Workshops
Faculty Blackboard Support:
860.768.4661 | fcld@hartford.edu
Student Blackboard Support:
860.768.4636 | E-mail | File a ticket
Faculty interested in attending any of these sessions do not need to pre-register, unless otherwise indicated; however, we do appreciate it if you do. To join a virtual workshop, click on the link for the date/time of your session. If you do not have a headset, there is a call-in line for audio during the conference.
GETTING STARTED WITH BLACKBOARD/BLACKBOARD DROP-IN
Tuesdays, 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. or by appointment (online or FCLD lab)
Every Tuesday, we offer an orientation and drop-in clinic for Blackboard, the application used to put courses online. If you’re new to Blackboard, you’ll learn strategies for organizing your Blackboard course, review the many tools and features available in Blackboard, and start adding course content items like your syllabus and web links to your course. Be sure to bring a digital version of your syllabus and/or other course materials; this is designed as a hands-on seminar. If you’re using Blackboard already, feel free to drop by with a question or for troubleshooting.
Faculty interested in attending should register by emailing fcld@hartford.edu or calling (860) 768-4661.
Blackboard Ultra Orientation (for New Instructors)
We are rolling out a new version of Blackboard called Blackboard Ultra Course View - Instructors who are new to the institution are invited to come to an Ultra Orientation session if they plan on building their courses from scratch so they don't have to rebuild an original course in Ultra in the next year or so. In order for your course to be flipped to Instructor Choice, you must attend one of these orientations. NOTE: Not all departments are using Blackboard Ultra, so you may need to rely on FCLD for assistance and support, as other faculty around you may not be using it yet. In other cases, there are whole Schools, Departments, and Programs rolling out Ultra already, so you will have other faculty using Ultra. Please RSVP by emailing fcld@hartford.edu for one of the following two sessions ahead of time:
Session 1: Thursday, August 24, 6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Session 2: Friday, August 25, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Blackboard Ultra Orientation (for New Instructors)
We are rolling out a new version of Blackboard called Blackboard Ultra Course View - Instructors who are new to the institution are invited to come to an Ultra Orientation session if they plan on building their courses from scratch so they don't have to rebuild an original course in Ultra in the next year or so. In order for your course to be flipped to Instructor Choice, you must attend one of these orientations. NOTE: Not all departments are using Blackboard Ultra, so you may need to rely on FCLD for assistance and support, as other faculty around you may not be using it yet. In other cases, there are whole Schools, Departments, and Programs rolling out Ultra already, so you will have other faculty using Ultra. Please RSVP by emailing fcld@hartford.edu for one of the following two sessions ahead of time:
Session 1: Thursday, August 24, 6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Session 2: Friday, August 25, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Come Learn the New Blackboard - Fall 2023 Ultra Workshops
A newer, more modern version of Blackboard called Ultra Course View is currently being rolled out at the University of Hartford and the Faculty Center for Learning Development (FCLD) over the next year. In spring 2025 all spring Blackboard courses will be created in Ultra. Faculty are encouraged to attend special Ultra training now so they can begin to transition their courses.
IN-PERSON ULTRA WORKSHOPSThe following in-person trainings will be held in the Woods Classroom in Harrison Libraries on campus and lunch will be provided. Be sure to RSVP to fcld@hartford.edu ahead of time so a sandbox can be created for you. We appreciate at least a week’s advance registration so we have a final number for lunches.
Session 1: Friday, September 22, 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Session 2: Friday, November 10, 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
VIRTUAL ULTRA WORKSHOPSEach of the following is a 2-part, 2-day, 2-hours each day, offered virtually on Microsoft Teams. Participants need to attend both parts one and two. Be sure to RSVP to fcld@hartford.edu ahead of time so a sandbox can be created for you. A week in advance is best, but at a minimum, register 24 hours prior to the workshop.
Session 1: Monday, October 23, and Wednesday, October 25, 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Session 2: Friday, December 1, and Friday, December 8 - 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
For more on Ultra Course View, watch Blackboard Learn Ultra: It’s never been easier to teach and learn
Instructors with questions about the transition to Blackboard Ultra are encouraged to contact the Faculty Center for Learning Development (FCLD) at (860) 768-4661 or fcld@hartford.edu.
