https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/training https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/019/bdb106a0560c4e46ccc488ef010af787/xsmall.png?1281010946 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/019/bdb106a0560c4e46ccc488ef010af787/original.png?1281010946 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/019/bdb106a0560c4e46ccc488ef010af787/xxlarge.png?1281010946 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/019/bdb106a0560c4e46ccc488ef010af787/xlarge.png?1281010946 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/019/bdb106a0560c4e46ccc488ef010af787/large.png?1281010946 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/019/bdb106a0560c4e46ccc488ef010af787/medium.png?1281010946 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/019/bdb106a0560c4e46ccc488ef010af787/small.png?1281010946 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/019/bdb106a0560c4e46ccc488ef010af787/xsmall.png?1281010946 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/019/bdb106a0560c4e46ccc488ef010af787/xxsmall.png?1281010946 Training https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/132/262/84c49626f7daebca811b981e8045a644/xxlarge.jpg?1680630669 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/132/262/84c49626f7daebca811b981e8045a644/xlarge.jpg?1680630669 https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/132/262/84c49626f7daebca811b981e8045a644/large.jpg?1680630669 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/132/262/84c49626f7daebca811b981e8045a644/medium.jpg?1680630669 https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/132/262/84c49626f7daebca811b981e8045a644/small.jpg?1680630669 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/132/262/84c49626f7daebca811b981e8045a644/xsmall.jpg?1680630669 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/132/262/84c49626f7daebca811b981e8045a644/xxsmall.jpg?1680630669 0 0 false Tue, 04 Apr 2023 13:57:10 -0400 April Training & Learning Opportunities Come learn with us!

Welcome to April and all the signs of Spring! With warmer days, members of our community spend more time outside and a vibrancy emerges along with the spring flowers. We are over halfway through the semester, with LOTS of great opportunities left to unite and learn together. April brings a focus on change, stress, and mindfulness. 

April is Stress Awareness Month. Instead of one Wellness Wednesday session, we will be holding a session each Wednesday in April (10:30-12:00) for an exploration of Stress Awareness: causes & impacts, stress management, stress at work, and creating a stress management plan. Come for as many as you are able.

Spring brings changes and transitions to our physical environment that we can see all around us. Change in our professional and personal lives aren't always as welcomed and our feelings about change can add to our stress. In April and May we lean into change and our reactions to it with two book discussion groups. First, we have a group based on the book Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Change, that is focused on "the human side of organizational change". This discussion is for managers and leaders and is led by Lynne Adams, CHRO, and Jill Wardell, Director of Workplace Learning, OD & Wellness. Second, we have a group based on the book Thriving Through Uncertainty: Moving Beyond Fear of the Unknown and Making Change Work for You. This group is for anyone wanting to learn more about moving through uncertainty and welcoming change. This discussion group is led by Melody Wright and Monique Conelius of the Workplace Learning, OD & Wellness team.

Mindfulness is a great resource to combat stress and uncertainty. Attached is a flyer announcing Community Mindfulness for Mental Health; mindfulness opportunities throughout April and May on Tuesdays and Fridays. These sessions are presented by a partnership between Human Resources and Retriever Integrated Health and are open to anyone in our community (students, faculty, staff). Registration for each session is individual, so sign up for those sessions that fit your schedule.

Other highlights this month include: two sessions of Violence Prevention: Behaviors of Concern; PMP Training for Supervisors; Effective Delegation; and Unconscious Bias.

Save the Date: 

HR WEEK is coming the week of May 8th! Join members of Human Resources for sessions throughout the week. Topics include: recruitment and retention; benefits; giving effective feedback; work-life balance; leading hybrid teams, payroll topics, and more! Everyone will also have the opportunity for a virtual meet and greet with all of the HR staff so you can put a face with the name.

Retriever Talks 2023 is coming in May! Save May 17th 10:00am-12:00pm with a reception following from 12:00-1:00. More info will be forthcoming.

Please share this information with all that we may be able to serve. 

Happy Learning!

