Get Ready for Fall!
Prepare for a successful semester by attending a webinar from USCB eLearning or a workshop from USC’s Center for Teaching Excellence. Explore Blackboard teaching strategies, technology tips, and course design ideas to start the term strong. Check out the resources below to support your fall planning.
📡 USCB Adjunct and Faculty Webinars – Fall 2025
Each webinar will be approximately 45 minutes long and will be deliver via TEAMS*
Getting Started with Blackboard Ultra (Course Set Up) – Monday, August 18th at 11:00 AM: This session is designed to help you launch your course. We'll cover the essential steps to get your course up and runing, including adding content like files, text, and media, sending announcements, managing your roster, and recording attendance.
Blackboard Assignments and Grade Center Basics – Wednesday, September 17 at 1:00 PM: This webinare will guide you through the key steps for collecting assignments and giving meaningful feedback to your students. You'll learn how to create simple assignments for file submissions, set up the Gradebook, understand how grading categories work, and provide feedback directly on student work.
Rubric Basics – Friday, October 17 at 1:00 PM: This workshop will show you how to design effective rubrics, connect them to your assignments, and use rubric-based grading to provide clear, consistent feedback. You'll learn how rubrics can save time, support transparency, and help students understand expectations and improve their work.
Simplfying End-0f-Term Grading and End of Semester Course Wrap Up – Wednesday, November 19 at 1:00 PM: This webinar offers step-by-step guidance for closing out your course smoothly. We'll walk through reviwing assignments, calculating final grades, and submitting grades in SSC. You'll also learn about grading policies, understanding grading codes and explore how to handle incomplete grades and grade disputes. The session will also cover how to provide constructive end of term feedback and prepare for course evaluations, helping you to finish strong and set the stage for future success.
*Look for TEAMS Meeting links in USCB Events Calendar email.
📅 Open Office Hours with Lori Vargo – August 11–14
Need help getting your course ready in Blackboard? Lori Vargo, Director of eLearning, will be available August 11 through August 14 to answer questions, offer guidance, and help you get started. Call or email Lori to receive a Teams meeting link and drop in during open office hours—no appointment needed!
⚡BOLT (Beaufort Online Learning and Teaching) Certificate
Coming September 1st!
The newly updated BOLT (Beaufort Online Learning and Teaching) certification course is designed for USCB faculty, adjuncts, and instructors who want to strengthen their online and hybrid teaching skills using the latest tools and strategies. Whether you're new to online instruction or ready for a fresh approach, BOLT offers practical guidance and hands-on experience. Stay tuned—more details coming soon!
🛠️ Training and Support Opportunities:
- Webinars & Presentations: USC CTE Instructional Designers and eLearning Services Consultants are hosting webinars and presentations to help you navigate UCV.
- One-on-One Assistance: If you would like individual support, feel free to schedule an appointment with me for personalized guidance.
🧠 Helpful Resources:
- Getting Started with Blackboard Learn Ultra Course View (UCV)
- Falling into the Semester with the Ultra Style Checklist
- Comprehensive UCV Gradebook Guide
- Blackboard Learn with the Ultra Experience Video Tutorials
- Blackboard Learn Help for Instructors - Ultra Course View
- Blackboard Learn Ultra Course View (UCV) Conversion Checklist
- Post Conversion Course Copy Content Copy Instructions
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) Design Assistance Guide
For further guidance on building your courses, managing communication, assessments, rubrics, groups and grading within UCV, please refer to the USC Teaching Resources page. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me with any questions.
Seamless Delivery Across Platforms
The Office of eLearning provides support services for students, faculty, and staff. Whether you're looking for one-on-one course consultation or group training, we're here to help you navigate online teaching with practical strategies and the latest instructional technologies. No matter your experience level or where you are in the course design process, we're a resource you can count on.
Goals for USCB Online Courses
University of South Carolina Beaufort online programs place great emphasis on the consistency, continuity and integrity of the learning environment. All online academic courses at the University are considered equivalent to traditional courses and are taught by regular faculty.
USCB's online courses are designed using nationally-approved standards of quality for course design and delivery and adhere to the same prerequisites and requirements as traditional sections of identical courses.
Our goal is to enable a rich learning environment that will afford students the intellectual tools and content mastery they need to advance their professional growth and to foster a habit of lifelong learning.
In particular, we are delighted to collaborate with individual faculty and faculty cohorts to create, design and deliver engaging distance-learning courses using a variety of innovative technology tools. Through these efforts, students are able to balance their academic, professional and personal lives while working toward their educational goals and enriching their futures.
Lori J. Vargo, MA, MEd
Director of Learning
Fax: 843-208-8295
Hilton Head Island, SC 29928
Lori Vargo is the Director of eLearning at the University of South Carolina Beaufort and has spent her career teaching others how to use technology to achieve learning outcomes. An accomplished instructional designer with expertise in creating engaging learning activities and compelling course content, Vargo led the development of USCB’s Palmetto College Human Services, Hospitality Management, and Public Health online courses. Before moving to South Carolina, Vargo worked at The University of Akron and was the Implementation Manager for a state-wide online professional development program in collaboration with the Ohio Board of Education. Vargo has been honored by Apple Computer as a Distinguished Educator and most recently selected by the Online Learning Consortium for attendance at the Institute for Emerging Leadership in Online Learning.