Effective Practices

Blackboard is preparing to launch a completely redesigned gradebook this summer, including a faster, cleaner, and significantly easier-to-use experience for faculty. To ensure the update meets the...

Assistant teaching professor Dr. Angela Katenkamp became the 20th faculty member to earn Quality Matters (QM) certification for PSYC 200 (Developmental Psychology) as part of the Quality Matters...

As UMBC continues strengthening digital accessibility across teaching and learning, many faculty have already taken steps to reduce, remake, and remediate existing documents, videos, and course...

Video can be one of the most effective teaching tools you use, especially when every student can access the content. Captions and audio descriptions boost clarity, reinforce key ideas, and...

When it comes to improving digital accessibility, documents and PDFs are often the biggest barrier -- and the biggest opportunity. Whether you're uploading files to Blackboard, sharing materials...

Two UMBC faculty were selected by the William E. Kirwan Center for Academic Innovation to participate in the Boosting Course Accessibility mini grant program. This initiative aims to enhance the...

Anthology, the parent company of Blackboard, has announced that they will retire Original courses and organizations on December 31, 2026. At this point, all Original content in courses and...

After five years of a phased migration, more than 99% of all available Blackboard courses for the fall semester are now using Ultra. This marks a significant milestone in our transition from...

After many years of use, UMBC’s license for Class Collaborate (formerly Blackboard Collaborate) will end on July 31, 2025. As one of our longest licensed tools, Collaborate provided synchronous...

In consultation with the Deans as well as the Faculty Senate Computer Policy Committee (CPC), DoIT will make Ultra the default version of Blackboard for all Fall 2024 course shells that are...