Jill Wardell, Monique Conelius, and Melody Wright

UMBC Workplace Learning, OD & Wellness

 ]]> Welcome to April and all the signs of Spring! With warmer days, members of our community spend more time outside and a vibrancy emerges along with the spring flowers. We are over halfway through... https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/training/events Flyer https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/attachments/bfb80b235c06aafecffc0c8ece64d4b9/6a746452/news/000/132/205/5d62b2a1b238ccd332ca30b6714023d1/Community Mindfulness for Mental Health.pdf?1680537832 https://my3.my.umbc.edu/api/v0/pixel/news/132205/guest@my.umbc.edu/975e321ed0a754121d5a893caa4b99d9/api/pixel Training https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/training https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/019/bdb106a0560c4e46ccc488ef010af787/xsmall.png?1281010946 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/019/bdb106a0560c4e46ccc488ef010af787/original.png?1281010946 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/019/bdb106a0560c4e46ccc488ef010af787/xxlarge.png?1281010946 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/019/bdb106a0560c4e46ccc488ef010af787/xlarge.png?1281010946 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/019/bdb106a0560c4e46ccc488ef010af787/large.png?1281010946 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/019/bdb106a0560c4e46ccc488ef010af787/medium.png?1281010946 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/019/bdb106a0560c4e46ccc488ef010af787/small.png?1281010946 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/019/bdb106a0560c4e46ccc488ef010af787/xsmall.png?1281010946 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/019/bdb106a0560c4e46ccc488ef010af787/xxsmall.png?1281010946 Training https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/132/205/1139b09129edfd58d886e2e4fe3c8ff4/xxlarge.jpg?1680537584 https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/132/205/1139b09129edfd58d886e2e4fe3c8ff4/xlarge.jpg?1680537584 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/132/205/1139b09129edfd58d886e2e4fe3c8ff4/large.jpg?1680537584 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/132/205/1139b09129edfd58d886e2e4fe3c8ff4/medium.jpg?1680537584 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/132/205/1139b09129edfd58d886e2e4fe3c8ff4/small.jpg?1680537584 https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/132/205/1139b09129edfd58d886e2e4fe3c8ff4/xsmall.jpg?1680537584 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/132/205/1139b09129edfd58d886e2e4fe3c8ff4/xxsmall.jpg?1680537584 1 0 true Mon, 03 Apr 2023 17:56:15 -0400 Mon, 03 Apr 2023 17:56:54 -0400 Search Ultra content & set up multiple grade schema in April Updated functionality supports improved grading workflows
A grading schema provides a way for an instructor to establish how a grade is calculated and appears to learners. A schema takes points scored on an assessment and compares it to the chart, which is mapped according to specifications defined by the instructor. The default schema in Ultra courses is based on a points or percentage scale to a letter grade.

In early April, Ultra courses will support multiple grading schema, allowing faculty to add, copy and edit up to 100 different options in a course for how grades are calculated and appear to students. For example, if an assessment is a pass/fail or complete/incomplete, a grading schema can be created to support this scoring method. Items copied from other courses will keep their grading schema and when copying content and assessments, any configured schemas will also copy, even if not aligned to gradable items.

Image 1: Example of multiple grading schema
Image 1: Example of multiple grading schema

Another exciting update for Ultra courses is a new search function. Instructors and students can now search course content titles to find items in the course -- this includes folders, learning modules, Ultra Documents, file names, assessments, and discussions. When a user types a few letters, the course search function displays a list of matching items by title. Expanding the search results will provide more information related to the course item(s). Search will also check descriptions of items when this field is used in an Ultra course, but not the content of file attachments.

Image 2: Example of course content search
Image 2: Example of course content search

Additional updates to Ultra for April include:
  • Hotspot question enhancements include a circle-shape selector to mark the hotspot.
  • Clicking on a student's name will take the instructor to the Student Overview page to view the student's progress in a course from the Gradebook, Roster, Messages, and Discussions.
  • Several improvements for the grading process include sorting records by first or last name or grade., accessing items that need grading quickly on the submission page, and posting status.
  • Discussion enhancements include a new tab navigation for the student discussions, student activity, and grading.
  • Bb Annotate features improved formatting and editing such as font colors, bold, underline, and hyperlinks. Instructors can also edit existing comments.
The next update to our Ultra test environment will take place on April 11, 2023. Faculty who are interested in test driving new features before they are released to production should open an RT ticket to request early access. Additionally, our Ultra feature tracker is updated and now includes a filter for functional category (e.g., assessment, course management, grading) so you can sort only those items you might be interested in tracking the status. Please watch the FAQs, including the What's New with Ultra page, and myUMBC for additional information about Ultra. 

