Join The Center for Instructional Technology to get your Fall courses polished and ready to go. CIT is hosting two days of workshops and one-on-one technical and pedagogical assistance to get you ready for the Fall semester. CIT will share more information about the event, including a detailed event schedule and registration links in July 2024.
Please be aware that Turnitin has scheduled down time on Saturday, April 20 for 5 hours. This is a maintenance window from 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM CDT.
Turnitin and Gradescope will be unavailable to all students and faculty during this time.
Panopto has announced that it is experiencing a service disruption and that users may experience errors with all aspects of Panopto, including login, recording, playback, editing, browsing, and viewing.
Panopto will update this issue announcement by 17-Nov-2023 7PM Central.
Turnitin released a “Resync Grade” feature for instructors to use in the Assignment Inbox. If a student’s grade is not synced to the Grade Center, this should resolve that issue. Here are steps to find this feature:
You will see a message that states “Grade resynchronization successfully completed” at the bottom of the Assignment Inbox when it is complete. Please check the Blackboard Grade Center to confirm the sync.
If you have any problems with this process, please contact the Center for Instructional Technology for assistance.
Beginning Oct. 27, 2023, a copy of all new Zoom sessions recorded to the cloud will automatically be saved to Panopto, UA’s media manager and lecture capture tool. Users will experience no changes to their Zoom account and will continue to have the option to store recordings on their computer or in the cloud. Sessions recorded to Zoom Cloud prior to Oct. 27 will not be affected.
Welcome to Fall 2023 from your Center for Instructional Technology! Below, you’ll find announcements and events to assist you with teaching and learning needs. As always, email cit@ua.edu, call 205-348-3532, or stop by A203 Gordon Palmer Hall for assistance with UA’s instructional tech tools.
Simple Syllabus –Per the UA Syllabus Policy, Fall 2023 syllabi must be published by August 23. Visit UA Simple Syllabus support site for workshops, and other resources.
Several publisher and other third party tools have a new method of working within Blackboard Learn and may have slightly different steps. We have worked closely with each vendor to document any changes in the workflow or appearance of these tools. Instructors may also be contacted by textbook providers if adjustments are needed to the steps instructors must follow to use these digital resources in Blackboard Learn.
Stay up to date as we make these changes by subscribing to the CIT Announcements page.
Class Collaborate was removed from Blackboard Learn on Aug 10. UA departments using Class Collaborate OUTSIDE of Blackboard may still access Class Collaborate until Sept 30. CIT suggests instructors use Zoom or Teams for synchronous class meetings and Panopto for lecture capture.
Using MS Teams and Zoom conferencing for online sessions in your courses
The CIT Knowledge Base is your clearinghouse for tutorials, known issues, and best practices.
Getting Started with Blackboard (includes helpful links for start of semester)
Instructors interested in teaching with Ultra Course View in an upcoming academic term should submit a request via the CIT portal: Blackboard Learn Ultra LIVE Course Pilot Request.
We have been hard at work putting together workshops and webinars to meet the needs of UA faculty and instructors! Select upcoming sessions are listed below, but keep up to date on all the training sessions at https://cit.ua.edu/workshops/
Teaching with Blackboard Sessions
These CIT-led workshops and webinars aim to help you get started with and get the most out of Blackboard Learn, UA’s learning management system. Upcoming sessions include:
Register for CIT-led Teaching with Blackboard workshops and webinars.
Teaching with Turnitin Sessions
Turnitin provides tools for grading and peer review and helps deter and prevent plagiarism by checking student-submitted work against an extensive online database. Learn more in these upcoming sessions:
Register for CIT-led Teaching with Turnitin workshops and webinars.
Adobe Professional Faculty Training
These training opportunities, led by Adobe experts, are provided exclusively to UA instructors.
Simple Syllabus
Multiple dates in August offered both in-person (Gordon Palmer, A232) and virtually
In this one-hour session of UA’s new syllabus platform, Simple Syllabus, we’ll cover:
Register for an upcoming session
Flip Basics
Explore the features inside Flip, UA’s video discussion tool, and learn how to level up the ways your scholars communicate and share their learning.