BLACKBOARD ULTRA IS COMING TO UHART: ULTRA COURSE VIEW INFORMATION SESSIONS
Wednesday, September 13, 3:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. (Virtual)
Wednesday, October 4, 11:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. (In-person)
Friday, October 27, 1:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. (Virtual)
Several years ago, FCLD implemented Blackboard’s new landing page, Ultra Base Navigation (UBN), for the campus. This change introduced new features such as the activity stream and the Institution page. It was step one of a two-step implementation of the latest Blackboard, which is called Ultra Course View. Ultra Course View is a more modern interface designed to be responsive across all devices so that the experience is the same whether you are using a desktop PC, mobile device, or tablet. Ultra Course View offers:
- A modern, intuitive experience
- Responsiveness across mobile devices
- Consolidated cross-course information
- Quick access to the most critical information
- One-click to add a wide variety of content
CUSTOMIZE YOUR BLACKBOARD ULTRA COURSE
Wednesday, September 20, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (Virtual)
Monday, October 16, 2:00 pm. – 3:00 p.m. (In-person, Woods Classroom)
In this hands-on session, we will show you how to create and use graphics to customize the look and feel of your Blackboard Ultra Course. We will demonstrate how to use PowerPoint to create beautiful and engaging banners for your Blackboard Ultra Course and how to use images to spice up your learning modules. Learn how to search for and embed fair-use images, manipulate them, add graphics and text to your banners, and finally, how to make them accessible.
LEARN THE NEW ULTRA GRADBOOK
Monday, September 11, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (In-person, Woods Classroom)
Thursday, October 26, 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. (Virtual)
Come and learn how to set up your Blackboard Grade Center right at the beginning of the semester, as it has numerous advantages over waiting until later in the term. Additionally, we will explore the new Blackboard Annotate tool for grading and marking up assignments.
Doing so early means you can:
- Have course grades calculated automatically throughout the course.
- Help students keep track of their own progress throughout the course.
- Have information ready at your fingertips when it's time to submit mid-semester reports or final grades.
- Weight grades and drop lowest scores quickly and easily.
TRANSITIONING TO ULTRA CAN BE AS EASY AS 1, 2, 3!
Tuesday, October 17, 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. (In-person, Woods Classroom)
Wednesday, October 25, 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. (Virtual)
In this session, we will explore three ways to transition your Original Blackboard course to Ultra Course View. During this hands-on session, we will work with you to seamlessly set up your Ultra courses in a quick and easy manner that will reduce your workload.
Getting started with blackboard/blackboard drop-in
Tuesdays, 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. by appointment (online or FCLD lab)
Every Tuesday, we offer an orientation and drop-in clinic for Blackboard, the application used to put courses online. If you’re new to Blackboard, you’ll learn strategies for organizing your Blackboard course, review the many tools and features available in Blackboard, and start adding course content items like your syllabus and web links to your course. Be sure to bring a digital version of your syllabus and/or other course materials; this is designed as a hands-on seminar. If you’re using Blackboard already, feel free to drop by with a question or for troubleshooting.
Faculty interested in attending should register by emailing fcld@hartford.edu or calling (860) 768-4661.
Blackboard Assignments and Grading With Bb Annotate
Tuesday, August 29, 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. (In-person, Woods Classroom)
In this session, instructors will learn the basics of setting up Blackboard assignments and using SafeAssign, Blackboard’s plagiarism detection tool. Additionally, we will explore the new Blackboard Annotate tool for grading and marking up assignments. This is a 30-minute webinar with time for Q&A afterward.
CUSTOMIZE YOUR BLACKBOARD ULTRA COURSE
Wednesday, September 20, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (Virtual)
Monday, October 16, 2:00 pm. – 3:00 p.m. (In-person, Woods Classroom)
In this hands-on session, we will show you how to create and use graphics to customize the look and feel of your Blackboard Ultra Course. We will demonstrate how to use PowerPoint to create beautiful and engaging banners for your Blackboard Ultra Course and how to use images to spice up your learning modules. Learn how to search for and embed fair-use images, manipulate them, add graphics and text to your banners, and finally, how to make them accessible.