As always, if you have any questions about teaching, learning, and technology at UMBC, please consider the following options:
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Posted from Department of Human Resources Group

Link to post to join our online event: https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/hr/events/116691

April is National Financial Literacy Month and in preparation join the Human Resources Benefits Team, on Friday March 31st from 11am-12pm via WebEx, to learn about the Supplemental Retirement Account (401(k), 403(b), 457(b), etc.) options that are offered at UMBC.  

Topics covered will include:
  • Who to contact to get more information?
  • How to enroll, change or cancel contributions?
  • What other resources are available for financial education?
  • If already enrolled, how to manage account?
The Human Resources Benefits team looks forward to seeing everyone on 3/31/2023.

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DoIT and Student Disability Services hosted a "Candid Conversation on Enhancing Accessibility" on March 15th. The session highlighted ways that course accessibility benefits all students and results in inclusive learning and working environments. Student Disability Services and DoIT's Instructional Technology team collaborate to provide resources and support to enhance course accessibility. Proactively designing and teaching a course with accessibility in mind not only supports students with documented accommodations, but also supports Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles and best practices in course design. In the session panelists shared several key recommendations and resources that are available:

Key recommendations for course design and delivery


Accessibility Resources

In addition to the tools noted above, the following resources also support accessibility:


Technology Highlight: Class

UMBC will be piloting Class, a synchronous web conferencing platform built on Zoom's infrastructure. Class provides support for the following:


Office of Student Disability Services (SDS) 

  • Faculty Resources  
  • Enroll in the SDS Accommodations Support for Faculty Blackboard organization.
SDS's Accommodations Support for Faculty Blackboard organization provides faculty guidance on accessibility in Blackboard, captioning, testing accommodations, and remediating course content.

How to Enroll
  1. Open Blackboard:https://blackboard.umbc.edu.
  2. Next, use this link to self-enroll in the course. Note: You must have Blackboard open FIRST before using this self-enroll link or you will encounter an error.
  3. Once the self-enroll page loads, click submit to proceed. Image 1: Click submit to self-enroll in this training course.
  4. On the next page, click OK to confirm enrollment. 
  5. The course will be immediately available.


Connect with Student Disability Services

Michael Canale

Assistant Director, Office of Student Disability Services (SDS)

canale@umbc.edu

Student Disability Services

Email: disability@umbc.edu


Connect with Instructional Technology

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

Image description: virtual meeting showing participants, chat bubble, closed captions icon, and text with a transcript.

~ by Josh Abrams, Peter Ariev, and Michael Canale

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The March update to Ultra streamlines the grading interface for multiple attempts in a student's submission. This update reduces the number of clicks and pages, allowing instructors to quickly navigate between submissions. When switching, Ultra will display important information such as the attempt number, time and date of submission, file size, grade (if available) and a late indicator (if applicable). This update applies to both tests and assignments. 

Example of multiple attempts on submission page
Image 1: Example of multiple attempts on submission page

In addition to the January update where discussion posts may be deactivated based on due date, this month's update provides faculty with an option to modify a discussion and manually turn off student editing and commenting. Increased control over discussion activity provides faculty with more options to choose when and how discussions start and end in a course.

Another feature released in March is the ability to reschedule announcements with a new notification alert for students within the course. Some instructors were recreating announcements from scratch to generate the pop-up to help students see an announcement. With this update, instructors can now reschedule announcements by changing the show on and hide after fields to a future date.

Additional updates to Ultra for March include:
  • A PDF version of the SafeAssign originality report, including clickable sources. Additionally, infrastructure improvements were made to support peak usage.
  • Sorting controls in the Student List view, allowing instructors to sort by grade (low to high / high to low) in the Overall Grade column.
  • Sorting controls on the Anonymous Submissions page for an assessment to sort by grade (low to high / high to low) in the grade column for that assessment.
  • Improvements to the Course Activity page, accessed from the Analytics tab, helps helps instructors easily identify students who might be falling behind, select and message students.
The next update to our Ultra test environment will take place on March 7, 2023. Faculty who are interested in test driving new features before they are released to production should open an RT ticket to request early access. Additionally, our Ultra feature tracker is updated and now includes a filter for functional category (e.g., assessment, course management, grading) so you can sort only those items you might be interested in tracking the status. Please watch the FAQs, including the What's New with Ultra page, and myUMBC for additional information about Ultra. 

