blackboard symposium

Who is Susan Biro?

Susan Biro serves as Online Learning Coordinator at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, where she coordinates initiatives to enhance and expand online course offerings in applied master’s degree programs and badging efforts. In a 20-year career in higher education, Susan has held a variety of academic and administrative leadership posts focused on the execution of distance learning programs. Her areas of expertise include online academic administration, faculty development and mentoring for online/hybrid delivery, online student support, and academic affairs - including accreditation self-study. Susan has helped drive initiatives with institutional visibility and impact, including evaluating Learning Management Systems, scaling online courses and programs, and implementing Open Educational Resources. She has 15+ years’ experience teaching undergraduate and adult learners in all course formats, with a focus on online design and delivery. Susan has delivered more than 30 presentations at academic conferences, holds Peer Reviewer Certification from Quality Matters, and was awarded an Educause Badge for Implementing Universal Design for Learning in Education. Susan earned both her Doctor of Education with a specialization in Leadership in Higher Education, and her Master of Education in Adult Education from Widener University, and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from Delaware State University.

Where is Patti from Stark State College?

Instructional designer/adjunct faculty at Stark State College in North Canton, Ohio. She is a Quality Matters certified Peer Reviewer, QM Coordinator, Course Review Manager, and a member of the QM Instructional Designers Association. Patti has taught online for 14 years. She earned a Master of Art in Theology at Ashland Theological Seminary. She taught the New Testament and Theology at Malone University and currently teaches a fully online Ethics course at Stark State College. She has used Blackboard since 2009 and entered the Exemplary Course Program for the first time this year.

What is Sarah TLC?

Teaching and Learning Consultant (TLC) in the Office of Curriculum and Instructional Support at Central Michigan University (CMU) in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan. Sarah provides instructional support to educators in implementing effective, evidence-based teaching and learning practices, technologies, and curriculum in all class formats. After earning her Ph.D. in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental biology and Future Professoriate Graduate Certificate from Virginia Tech, Sarah completed postdoctoral research positions at Boston Biomedical Research Institute and Tufts Medical School. In addition to advising and overseeing textbook and web-interface content and instructional resource development for Macmillan Learning, Sarah’s experience also includes curricula and course development, design, implementation, and instruction in multiple modalities, for CMU’s Departments of Biology and Chemistry and Biochemistry, and Virginia Tech’s Department of Biology.

Where is the Department Chair of Mathematics?

Department Chair and an instructor of Mathematics at Beaufort County Community College in Washington, NC. She holds a Doctorate in Educational Leadership and a Master's degree in Mathematics Education from East Carolina University. She has 19 years of teaching experience and is passionate about learning and teaching.

Who is Darcy Hardy?

Darcy W. Hardy is an award-winning distance and online learning professional who has worked as a higher education administrator, an IPA with the Obama Administration, a board member in state and national associations, and as a contributor in higher education ed tech. Within the field of online learning, she focuses on strategy & vision; organization & governance; policy, process & practice; and quality oversight. She earned her PhD in Curriculum & Instruction (Instructional Technology) from The University of Texas at Austin in 1992.

Where is Scott Gumieny?

Scott Gumieny is an accounting instructor in the Department of Accounting and Finance at Davenport University in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In addition to teaching full time, Scott is a lead advisor for Business Professionals of America (BPA), an academic student organization and I run a tax preparation site for Davenport's Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. He’s an active member of the Michigan Association of Public Accountants (MACPA) and the Association of Governmental Accountants (AGA). Scott’s professional background before joining Davenport's accounting and finance faculty team has afforded him the ability to teach many different levels of accounting and taxation.

Who is Catherine Barber?

Catherine R. Barber, Ph.D., is a psychologist with 15 years of experience teaching adult learners in post-secondary and medical education settings. Her expertise in online course design and teaching has led to three awards from the Blackboard Corporation and to a new book from Cambridge University Press, The New Roadmap for Creating Online Courses: An Interactive Workbook (Barber, McCollum, & Maboudian, 2020). Catherine is also an accomplished researcher whose publications include an additional book, book chapters, and over 25 peer-reviewed journal articles on psychological and educational topics. Her research interests include online course design and online teaching, assessment in higher education, and action research on social justice issues in education.

About the event

At Blackboard, we recognize that first-generation college students often face unique challenges in their path to success. Processes that others seem to find easy may appear more complicated to these students. Feeling connected to the campus, faculty and other students is desired but is not always easy to maintain.

Keynote

Keynote from Heather Rowan-Kenyon, co-author of the book, “Technology and Engagement – Making Technology Work for First-Generation College Students”

Blackboard Workshop

Demos and hands-on workshop on how attendees can use Blackboard Learn, Collaborate, Connect and Ally to help First-Gen students (attendees should bring their own laptop and be able to access their Bb platforms).

What is BBJ in UVM?

The Blackboard Jungle Symposium (BBJ) is one of the University's signature events offering UVM faculty, staff, and all others a forum to participate in critical conversations, construct new and promising inclusive practices, and foster conversational spaces where diversity, equity, and the free exchange of ideas are welcomed, appreciated, and valued.

What is Luis Versalles's background?

A second generation Afro Cuban-American, Luis Versalles was born and raised in Bloomington, Minnesota. His bilingual and bicultural life experiences have fueled his passion for fostering racial, linguistic, and cultural equity in education for all students. After completing his public school K-12 education, Luis went on to complete a Bachelor's degree and Master’s of Education with emphasis on Second Languages and Cultures from the University of Minnesota, becoming the first college graduate in his family. This experience motivates his work in coaching school leaders to better understand the complexities presented to families of color as they navigate both the K-12 and higher education systems. Versalles specializes in aligning district strategic plans with PEG’s Systemic Racial Equity Transformation Framework to facilitate greater alignment in achieving racial equity system-wide. In addition, he leads a team of equity transformation specialists in guiding organizations through this work in the domains of Leadership, Culturally Relevant Learning and Teaching, and Family/Community Engagement and Empowerment.