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)

Emerald Wilson of Largo, Maryland, was recently selected as the recipient of the 2023 Marilyn Demorest Love of Learning Award from The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi Chapter 22BC University of Maryland-University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UM-UMBC). 

Emerald was selected by the awards committee for her outstanding academic excellence and active participation within the university and the broader community.In particular, the committee was impressed by Meredith'sperseverance to succeed and to live life by the PKP Motto - Philosophia Kateito Photo - Let the Love of Learning Rule Humanity. Emerald is currently pursuing an MA in Learning and Performance Technology (LAPT).

Each spring, this chapter invites applications from its graduate student members. Two $500 awards will be distributed each year to the selected awardees. The Marilyn Demorest Love of Learning Award is bestowed in recognition of the many significant contributions made by Dr. Marilyn Demorest as a key founder and seminal leader of Chapter 22 UM-UMBC of Phi Kappa Phi.  Dr. Demorest's clear-eyed determination, detailed planning, and appreciation of both tradition and innovation infused the infant chapter with the carefully-built scaffolding needed for it to grow into the chapter we enjoy today.  Marilyn's dedication to PKP and her own love of learning are the foundation for this award.

Chartered in 2010, Chapter 22BC invites the top 10 percent of seniors and 7.5 percent of juniors for membership in Phi Kappa Phi. Graduate students in the top 10 percent of the number of candidates for graduate degrees may also qualify, as do faculty, professional staff and alumni who have achieved scholarly distinction.

More About Phi Kappa Phi
Founded in 1897 at the University of Maine, Phi Kappa Phi is the nation's oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines. The Society's mission is "To recognize and promote academic excellence in all fields of higher education and to engage the community of scholars in service to others." Since its founding, more than 1.5 million members have been initiated. Some of the organization's more notable members include former President Jimmy Carter, NASA astronaut Wendy Lawrence, novelist John Grisham and YouTube cofounder Chad Hurley. Each year, Phi Kappa Phi awards nearly $1 million to qualifying students and members through graduate fellowships, undergraduate study abroad grants, member and chapter awards, and grants for local and national literacy initiatives. For more information about Phi Kappa Phi, visit www.PhiKappaPhi.org.

A year after becoming the first team to win three consecutive crowns since UAlbany in 2006 – 2008, UMBC softball has permanently inked their place in the record books with their fourth-straight America East Championship win. The Retrievers are only the second softball team to win four consecutive America East titles, the last one being Hofstra in 1998 – 2001. 

Despite rainy conditions, the Retrievers defeated UAlbany for the second year in a row. Starting with a commanding lead in the first inning, the Retrievers never faltered and came out victorious with a 9-3 final score. 

“Winning never gets old,” says head coach Chris Kuhlmeyer. “Being able to watch this amazing group of high achieving women accomplish a four-peat—which is something that is very rare not just in our sport but across sports in general—was one of the most special things.”

During the annual NCAA Selection Show, it was announced that the Retrievers would be taking on No. 6 Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, OK on Friday, May 19 at 4 p.m. EST. 

More than a softball title

In addition to the team’s success as a whole, several players took home additional honors. Madison Wilson ’23, media and communication studies, was named the Championship’s Most Outstanding Player. She was also named to the All-Championship Team with Shanel Stott ’23, information systems; Macy Granzow ’24, mechanical engineering; and Kya Matter ’25, public health. 

Chemistry graduate student Courtney Coppersmith ’22, biochemistry and molecular biology, earned Pitcher of the Year honors for the fourth consecutive season, becoming the first student-athlete in America East softball history to do so. Overall, she became just the third America East student-athlete (in any sport) to win a regular season major award four consecutive years.

UMBC’s coaching staff, led by Kuhlmeyer, again holds the honor of Coaching Staff of the Year—a third consecutive award for leadership.

“Winning the America East Conference Championship in general is an incredible feeling, but going four-peat is indescribable,” said graduate student Karly Keating ’22, media and communication studies, currently pursuing her entrepreneurship certificate. “This team has worked so hard to get where we are at and we’re still only going up. The best part is being able to celebrate with such amazing people, not only my team but with my family as well.”

#RetrieverNation fans can catch the action on Friday by following @UMBCsoftball on Twitter. 

Story by Kait McCaffrey and UMBC Athletics.