As always, if you have any questions about teaching, learning, and technology at UMBC, please consider the following options:
]]> The March update to Ultra streamlines the grading interface for multiple attempts in a student's submission. This update reduces the number of clicks and pages, allowing instructors to quickly... https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/instructional-technology/posts/130442 https://my3.my.umbc.edu/api/v0/pixel/news/131476/guest@my.umbc.edu/a0d39c777158d12ab4f27474fcafba25/api/pixel blackboard ultra-experience ultra-update Instructional Technology https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/instructional-technology https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/xsmall.png?1446126703 https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/original.png?1446126703 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/xxlarge.png?1446126703 https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/xlarge.png?1446126703 https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/large.png?1446126703 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/medium.png?1446126703 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/small.png?1446126703 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/xsmall.png?1446126703 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/xxsmall.png?1446126703 Instructional Technology https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/131/476/6a6dc6e53c8a4895f4c3b5b2ff2a20b2/xxlarge.jpg?1678115491 https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/131/476/6a6dc6e53c8a4895f4c3b5b2ff2a20b2/xlarge.jpg?1678115491 https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/131/476/6a6dc6e53c8a4895f4c3b5b2ff2a20b2/large.jpg?1678115491 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/131/476/6a6dc6e53c8a4895f4c3b5b2ff2a20b2/medium.jpg?1678115491 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/131/476/6a6dc6e53c8a4895f4c3b5b2ff2a20b2/small.jpg?1678115491 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/131/476/6a6dc6e53c8a4895f4c3b5b2ff2a20b2/xsmall.jpg?1678115491 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/131/476/6a6dc6e53c8a4895f4c3b5b2ff2a20b2/xxsmall.jpg?1678115491 1 0 true Mon, 06 Mar 2023 11:40:29 -0500 Mon, 06 Mar 2023 11:40:44 -0500 March Training & Learning Opportunities Come learn with us!
Happy March everyone! The signs of spring are already showing up in our natural environment! (Spring Equinox=March 20th)

In March,  many of our learning experiences focus on building and maintaining professional relationships.  We offer curated sessions on team building, relationship building and mentoring, as well as our own session on the Performance Management Process for Supervisors. 

March Training Calendar
Attached is a PDF of our March Training Opportunities. This PDF has links to register for each of the events listed. We look forward to seeing you at many of these events to engage you in our community of learning.
A few events of particular note in our March calendar are: 

March is Women’s History Month! The USM Women’s Forum is hosting a webinar on March 15th entitled The Power of Mentoring. This exciting panel discussion of women leaders explore the effect of mentoring and career development. 

Current events led to many requests for Active Assailant Preparedness Training. We have two sessions scheduled, one on March 6th and one on March 15th with John Schaible, UMBC’s Emergency Manager. The Faculty Development Center has two sessions planned as well. Please register for only one session as the presentation will be the same for all sessions. As seats fill, we will assess if more sessions are needed. 

We have revamped our PMP Training for Supervisors and are holding our second session on March 14th with Michale S. Tallon, Director of Employee/Labor Relations. If you are a new supervisor looking for training in anticipation of giving your first PMP, or a seasoned manager looking for a refresher, this is the training for you! If the session is full, please reach out to hrtraining@umbc.edu and we will let you know when more sessions are scheduled. 

Looking ahead to April, our focus on preparing supervisors and staff for the performance management process continues with curated webinars on Strategies & Tactics to Navigate Difficult Conversations on April 5th and Workplace Wellness that Works for Everyone on April 12th. April is also Stress Awareness Month. We will be offering a series on Stress Awareness and strategies to identify, manage, and overcome stress in our work and home lives. More on that coming up!

Please share the attached flier with all that we may be able to serve. 

Happy Learning!

