February 20 – Instructional Tech News

Hello from your Center for Instructional Technology! Below, you’ll find announcements and events to assist you with teaching and learning needs.  

Upcoming Learning Opportunities 

CIT Faculty Prep Days 

It’s midterms and time to focus on your Gradebook. We are here to help answer questions or simply review your settings. 

Drop in OR schedule a virtual appointment. Our doors will be open, and refreshments will be served. 

  • Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2-4PM 
  • Wednesday, March 1, 9-11AM 

Gordon Palmer Hall, Room A232 

Workshops:  

  • Tues, Feb 21, 10AM – People.ua.edu Workshop.
    Create a professional faculty website using People.ua.edu. Pre-registration is required. 
  • Wed., Feb 22, 10AM – Panopto Advanced Training
    Did you know you can use Panopto’s video editor to add video streams or a slide deck to a recording even after it’s complete?  Or, that you can splice multiple clips together into one video?
    This month, join us for an in depth look at how to use Panopto’s editor to combine many sources of content into one rich recording.  We’ll address some common editing scenarios we often get questions about, such as how to allow viewers to download your slides, or how to curate which streams a viewer will see at different parts of your videos. We record our webinars. If you can’t attend at the scheduled time, we’ll send a link to the recording to everyone who registers. 
  • Wed., Feb 22, 12PM – Gradescope for Large Courses
    Sections and Tools for Courses with 100+ Students – This one-hour workshop will focus on using Gradescope in large courses. With the new section management features, instructors will be able to set different submission time windows (release dates, due dates, late due dates, time limits) for different sections of students in the course, for a single assignment. Instructors will also be able to set assignment visibility by section, to release assignments to a subset of students on the roster. 
  • Tues., March 7, 10AM – Flip
    Explore the features inside Flip and learn how to level up the ways your scholars communicate and share their learning. 

Instructional Tech Resources and Reminders 

The CIT Knowledge Base is your clearinghouse for tutorials, known issues, and best practices for testing and grading in Blackboard.  

Grading 

Ultra Course View Pilot Continues 

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 

Cleaning Out Older Blackboard Courses 

Academic courses in Blackboard Learn are subject to removal two (2) years following the end of the semester in which they are taught per UA’s LMS Course Retention Policy. Courses taught prior to Fall 2020 are now eligible for removal. Instructors should save any needed course content or student grades. Students should save any necessary coursework as well. Non-academic courses, referred to as non-integrated courses, are subject to removal following two (2) years of inactivity. Steps to save content are linked below. 

More information on the policy and instructions for backing up Blackboard content are available in the LMS Course Retention Policy FAQ. 

Blackboard Learn Roadmap Webinars 

In case you missed the Vision and Roadmap webinars for Blackboard Learn Original and Ultra, the recordings are available to watch.  

Learn Ultra 
Learn Original 

As always, we are available Monday-Friday, 8:00-4:45 to assist 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