Did you know?
In the first month of Fall 2024 (8/26 – 9/26), over 97% of students and 96% of faculty have logged into Blackboard.
And within the first 30 days of the 2024 fall semester, over 1 million sign-ins have logged into Blackboard. Bb remains the number one application accessed on a daily basis.
Free Answers Every Wednesday!
The eLearning team is here to help you maximize the potential of our learning management system! Join our team every Wednesday for Blackboard Ultra Lunch and Learn virtual office hours, where eLearning staff will be ready to help you from 12 to 12:30 p.m.
If this time doesn’t work, remember that your eLearning Liaison is always available for consultations.
Join our Faculty Learning Community!
Whether you've been teaching online or hybrid courses for several years or are just getting ready to start your first semester teaching hybrid or online, all levels of expertise are welcome to join our Online & Hybrid Faculty Learning Community.
Join us each month to:
- Support new and experienced online/hybrid faculty through dialogue and samples
- Explore best practices associated with online/hybrid teaching and learning
- Identify emerging technological needs to support online teaching and learning
- Share collective expertise across disciplines
Join us:
October 31 @ 3 pm: tools for engaging students; preparing students for online learning; Zoom link
November 21 @ 3pm; updates in artificial intelligence; Zoom link
December 12 @ 3pm: Quality Matters; Blackboard exemplary course rubric; Anthology Exemplary course awards; Zoom link
Panopto Video Retention Policy
The Panopto Content Retention Policy is an automated process for managing storage and organizing unwatched videos. Please note that this policy was presented at UTC, ATAC, and the Associate/Assistant Deans Council to help ensure that it aligns with our collective needs and goals. This policy is vital in keeping our video storage aligned with our Panopto space allocations.
When Will This Policy Start?
Beginning on January 1, 2025, Panopto videos that have not been viewed within 13 months will automatically be transferred to the Panopto Archive. This process will continue on the 1st of each month. This means that beginning on February 1, 2026, videos that have been in the Panopto Archive for 13 months and unwatched for 36 consecutive months will be automatically deleted from our system. This process will also take place on the 1st of each month.
See this video for an overview of the policy.
Videos in the archive cannot be viewed. However, they can be manually restored, which will restore all functionality. Any user trying to access the archived video can initiate the restoration process. If your archived video is embedded within a Blackboard Ultra course, it will be available for student users to restore manually. The restoration can take up to 48 hours to complete.
For more information, please see the FAQs for the Panopto Content Retention Policy in the Service Portal. Additionally, if you would like more personalized assistance, our Panopto Administrators from the Bridge team are available for consultations. Please submit a request for a consultation using this service form.
A Few Bb Grading Tips
Tip 1. Comment Library
Do you have comments that you use repeatedly in your feedback? This resource can help you create a comment library for grading.
Tip 2. Personalize your Grading with Audio or Video Feedback
Review this resource to help you add video or audio feedback to the Gradebook. Blackboard also provides auto-captioning to increase accessibility for students .
Tip 3. How to Set Up the Overall Grade Column
The overall grade is a calculated item that you build to show students a running tally of all the items that you grade and post. See this resource for setting up the Overall Grade Column.
Tip 4. Have Merged Courses? Use Filters to Isolate your Grade Book by Section
Use this resource to filter your grade book by course section.
Tip 5. Do You Give Online Assessments? Run a Question Analysis
Use this question analysis resource to isolate statistics on your individual assessment questions' overall performance and assessment quality.
Tip 6. Are You Curious About How Much Time your Students Spend in your Bb Course?
Use the analytics reporting tool to gain key insights into how students use the tools, content, and assessments in your course.
Check out these other most commonly used Gradebook functions:
- Filtering the Gradebook
- Gradebook Overview
- How to use Discussion Analysis for Grading Discussions
- Posting Grades
- Flexible Grading and Grading Multiple Attempts
- Overriding Grades
- Feedback for Override Grades and Automatic Zeros
- Create a Rubric With Blackboard's Rubric Design Assistant
- Submission Outside of Blackboard
- Rearranging the Gradebook
- Impact of Zeros in the Gradebook
Learn More about Blackboard's AI Rubric Design Assistant
This summer, eLearning introduced Blackboard's AI Rubric Design Assistant, a tool to help instructors create grading rubrics more efficiently. In this video testimonial, Krisanne Chapin from the Department of Movement Science shares how it has streamlined her process. Check out the Knowledge Base article or sign up for a webinar for guidance on using this feature.
