Blackboard

Digital Pedagogy

Video, Screen Capture, Interactive Digital Media, Accessibility

Office 365 and Zoom

Blackboard Ultra Essentials for Courses
Instructors are also encouraged to review our Ultra Instructor resources in the Service Portal and contact their eLearning liaison for assistance. 

1/7/25 - 7:00pm - 8:00 pm

Accessibility Best Practices for Respondus LockDown Browser
Unlock the tools to make online assessments accessible for every student in this hands-on seminar designed specifically for faculty. Discover how to create inclusive, responsive assessments that seamlessly support students with disabilities using Respondus LockDown Browser.

1/16/25  - 12 PM - 1 PM

Enhanced Documents in Blackboard Ultra
Learn how to include knowledge checks, two-column layouts, and more in your Bb Documents!

12/11/24  -  10 AM – 10:30 AM
1/14/25 - 11 AM - 11:30 AM

Accessibility and Ally: Creating Course Materials That Work for All

Accessibility improves everyone's learning experience. Learn how to create accessible content for Word and PowerPoint, interpret Ally's feedback, understand the accessibility of content, and become familiar with how to set accommodations in Bb Ultra. 

• 1/10/25  -  1 PM – 2 PM

You are also encouraged to review this resource about the Bb Accessibility Report in Bb Ultra.

Blackboard Rubric Design Assistant

Learning how to create effective rubrics and the best practices for using them is important for all educators. All teachable content has learning goals and outcomes, and therefore any and all content can benefit from the use of good-quality rubrics. To make the process of developing and creating rubrics simpler, Blackboard has introduced a new Rubric Design Assistant for automatically generating rubrics directly in your Learn Ultra courses. Creating rubrics with the Design Assistant are less time consuming, more consistent and easily adapted to meet changing standards and outcomes. 

1/14/25 - 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
1/30/25 - 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

Using Learn Ultra Analytics

Holding every student accountable and identifying individuals who are falling behind is made easier in the Blackboard Learn Ultra experience. This seminar will focus on the data and analytics available throughout your Ultra Course and include an overview of Blackboard’s Assessment and Accreditation solution, EAC Visual Data. During the session, we’ll guide instructors through assignment analytics, student progress analytics, and course data that will allow you to measure and boost your students’ performance.

• 2/3/25 • 12:00 PM – 1 PM
• 2/21/25 • 12:00 PM – 1 PM

Evaluating Student Performance Outcomes with Blackboard and EAC

Join us for an insightful seminar designed to empower faculty with the tools and strategies needed to effectively evaluate course level student performance outcomes using Blackboard and EAC’s assessment and accreditation solution. In this session you will explore how to leverage the robust analytics and reporting features of EAC to track student progress, identify learning gaps, and provide targeted support.

• 3/17/25  -  12 PM – 1 PM

You are also encouraged to review these resources about  EAC. 

Watch a Recording

If our webinar times don't fit into your schedule, catch up by watching a recording. Note: We'll try to record as many of our webinars as possible, but given that many sessions are repeated throughout the academic year, not all sessions may be recorded.

• Creating and Organizing Content in Bb Ultra
   
• Communication Tools in Bb Ultra
   
• Creating Assignments and Tests in Bb Ultra
   
• Grading in Bb Ultra

 

Time to Organize?

Want some advice about organizing your Ultra course? Two faculty members have created sample video tours to share with others.

Instructor:  Kelley Senkowski - EDT627 Video Tour
Instructor:  Meagan Luttenton-Knoll - MGT268 Video Tour

 You're also welcome to contact your eLearning liaison to schedule a consultation appointment. We have also created this article, which suggests best practices for organizing your course in Blackboard Ultra. 

Blackboard Sponsored Webinars

In addition to all the trainings developed and offered by eLearning, the GVSU community also has access to training offered by Anthology / Blackboard.

