Workshop Catalog

Instructional Technology helps faculty solve pedagogical problems or create new learning opportunities through efficient, effective use and support of technology. Professional development services are available to academic and administrative departments. Instructional technology staff are also available to work with department leads to create programs to address customized goals.

To maximize the time and impact of instructional technology services, we recommend each workshop have at least 6 participants. Collaborations and co-sponsorships with other departments for training events are welcome.

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Expand each topic area to learn more about individual workshops.

Planning Instructional Variety for Online Teaching: PIVOT is an award-winning professional development program for instructors who wish to take a more deliberate and holistic approach to preparing their courses for remote, synchronous/asynchronous online instruction. The 3-day workshop provides a collegial environment to support faculty as they design and develop hybrid/online courses in a technology-enriched environment. It includes deep dives & hands-on development time with instructional technology tools and advanced sessions on assessment, learning objectives, and Quality Matters self-review. The workshop is limited to 15 instructors for personalized attention. 

Applying the Quality Matters Rubric: APPQMR is QM’s flagship workshop on the Quality Matters Rubric and the process of using the QM Rubric to review online and hybrid courses. The workshop is intended for a broad audience, including but not limited to faculty, instructional designers, administrators, and adjunct instructors who wish to understand more about the QM Rubric and process of course review. It is particularly helpful to those new to QM or those considering the adoption of a quality assurance process for online and blended learning. The APPQMR is also the prerequisite for the Peer Reviewer Course, which is required to become a certified QM Peer Reviewer. The APPQMR workshop is facilitated by certified staff at UMBC, Salisbury, or Frostburg in an asynchronous 2-3 week format.

Join a 45-minute session with live demo – view upcoming events

Organize Your Blackboard Course Content & Check Accessibility
Review Ultra tools to prepare your course, including the following topics:

  • Copy and reuse content from prior courses
  • Create new content with Ultra modules, folders, and documents
  • Link or embed materials, websites, and LTI tools
  • Control the release of content by date, user/group, or progress
  • Check the accessibility of your course content with Ally

Create Assessments in Blackboard
Review essential features and best practices for managing groups:

  • Set up groups for content management and course organization
  • Simplify the process of assigning activities, assessments, and tasks to specific groups.
  • Use Blackboard Ultra tools to enhance communication and interaction within groups.
  • Provide assignment feedback to groups and individual students.

Grading & the Gradebook
This hands-on webinar focuses on the essentials of using Ultra for grading.

  • Access gradebook history and download your gradebook.
  • Organize your grading system to match your course structure.
  • Use Total Calculations & Overall Grade settings to display students’ grades.
  • Drop scores from grade calculations and exempt individual grades.

New Faculty Orientation to Blackboard
For adjunct faculty who may be new to teaching with Blackboard (Bb), getting started may feel overwhelming. During this 90-minute orientation, Instructional Technology staff will review the basics of getting started with Bb Ultra to ensure your course is ready the first day of the semester.

Digital Accessibility 101: Essential Practices & Blackboard Ally for Course Accessibility

What is digital accessibility, and why does it matter in your course? If a student couldn’t access your materials, would you know what to do — or how to fix it? Learn the foundational principles of digital accessibility, legal context, and core practices. Get a guided look at Blackboard Ally’s Accessibility Report so you can quickly spot the biggest barriers and prioritize updates to your course materials.

Accessible Assessment Feedback

Learn how to use tools in Blackboard Ultra to create feedback that is not just a grade, but a clear, accessible roadmap to success for every learner. In this session, we will identify common accessibility barriers in traditional feedback methods, demonstrate how to use Blackboard Ultra’s tools to provide timely, specific, and substantive feedback, and identify strategies to incorporate accessible feedback in your course design. We’ll also explore different feedback formats and methods (rubrics, automatic, written, video) and how AI tools can be leveraged to support accessible assessment feedback.

Ally: 5 Things You Didn’t Know Bb Ally Could Do

Learn about Ally, a tool available in Blackboard Original and Ultra courses, that improves the accessibility of your course content. This 30 minute workshop will offer ideas for developing a strategy to improve your course usability and accessibility and how to get started with Blackboard Ally.

Additional topics include:

  • Accessible Images (Simple & Complex)
  • Accessible Documents & PDF
  • Video Captions & Audio Descriptions for Visual Media
  • Create Your Digital Accessibility Action Plan
  • Designing Accessible Courses: Leverage UDL and QM Standard 8 for Content Remediation and Inclusive Learning Experiences
  • Improve Your Course Accessibility Score with Ally & Create Accessible Blackboard Content

Introduction to Video
Do you want to learn to use YuJa, UMBC’s new video capture and media management application? Join this session that will highlight some of YuJa’s key features, including:

  • Organizing and Storing media

  • Uploading and Screencapturing

  • Editing

  • Captioning and Accessibility

  • Re-linking videos in Blackboard courses

  • Sharing and Publishing media

Recording and Editing Media in YuJa
This session will provide you with the skills to confidently create and edit your media so that it is polished, professional, and accessible for your students and other users.

  • Recording Your Content: Learn how to use the YuJa software and browser-based capture tool to record your screen, webcam, and audio.

  • Navigating the Video Editor: A complete tour of the YuJa editor’s features.

  • Making Precise Cuts: Learn how to trim unwanted sections from the beginning, middle, or end of your videos.

  • Enhancing Your Content: Discover how to insert slides, add text overlays, and blur sensitive information.

  • Improving Accessibility: Master the use of YuJa’s auto-captioning tool and learn how to edit captions for accuracy.

Quizzing and Active Learning in YuJa
Create video lectures to boost student engagement, check for understanding, and strengthen your student learning assessment practices. Join a hands-on workshop focused on  YuJa’s interactive quizzing and active learning features. This session will show you how to embed questions directly into your videos, turning them into powerful tools for assessment and student interaction. In this workshop, we will cover:

  • Using question types including multiple choice, multiple select, and true/false, and decision point questions effectively.

  • Providing feedback to add targeted feedback and explanations for both correct and incorrect answers.

  • Gradebook integration to sync your YuJa quiz results directly to your Blackboard gradebook.

  • Creating student video assignments that engage students in producing  their own video content