LEARN THE NEW ULTRA GRADBOOK
Monday, September 11, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (In-person, Woods Classroom)
Thursday, October 26, 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. (Virtual)
Come and learn how to set up your Blackboard Grade Center right at the beginning of the semester, as it has numerous advantages over waiting until later in the term. Additionally, we will explore the new Blackboard Annotate tool for grading and marking up assignments.
Doing so early means you can:
- Have course grades calculated automatically throughout the course.
- Help students keep track of their own progress throughout the course.
- Have information ready at your fingertips when it's time to submit mid-semester reports or final grades.
- Weight grades and drop lowest scores quickly and easily.
TRANSITIONING TO ULTRA CAN BE AS EASY AS 1, 2, 3!
Tuesday, October 17, 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. (In-person, Woods Classroom)
Wednesday, October 25, 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. (Virtual)
In this session, we will explore three ways to transition your Original Blackboard course to Ultra Course View. During this hands-on session, we will work with you to seamlessly set up your Ultra courses in a quick and easy manner that will reduce your workload.
Getting Started with Kaltura
Video and audio files should never be added directly to Blackboard; instead, instructors should be using Kaltura (the new replacement for Ensemble). Kaltura works like an in-house YouTube, allowing faculty to upload videos to a media library quickly and easily, then link to them from Blackboard and other websites. Faculty who are flipping the classroom, teaching online, using video clips in instruction, or working with student video projects should plan to attend this special information session about Kaltura. Kaltura Capture is a simple, convenient tool that can capture your voice, the action on your computer screen, and webcam video to create lecturettes. You can use it to record audio podcasts, video lectures, or narrated presentations and demonstrations. This session will guide you through the process of recording a narrated screen capture, editing it, and publishing it to Blackboard.
Microsoft Teams for Remote Instruction, Office Hours, and Collaboration
Microsoft Teams is a video-conferencing application that now integrates with Blackboard. It is a platform that can be employed for remote instruction, office hours, or collaborative group work in your courses. Microsoft Teams can be accessed via a desktop application or a browser and is available on mobile devices as well. In this session, we will show you how to set up a Teams Meeting in your Blackboard course, how to navigate the Teams interface, how to share files or documents with students, and how to share screens. We will also show you how to set up groups so your students can work on collaborative activities together.
Creating Folders and Sharing Content in OneDrive
Wednesday, August 23, 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. (Virtual)
Monday, August 28, 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. (In-person, Woods Classroom)
Instructors, staff and students all get a free 1TB worth of file storage space on One Drive. In this session, we will discuss the University of Hartford’s OneDrive for Business and how instructors can use it for instruction. We will cover:
- Creating a course folder.
- Inviting students to your shared folder.
- Uploading and organizing documents and/or other files.
- Sharing files with students so they can access them.
- Collaboratively editing documents in the Shared OneDrive folder with colleagues or others.
There will be time for Q&A throughout the session.
We encourage participants to log into https://portal.office.com (use your UHart email and password) in order to become familiar with One Drive and explore the many other Office 365 applications available prior to attending this workshop.
Creating SharePoint Sites for Committees & Groups on Campus
Wednesday, August 23, 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. (Virtual)
Microsoft SharePoint is a suite of tools, included with Office 365, that allow online collaboration between groups on campus. A SharePoint site gives groups access to features such as file sharing, data storage and retrieval, and communication via chat or virtually via Teams. In this workshop, we will demonstrate setting up your own SharePoint site for your campus group. Once your site has been created, faculty, staff, and students may collaborate virtually. Some of SharePoint’s features include:
- Document storage and sharing with your group
- Shared tasks, contacts, calendars, announcements, and link lists
- Online discussion forums, including the integration with Teams for meetings online
- Subsites for teams, departments, or collaborations on meetings and documents
- OneNote for meeting minutes