Microsoft's Azure OpenAI powers the Assistant and does not collect personal data. All course information remains stored within Blackboard, and none of the data is used to train the AI or shared externally. For more details on data privacy, refer to Microsoft's Azure OpenAI privacy policies and Anthology’s Trustworthy AI Approach.
eLearning Monthly Newsletter
Every month the staff of eLearning Technologies puts together an email newsletter featuring announcements about what's new in campus instructional technology, along with timely hints and tips for your digital teaching journey. You'll also want to stay tuned each month to find out what new features have been added to Blackboard.
If you're not receiving our monthly newsletter, please take a moment to sign-up.
Consult with your eLearning Liaisons
We welcome faculty to contact their dedicated eLearning Liaisons whenever you have questions regarding Bb Ultra features. Feel free to set up a consultation for additional guidance or troubleshooting assistance. Our top priority is timely support, and your feedback is essential.
Make the Most of Blackboard Ultra
Monthly Release Schedule and Release Notes
Blackboard releases new features and functionality on the first Friday of each month. See the Release Schedule and the Release Notes for monthly and upcoming features and improvements.
Help Shape the Future!
Anthology, Blackboard's parent company, loves hearing from its users. They've created a website where the community can share their thoughts on Blackboard's future. We encourage all faculty to sign up for the Idea Exchange so they can add their own suggestions and vote on ideas offered by others. Anthology staff regularly interacts with the Idea Exchange, providing updates on if and when new features and changes will be added.
Join now and help shape the future of Blackboard!
What Works Better in Ultra
Sure, Blackboard Learn Ultra has a new and improved interface. More importantly, though, Ultra also works better than Blackboard Classic. Take a look at our list of "What Works Better in Ultra."
What your Students Say about Bb Ultra
At the end of the fall semester, Anthology and Information Technology teamed up to host an Exam Cram event, distributing over 2,000 donuts and hot chocolate to mark the transition to Bb Ultra across the Health, Devos, and Allendale campuses. Students expressed their satisfaction with Ultra, highlighting its user-friendly navigation, simplified assignment submissions, and modern design. Review their additional feedback with associated resources to help you maximize Blackboard Ultra.
Remember the following:
- Every faculty member has their own "Ultra Practice Test Course" where they can explore new Ultra features.
- Faculty can request "template sites" to help with early curriculum development or special projects.
- All faculty have been enrolled in a Blackboard site named "Blackboard Learn Ultra Self-Paced Training." Use this site to familiarize yourself with Ultra Course View at your own pace.
- You can find many additional resources on our Instructor Resources for Blackboard Ultra page in the Service Portal Knowledge Base or the Student Resources for Blackboard Ultra page.
- eLearning has put together some tips and tricks for how to best copy content from your Classic courses to your Ultra courses
- See this knowledge base article for best practices and tips for course design in Bb Ultra.
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New to Ultra? Check out our Ultra Care Package for important resources and tips for getting started.
About eLearning
eLearning Technologies provides a wide array of services and resources designed to facilitate a cohesive and seamless digital learning experience for students at GVSU - through supporting faculty in delivering high-quality, high-impact, high-engagement innovative teaching.
We support faculty, contribute to teaching excellence, and enhance student success through:
- IDeL
Exemplary Instructional Design for Online and Hybrid Courses - Teaching with Technology
Effective Application of Instructional Technologies - Blackboard
Learning Management System Enhancement - The Bridge
Interactive Digital Media Development - We also partner with the Atomic Object Technology Showcase to bring innovative emerging technologies to GVSU.
WE'RE HERE TO HELP!
Email Us: [email protected]
Call: (616) 331-2101
Hours: 8:30 am - 4pm, Monday through Friday
24x7 After Hours Support is Available
"Supporting faculty pursuing innovation in teaching and learning."
Credits: Bird Tangram Puzzle by irene hoffman from NounProject.com ; Light Bulb by Numero Uno from NounProject.com ; newsletter by Ethan from NounProject.com