Online Teaching Resources

Faculty Workshops

Every semester, we offer a series of one-hour “how-to” workshops to get you started with some basic online activities. This series covers everything from giving live or recorded lectures, using various discussion board tools, giving an online test, and providing a platform for asynchronous student presentations.

Recent workshops have been focused on providing support to faculty teaching in Ultra courses. More information and resources are available on the following website:

Blackboard at the University of Rochester

Using AI Features in Blackboard Ultra to Streamline Course Design

Blackboard Ultra has a number of AI Assistant features that can help you with your course design and save you time in the development of your course. Join us to learn about how the AI Design Assistant can assist with the generation of assignment and discussion prompts, the generation of test questions, naming of learning modules, development of grading rubrics, and more.

Monday, March 2 at 2pm, Register here
Tuesday, March 3 at 12noon, Register here

Using Harmonize – Promoting Student Interaction, Sharing Student Work and Presentations, Peer Review

This workshop will help instructors discover dynamic ways to increase engagement in your online or hybrid courses. It will introduce the core features of Harmonize, including multimedia discussion posts, student presentations, and structured peer review activities. Learn how to create interactive prompts on your own or with AI, facilitate meaningful feedback, and showcase student work in a collaborative environment. Whether you're looking to move beyond traditional discussion boards or strengthen community in your course, this session will provide practical strategies you can implement right away.

Monday, March 16 at 3pm, Register here
Tuesday, March 17 at 12noon, Register here

Using Panopto – Store and Share Video Content for your Courses, including Access Statistics

In this workshop, instructors will learn how to effectively manage and deliver video in Blackboard Ultra. It will cover uploading media to Panopto, creating and organizing course folders, and linking videos directly within your course. You’ll also explore how to edit recordings, adjust access settings, review viewing statistics, and enhance engagement with captions, quizzes, and bookmarks. Whether you’re new to Panopto or looking to deepen your skills, this session will help you use video more strategically to support student learning.

Monday, March 30 at 3pm, Register here
Tuesday, March 31 at 12noon, Register here

Workshop Series for Blackboard Ultra Courses

Workshop #1 – Blackboard Ultra – Create your Course Structure and Content

This workshop will help you learn how to best organize your Ultra courses and prepare the content for your students.

Monday, April 6 at 2pm, Register here
Tuesday, April 7 at 12noon, Register here

Workshop #2 – Blackboard Ultra – Promoting Interaction and Collecting Student Work (Assignments, Tests)

This workshop will cover using all of the Graded Items (Discussion, Journal, Tests, Assignments) available in Blackboard Ultra.

Monday, April 20 at 2pm, Register here
Tuesday, April 21 at 12noon, Register here

Workshop #3 – Blackboard Ultra – Setting up the Gradebook and Overall Grade

This workshop will cover setting up your gradebook and the overall grade column.

Online Teaching Resources

Faculty Workshops

Blackboard at the University of Rochester

Workshop Series for Blackboard Ultra Courses

Information about previous workshops

Information Guides

Video Tutorials

Online Learning at the University of Rochester