Earlier this year, Blackboard released a “course archetype” system administrator’s tool that allows institutions to see how the company’s Learning Management System (LMS) software is being used across campus. The “course archetype” tool was informed by Blackboard’s 2016 research on clients it hosts, including UMBC (since 2014). The primary reason DoIT was interested in the “course archetype” tool was to get a better understanding of the depth and complexity of our current Bb usage, as we gauge the work to be done to move to our Ultra migration in Fall 2019 (see umbc.edu/go/ultra).

A few observations are worth noting:

1. Blackboard’s course archetype research initially focused on more than 3M students, in 70k courses from 927 institutions hosted by Blackboard in Spring 2016. After extensive filtering for courses between 10 and 500 students, at least average student use of 60 minutes, and faculty use of the grade book, the resulting data set for analysis “included 601,544 learners (16.25%) in 18,810 (26.87%) courses” (p.2 of the study). When DoIT ran the course archetype tool on our 1,469 active FA18 Bb courses, only 464 (31%) did not meet the same enrollment size and usage criteria compared with 51,190 (73%) of the 70k courses hosted by Blackboard, but also filtered off for the study.
2. Blackboard found the vast majority of courses it studied were "supplemental" (content-heavy, low interaction) or "complementary" (1-way, instructor-led, minimal communication) courses, or 53% and 24%, respectively (77% total). By contrast, DoIT found nearly 40% of UMBC’s remaining 991 FA18 courses are characterized at the top end of Blackboard's course design archetype: "evaluative" (heavy use of assessments) and "holistic" (high LMS activity with balanced use of assessments, content and discussion), or 21% and 18%, respectively (or 39% total).
3. Except for students checking grades, Blackboard found that other high student LMS activity wasn't necessarily associated with better student outcomes. We've not looked at how our UMBC students' activity is associated with outcomes (yet), because the term isn't over, but we'll do so after Fall 2018 grades are submitted in early January. 

Special thanks to Mariann Hawken, DoIT’s Coordinator of eLearning and certified Blackboard MVP, and Tom Penniston, our Analytics Specialist in Instructional Technology, for this analysis.

DoIT needs to explore our own data further, but UMBC's Blackboard courses appear to represent a significantly different profile compared to most Bb client institutions hosted by the company. We’ve always had high adoption -- typically 95% of all students, 87% of all instructors and 82% of all PeopleSoft sections use Bb during any given term. But when we first started our own learning analytics research in 2007, just over 40% of all our Bb courses used the grade book, even though the annual "Undergraduates and IT" Educause national study has frequently found that students value checking grades more than any other LMS function. Typically, about 73% of all active UMBC Blackboard courses now use the grade book, a characteristic common to many of our most active Bb courses.

“DoIT has always wanted to use analytics to help inform and grow the depth and sophistication of our Bb LMS usage,” says John Fritz, Assoc. Vice President for Instructional Technology, who profiled UMBC's course design experience in a 2017 Educause article that also referenced Bb's course archetype research. “Our institutional Blackboard usage suggests UMBC may be helping higher ed better understand how good LMS course design could be one of the most scalable student success interventions any institution can pursue.”

Training and support are essential components of a successful transition to the Ultra Experience. This past summer, about 30 faculty and staff attended the Ultra Experience Boot Camp, one of several training solutions available to the campus community. This semester, about 30% of the UMBC faculty who attended the boot camps opted to teach with Ultra. Their fourteen courses include traditional, hybrid, and fully online formats with more than 500 students.

The FA2018 pilot faculty are not the only instructors with access to the Ultra Experience! All FA2018 faculty now have access to an Ultra Course Preview sandbox... do you know what to do with it?

• First, look over the FAQ and video about the Ultra Course Preview. The Ultra Course Adoption Center also has useful information.

• Next, check out the Ultra Learn Essentials self-paced resources. All FA2018 faculty were enrolled in this self-paced course.

• If you have questions, plan to attend an Ultra orientation, stop by a walk-in clinic, or open an RT ticket to make an appointment to speak to instructional technology staff.

Self-paced training and boot camps are not the only options. We are also prepared to offer:

Department Training

Instructional Technology staff are available for department training and orientation requests. These workshops may be scheduled in 45-minute, 90-minute, half-day, or full-day sessions on pre-packaged topics or mix & match themes. Please open an RT ticket to schedule this training.

