October 27, 2026October 27, 2026 Celena Kusch ACUE, Calendar, Faculty Development, GenAI, Online Learning, Technology

Blackboard Day 2027: Sustaining the Human Work of Teaching

Join us January 6, 2027 for our 8th Annual Blackboard Day

in The Learning Center in the Library Annex, Room 289,
by accessing Zoom in the CAIFS PD Course, or
by using the Zoom Link!

9 am to 9:45 am

Welcome and Blackboard LMS Updates

Join the Blackboard Support Team to learn what is new in the Blackboard Learn Ultra Road Map for Spring-Fall 2027. Look for new AI Pulse Quiz Conversations, Gradebook upgrades, updated Content Editor, enhanced Groups and Rubric features, and more! Facilitator: Eric Gudmundson, Senior Manager, Blackboard LMS Solutions Engineering Team

10:00 am to 10:45 am

Blackboard and AI: Designing Ethical Foundations for Learning

Build Ethical Foundations. Student sits at a table with a contemplative expression. Screenshots of two AI Conversations with historical personas and a photo of a person writing reflections in a notebook. Blackboard Advanced.

How can we help students develop essential ethical foundations for AI use without taking time away from the content and competencies at the heart of our courses? This hands-on session introduces a four-week framework for creating AI-aware assignments that integrate AI literacy while keeping course learning outcomes front and center. Explore practical strategies for setting clear expectations for AI use and engaging thoughtfully with AI personas in Blackboard to build academic integrity. Facilitator: Dr. Celena Kusch, Executive Director, Academic Innovation & Faculty Support.

10:45 am to 11:30 am

Assessing What Matters in the Age of AI

Group of people in animated conversation around a table with a giant lightbulb symbolizing ideas floating above them

As artificial intelligence reshapes higher education, how can faculty ensure that assessments continue to measure meaningful student learning? This session explores how AI challenges traditional approaches to assessment and invites faculty to reconsider what students need to know, demonstrate, and accomplish. Participants will reflect on strategies for designing meaningful assessments that emphasize critical thinking, disciplinary knowledge, and authentic learning in an AI-enabled world. Facilitator: Dr. Jonathan Clemens, Professional Learning and Development, Risepoint. Dr. Clemens earned his Ph.D. in the history of science and technology from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and presents regularly on the impact of AI in higher education and instructional design.

11:30 am to 12:30 pm

Lunch and ACUE Effective Teaching Practices Pinning Ceremony and Presentation of High-Quality Online Teaching Certificates

Join us for lunch, sponsored by Blackboard, and celebrate the achievements of USC Upstate faculty who have completed the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE) Effective Teaching Practices program and the USC Upstate High-Quality Online Course Design Program. Facilitator: Dr. Lillian Reeves, Director of Transformative Pedagogy

12:30 pm to 1:15 pm

Blackboard for Course Delivery

Deliver Engaging Courses. Blackboard Basics. Screenshots of Blackboard Announcement interface and a screenshot of a feedback reminder automation

Great course design can set up your students for success, but great course delivery requires ongoing announcements, reminders, and small gestures that build connections between students and instructors. Explore the pillars of great course delivery and the Blackboard tools that can streamline and support your instructional practice. Facilitator: Dr. Yamil Ruiz, Director of Online Learning and Program Support

1:30 pm to 2:15 pm

Go for Green: Using the Latest Ally Features to Create Accessible Courses

Screenshot of Ally Alt Text Generator in the Ally interface in Blackboard

In this session, learn about the latest developments and new features coming to Ally in 2027–including adding alt text to images within PDFs, auto-tagging PDFs, and more! Ask your accessibility questions, get pointers, and apply the Ally Accessibility tool to make your courses 100% accessible and meet the WCAG 2.1 AA federal accessibility standards for all instructional materials. Facilitator: Dr. Katie Grinnell, Ally Product Engagement Manager.

2:15 pm to 2:45 pm

Using YuJa Lumina Videos for Student Engagement

Screenshot of YuJa video editor showing captions panel for editing

High-quality, human-edited captions and audio descriptions form the bedrock of accessible video use. Learn more about YuJa’s latest tools for editing and sharing video content to engage all of your students. Facilitator: Diana Hernandez, YuJa

2:45 pm to 3:00 pm

Wrap Up

December 10, 2025December 10, 2025 Celena Kusch Calendar, GenAI, Online Learning, Technology

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 what is new in the Blackboard Learn Ultra Road Map for Spring-Fall 2026.

