Faculty Training
The Center for Online Learning & Teaching Technology will be offering various training on Quality Matters, Blackboard Learn and other supported tools. These sessions are open to all UTRGV faculty interested in learning more about Blackboard Learn and how they can apply it to their courses and beneficial for faculty who are currently teaching or will be teaching fully online or hybrid courses in the near future.
The training that we offered are listed below, please check our training website for specific dates and times. If you need to request a special training session for a group of faculty or staff, please submit a Faculty Help Request .
Applying the Quality Matters Rubric Workshop
Goes over how to Apply the Quality Matters Rubric. This rubric introduces participants to best practices, instructional design, and research-based design principles of an online/hybrid course to ensure quality assurance. This workshop is required if you are planning to teach online.
| Date | Time | Location |
| May 12th – 26th | N/A | Online |
|---|---|---|
| June 16th - 30th | N/A | Online |
| July 14th - 28th | N/A | Online |
| August 4th - 18th | N/A | Online |
All current APPQMR sessions are filled.
Blackboard Basics
This training is designed to help faculty members develop the basic knowledge and skills necessary to use Blackboard Learn. This is Part 1 of 2 and covers the basics of Blackboard navigation, creating, editing, and deleting items, folders, etc.
| Date | Time | Brownsville Campus | Edinburg Campus |
| May 12 | 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM | Online | Online |
|---|
Blackboard Intermediate
This training will add on to the skills learned in the Blackboard Basics training and help faculty members dive deeper into Blackboard Learn. This series will cover Discussion Board, Rubrics, Assignments, Gradebook, and Needs Grading.
| Date | Time | Brownsville Campus | Edinburg Campus |
| May 12 | 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM | Online | Online |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 12 | 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM | Online | Online |
Blackboard Advanced (Grade Center)
This training will cover the various features from the Blackboard Grade Center. From creating a regular and/or calculated column to assigning letter grades.
| Date | Time | Brownsville Campus | Edinburg Campus |
| May 12 | 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM | Online | Online |
|---|
Online Course Design
The purpose of the Online Course Design session is to provide faculty the support needed to design an effective online course. During the session, participants will explore online course design best practices, including learning objectives, assessments, activities, and tools. The workshop also touches on topics such as course structure, copyright, and accessibility.
| Date | Time | Brownsville Campus | Edinburg Campus |
| May 7 | 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM | Online | Online |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 8 | 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM | Online | Online |
| May 13 | 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM | Online | Online |
| May 14 | 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM | Online | Online |
Online Course Delivery
The purpose of the Online Course Delivery session is to provide faculty with the support needed to facilitate and deliver an online course. During the session, we will explore different types of presence we can create and practical tips for applying them to our online courses.
| Date | Time | Brownsville Campus | Edinburg Campus |
| May 7 | 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM | Online | Online |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 8 | 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM | Online | Online |
| May 13 | 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM | Online | Online |
| May 14 | 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM | Online | Online |
Blackboard Ally
This new integration will allow faculty to check the accessibility of files uploaded to Blackboard. This tool will also provide guidance to improve the accessibility of your files and generate alternative accessible formats for students.
There are currently no scheduled upcoming trainings. Please contact the COLTT office for assistance.
Blackboard Advanced - Rubrics
Are your students capable of better quality work than their current submissions? Are you searching for a way to end the rough-is-my-final-draft pandemic? Are you ready to maximize the impact of your rubrics?
Join us as we explore the anatomy of a scaffolded rubric to transform one of your own! To get the most out of this session, be sure to bring a rubric you plan on using in an upcoming module or term. It would be ideal to bring a range of samples from previous submissions if they are available.
There are currently no scheduled upcoming training. Please contact the COLTT office for assistance.
Blackboard Collaborate Ultra
The purpose of this training is to aid faculty in the use of Bb Collaborate Ultra for synchronous class delivery. Faculty will become acquainted with its tools and features. In addition, this training will cover best practices and techniques in the implementation of Bb Collaborate Ultra into the classroom. Bb Collaborate Ultra is a real-time video conferencing tool that lets you add files, share applications, and use a virtual whiteboard to interact with participants. Bb Collaborate Ultra is an integrated tool within Blackboard Learn and is available to all courses. Bb Collaborate Ultra now opens right in your browser, so students and yourself do not have to install any software to join a session.
There are currently no scheduled upcoming training. Please contact the COLTT office for assistance.
Panopto Basics
The Basic Training Webinar is designed for new users and beginners who would like to learn how to use the Panopto software. This webinar will cover creating, managing, and editing sessions as well as navigating the Panopto interface.
There are currently no scheduled upcoming trainings. Please contact the COLTT office for assistance.
Respondus Test Generator and Lockdown Browser/Monitor
Creating quizzes and exams is often a time-consuming task, but Respondus takes much of the difficulty out of it. With Respondus, instructors can import test questions from a word document, and the program will convert the document to a format that is ready to upload to Blackboard- no more copying and pasting.
* This is a special session on Test Generator for Mac users.
There are currently no scheduled upcoming trainings. Please contact the COLTT office for assistance.
SoftChalk Cloud
Create, customize and personalize content by mashing up your own materials with rich media, interactive exercises, quizzes, and text.
The combination of personalized content, embedded assessment, interactivity, and immediate student feedback increases student engagement and improves learning outcomes.
There are currently no scheduled upcoming trainings. Please contact the COLTT office for assistance.
Top Hat
Introduction to Top Hat - We'll cover the basics of Top Hat, from creating your account and setting up your first course, to advanced features like adding a TA and managing sections. Attend this webinar if you're brand new to Top Hat, or if you've gotten started on your own but want to review or ask questions.
New Top Hat Gradebook - The new gradebook is still a work in progress so you will be able to navigate between the old and new grade book as you wish, but we are also excited to share the new and existing features we have in the new gradebook view. This webinar will cover the new gradebook features and give you the opportunity to ask any questions you may have.
Active Learning Webinars with Top Hat - Join us for an hour packed with active learning tips and tricks designed for UTRGV faculty. You will learn: the benefits of active learning, how Top Hat can boost student engagement and how to build student comprehension before, during, and after class. Sign Up!
Turning Technologies
This training will cover the setup of Turning Point, how faculty use the receiver, how to create a polling presentation in PowerPoint and how to integrate or create sessions.
There are currently no scheduled upcoming trainings. Please contact the COLTT office for assistance.
Ask COLTT
Join the COLTT team and ask any questions that you may have related to Blackboard or any of our supported tools such as Collaborate, SoftChalk, Respondus Lockdown Browser, etc.
There are currently no scheduled upcoming trainings. Please contact the COLTT office for assistance.