Avi Newman, who is graduating from UMBC this spring, knows all too well about learning to navigate unexpected detours beyond his control. Managing the compounding effects of COVID-19, meant letting go of his original college plan and embracing much-needed time for self-care and reflection. It also meant asking for and accepting help from a network of faculty who were ready to listen, offer guidance and encouragement, and help him pursue his interests in new ways. 

Newman originally envisioned himself walking a straight line from College Signing Day to Commencement. Instead, he found that a zig-zagging seven-year path took him where he needed to go, and that his success was a collaborative process. One of his greatest sources of support was Songon An, associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry. 

“Avi came to my lab with great potential to become a biochemist. However, the COVID pandemic changed everything about his course of life,” says An. “I remember telling him that it’s OK to pause his undergraduate life and take advantage of such time to try out many different things, beyond academics, that he may find himself enjoying and feel rewarding.”

Newman began taking courses in a broader range of fields and is graduating with majors in biochemistry and molecular biology, biological sciences, and philosophy, plus minors. He has worked as a tutor, volunteered with a public health organization, and practices meditation to keep himself grounded. Accessing support gave Newman the confidence to rethink his assumptions about who he is now and who he wants to be.

“I think initially it was hard to come to terms with not graduating ‘on time,’ but after a while I realized that there’s no rush to life and that it was better for me to take my time and learn as much as I could,” says Newman. “I wanted to enjoy my time and take care of my mental, emotional, and physical health, which ultimately is much more important than rushing through things being excessively stressed.” 

Maneuvering daily challenges

Like Newman, Jennifer Boateng will soon cross the stage to accept her degree seven years after she enrolled at UMBC. Throughout her journey, she has kept a clear goal in mind: finding the best way to use her creative talent to support people who, like her, live with sickle cell disease, and similar challenges. 

Boateng found a perfect match in global studies, with a focus on creating multimedia content for humanitarian groups with a global audience. Pursuing this dream has meant adeptly maneuvering the complexity of living with sickle cell disease. Boateng completed research, taught herself her Final Cut Pro, wrote papers and lab reports, and attended classes both in person and at the hospital, virtually, as she received necessary care.

Boateng credits her positive and successful college experience to the long-term support of her friends and family as well as kindness and flexibility from UMBC faculty, staff, and peers. Her mentor Brigid Starkey, principal lecturer of political science and director of global studies, notes that the program worked closely with Boateng, especially over the last year, to strategize on how to finish her degree. 

“We worked on course selection and navigating academic appeals processes, and her disability rights,” says Starkey. 

With the moment she will turn her tassel in sight, Boateng and her mentors are looking toward what’s ahead. “Lately, my mentorship has involved talking to her about the future and where she may want to focus her efforts in the job market,” says Starkey. Boateng’s mentor is leveraging the department’s alumni network to connect her with career possibilities that will help her fulfill her vision.

Community support leads to success

Finding success through community support is familiar to many UMBC graduates. UMBC was the second university Victoria Joya Euceda attended, searching for a mentor who understood her story as a first-generation college student whose parents immigrated from Central America. At UMBC, she connected with  Yolanda Valencia, assistant professor of geography and environmental studies, and other supporters. Now, Joya Euceda ’23, geography and environmental systems, is heading to a Ph.D. in geography at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Beatriz Soriano Luna ’23, social work, transferred from Montgomery College to UMBC at the Universities at Shady Grove, where she became an integral member of a close-knit community. Valuing the mentorship of M. Nicole Belfiore, clinical instructor of social work, Soriano Luna herself mentored more than two dozen students as a peer advisor. She’ll next pursue a master’s degree through the University of Maryland School of Social Work.

This May, on College Signing Day (which celebrates students’ college decisions), Joel DeWyer, director of campus life operations, welcomed UMBC’s next incoming class in a video on Twitter, reminding them of the excitement that lies ahead and the support they can access along the way.

“College can be a nerve-wracking and anxious experience, right? So when you have a question, or when you are feeling uncertain, when you are feeling overwhelmed, do me one favor,” said DeWyer. “Find someone around you in your community and ask for help.”

He shared a message that Newman, Boateng, Joya Euceda, and Soriano Luna have worked to pass along to others: that support can be found everywhere at UMBC. “There’s people all around you who care about your success and we are here to help you,” said DeWyer. “So never, ever, be afraid to ask for help.”

Read more Class of 2023 stories.