Ultra Preview Reminder:

Are you teaching in Ultra Preview mode? If so, click “Use the Ultra Course.” Changing from Ultra Preview back to “Original Course” at this point will result in loss of data. Contact the Design Center if you need help.

Ultra Design Lab:

Is your department Ultra-trained? Book an in-person or virtual Ultra Design Lab to train your department together.

Best Semester Practices:

Are you new to online teaching or in need of fresh ideas to reinvigorate your course? Check out our best practices for key times before, during, and after the semester.  

Faculty Liaisons:

Marshall Online is excited to announce our new faculty liaisons: Drs. Wendi Benson, Shannon Miller-Mace, and Laura Stapleton. These faculty will collaborate with us on projects such as the Ultra upgrade and the online course development process. Watch for online teaching tips from our faculty liaisons in our future newsletter issues!

Advanced Grant Writing: A new microcredential course was launched this month in the Marshall Skills Exchange. The WV Grant Resources Centers is offering a microcredential course in Advanced Grant Writing. It is a course that meets once a week to talk about advanced strategies for crafting competitive grant proposals. You can find more information and sign up for the course by following this link. 

Dr. Chris Sochor

Read about how Dr. Chris Sochor promotes student belonging in his online classes and what he sees as the distinct belongingness needs of doctoral students.

Ultra Daily Drop-in Office Hours:

Join us any Monday-Friday at noon on Teams to tour Ultra or ask questions.

Belonging and Mindset: Saying is believing. Learn more about how belonging and mindset relate to academic performance and what evidence-based practices are most effective according to leading researchers and collaboratives like the Student Experience Project. We also share strategies to cultivate belonging, including an easy intervention based on a four-year study that could be adapted to any class.  

Teams Breakout Rooms: Breakout rooms give students virtual spaces to connect in a smaller group. We show you how to create and manage breakout rooms that will help your students brainstorm, solve problems, and build community. Find this and other tutorials in Ultra Instructor Resource Center (found under your Blackboard Organizations) or enroll here.

“When Pedagogy Meets Technology”: Blackboard Ultra released an update for the AI Design Assistant in December 2023 that will help you generate Discussion and Journal prompts! Using the AI Design Assistant, instructors can enter a description to narrow the focus of the discussion and then select a cognitive level – Apply, Analyze, Evaluate, Create, or Inspire me!, which will provide a mix of levels. There are also options to adjust the complexity of the discussion or journal prompt or create a title for the discussion or journal. As with all things generated using the AI Design Assistant, these are editable by the instructor before they are added to the course.

Ultra Progress Tracking: Did you know you can use progress tracking for high-impact interactions with students? Letting your students know that you care about their level of engagement with you as the instructor as well as the content in your course helps create a sense of care and belonging. We show you how to access Course Analytics and turn on and view student Progress Tracking.

Semester-on-a-Page:

This fillable Semester-on-a-Page tool helps students visualize their semester and stay on top of their coursework. After downloading the tool, students can add course names, assignment deadlines, and other events. Reach out to the Online Student Engagement Team for other time management tips like this.  

Office of Career Education:

We invite faculty members to enrich the career education experience for our online students by scheduling a virtual presentation with our office. This is a fantastic chance to supplement curriculum and empower online students with the knowledge and skills essential for success in their future careers:

• Professional development and networking tips
• Resume building and interview preparation guidance
• Creating a professional digital presence  
• Interactive Q&A session to address specific student queries