Jill Wardell, Melody Wright, and Monique Conelius 
UMBC Workplace Learning, OD & Wellness

]]> Happy March everyone! The signs of spring are already showing up in our natural environment! (Spring Equinox=March 20th) In March,  many of our learning experiences focus on building and... https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/training/events Flyer https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/attachments/495e809bf2b2287ca06a8ba48d88fee3/6a746452/news/000/131/383/42abb461b5a51fb0d354de2ba3c42c1a/March 2023 WLODW Flyer.pdf?1677776532 https://my3.my.umbc.edu/api/v0/pixel/news/131383/guest@my.umbc.edu/1dd30218c4700e666f03b8076e54e29a/api/pixel Training https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/training https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/019/bdb106a0560c4e46ccc488ef010af787/xsmall.png?1281010946 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/019/bdb106a0560c4e46ccc488ef010af787/original.png?1281010946 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/019/bdb106a0560c4e46ccc488ef010af787/xxlarge.png?1281010946 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/019/bdb106a0560c4e46ccc488ef010af787/xlarge.png?1281010946 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/019/bdb106a0560c4e46ccc488ef010af787/large.png?1281010946 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/019/bdb106a0560c4e46ccc488ef010af787/medium.png?1281010946 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/019/bdb106a0560c4e46ccc488ef010af787/small.png?1281010946 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/019/bdb106a0560c4e46ccc488ef010af787/xsmall.png?1281010946 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/000/019/bdb106a0560c4e46ccc488ef010af787/xxsmall.png?1281010946 Training https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/131/383/59ecabf136a5accaae22401d1e9b5359/xxlarge.jpg?1677771690 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/131/383/59ecabf136a5accaae22401d1e9b5359/xlarge.jpg?1677771690 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/131/383/59ecabf136a5accaae22401d1e9b5359/large.jpg?1677771690 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/131/383/59ecabf136a5accaae22401d1e9b5359/medium.jpg?1677771690 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/131/383/59ecabf136a5accaae22401d1e9b5359/small.jpg?1677771690 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/131/383/59ecabf136a5accaae22401d1e9b5359/xsmall.jpg?1677771690 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/131/383/59ecabf136a5accaae22401d1e9b5359/xxsmall.jpg?1677771690 1 0 true Thu, 02 Mar 2023 13:09:40 -0500 Call for Proposals: Blackboard's Digital Teaching Symposium Submissions due September 18, 2023 Do you have a digital teaching best practice or experience to share with other educators? What strategies help educators excel and thrive in a shifting higher education landscape?

Blackboard/Anthology is looking for presenters to share their experiences with faculty, lecturers, academic technologists, and instructional designers at the Spring 2023 Digital Teaching Symposium, a fully-online, one-day conference. Examples of topics include:

Innovations in Teaching and Learning  
  • AI/VR/Metaverse  
  • Digital citizenship  
  • Teaching tools
  • Practical strategies to motivate and retain online learners to increase retention and graduations rates  
  • Low-cost (or free) apps/platforms to enhance teaching
  • Data & Analytics  
  • DEI/Accessibility 

Digital Teaching Strategies 
  • Student engagement 
  • Faculty Training 
  • Discipline specific strategies (science, math, psychology) 
  • Applications for student clubs and organizations 
  • Assignments, alternative assessments, course design 
  • Pedagogy 
  • Evaluation & feedback 

Teaching in Ultra 
  • Transitioning to Ultra 
  • How to organize information in Ultra
  • Built-in tools such as journals, quizzes, discussions, etc. 

If you are interested in presenting, please fill out the online form to submit your proposal. The deadline is Tuesday, March 14 at 5 p.m. ET.
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Instructional Technology is pleased to offer the following Ultra workshops in March:

March 2 (12 PM) - Ultra Essentials IV - Tests & Assignments

March 7 (12 PM) Ultra Essentials V - Grading & the Gradebook

March 13 (12 PM) - Ultra Course Orientation for Faculty, TAs & Course Builders

March 17 (12 PM) - Deliver Effective Assessments with Ultra Question Banks

March 29 (12 PM) - Ultra Design Clinic

All Ultra workshops except the drop-in design clinic are recorded with at least 2 participants in attendance. 

Register via myUMBC or request a topic via RT.

