In a moment of weakness, Dr. Nieto appointed me interdisciplinary chair of Learning Technology and Online Quality.
This means that I now have an administrative mandate to hassle the rest of you to get going on Ultra. Hassling people is the beginning and end of my skill set.
So let me start by saying what I will be repeating over and over:
The last semester when the original Blackboard course view will be available will be Fall 2025.
When we start the Spring semester 2026, all the courses will be in Ultra.
Spring 2026 starts on January 19, so that’s 521 days. I recommend not waiting.
And while I’m at it, let me contradict what I have heard in some meetings. A few well-intentioned people have suggested that you “get a development and start playing with it, see if you like it.”
No.
I think we should all be more purposeful about it. So yes, ask for a development shell, but ask one for each specific course you teach. And then, don’t just “play with it”. Start actively building the course you need in the new course view. You are not limited to one development shell. Of course, you don’t have to develop all your courses at the same time. I would recommend starting with the “simplest” (structurally speaking) course you have and leaving the more complex courses for when you’ve had more hands-on experience with Ultra.
I would also strongly recommend you make yourself a schedule for when you want each of your courses to be in Ultra. Again, you do not have to convert all your courses at the same time, unless you really want to. But knowing that you need to be done before the end of Fall 2025, don’t wait until that time to do it all.
And of course, if you have not experienced Ultra yet, or you have dabbled in it a little bit but nothing structured, I highly recommend pick one of the many offerings from the Learning Technologies office. You can find them listed in the LT newsletter (you may have to scroll a bit). These more formal offerings will really help you learning Ultra the “right” way. LT offers these workshops in multiple modalities, so you can find one that works for you.
I am also available to meet with you guys, individually, or in groups, to talk about all this. You know where to find me. Or I’ll hassle you. I intend to create my own version of
But for Ultra. It’s 10pm, do you know where your Ultra shells are?
[For the youngsters among you, this was a thing we GenXers grew up with. This was a PSA asking our parents that question. And the answer was no, they didn’t, and they didn’t care, and this is why we are the way we are.]
Also, as part of my job as chair, I have been invited to co-teach the Foundations of Online Teaching course with Gabi Frahm, that LT has offered for several years and was especially crucial during the pandemic when everyone had to pivot fast to remote.
Well, Gabi and I spent our Summer updating that course and converting it to Ultra. That was a lot of work so you people better sign up! The course is not just about the NET format but for any course that has an online component. Here’s a little promo video for it:
The course starts on August 26. You can sign up for it in Cornerstone.
I will continue to blog regularly about tech tools I can recommend to you guys.
I envision this position as a liaison between faculty and the LT office, IT, and the administration, and a faculty voice on all matters related to learning technologies.
As I mentioned, you know where to find me if you have any questions or if I can help with anything related to learning tech.
Let the fun begin!
(And let’s see how quickly I can make Dr. Nieto regret putting me in that position… just kidding… well..).
