Innovative Educator Series - The One That Did It All in Half the Time

Welcome to the Innovative Educator Webinar - a series of webinars dedicated to faculty.

The One That Did It All in Half the Time

Faculty burnout is real—and many educators say they simply don’t have the time to focus on enhancing their teaching. But what if your LMS could help you reclaim some of that time?

In this session, we’ll explore how Blackboard Ultra can simplify course setup, grading, communication, and student engagement. Drawing on recent survey data, we’ll highlight the tools that faculty are most interested in, the ones that have the biggest impact, and how small changes in your workflow can make a meaningful difference—without adding more to your plate.

PRESENTATION 1

Building Blackboard Experts: EPCC Faculty Training Through Mastery and Practice

Luz E. Cadena, Director of Distance Learning Support Services, El Paso Community College

What happens when faculty training is built around doing, not just knowing? This presentation showcases El Paso Community College’s mastery-based certification course for Blackboard Ultra, designed to give educators meaningful practice, timely feedback, and the confidence to lead in digital learning environments.

PRESENTATION 2

Grade Smarter, not Harder: Tips for Streamlining Your Ultra Grading Workflow

Rachel Bastian, Instructional Design Lead at Wichita State University

Buried in a pile of grading? Blackboard Ultra can help you speed up the process and still deliver meaningful feedback. Explore strategies like using the overview tab as a command center, filtering for focus, clicking through rubrics in record time, building a reusable comment bank, and experimenting with the AI Feedback Summary. Grading may never be easy, but with Blackboard Ultra, could it BE any more streamlined