Join us for Teaching with Tech and discover how the right technology can transform your class and support student success! Don't forget to bring a laptop to practice what you are learning.
About the Event
Teaching with Tech is an opportunity for faculty and instructors to get ready for the fall semester with practical, hands-on strategies for using technology to enhance teaching and learning. These interactive sessions are designed to help instructors discover new instructional technology tools, strengthen their existing skills, and explore creative ways to engage students.
When: Monday, August 17 & Tuesday, August 18
Where: Virtual and In-Person
- Virtual sessions will be held in Microsoft Teams.
- All in-person sessions will take place in A232 and A204 Gordon Palmer Hall.
BONUS: We will be hosting an in-person Open Workspace on Friday, August 21, 9am – 4pm to drop by get any help you need with Blackboard or other instructional technology tools.
Monday, August 17th Schedule
| Time | Title | Location | Description Link | Registration Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8:30-8:50 am | Meet The Center for Instructional Technology | Virtual | Meet CIT | Register – 8:30am Meet CIT |
| 9-9:45 am | Essential Tech Tools for Instructors | Virtual | Tech Tools | Register – 9am Tools to Know |
| 9-9:45 am | Blackboard Basics | Virtual | Bb Basics | Register – 9am Blackboard Basics |
| 10-10:45 am | Designing Exemplary Blackboard Courses | Virtual | Design Course | Register – 10am Designing Courses |
| 10-10:45 am | Fixing a PDF | A232 Gordon Palmer Hall | Fixing a PDF | Register – 10am Fixing a PDF |
| 11-11:45 am | Panopto Basics | Virtual | Panopto Basics | Register – 11am Panopto Basics |
| 1-1:45 pm | Blackboard Basics | A232 Gordon Palmer Hall | Bb Basics | Register – 1pm Blackboard Basics |
| 2-2:45 pm | Blackboard Gradebook Essentials | A232 Gordon Palmer Hall | Bb Gradebook | Register – 2pm Gradebook |
| 3-3:45 pm | Using Technology to Increase Student Engagement | A204 Gordon Palmer Hall | Student Engagement | Register – 3pm Student Engagement |
| 3-3:45 pm | Make Your Blackboard Course Accessible with Ally | A232 Gordon Palmer Hall | Bb Ally | Register – 3pm Blackboard Accessibility |
Tuesday, August 18th Schedule
| Time | Title | Location | Description Link | Registration Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1:30-2:15 pm | Blackboard Basics | Virtual | Bb Basics | Register – 1:30pm Blackboard Basics |
| 1:30-2:15 pm | Essential Tech Tools for Instructors | Virtual | Tech Tools | Register – 1:30pm Tools to Know |
| 2:30-3:15 pm | Blackboard Gradebook Essentials | Virtual | Bb Gradebook | Register – 2:30pm Blackboard Gradebook |
| 2:30-3:15 pm | Make Your Blackboard Course Accessible with Ally | Virtual | Bb Ally | Register – 2:30pm Blackboard Accessibility |
| 2:30-3:15 pm | Designing Exemplary Blackboard Courses | Virtual | Design Course | Register – 2:30pm Designing Courses |
| 3:30-4:15 pm | Blackboard Basics | Virtual | Bb Basics | Register – 3:30pm Blackboard Basics |
| 3:30-4:15 pm | Fixing a PDF | Virtual | Fixing a PDF | Register – 3:30pm Fixing a PDF |
| 3:30-4:15 pm | Blackboard Gradebook Essentials | Virtual | Bb Gradebook | Register – 3:30pm Blackboard Gradebook |
Friday, August 21st Schedule
| Time | Title | Location | Description | Registration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9:00am – 4:00pm | Open Workspace | A232 Gordon Palmer Hall | Visit Gordon Palmer Hall to get help with Blackboard, Turnitin, Panopto Respondus, Point Solutions, Hypothesis, and other instructional tech questions. CIT staff are available to help with whatever you need. * Bring your own laptop and work as long as you would like. | No registration |
WORKSHOP DESCRIPTIONS
Meet the Center for Instructional Technology
Description: Learn how the Center for Instructional Technology can support your teaching throughout the semester. In this brief kickoff session for Teaching with Tech, we’ll introduce CIT, highlight the instructional technologies and services we support, and share opportunities for consultations, workshops, webinars, class visits, and one-on-one assistance. Whether you’re new to campus or a seasoned instructor, CIT is here to help you create engaging, accessible, and effective learning experiences.
Essential Tech Tools for Instructors
Description: Empower your teaching with the essential instructional technologies supported at UA! This session introduces faculty to the most impactful tools for course design, delivery, and student engagement. Whether you’re new to UA or looking to refresh your skills, you’ll leave with practical strategies and resources to integrate these tools effectively.
Blackboard Basics
Description: Join this session to learn the basics: navigation, key features, and how to build course content from scratch and by copying courses. This session is for instructors, teaching assistants, and course designers and builders.
Designing Exemplary Blackboard Courses
Description: Join us to learn how to build a Blackboard course that is clear, organized, and designed for student success. This workshop focuses on course structure and content organization aligned with exemplary course design standards. Participants will learn how to create and organize modules, copy content from previous courses, integrate external tools, and apply accessibility best practices to develop a polished and effective learning experience.
Fixing a PDF
Description: PDFs are a great way to share information, but they can be kind of intimidating when it comes to making them accessible. This session will examine basic ways to remediate two different types of PDFs to make them more accessible.
Panopto Basics
Description: Need to submit a video assignment in Blackboard? This session will show you exactly how to use Panopto to upload and submit your work. We’ll walk through the steps so you can feel confident completing video assignments without stress.
Blackboard Gradebook Essentials
Description: Take the mystery out of the Blackboard Gradebook in this hands-on workshop! Learn how to confidently set up and manage your gradebook by creating columns, creating categories, configuring gradebook settings, customizing the grading schema, calculating totals, grading student work efficiently, and more. Whether you’re new to Blackboard or looking to streamline your grading workflow, you’ll leave with practical skills and time-saving tips you can use right away.
Using Technology to Increase Student Engagement
Description: This session focuses on practical, high‑impact ways to use instructional technology to increase student engagement and support learning before students fall behind. Participants will explore strategies for designing more interactive learning experiences using video, low‑stakes assessments, and reflective activities—both in and outside the classroom.
Make Your Blackboard Course Accessible with Ally
Description: Creating accessible course content benefits all learners—and Blackboard’s Ally tool makes it easier than you think. In this hands-on session, instructors will learn how Ally helps identify and improve the accessibility of course materials directly within Blackboard.