Ultra Experience Essentials Boot Camp (3-5 hours)

This fast-paced program is intended for advanced Blackboard users who are very comfortable with the existing system. By the end of the workshop, participants should be able create and upload content to an Ultra course, create and grade assignments, configure the gradebook, and create, monitor, and grade discussions.

Webinars (ITNM & Bb)

Virtual trainings (45 minutes) provided by Instructional Technology staff and Blackboard offer flexible solutions for faculty training. Topics include Skill Builder workshops, Blackboard Innovative Teaching Series, Best of Bb World, course development, flipped classrooms, best practices, what’s new updates, or other customizable sessions.

Ultra Experience Redesign Workshop (2-day)

Focusing less on “button-ology” of using Ultra, this program is a 2-day workshop designed to support faculty as they redesign and redevelop their existing Blackboard courses for the Ultra Experience. Faculty will compare conversion vs. redesign options when migrating to UX, prepare Original courses for conversion to the Ultra Experience, and check courses for quality.

TA Training / Course Design Boot Camp (2 hours)

Instructional Technology staff are available to deliver a 2-hour workshop for Teaching Assistants on the effective use of Bb’s Ultra Experience specifically for teaching assistants. Please open an RT ticket to schedule this training.

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

• Check our extensive FAQ collection

• About the Ultra Experience | What’s new in Ultra?

• Open a ticket via RT

• Follow the Instructional Technology & DoIT myUMBC groups

• Request a consult with instructional technology staff

One in four students take some of their courses online, and two-thirds do so at a public institution in the same state where they live (Allen, Seaman, Pouline, & Straut, 2016; Allen & Seaman, 2017). In early November, UMBC celebrates the 11th anniversary of National Distance Learning Week (NDLW) with a series of lunchtime conversations. Topics include:

Hybrid or Online? Learn about the Alternate Delivery Program

• Monday, November 5 - Register Online 

Attend this information session to learn more about the Alternate Delivery Program. Ask specific questions related to the ADP Course Designer Track Call to Participate for Spring/Summer 2019. Previous ADP alumni will be on hand to share their experiences!

Support Student Engagement with Collaborate Ultra

• Tuesday, November 6 - Register Online

Imagine a room that was perfectly outfitted for collaboration -- except the room only exists online. Collaborate Ultra is an integrated web conferencing tool available to faculty through their Blackboard course shells. Attend this virtual session to learn best practices, workflows, and use cases.

Panopto Lunch ‘n’ Learn

• Wednesday, November 7 - Register Online 

UMBC has recently announced the licensing of Panopto, our new and improved screencasting platform. Learn about how Panopto could change the way you think about lecturing.

Explore Accessibility in the Technology Test Kitchen

• Thursday, November 8 - Register Online 

Bring your own device (laptop, tablet, smartphone) to one of our Technology Test Kitchen areas to learn and explore both faculty and student approaches to accessibility. Each Kitchen features “chefs” from Accessibility & Disability Services or IT to discuss “recipes” (strategies, tools, resources, etc.) for addressing a particular issue.

Monthly Blackboard Ultra Experience Orientation

• Friday, November 9 - Register Online 

UMBC's current flavor of Blackboard has not changed significantly in many years, but that's about to change with the Ultra Experience! Attendees will receive information about training opportunities and how to access an Ultra Experience sandbox. Discuss the differences between course conversion and course redesign, and learn about other features exclusive to the Ultra Experience.

Please RSVP: A light lunch will be provided for in-person sessions.

Can't make these National Distance Learning Week sessions? Try these virtual events?

Technology vs. Innovation: Strategies to Build an Engaging Online Course

Does the inclusion of technology alone make a course innovative? Learn strategies to make your courses more engaging through multiple modalities. 

• Monday, November 5, 2018 from 1-2 PM EST
• Register online -> (Note: You must have a free QM profile. See this FAQ.)

The IT Experiences of Undergraduate Students: EDUCAUSE’s 2018 ECAR Report

Topics will include student device access and ownership, device use and importance, student technology experiences, LMS use and satisfaction, learning environment preferences, experiences with instructors and technology, home internet access, a day in the online life of a student, accessibility, and student success tools.

• Monday, November 5, 2018 from 1-2 PM EST
• Register online -> (Note: You must have an EDUCAUSE profile)