1. Learning Management System (Blackboard)
  2. Training Opportunities for Blackboard Ultra Courses

Training Opportunities for Blackboard Ultra Courses

Training Opportunities for Blackboard Ultra Courses

 

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An Ultra self-paced Blackboard course is available to guide you through the different functions and features of Ultra courses.
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Mini Workshops to Enhance Your Blackboard Courses

Are you looking to learn more about Ultra Courses, enhance your course, or learn how to use a new tool that is available within Blackboard? These workshops are for you! These workshops are meant to be short (20-30 minutes) and focused on specific topics.

Easy Tools to Increase Student Engagement – April 21 at 11:30am

Learn about Blackboard tools as well as other integrated tools you can use to brainstorm, discuss, and check for knowledge. We’ll talk about Padlets, Blackboard’s knowledge checks, and Blackboard discussions.

Registration

Using Data to Inform Course Decisions – April 28 at 1pm

Learn about ways you can use data to make informed decisions about your courses. We’ll discuss three specific tools in Blackboard: student activity, analytics, and grades

Registration

Workshops to Support your Teaching within Blackboard

These hour-long workshops are meant to help you learn new tools and techniques for your teaching.

Add Interactivity to your Class with PollEverywhere – August 7 at 10:30 am

Enhance the classroom experience with PollEverywhere. Use it to engage students during lectures or give digital quizzes. Learn how it can connect with your Blackboard gradebook.

Registration

How to Use Padlet: A Digital Discussion Board – August 8 at 10:30 am

Padlet is a digital bulletin board that you can used both synchronously or asynchronously in your class to engage students. Learn about different use cases for Padlet in your course. See examples of different ways Padlet can be used to support collaboration and student learning. Learn how to get a UR Account and connect Padlet to Blackboard so that students have accounts associated with their contributions.

Registration

Enhancing your Discussion and Student Interaction using Harmonize – August 12 at 10:30 am

Harmonize is a discussion board tool that can enhance your online discussions by allowing audio, video, and text-based comments. Offering multiple due dates and reminders to students. It can also be used to facilitate peer review activities.

Registration

Save Faculty Time – Tips and Tools for Managing your Course – August 14 at 10:30 am

This workshop will cover a number of tips and tricks you can use to help manage your course more efficiently. It will also suggest tools that can be used for basic course administration, like attendance taking and grading.

Registration

Workshop Series for Faculty Transitioning to Ultra in the Summer or Fall of 2025

Workshop #1 – Building and Organizing Content in Ultra Courses
This workshop will help you learn how to organize your Ultra course best. It will also cover how to copy content from your Original course into Ultra.

  • May 22, 2025, 12noon – 1pm

https://rochester.zoom.us/meeting/register/s0r0tfoMQyuzN_BWYfflhA

  • August 7, 2025, 12noon – 1pm

https://rochester.zoom.us/meeting/register/_-DEUrCXSZmN9CZWmJvDNg

Workshop #2 – Setting Up Graded Items in Ultra Courses
This workshop will cover using all of the Graded Items (Discussion, Journal, Tests, Assignments) in Blackboard Ultra. It will also briefly discuss how to connect to the external tools that the University has available for use with Blackboard.

  • May 29, 2025 12noon -1pm

https://rochester.zoom.us/meeting/register/XYJNQdtZQgeKwbQ72vbSkQ

  • August 12, 2025 12noon -1pm

https://rochester.zoom.us/meeting/register/4r08-R0FSCGoh2Eme2m0eQ

Workshop #3 – Teaching in Ultra Courses
This workshop will cover things you need to know as you begin teaching your course in Ultra, including sending announcements, messages, progress tracking, and setting up your overall grade column.

  • May 6, 2025, 12noon – 1pm

https://rochester.zoom.us/meeting/register/07jUKK1ARN2kod4rxf8mNA

  • June 17, 2025, 12noon – 1pm

https://rochester.zoom.us/meeting/register/Rah61FF5Q3G4IPFGQyElAQ

  • August 14, 2025, 12noon – 1pm

https://rochester.zoom.us/meeting/register/bEE76CO5TgShyslABINQbw

Workshop materials

Creating Content

Creating Gradable Items

Teaching in Ultra

FeedbackFruits in-person workshop

Want to level up your course engagement? Faculty across campus are using FeedbackFruits to make collaboration and feedback more dynamic—and you can, too.

Here’s a quick look at what FeedbackFruits can do:
The group formation tool creates student teams based on major, project preference, or other criteria. Group member evaluation supports peer assessment on contributions, and the peer review tool enables rubric-based feedback and annotations.

Interactive video, document, and presentation tools help increase engagement both asynchronously and during class. Team-Based Learning and AI-generated writing feedback offer more ways to support active learning.

All tools integrate seamlessly with Blackboard and can be tailored to your course.

On May 19th, the FeedbackFruits team is coming from Amsterdam to lead an in-person info session and interactive workshop from 1:45–3:15 pm in Schlegel Hall 401A/B—a Simon Business School space where these tools are already in action. You’ll experience FeedbackFruits tools yourself, get hands-on guidance for building collaborative assignments, and hear from UR faculty sharing their experiences using the tools in their teaching.

📍 Location: Simon Business School (Schlegel Hall, 401A/B) – 300 Wilson Blvd, Rochester, NY 14620

🍊🍒 Snacks (including traditional cookies from the Netherlands – Stroopwafel) will be provided.

💻Bring your laptop.

Please RSVP here if you are interested in attending.

Workshop Agenda

📌 15 min – Introduction to FeedbackFruits

📌 20 min – Experience FeedbackFruits as a student in small groups (real-time assignment walk-through in Blackboard!)

All groups: Group Formation

•    Group A: Group Member Evaluation

•    Group B: Interactive Document + Interactive Video

•    Group C: Team-Based Learning

📌 30 min – Experience setting up FeedbackFruits in small groups (real-time assignment creation in Blackboard!)

📌 10 mins –  book a 15-minute meeting to discuss how you can continue using FeedbackFruits