Wednesday, September 6, 10:00 – 11:00 am
Zoom Basics
Learn the basic features for conducting a zoom meeting including an overview of Zoom’s web portal and desktop client, how to schedule a meeting and invite others, and we’ll review the in-meeting host and participant controls.
Monday, August 28, 10:00 – 11:00 am
Zoom Advanced
This CIT instructor led session will explore Zoom features including recurring meetings, breakout rooms, polls, and reports.
Tuesday, August 29, 10:00 – 11:00 am
Introduction to Panopto
Join CIT for a webinar that covers the basics of using the lecture capture and video platform, Panopto. This webinar is designed for new users and beginners who would like to learn how to use the Panopto interface and recording features.
Tuesday, August 29, 1:00 – 2:00 pm
Monday, September 11, 10:00 – 11:00 am
Doing more with Panopto
Join CIT for a webinar that covers features that extend beyond the introductory Panopto class.
Tuesday, September 5, 1:00 – 2pm
Tuesday, September 19, 10:00 – 11:00 am
Hypothesis: Annotation Starter Assignments
This 30-minute workshop is ideal for instructors who are interested in using social annotation in their courses but aren’t exactly sure how to provide guidance to students. The Hypothesis team will review ideas for annotation starter assignments and provide you with ready-to-use instructions for a variety of disciplines and modalities. It doesn’t matter if you’re teaching humanities, business, STEM, or the health professions, or if you’re teaching face-to-face or online — you’ll get strategies from this workshop that you can add immediately to an assignment in your course.
Thursday, August 31, 12:00 – 12:30 pm
Hypothesis – Activating Annotation in Blackboard
The Hypothesis team will share how teachers are using annotation-powered reading to help students develop foundational academic skills like deep reading and persuasive writing.
Thursday, September 7, 2:00-2:30 pm
Annotate Your Syllabus with Hypothesis
Asking your class to annotate the syllabus allows you to introduce students to social annotation in a low-stakes way. Even better, you’re providing them with an opportunity to engage with the syllabus, to share ideas and to ask questions about the course in a way that sets the tone for engagement throughout the term. In this workshop, the Hypothesis team will review ideas and guidance for the collaborative syllabus annotation assignment.
Tuesday, September 12, 12:00-1:00 pm
Microsoft Teams meetings for virtual class sessions
Learn how to use “meet now” and how to schedule a virtual class meeting, explore meeting tools, and examine settings to further control and manage your virtual class meetings.
Thursday, September 7, 3:00 – 4:00 pm
People.ua.edu – Getting Started
Create your professional faculty website using our easy drag-and-drop web platform. In this session, you’ll learn how to add text and pictures, create column layouts, add video, audio, and hyperlinks, and add and rearrange pages.
Pre-registration required at http://people.ua.edu.
Check out more instructional technology workshops at https://cit.ua.edu/workshops/
As always, we are available Monday-Friday, 8:00-4:45 to help you. We look forward to working with you soon.
Email – cit@ua.edu Phone – 205-348-3532 Website and Knowledge Base – http://cit.ua.edu
This fall, the Center for Instructional Technology is partnering with Adobe to offer four customized Adobe training sessions exclusive to UA faculty members. Each session is instructed by an Adobe certified trainer and designed to share ideas and resources for infusing creative thinking and communication in the classroom. Participants will receive a certificate and digital badge for professional development.
Watch the UA Events calendar for additional sessions coming later this fall. In addition, all UA faculty and instructors have access to the Adobe Education Exchange, a comprehensive library of training, resources, and guides. To access this free resource, visit https://edex.adobe.com/ and log in using your @ua email address and myBama password.
If you have any questions or need additional help accessing desired Adobe trainings, contact CIT at cit@ua.edu or 205-348-3532.
Each year we provide a new “activation password” that can be used to reactivate a copy of Respondus 4.0 that was previously installed or to install a new copy of the software.
