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We are excited to welcome two new members to the LT team!
- Rachael Johnson, LT Specialist
- Peter Laganowski, Learning Technologist
Please say "Hello!" if you see them in the office.
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Ally Is Live in Blackboard!
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You now have access to Ally, Blackboard’s integrated accessibility tool. Ally allows students to download alternative formats of course content as well as making it easier for instructors to see what elements of a course need modifications to improve accessibility.
You can learn more about Ally at one of our upcoming training sessions (listed below) or visit our Ally site.
Ally's First Week
In our first week of having Ally we've seen:
- 742 Alternative format document downloads. This number is very exciting-- it shows students are using Ally! The number of courses with downloads was 272.
- 161 Instructor Feedback Launches with 38 fixes and 42 Course Accessibility Report Launches. Faculty are trying Ally, too!
This is a great start to our Ally launch and we hope to see even more usage in the Spring 2026 term!
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Recordings Now Available from Level Up Your Accessibility Day
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Couldn't make it to an accessibility training? We've got you covered with recordings from all of our Zoom-based sessions.
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TODAY: Register for Intro to Accessible Content in Blackboard
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Registration is now open for some additional accessibility trainings!
Intro to Accessible Content in Blackboard
Designed for educators new to accessibility, this workshop offers a practical overview of digital accessibility, laying the foundation for inclusive teaching. You’ll learn core concepts around disability, explore common barriers students face online, and understand how ADA Title II connects to everyday course design choices. With that context, we’ll transition into Blackboard and demonstrate easy first steps, such as structuring content, adding alt text, checking color contrast, and utilizing built-in accessibility tools.
- Wednesday, December 10 from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. on Zoom
These sessions are PD eligible.
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New: Book an Appointment for Accessibility Support
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Working on improving the accessibility of your courses? We can help! Our Learning Experience and Digital Accessibility Designer, Lara Tompkins, offers consulting on accessible and inclusive course design as well as help with auditing and remediating materials and media so that they meet digital accessibility standards and remove barriers for students.
You can book a 30-minute session for either online or in-person support using the booking link below.
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Register Now for Accessibility Training from Anthology!
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New to Anthology's Innovative Educator series, The One That Made Accessibility Effortless is free to attend online on December 12 at 11:00 a.m.
What It Covers
You want to do the right thing when it comes to accessibility—but it’s not always easy to know where to start. Many faculty feel they lack the training or time to make their content truly inclusive.Findings from the 2025 Anthology Faculty Survey highlight gaps in institutional support, but also reveal where LMS tools can help. In this session, we’ll show how tools like Anthology Ally integrate into your everyday workflows—making accessibility part of the process, not an added burden.
The Engagement Entourage: An Ensemble of Practices for Digital Teaching to Foster Engagement and Inclusion
Speakers are from The University of Texas at Dallas
- Bill Hefley, Clinical Professor,
- Kathy Zolton, Professor of Practice,
- Katrina Adams, E-Learning Manager,
- Letitia Davis, Manager, Learning Management Solutions
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Course Removal Starts January 2026
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With the move to a SaaS model of Blackboard, the College gained more room to store Blackboard courses. However, this storage, while larger than before, isn't unlimited and in order to stay within our storage limits, we will need to resume the process of removing old courses from Blackboard.
Going forward, we will only be storing seven terms of courses and will be removing courses at the end of each term to stay within this limit (don't worry, we'll always let you know when this will be happening). We are currently planning to remove the following from Blackboard:
- All Blackboard course shells from FALL 21 to SPRING 23
- Old/Unused zDev shells
This cleanup will happen between terms the first week of January 2026. If you would like to see if you have any courses that will be removed, we have created a term in Blackboard called "To Be Removed." Sort your course list by this term. If you cannot see this term as an option, you have no courses slated for removal.
If you DO have courses that will be removed and would like to preserve them, you can export your course content.
Once exported, you can use this file to copy content into a new course or zdev shell or simply store it for your personal records.
If you have any questions or need assistance with this process, please let us know!
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Ultra Training and Updates
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December 2025 Updates to Ultra
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Ultra has some new updates and improvements for December! Here are a few that we think you'll notice and appreciate:
- Updates to Discussions: Instructors can mandate a number of posts/replies per Discussion topic, with automatic progress tracking tied to Gradebook and Progress Tracking. Students view requirements and their status in real-time, fostering accountability.
- Learning Module Table of Contents: Adds a collapsible Table of Contents panel in Learning Modules, mirroring the student view for easier navigation without Student Preview. On small screens, settings move to a header cog icon.
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Last Chance: Fall 2025 Ultra Training Sessions
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The Fall 2025 Term is winding down. That means just a few more months before all courses will be in Ultra. To ensure you're "Ultra-ready" for spring, we recommend signing up for one of our Ultra trainings. There are only a few sessions left, so register ASAP to secure your spot.
Can't make it? We also have asynchronous training you can do on your own and support labs where we can answer all of your Ultra questions!
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TODAY: Blackboard Ultra Gradebook
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This session will cover an overview of the Ultra Gradebook and how to set up your Gradebook to ensure that you and your students have a successful course.
- Wednesday, December 10 from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Zoom
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Converting Your Course to Blackboard Ultra
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Our Converting your Course session will include a guided walkthrough on how to transition your content from Original Course View to Ultra Course view and how to add new content from other sources. You can then take what you have learned and begin transitioning your content into the Ultra Course view. Stick around after the session to ask more questions or get hands on help from Learning Technologies.
- Tuesday, December 16 from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. on Zoom
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Ultra Asynchronous Training
Want to learn about Ultra but can't make it to one of our trainings? You can now register for one of our asynchronous online courses! You can choose from a PDH option or one that offers the same information without the PDH component.
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Blackboard Ultra Open Lab
LT Open Labs are ready for all your Ultra questions this fall.
From August 27 through December 19 find us in SRC 3013 on:
- Wednesdays from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
- Fridays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
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Make an Appointment with an Instructional Designer
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Need a little extra help with structuring your courses or have specific questions about course design in Ultra? We've got Instructional Designers for that! We now have a request form that allows you to book a 30-minute session (either virtual via Teams or in-person) with one of our Instructional Designers.
Before booking a 30-minute appointment with an instructional designer, we strongly encourage you to complete Blackboard Ultra training (available in both ). These sessions will give you the foundation you need so our meeting time can focus on your specific questions and course needs.
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New Posts on the LT Blog!
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Christine Monnier is back to blogging for the Fall Term! Check out her latest posts (most recent at the bottom, newest are bolded):
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Contact Learning Technologies
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