Past Trainings

Spring and Summer 2024

Group Training 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. 

4/10 & 4/17

1:00 - 2:00 PM 

Workshop: Syllabus-Based Course Creation & Redesign in Ultra Course View

This newly-designed workshop is for Syracuse University instructors to use their syllabus to create a Blackboard ultra course from the ground up. In part one instructors will focus on updating their course structure to take advantage of ultra’s navigation. Instructors will create new Blackboard documents and copy items from their prior courses. The optional second part of the workshop will center on gradebook setup and assessment settings. The workshop is a “hands-on” opportunity to work with OLS staff as they guide participants through the process of re-designing for ultra.

This is a virtual training that will meet on Zoom with a limited number of seats available in each session.

3/19 & 3/26

1:00 - 2:00 PM 

Workshop: Syllabus-Based Course Creation (& Redesign)

This newly-designed workshop is for Syracuse University instructors to use their syllabus to create a Blackboard ultra course from the ground up. In part one instructors will focus on updating their course structure to take advantage of ultra’s navigation. Instructors will create new Blackboard documents and copy items from their prior courses. The optional second part of the workshop will center on gradebook setup and assessment settings. The workshop is a “hands-on” opportunity to work with OLS staff as they guide participants through the process of re-designing for ultra.

This is a virtual training that will meet on Zoom with a limited number of seats available in each session. 

Workshop: Creating and Copying Content

Friday, November 3, 2023 from 1-2pm.

This workshop focuses on getting started with content creation and covers the following topics: interface overview, content types, copying from original courses, progress tracking and student preview. Participants should have previously enrolled in the Ultra Orientation so that they have access to an ultra course and arrive with content they plan to use in their teaching to build with it during the meeting. 

Workshop: Creating and Copying Content

Tuesday, November 7, 2023 from 11am-12pm.

This workshop focuses on getting started with content creation and covers the following topics: interface overview, content types, copying from original courses, progress tracking and student preview. Participants should have previously enrolled in the Ultra Orientation so that they have access to an ultra course and arrive with content they plan to use in their teaching to build with it during the meeting. 

Workshop: Creating and Copying Content

Thursday, November  9, 2023 from 10-11am.

This workshop focuses on getting started with content creation and covers the following topics: interface overview, content types, copying from original courses, progress tracking and student preview. Participants should have previously enrolled in the Ultra Orientation so that they have access to an ultra course and arrive with content they plan to use in their teaching to build with it during the meeting. 

Workshop: Creating Assessments and Gradebook Overview

Friday, November 10, 2023 from 12pm-1pm.

This workshop covers the settings on assignments and tests and the flexible grading interface. It also provides an overview of the new Gradebook and covers setting up the Overall Grade, categories, rubrics, student performance, automatic zeros, accommodations, exemptions, and exceptions. 

Workshop: Communication - Announcements, Messages, and Discussions

Tuesday, November 14, 2023 from 12-1pm.

This workshop is focused on how to use your ultra course to communicate with students using announcements, messages, discussions, and class conversations. Special attention is given to the differences between messages and email, and profile settings to ensure you receive student communication in the method you prefer. 

Workshop: Groups and Releasing Content

Thursday, November 16, 2023 from 10-11am.

This workshop demonstrates how to create, manage, and communicate with groups. It also covers settings for releasing content based on group, date, or student performance and discusses Accommodation settings. 

Workshop: Creating and Copying Content

Monday, December 4, 2023 from 4-5pm.

This workshop focuses on getting started with content creation and covers the following topics: interface overview, content types, copying from original courses, progress tracking and student preview. Participants should have previously enrolled in the Ultra Orientation so that they have access to an ultra course and arrive with content they plan to use in their teaching to build with it during the meeting. 

Workshop: Creating and Copying Content

Friday, December 8, 2023 from 10-11am.

This workshop focuses on getting started with content creation and covers the following topics: interface overview, content types, copying from original courses, progress tracking and student preview. Participants should have previously enrolled in the Ultra Orientation so that they have access to an ultra course and arrive with content they plan to use in their teaching to build with it during the meeting. 

Workshop: Creating Assessments and Gradebook Overview

Tuesday, December 12, 2023 from 12-1pm.

This workshop covers the settings on assignments and tests and the flexible grading interface. It also provides an overview of the new Gradebook and covers setting up the Overall Grade, categories, rubrics, student performance, automatic zeros, accommodations, exemptions, and exceptions. 

Workshop: Creating and Copying Content

Wednesday, January 3, 2024 from 2-3pm.

This workshop focuses on getting started with content creation and covers the following topics: interface overview, content types, copying from original courses, progress tracking and student preview. Participants should have previously enrolled in the Ultra Orientation so that they have access to an ultra course and arrive with content they plan to use in their teaching to build with it during the meeting. 

Workshop: Creating and Copying Content

Friday, January 5, 2024 from 10-11am.

This workshop focuses on getting started with content creation and covers the following topics: interface overview, content types, copying from original courses, progress tracking and student preview. Participants should have previously enrolled in the Ultra Orientation so that they have access to an ultra course and arrive with content they plan to use in their teaching to build with it during the meeting. 

Workshop: Creating and Copying Content

Monday, January 8, 2024 from 2-3pm.

This workshop focuses on getting started with content creation and covers the following topics: interface overview, content types, copying from original courses, progress tracking and student preview. Participants should have previously enrolled in the Ultra Orientation so that they have access to an ultra course and arrive with content they plan to use in their teaching to build with it during the meeting. 

Workshop: Creating Assessments and Gradebook Overview

Tuesday, January 9, 2024 from 2-3pm.

This workshop covers the settings on assignments and tests and the flexible grading interface. It also provides an overview of the new Gradebook and covers setting up the Overall Grade, categories, rubrics, student performance, automatic zeros, accommodations, exemptions, and exceptions. 

Workshop: Creating Assessments and Gradebook Overview

Tuesday, January 16, 2024 from 12-1pm.

This workshop covers the settings on assignments and tests and the flexible grading interface. It also provides an overview of the new Gradebook and covers setting up the Overall Grade, categories, rubrics, student performance, automatic zeros, accommodations, exemptions, and exceptions. 

Workshop: Creating Assessments and Gradebook Overview

Thursday, January 18, 2024 from 3-4pm.

This workshop covers the settings on assignments and tests and the flexible grading interface. It also provides an overview of the new Gradebook and covers setting up the Overall Grade, categories, rubrics, student performance, automatic zeros, accommodations, exemptions, and exceptions. 

Workshop: Groups and Releasing Content

Wednesday, January 24, 2024 from 1-2pm.

This workshop demonstrates how to create, manage, and communicate with groups. It also covers settings for releasing content based on group, date, or student performance and discusses Accommodation settings. 

Workshop: Communication - Announcements, Messages, and Discussions

Friday, January 26, 2024 from 10-11am.

This workshop is focused on how to use your ultra course to communicate with students using announcements, messages, discussions, and class conversations. Special attention is given to the differences between messages and email, and profile settings to ensure you receive student communication in the method you prefer.