Look for new Grading settings and workflows, Automated Messages, Achievements, Competency-Based Mastery Learning, Release Conditions, and more!

10:00 am to 10:45 am

Streamlining Course Design with GenAI

Content Blocks and Knowledge Checks: Blackboard Learn Ultra Basics

Blackboard’s Artificial Intelligence Design Assist (ADA) offers easy-to-use course design tools enhanced by generative artificial intelligence and large language models. In this session, we will go over several key AI Design Assist tools for formatting modules and course pages (documents) and generating rubrics and knowledge checks. Plus, automate your content by using the human intelligence of the Learning Object Repository. Facilitator: Yamil Ernesto Ruiz, Director of Online Learning and Program Support

11:00 am to 11:45 am

Authentic and Career-Ready Assessments in Blackboard

Screenshot of AI Conversation interface for students with image of the AI persona and examples of chat dialogue between student and AI persona

Both GenZ students and non-traditional learners crave relevance in their learning. Authentic and career-ready assessments can increase motivation and engagement while supporting Academic Integrity in the learning environment. Facilitator: Celena Kusch, Executive Director, Academic Innovation & Faculty Support.

12:00 pm to 1:00 pm

Lunch and ACUE Effective Teaching Practices Pinning Ceremony

Share a warming lunch and join the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE) in celebrating the achievements of USC Upstate faculty who have completed the Effective Teaching Practices program in the ACUE Pinning Ceremony. Facilitator: Lillian Reeves, Director of Transformative Pedagogy

1:00 pm to 1:30 pm

Using YuJa Lumina to Caption Videos

High-quality, human-edited captions and audio descriptions form the bedrock of accessible video use. Learn more about YuJa’s advanced tools for ensuring your video content is accessible to all of your students. Facilitator: Diana Hernandez, YuJa

1:30 pm to 3:30 pm

Go for Green: Using Ally for Accessibility Guided Work Session

In this hands-on work session, ask your questions, get pointers, and apply the Ally Accessibility tool to make your courses 100% accessible and meet the WCAG 2.1 AA federal accessibility standards for all instructional materials. Go for the Green in your Ally Accessibility Rating. Facilitator: Jennifer Bland, Learning Experience Coordinator

March 25, 2025April 2, 2025 Lillian Reeves Faculty Development, Online Learning, Student Success, Uncategorized

Effective Strategies for Maymester and Summer Course Preparation

As the end of spring semester approaches, many faculty begin turning their attention to preparing for Maymester or the summer sessions. Converting 15 week courses into 8 week or 4 week format, however, presents a unique challenge. How can faculty nurture student understanding and provide meaningful feedback at such an accelerated pace?

Continue reading →

July 30, 2024March 27, 2025 Lillian Reeves Engaged Pedagogy, Online Learning, Student Success, Uncategorized, Universal Design for Learning

Responding to Ally Accessibility Scores in Your Courses

The USC Upstate Accessibility Commitment aims to ensure students, faculty, and staff have access to all spaces and materials where learning takes place. Luckily, Blackboard Ultra has made faculty’s role in fulling this commitment easier than ever. The university-adopted quality assurance program holds all courses to a high standard of accessibility, including expectations that all documents use heading style formats, color contrast, and accessible tables; that videos have accurate closed captions; and that audio files or recordings have transcripts to ensure barrier-free learning opportunities for all students. It may sound like a lot of work to manage and create accessible content, but all of our content tools, from Adobe to Word to Blackboard Ultra, have embedded checks and remedies to help us achieve our accessibility goals. Let’s get started!

Continue reading →

April 1, 2024February 19, 2025 Lillian Reeves Engaged Pedagogy, Online Learning, Student Success, Uncategorized

A Student-Centered Approach to Communication

A recent Pathify study reported the average click rate of emails in higher ed is less than 7%, even though email is the primary mode many institutions use to communicate important information to faculty, staff, and students. Right before the Pandemic, I also discovered that student responses to my emails had noticeably declined. More students were missing programmatic and institutional events and due dates and since then, the trend has become even more pronounced.

Continue reading →

December 15, 2023January 5, 2024 Celena Kusch Calendar, Online Learning, QM, Technology

USC Upstate Blackboard Day 2024: Preparing for Transition to Blackboard Learn Ultra Courses

Join us for our 5th Annual Blackboard Day in the CLC Ballroom, by accessing Collaborate in the CAIFS PD Course, or by using the links below!

