FA2025 Instructional Technology Update

Tue, 12 Aug 2025 12:46:36 -0400
doit-news, fa2025

The UMBC Instructional Technology Update is provided by the Division of Information Technology for students, faculty and staff. If you have questions or need help, please consult the Blackboard Help FAQs or directly at www.umbc.edu/blackboard/help. You can also contact the Technology Support Center at 410.455.3838 or submit an RT (Request Tracker) ticket via the myUMBC Help Menu or directly at my.umbc.edu/help.

HEADLINES

What’s New

Anthology announces retirement date for Blackboard Original Courses & Organizations

FA2025 Courses Created in Blackboard on July 16, 2025

New Online Form Available to Request Merge of Blackboard Course Shells

UMBC to migrate from Panopto to YuJa by March 2026

Meet AVA: Blackboard’s AI-Powered Virtual Assistant for Faculty

CourseArc offers new AI-supported features including image descriptions

New Voicethread login for campus access

Training & Professional Development (recording archive | view upcoming events)

New Faculty Orientation to Blackboard Ultra (8.12)

Getting Started with Google Meet (8.13)

Ultra Quick Start: Copy Content into Blackboard Ultra (8.14)

What's New in Ultra Courses for Teaching & Learning FA2025 (8.14)

Create Accessible Content with Google Office Tools (8.18)

Ally Course Reporting to Improve Accessibility (8.19)

What’s New About UMBC’s Blackboard Course Creation & Enrollment Process? (8.19)

Accessible Images: Basics of Alt Text & Decorative Images (8.20)

Poll Everywhere Course Management Features Training (8.20)

Create Accessible Content with Microsoft Office Tools (8.21)

New Faculty Orientation to Blackboard Ultra (8.21)

Ultra Essentials: Create Assessments in Blackboard Ultra (8.25)

In Case You Missed It: Recordings & Tips

Creating Accessible Content Series

Digital Accessibility Guidelines Checklist

Creating Accessible Documents (44:51)

Creating Accessible Presentations (31:24)

Creating Accessible Instructional Videos (45:19)

Course Prep Checklists

Tips to Wrap Up Your Blackboard Course for the Semester

Effective Practices for Delivering Blackboard Tests

Tips to Get Your Blackboard Course Ready for Next Semester

Other DoIT & UMBC News

Tom Penniston selected for prestigious Fulbright Award to advance learning analytics

Internet2 NET+ Honors UMBC’s Jack Suess with the 2025 Cloud Superhero Award

Security Updates:

Update your annual eduroam wifi Certificate

GlobalProtect VPN Authentication Change

How To Detect a Phishing Email

How to Get the Most Out of Webex