See a list of Ultra webinars led by Anthology / Blackboard

Exploring AI in Higher Ed- Ethical and Effective Use of AI, a Faculty Discussion
Are you ready to transform your teaching methods and enhance student engagement? Join us for "Exploring AI in Higher Education", a dynamic three-part series designed to equip educators with the knowledge and tools to harness the power of artificial intelligence in the classroom.

• 1/16/25 -  2 pm - 3 pm
• 5/6/25 - 2 pm - 3 pm
  
  Declutter Your Digital Life
  Are you feeling overwhelmed by a cluttered inbox and disorganized files? Join our webinar to learn practical strategies for mastering file and email management. This hands-on session will teach you how to streamline your digital life by organizing your files, naming and storing them effectively, managing your email with ease, and implementing systems to keep everything running smoothly.

1/13/25  - 2 pm - 3 pm

AI-Powered Productivity: Transforming Faculty Workflow Discover how AI tools can revolutionize your teaching and administrative tasks, freeing up time for what matters most—engaging with students and innovating in your field. This workshop provides practical insights and hands-on guidance on integrating AI into everyday workflows, from automating routine tasks to enhancing course planning and communication. Learn to work smarter, not harder, and transform your approach to academia with AI-powered strategies.

• 2/24/25 - 1pm - 2pm 

Introduction to Quality Matters
In this session, you'll be introduced to the nationally recognized standards for online/hybrid courses.  In addition to an overview of each of the eight standards, we'll discuss the QM rubric, what informs it, its value, and how to take the next step toward validating the quality of your online courses and recognizing where you can make improvements.  

• Winter dates coming
   

Quality Matters: Align your Course Content using a Course Alignment Map
As part of quality course design and good pedagogy, alignment between the course objectives and the course content must be aligned. This session walks you through how to align your course content in a simplified way using the Course Alignment Map. This tool can be used as part of the 5 Steps for Course Design process and for developing any course content for any delivery. This is helpful to ensure program and course goals & objectives are being met.

• 2/6/25 1:00 pm

Time Management Strategies for Online/Hybrid Instructors
Managing your time when teaching online courses can be an enormous challenge. In this webinar, we will offer many practical strategies that have proven effective in the courses taught by experienced online/hybrid instructors at GVSU. Learn how to leverage technology to save time, work smarter/not harder at grading, and respond to student questions more efficiently. Participants will leave with practical advice and strategies that can be immediately used in your courses.

• 1/16/25  - 3 PM – 4 PM
   

Innovation in Your Course
Improve student engagement and promote innovative thinking in your courses. Students need to develop creative, innovative thinking for today’s jobs, and instructors can build this into their courses for any subject content. Help students apply their learning with real-world scenarios and authentic assessments, and encourage innovative thinking while aligning to your learning outcomes. This webinar will share many examples, tech tools, and engaging options to try in your courses.

• 3/25/25 1 PM - 2 PM 

Learn more about creating and managing video and digital applications in these seminars.

Creating Instructor Presence with Panopto

Learn more functions in Panopto, such as video creation, captions, quizzing, and student video assignments!

• 1/15/25 - 11 AM – 12:15 PM
• 2/18/25  - 11 AM – 12:15 PM
• 4/3/25   - 1 AM – 12:15 PM

Media Assessments: Transform Your Existing Assignments into Student-Created Video
In this course, we will walk through how you might be able to convert one of your existing assignments into a project that will help your students develop their media creation skills. There are many different methods that you could use, from Panopto assignments to having your students create TikToks for class. Importantly, we will cover different assessment categories that you might want to consider when developing a rubric for a project of this nature.

• 3/18/25 - 11 AM – 12 PM

Using Padlet to Engage Online Learners
Padlet lets you create a virtual bulletin board where you and your students can write notes and upload documents, photos, slideshows, record videos/audio files or add hyperlinks. During this webinar, participants will learn how to activate their Padlet account and how it can be used for brainstorming, storyboarding, collecting resources (such as images, attachments, hyperlinks, recording videos/audio), gathering the results of group work, and much more!