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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

]]> Instructional Technology is pleased to offer the following Ultra workshops in March: March 2 (12 PM) - Ultra Essentials IV - Tests & Assignments March 7 (12 PM) Ultra Essentials V - Grading... https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/instructional-technology/posts/131274 https://my3.my.umbc.edu/api/v0/pixel/news/131274/guest@my.umbc.edu/6d40ec9301d543f14a8b8a77afa47526/api/pixel blackboard hawken training ultra-experience ultra-migration ultra-update Instructional Technology https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/instructional-technology https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/xsmall.png?1446126703 https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/original.png?1446126703 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/xxlarge.png?1446126703 https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/xlarge.png?1446126703 https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/large.png?1446126703 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/medium.png?1446126703 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/small.png?1446126703 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/xsmall.png?1446126703 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/xxsmall.png?1446126703 Instructional Technology https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/131/274/f604eb94ba227e6a9a05b84168ddffc5/xxlarge.jpg?1677519615 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/131/274/f604eb94ba227e6a9a05b84168ddffc5/xlarge.jpg?1677519615 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/131/274/f604eb94ba227e6a9a05b84168ddffc5/large.jpg?1677519615 https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/131/274/f604eb94ba227e6a9a05b84168ddffc5/medium.jpg?1677519615 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/131/274/f604eb94ba227e6a9a05b84168ddffc5/small.jpg?1677519615 https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/131/274/f604eb94ba227e6a9a05b84168ddffc5/xsmall.jpg?1677519615 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/131/274/f604eb94ba227e6a9a05b84168ddffc5/xxsmall.jpg?1677519615 2 0 true Mon, 27 Feb 2023 12:52:21 -0500 Now available: Self-paced Ultra for Instructors course Resources, training & tips for your Ultra journey

Note: This self-paced course has been retired due to changes in available resources from Blackboard. We encourage faculty interested in Ultra training to access the following resources:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In support of the final completion of the Ultra migration by SP2025, Instructional Technology is pleased to offer a self-paced course, Ultra for Instructors. 


This course is designed to introduce instructors to Blackboard Ultra, including general navigation, content management and creation processes, assessment creation and settings options, and gradebook management. Ultra for Instructors should provide a starting point to help you design your courses in Blackboard Ultra and offers opportunities to apply what you're learning as you navigate the course. 

The course includes reference materials, links to resources, videos, and "Try It" activities to apply in your own Ultra courses. Depending on faculty interests, available time, and needs, the course can be approached in one of the following ways:


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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

.
]]> Note: This self-paced course has been retired due to changes in available resources from Blackboard. We encourage faculty interested in Ultra training to access the following resources: Attend... https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/instructional-technology/posts/131063 https://my3.my.umbc.edu/api/v0/pixel/news/131063/guest@my.umbc.edu/7a90f9bf65e6cffac6dc1febd1d041ce/api/pixel blackboard hawken self-paced training ultra-experience ultra-migration ultra-update Instructional Technology https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/instructional-technology https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/xsmall.png?1446126703 https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/original.png?1446126703 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/xxlarge.png?1446126703 https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/xlarge.png?1446126703 https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/large.png?1446126703 https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/medium.png?1446126703 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/small.png?1446126703 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/xsmall.png?1446126703 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/164/dec3b026b81ee6d890a8f82f75c94a2e/xxsmall.png?1446126703 Instructional Technology https://assets4-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/131/063/17e5302d75a7ad17845066107bb1dd73/xxlarge.jpg?1676904581 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/131/063/17e5302d75a7ad17845066107bb1dd73/xlarge.jpg?1676904581 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/131/063/17e5302d75a7ad17845066107bb1dd73/large.jpg?1676904581 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/131/063/17e5302d75a7ad17845066107bb1dd73/medium.jpg?1676904581 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/131/063/17e5302d75a7ad17845066107bb1dd73/small.jpg?1676904581 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/131/063/17e5302d75a7ad17845066107bb1dd73/xsmall.jpg?1676904581 https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/thumbnails/news/000/131/063/17e5302d75a7ad17845066107bb1dd73/xxsmall.jpg?1676904581 4 0 true Wed, 22 Feb 2023 12:02:43 -0500 Fri, 01 Dec 2023 10:57:51 -0500