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Starting Soon!: Foundations of Online Teaching Part Two
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Learn even more about teaching online by taking part two of Foundations of Online Teaching--registration is open now until the course starts in October!
Foundations of Online Teaching: Part Two
From October 20 to November 23
Facilitated by Gabi Frahm and Christine Monnier
This five-week, hybrid course is designed to build on the skills that were developed in Foundations of Online Teaching Part 1 but can also be taken if you would like to enhance a course you have already developed.
Using the OSCQR Rubric, participants will develop their entire course structure and complete at least two units of work. This course will tackle more advanced topics regarding content development and assessment building.
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Chart Your Course for Ultra
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Ahoy, COD faculty! The deadline for transitioning to Ultra is on the horizon and starting with the Spring 2026 term all courses at COD will be in Ultra (as you see your Spring courses being assigned in Blackboard, you will notice that they are now ALL in Ultra). With that date looming, the time is now to figure out how you’re going to get to Ultra.
The path won’t be the same for every course. Those who only use Blackboard to store a syllabus are going to have a very different transition from those who teach their entire course in Blackboard. But not to worry! We’re here to help you chart your course for the Ultra transition including figuring out how much time it will take, what training you should pursue, and the amount of support you may need from us.
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Sign Up Now! Ultra Training for Fall
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Fall 2025 Ultra Training Sessions
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While the transition deadline is fast approaching, you still have plenty of time to learn about Ultra and start moving your courses over. We can help! Here's our training schedule for this fall--and don't forget 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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Building Your Course in Blackboard Ultra
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Whether you are building a brand-new course or are looking to redesign an existing course, this session will include a guided walkthrough on how to build a course optimized for the Ultra Course View. Stick around after the session to ask more questions or get hands on help from Learning Technologies.
- Tuesday, October 28 from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Zoom
- Wednesday, November 26 from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. in SRC 3013
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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.
- Tuesday, October 7 from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. on Zoom
- Friday, November 7 from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. in SRC 3013
- 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.
- Wednesday, October 15 from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. in SRC 3013
- Monday, November 17 from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. on Zoom
- Tuesday, December 16 from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. on Zoom
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IMPORTANT UPDATE: Open Lab Cancelled This Friday, October 3rd
LT will be conducting in-person interviews this Friday to fill open positions in our office so the lab will be closed this day so all LT team members can attend. If you need assistance with an Ultra question during this time, please email us and we can assist you or set up a time to meet.
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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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What's New in Ultra for October 2025
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One of the hallmarks of the Blackboard Ultra Experience is the speed with which new features are developed and released. In fact, new features become available every month! Some of these features are large updates with entirely new functionality, others are very small enhancements that improve the teaching and learning experience.
For October, there are only a few smaller updates to Ultra:
- Consistent Save and Cancel options on Settings panels
- Tag Questions with Metadata in tests and question banks
- Improved Course Messages interface (messages appear as chat bubbles)
You can read more about these changes and everything that has been updated in Ultra for October in the full release notes. More improvements are coming in November!
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New: 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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COD Membership Benefits for the Online Learning Consortium
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- Free Webinars on online higher education topics
- Access to the interactive OLC Quality Scorecard for evaluating the online programs at your institution
- Access to OLC’s Consulting Services
- Eligible to nominate for the OLC Fellows Program
- Promote Your Publication: OLC posts a link to your publication in OLC Today for 4 consecutive issues; limit 4 publications.
- Member pricing (savings) on:
All full-time employees may access all membership benefits, you will just need to create an account affiliated with College of DuPage.
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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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