Instructor Help

students and professor on laptop

Blackboard is the University of Alaska’s virtual learning environment. It provides a course site to manage your classes, share resources and files, post and grade assignments, hold online discussions, and more.

 

Blackboard Learn

Blackboard Learn is UAA’s primary online space for courses. It includes tools for several common instructional functions.

Blackboard Third Party Tools

These tools inside Blackboard are supported through collaborative efforts of UAA and the vendor. If your program is interested in integrating a different third party tool with Blackboard, review the UAA Blackboard use policy for the process.

Zoom Meetings

Zoom video/web conferencing is integrated into Blackboard at UAA. (Blackboard also has an internal tool, Collaborate Ultra.) Zoom lets you share files and applications, use virtual whiteboards, communicate via audio/video/chat, divide students into breakout rooms, and more. If you set Zoom meetings through your Blackboard course and choose to record the meeting automatically to the cloud, Zoom recordings will automatically post to the Zoom area of your Blackboard course. Please review our Web Conferencing page for more details.

Kaltura Media

Faculty, staff and students have access to Kaltura Media, within Blackboard, to create and share videos and other media as course content. Please review our Creating Videos page for more information.

VoiceThread

VoiceThread is an interactive visual collaboration and sharing tool that can be used for discussion boards, instructor lectures, student presentations, and more. 

Please review our Peer Interaction page for more information. Visit Using VoiceThread in your LMS to get started with VoiceThread.

Teaching with Blackboard

Almost all UAA courses use Blackboard to share course information, such as the syllabus. Most face-to-face instructors use Blackboard for some functions like posting reminders, sharing materials, collecting assignments, and tracking grades. Online and hybrid courses also frequently use Blackboard-integrated tools for communication, peer interaction, course activities, and assessments.

These resources can help you develop your courses and teaching strategies to use Blackboard effectively:

Assistance

Information Technology Services

If you need assistance with computer or software support; internet or wireless issues; username or password help; or technical questions regarding Blackboard, please call UAA Technical Support Center at 907-786-4646 or 877-633-3888 or via email at uaa.techsupport@alaska.edu. For more information, visit the Information Technology Services website.

Instructional Design Support

For more assistance on designing and teaching your courses, please visit UAA Faculty Development & Instructional Support, or contact the instructional design team at 907-786-6219 or via email at uaa_design@alaska.edu. Instructors at Kenai Peninsula College can contact the KPC Educational Technology Team for assistance.

Disability Support Services 

 If you have questions or concerns about accommodations or if you need additional information regarding student requests for assistance, call DSS at 907-786-4530 (voice) or via email at uaa_dss@alaska.edu. For more information, visit the Disability Support Services website.

Faculty Development & Instructional Support 
Center for Advancing Faculty Excellence, Academic Innovations & eLearning, and Center for Community Engagement and Learning 
Library 213 • 907-786-4496  uaa_cafe@alaska.edu  Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.