Getting Up to Ultra Speed
Training and Support Resources for Moving to Ultra
Online Learning Service (OLS) and ITS are committed to providing a diverse set of resources for Syracuse University instructors as Syracuse University transitions from original to ultra course view. We appreciate that the challenges and pressures facing faculty mean that an individual's support needs and timeline may be different than their colleagues' needs. OLS is providing a variety of synchronous training opportunities with different styles and timelines in addition to asynchronous materials available anytime. Our intent is to provide a suite of resources so that faculty can have support in the format that helps them most.
With a large number of instructors and classes making the transition, OLS has limited capacity for extensive one-on-one training, but we are working to expand our capacity for individualized consultations. The earlier an instructor opts-in to teaching in ultra course view and completes group training, the better we will be able to schedule an individual meeting with you about your courses.
Keep your eye on this space for additional information about training opportunities and events, some of which will including stipends for agreeing to teach your course in the ultra format in advance of the Fall 2024 semester.
Upcoming Events
Date | Time | Event Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
Mondays | 9:00 - 10:00 AM | Monday Office Hours | Open time with Online Learning Services staff for instructors to ask questions and get support on ultra courses. Hosted on Zoom:Â https://syracuseuniversity.zoom.us/j/99215387414 |
Tuesdays | 2:00 - 3:00 PM | Tuesday Office Hours | Open time with Online Learning Services staff for instructors to ask questions and get support on ultra courses. Hosted on Zoom: https://syracuseuniversity.zoom.us/j/96710631791 |
On-going | Ultra Essentials Course | This one-week, asynchronous training course is designed for a group of instructors from a department, program, school, or college to go through together in a collaborative, guided working environment. The ideal group size is 10-15 individuals who are enrolled in a training course delivered through Blackboard Ultra itself. Each cohort is assigned a facilitator from the OLS team that actively monitors the online course, participates in Blackboard discussions, answers questions, and makes individualized suggestions based on instructional needs and goals. Each session begins with a live, one-hour Zoom workshop. Participants then have a week to work through the Blackboard training modules on their own time, interacting with colleagues and the course facilitator through Blackboard discussions and messages, if they choose. Near the end of the week, there will be another live Zoom Q&A session with the facilitator. When the one-week course is complete, OLS staff will no longer actively monitor the Blackboard training course, but instructors will retain access to the course training materials for reference and review. OLS will run this training for groups of instructors on request. Please email help@syr.edu with list of instructors you have organized to participate along with suggestions about the best dates for the cohort. The training is designed to run Wednesday-Wednesday, but other schedules can be accommodated. |
Past Events
OLS preserves a record of past events in Answers. Selected recordings of events are
Documentation
Answers Pages
OLS has created custom documentation for Syracuse University Instructors on the core features and functions of the ultra course view. The easiest way to browse these pages is to open the sidebar and peruse the page hierarchy for the feature you are interested in. OLS documentation will expand throughout the transition. As this resource develops page names and locations may change. If you are unable to locate a resource, the top-level Blackboard documentation page will have links to ultra documentation.Â
Blackboard Documentation
Blackboard provides in-depth documentation for instructors on all of ultra course view's features. When browsing Blackboard's documentation, look for text at the top of the page reading "You are viewing Ultra Course View content" to ensure that the page is for your ultra course.Â
Tutorials
Orientation Course
The orientation course enrolls instructors in a Blackboard ultra course from the perspective of a student to give them a sense what an ultra course can be like and to provide access to video tutorials on how to use various instructional features of the ultra course view. Those enrolled also receive their own ultra course "sandbox" — an ultra course where they are enrolled as instructor for them to experiment with the new view and to create content in the ultra format that can later be copied to an ultra course they are teaching. Instructors can request access via the overview page.Â