The password is included in the instructions to install and download the Respondus 4 campus-wide software in the software catalog.
If you have any trouble accessing this file, or any questions about Respondus 4, please contact CIT through our support portal.
Turnitin will take an 8 hour maintenance window on August 12, 09:00AM – 5:00PM, with the following services being unavailable during these times:
Turnitin (including all Integrations)
Originality (including all Integrations)
Similarity (including Integrations)
Draft Coach
Gradescope (Code Similarity & LTI 1.3 Only)
Feedback Studio for iOS
CIT will post another reminder about this maintenance in August. Please let us know if you have any questions by submitting a request to our support portal.
Registration is appreciated, but it is not required to attend. Questions? Contact us at 205-348-3532 or cit@ua.edu.
LockDown Browser & Respondus Monitor | 9:00 – 9:45 AM. – A236 Gordon Palmer Hall
Teaching with Turnitin: Turnitin Basics | 9:00 – 9:45 AM. – A232 Gordon Palmer Hall
Introduction to Panopto | 10:00 – 10:45 AM. – A232 Gordon Palmer Hall
Hypothesis 101: Learn More About Social Annotation | 10:00 – 10:45 AM. – A236 Gordon Palmer Hall
Using Gradescope with Blackboard | 11:00 – 11:45 AM. – A236 Gordon Palmer Hall
Digital Storytelling for the Classroom | 11:00 – 11:45 AM. – A232 Gordon Palmer Hall
Simple Syllabus Info and Support Session | 1:00 – 1:45 PM. – A232 Gordon Palmer Hall
Blackboard Learn 101 | 1:00 – 1:45 PM. – A236 Gordon Palmer Hall
Teaching with Blackboard Ally: Creating Accessible Course Content | 2:00 – 2:45 PM. – A236 Gordon Palmer Hall
Blackboard Learn: Grading and Managing the Gradebook | 2:00 – 2:45 PM. – A232 Gordon Palmer Hall
Blackboard Learn: Creating Assessments | 3:00 – 3:45 PM. – A232 Gordon Palmer Hall
Flip Basics | 3:00 – 3:45 PM. – A236 Gordon Palmer Hall
Blackboard Learn: Fostering Student Engagement | 4:00 – 4:45 PM. – A232 Gordon Palmer Hall
Using PointSolutions for Polling in the Classroom | 4:00 – 4:45 PM. – A236 Gordon Palmer Hall
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Blackboard Learn 101 | 9:00 – 9:45 AM. – A232 Gordon Palmer Hall
Teaching with Blackboard Ally: Creating Accessible Course Content | 9:00 – 9:45 AM. – A236 Gordon Palmer Hall
Using PointSolutions for Polling in the Classroom | 10:00 – 10:45 AM. – A236 Gordon Palmer Hall
Blackboard Learn: Grading and Managing the Gradebook | 10:00 – 10:45 AM. – A232 Gordon Palmer Hall
Blackboard Learn: Creating Assessments | 11:00 – 11:45 AM. – A232 Gordon Palmer Hall
Flip Basics | 11:00 – 11:45 AM. – A236 Gordon Palmer Hall
Blackboard Learn: Fostering Student Engagement | 1:00 – 1:45 PM. – A232 Gordon Palmer Hall
LockDown Browser & Respondus Monitor | 1:00 – 1:45 PM. – A236 Gordon Palmer Hall
Hypothesis 101: Learn More About Social Annotation | 2:00 – 2:45 PM. – A236 Gordon Palmer Hall
Introduction to Panopto | 2:00 – 2:45 PM. – A232 Gordon Palmer Hall
Using Gradescope with Blackboard | 3:00 – 3:45 PM. – A236 Gordon Palmer Hall
Digital Storytelling for the Classroom | 3:00 – 3:45 AM. – A232 Gordon Palmer Hall
Teaching with Turnitin: Turnitin Basics | 4:00 – 4:45 AM. – A236 Gordon Palmer Hall
