How Blackboard's AVA Supports Learning Without Replacing You We've all done it. We know the answer is in the user guide or instruction manual, but we don't want to skim the whole document. Students feel the same way about the course syllabus. They know the answer is in the syllabus, but they don't know where … Continue reading AI Spark Tips: When Students Ask at 2 a.m.
Blackboard Day 2026: Accessible Learning
Join us January 7, 2026 for our 7th Annual Blackboard Day in the Olin B. Sansbury Campus Life Center, Room 310, by accessing Zoom in the CAIFS PD Course, or by using the Zoom Link! Register Now 9 am to 9:45 am Welcome and Blackboard Learn Ultra Updates Join the Blackboard Support Team to learn … Continue reading Blackboard Day 2026: Accessible Learning
AI Spark Tips: Where AI and Learning Science Meet
In her most recent newsletter, "From Crutch to Coach?" Dr. Philippa Hardman, a scholar at the University of Cambridge, asks, does generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) "actually make us more capable, or just faster at outsourcing our thinking?" As we race to keep pace with AI-driven change, it can be hard to keep up with the … Continue reading AI Spark Tips: Where AI and Learning Science Meet
AI Spark Tips: Teaching through Real World Connections
When students see the relevance of course content in their own lives, they are often more motivated to study, strive for excellence, and succeed. Introducing practical applications can help students connect abstract disciplinary concepts to the kinds of questions they are already asking in real world contexts. Specialized Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) tools, like the … Continue reading AI Spark Tips: Teaching through Real World Connections
AI Spark Tips: Using AI to Improve Image Accessibility
Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Akash Garg, Instructor of Biology The CAST guidelines for Universal Design for Learning emphasize the importance of offering learners multiple ways to perceive information, including images and visualizations for sighted students and text-based descriptions of that content for students who engage with course materials with screen readers or audio formats. In courses … Continue reading AI Spark Tips: Using AI to Improve Image Accessibility
AI Spark Tips: The New World of AI Tutoring
In recent months, a range of journal and news articles featuring Harvard's AI Tutors have touted the effectiveness of AI tutorbots in fields like physics, accounting, and statistics. Harvard's AI tutor studies have found that students achieve greater academic success and engagement with personal tutorbots that can generate practice problems and questions or coach students … Continue reading AI Spark Tips: The New World of AI Tutoring