• 1/21/25  - 11 AM – 12 PM
• 3/12/25 - 11 AM – 12 PM

 For immediate assistance, please don't hesitate to contact your eLearning Liaison. You should also review this resource about integrating Padlet into Blackboard Ultra.

Power Up Your Courses with Hypothesis

Are you looking to enhance student interaction with your Blackboard course eBook or other text documents with Hypothesis, but not sure how to set it up? Join us for this informal, hands-on session where you’ll learn the best practices for configuring a variety of Hypothesis assignments in your courses.

• 1/3/25 - 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Leveraging Social Annotation in the Age of AI

The rise of generative AI has sparked essential conversations in education. In this workshop, the Hypothesis team will demonstrate how to use social annotation to encourage authentic, process-oriented engagement with course materials—whether you’re incorporating AI tools or not. They’ll also share best practices for using social annotation with AI writing tools and demonstrate how to set up Hypothesis-enabled readings in your LMS. Participants will leave with practical, ready-to-use assignments to implement in their courses immediately.

• 1/9/25  2:30 PM - 3:30 PM

Effective Digital Reading with Hypothesis

How do screens affect how students read, and how can social annotation help students be better readers? This workshop is ideal for instructors interested in how reading practices have evolved in the digital age and how current research into digital reading can better inform how we talk about reading in our classrooms. In addition to a discussion of digital reading, participants will learn how social annotation can counteract distractions, enhance comprehension, and encourage critical thinking by transforming digital texts into interactive discussions that promote active and mindful reading.

• 1/16/25 - 2:30PM  - 3:15 PM

Activating Annotation in Blackboard

The Hypothesis team will share how instructors use collaborative annotation to help students develop foundational academic skills like deep reading and critical thinking. In addition to sharing pedagogical best practices for social annotation, we will demonstrate how Hypothesis is used with course readings in your learning management system (LMS). Participants will gain a clear understanding of how to start incorporating social annotation into their courses to improve student outcomes.
(30 minutes)

• 1/21/25 - 2:00 PM - 2:30 PM

Creative Ways to Use Social Annotation in Your Courses

Looking for strategies to foster rich, student-driven annotation discussions? The Hypothesis team will share research-backed methods and active learning strategies in this workshop to make social annotation more engaging and impactful. Participants will leave with a range of creative ideas for effectively incorporating social annotation into their courses.

• 1/23/25 - 2:30 PM - 3:15 PM

Getting Started with Microsoft Teams

• 2/19/25 -  1 PM – 2 PM
• 5/14/25  -  1 PM –  2 PM

Microsoft Bookings Basics

• 3/19/25  - 1 PM - 2:30 PM
• 4/30/25  - 1 PM - 2:30 PM

Microsoft Excel 101

• 12/4/24 -  11 AM – 12 PM
• 2/5/25 - 1 PM - 2 PM
• 5/7/25 - 1 PM - 2 PM

Microsoft Excel Formulas & Functions Part 1

• 2/26/25 - 1 PM - 2 PM
• 5/25/25 - 1 PM - 2 PM

Microsoft Excel Formulas & Functions Part 2

• 3/12/25 - 1 PM - 2 PM
• 6/11/25 - 1 PM - 2 PM

Practical Ways to Enhance Your PowerPoint Presentation

• 1/29/25  - 1 PM – 2 PM
• 3/26/25 - 1 PM – 2 PM

Time-Saving Tips in Outlook

• 1/15/25 - 1 PM – 2 PM
• 4/2/25  - 1 PM – 2 PM

Introduction to Windows 11 and OneDrive

• Dates to be announced. 
• Starting in February 2025

Zoom 101

Learn how to use Zoom to conduct synchronous class meetings and schedule virtual office hours.

• 1/8/25  - 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Utilizing Zoom Tools Effectively

Discover how to leverage Zoom tools to enhance and support your courses or team collaborations. Participants who attend this webinar will gain proficiency in using the appointment scheduler, chat channels for teams or courses, whiteboards, and Zoom notes.

• 1/9/25 • 1:00 PM –  2:00 PM

Credits: Sprout by IconMark from NounProject.com