Register Now

9 am to 9:30 am

Welcome and Blackboard Learn Ultra Transition Updates

Join Celena Kusch to hear about the latest updates in the Blackboard Learn Ultra Transition and new developments coming in Summer/Fall 2024. Discuss how changes to Anthology, Collaborate, and soon Zoom may make it easier for you to access the tools you need.

Join virtually via the CAIFS PD Course or the Morning Session Guest Link.

9:45 am to 10:30 am

Blackboard Learn Ultra Navigation Basics

Let’s dive into Ultra and learn our way around the updated course view. Discover where to find key features and settings so you can start to feel comfortable in a new course format. We will also discuss how to create different types of assignments. Facilitator: Jennifer Bland, Learning Experience Designer.

Join via the CAIFS PD Course or the Morning Session Guest Link.

10:45 am to 11:25 pm

Transitioning Your Course from Original to Ultra: Steps for an Easy Course Conversion

What happens after you click Ultra Course View Preview? Take a step-by-step tour of converting your original course into an Ultra student experience. We’ll discuss strategies for achieving a consistent, sequential, logical, and accessible course structure as you go. Facilitator: Celena Kusch, Executive Director, Academic Innovation & Faculty Support.

Join via the CAIFS PD Course or the Morning Session Guest Link.

11:35 am to 12:20 pm

Inclusive and Welcoming Blackboard Courses for All Students

In this session, we’ll think together about creating inclusive and welcoming Blackboard courses by exploring strategies that foster a sense of belonging for students, implementing accessible content, and using communications tools embedded in Blackboard. The goal is to ensure that all students feel supported and guided through their learning journey with Blackboard.

Facilitator: Lillian Reeves, Director of Transformative and Inclusive Pedagogy.

Join via the CAIFS PD Course or the Morning Session Guest Link.

12:30 pm to 1 pm

Lunch

Take a break, and drop by the CLC Ballroom with your laptop for brainstorming and troubleshooting within your course.

Do you need a sandbox course for playing around in Blackboard Learn Ultra Course View? Email academicinnovation@uscupstate.edu.

1 pm to 2 pm

Concurrent Sessions

Computer animated hand reaching out to a human hand reminiscent of Michelangelo's ceiling of the Sistine Chapel — AI-Human Interaction

AI-Enhanced Courses with Blackboard Learn Ultra AI Design Assist

Anthology, Blackboard’s parent company, has partnered with Microsoft Artificial Intelligence (AI) to develop easy-to-use tools enhanced by generative artificial intelligence and large language models. In this session, we will go over several key AI Design Assist tools embedded in every Blackboard Ultra course to support you in creating assessments, rubrics and even discussion boards tied to different levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy. Facilitator: Yamil Ernesto Ruiz, Director of Online Learning and Program Support

Guest Link

Using the Gradebook in Blackboard Learn Ultra (CLC 309)

Looking for your Needs Grading list or how to drop the lowest quiz grade? In this session, we’ll get to know the Ultra Gradebook and where to find all the features you need. We’ll also explore a range of student activity and student support features for accommodations, extensions, and exemptions in the Ultra Gradebook. Facilitator: Celena Kusch, Executive Director, Center for Academic Innovation & Faculty Support

Guest Link

2:15 pm to 3:15 pm

Concurrent Sessions

Embedded Tools in Blackboard Ultra

In this session, we will discuss the tools within Blackboard that you and your students can access for free. We will show how to embed YouTube videos, Padlets, Microsoft Forms, and Sway presentations, and how to use Perusall and VoiceThread activities for social learning and student-student interaction. Facilitator: Jennifer Bland, Learning Experience Designer

Join via the CAIFS PD Course or the Guest Link.

Remote students working on laptops in various settings while professor preps course writing on lightboard — High-Quality Online Courses

Preparing for Quality Matters Certification in your Online Course Design

Quality Matters (QM) is Upstate’s quality assurance process for ensuring that online courses are built with accessibility and our learners in mind. In this session, we will discuss concepts such as alignment, learning objectives, accessibility and more! Facilitator: Yamil Ernesto Ruiz, Director of Online Learning and Program Support

Join via the CAIFS PD Course or the Guest Link.

3:15 pm – 3:30 pm

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