Assessment

Instructional technologies provide many opportunities to support assessment and track student performance in Blackboard.

The following articles provide details describing the best practices we regularly publish to support our pedagogical community of practice.

 

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Free Digital Accessibility Workshops from Blackboard

Self-paced solutions for faculty & staff flexibility

Instructional Technology is pleased to offer four workshops on digital accessibility and Ally, available at no cost to UMBC faculty and staff, through July 31, 2026 using a special registration...

Posted: November 4, 2025, 9:49 AM

A human figure with outstretched arms inside a circle of two curved arrows, suggesting movement. Below the figure are two words: digital accessibility.

Fix Your Content Day: Let’s Make Course Materials More Accessible

One day of small steps to improve course accessibility

On Tuesday, November 18, UMBC will host its own Fix Your Course Content Day, dedicated to improving the accessibility of digital course materials in Blackboard. This one-day push is a chance for...

Posted: October 21, 2025, 9:09 AM

A human figure with outstretched arms inside a circle of two curved arrows, suggesting movement. Below the figure are two words: digital accessibility.

Add metadata to tests & question banks in the October Ultra Release

Improved student experience for fill-in-the-blank tests

The October Ultra release is a lightweight update featuring a valuable feature for faculty assessment management, allowing easier reuse of test questions and question banks.  Instructors can...

Posted: October 2, 2025, 10:51 AM

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Organize Assessments and Speed Up Feedback with September's Ultra Update

Discover new AI tools, question titles, block styling

The September Ultra release introduces improvements to assessment creation, content formatting and an optional AI-powered virtual assistant. These enhancements are designed to help instructors...

Posted: September 3, 2025, 3:34 PM

Black and white robot dog running with the words "New to Ultra" written on light turquoise background

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

AVA supports feedback and frequently asked student questions

This fall, UMBC faculty will have the opportunity to test Blackboard’s new AI Virtual Assistant (AVA), a suite of tools designed to support common teaching tasks.  AVA Feedback Assistant will...

Posted: August 12, 2025, 12:29 PM

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New Online Form Available to Request Merge of Blackboard Course Shells

Improved Process Supports Instructor Course Management

DoIT is pleased to announce a new form to help faculty manage their Blackboard course shells with greater efficiency. As part of our ongoing updates to the course creation and enrollment process,...

Posted: August 11, 2025, 4:47 PM

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FA2025 Courses Created in Blackboard on July 16, 2025

Reminder: New Course Creation & Student Enrollment Process

Blackboard course shells for Fall 2025 were created on July 16, 2025. All Fall 2025 courses listed in the UMBC Schedule of Classes (SOC), regardless of designation as lecture, lab, etc, or...

Posted: July 17, 2025, 7:37 AM

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