A wide range of technologies and resources are available to faculty at UMBC to support teaching and learning in various online or hybrid modes within Blackboard. Trends and tools evolve quickly, and DoIT recognizes faculty interest in exploring or using these newer technologies. Before implementing a new instructional technology tool for your course, there are a few key factors faculty should be take into consideration:

1. DoIT supports a robust catalog of approved LTI tools 

Blackboard supports third-party tools primarily through Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI) integrations. These integrations allow single-sign to content and services and improve instructor/student efficiency by streamlining usage and synchronizing grades.

Faculty can review the current list of our integrations here. 

2. Choosing an instructional technology tool doesn’t have to be overwhelming! 

Based on faculty and student feedback, DoIT recognizes a degree of "tool fatigue," and we want to be mindful of the total number of tools that students use across all of their courses. In turn, we recommend faculty leverage LTI tools already approved for use that fit a given pedagogical need rather than adopting non-approved tools, or attempting to find an instructional purpose for tools because they appear interesting. 

Unsure which tool is best to use and how to use it? Review this chart to compare your options, or request a consultation with an Instructional Technology Specialist. 

3. Be weary of cold emails or cold calls from vendors

DoIT staff has noticed a rise in cold calls and emails from vendors attempting to entice members of the community to adopt their tools. Sometimes vendors claim that the tool is already installed on our system, or that contacting central IT is not necessary. These messages can be misleading, spam, or potentially security threats. Also, all software must go through a security review to be considered for a site license. Please be sure to consult with Instructional Technology staff before implementing a new, third party tool through your Blackboard course.  

4. Faculty can request a new Blackboard tool integration

If there is a new or unique application for instruction that addresses a use case our existing tool suite does not, DoIT staff will work with faculty members and departments to install the tool appropriately. Requestors will need to review all of the information outlined in this FAQ to submit a ticket to prepare for installation of the tool as a Blackboard integration.  

Please note that DoIT reserves the right to reject the installation of a new tool based on a number of criteria including, but not limited to, the installation of the requested tool would be duplicative of existing tools, security and/or privacy concerns, cost, potential degradation of overall platform performance, and requirements for long-term support and maintenance.

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

Ease stress during the final weeks of your semester with our closing checklist. Leverage these Blackboard course tools to complete helpful and simple tasks for a successful semester conclusion. Each tip takes you through an important step in your closing checklist for your course.

1. Insert Automatic Zeros (Ultra only)

In your Ultra course, you can set the gradebook to automatically assign zeros for any missing work beyond the due date. This feature can be enabled any time in the semester. If enabled earlier, students can still submit work after a zero is assigned, if you allow late work, and you can grade the submission. Automatic zeros apply to assignments, tests, and discussions, but do not apply to offline assignments.

2. Download Your Gradebook (Original / Ultra)

As a matter of best practice, you should always download a copy of your gradebook after you are finished entering grades and submitting final marks to PeopleSoft, the official record. Remember, while your Blackboard gradebook is downloadable in CSV format, which can be opened in Excel or Google Sheets, it does not synchronize to PeopleSoft.

3. Download Student Submissions (Original / Ultra)

If you need to refer to student work after a class ends, it is faster to download the entire collection of student submissions to review at a later date rather than go back into your course and find the individual file for a specific assignment. You can download student submissions in bulk for both Original and Ultra courses.

4. Clean Up Your Course Files (Original / Ultra)

While a course export is created in Blackboard’s proprietary format, instructors can download and access course files uploaded to the Content Collection. Once these files are on your computer, you can review and remove duplicate or outdated documents, presentations, handouts, etc. Be sure to move media files (audio and video) to Panopto to optimize your students' streaming experience and keep your course quota healthy.

5. Export Your Course (Original / Ultra)

While your course to course preparations will leverage the course copy tool, it is helpful to have your own back-up of your course content. Generate an export at the end of the semester and save it in the cloud for your future reference. When courses are retired, you will already have a copy of your courses with syllabi, rubrics, handouts, presentations, etc. 

NOTE: If you do nothing else in your end of semester course wrap-up process, this is the most important tip!

6. Modify Course Duration (Original only)

By default, DoIT sets all Blackboard course shell durations to expire approximately 6 weeks after the end of a given semester. Some instructors change the duration of an Original course to continuous, which means the course always appears as “current” to both instructors and students. This can be frustrating to students who see courses they’ve already completed on the main Courses page as a new semester starts. Therefore, make sure you change the course duration back to a reasonable end date.

7. Identify Students Who Need Incomplete Access (Original / Ultra)

If a course has an end date, and the end date passes, then students can't access the course any longer, whether or not the course is still available. For example, by default, all Fall 2021 shells will be made unavailable to student access January 9, 2022. Instructors can request special access to their courses for students who need to continue to work in a course beyond the semester’s conclusion. You may need to adjust any relevant dates within the course so students can access content or assignments.

Once the semester over, grades are submitted, and your Blackboard course closing checklist is complete, take a deep breath and enjoy your break.

Do you have a tip to share with other faculty? Please comment in this post and let us know!

Blackboard course shells for WT2022 and SP2022 were created on November 29, 2021.

The Ultra Course Preview setting is again enabled in WT/SP2022 courses, which allows faculty to convert a new Original course to see what it looks like in Ultra and adopt Ultra. Please review the release notes for the latest updates to compare Original and Ultra tools. Many new features and tools are available to increase Ultra's parity with Original. Have a question about Ultra? Ask an Ultra Ambassador!

Ally, an accessibility tool, is also 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.

As always, if you have any questions, please consider the following options:

• Academic Continuity | Keep On Teaching | Student Technology Resources
• Check our extensive FAQ collection 
• Open a ticket via RT
• Follow the Instructional Technology & DoIT myUMBC groups
• Sign up for a webinar & other training 
• Request a consult with instructional technology staff