24th Annual Durham Blackboard Users' Conference #durbbu

The 2026 conference will be held later this month in the Teaching & Learning Centre in Durham. For a change, the evening conference dinner will be held in a venue we last used in 2001 - the Dining Room of Hatfield College (a converted Georgian Coaching Inn on the historic Bailey).

The optional pre-conference workshops will be on the afternoon of Wednesday the 22nd of April in the Teaching & Learning Centre from 2 to 5pm. The full two day conference will be on Thursday the 23rd and Friday the 24th of April, with the evening conference dinner on Thursday night.

Little things that make a big difference

Recent discussions about technology and education have been dominated by generative AI. Indeed we have contributed to this debate ourselves through past conference themes and presentations. This year we are not trying to deny the existence of LLMs and their ilk, but rather emphasising that learning and teaching is a human endeavour and focussing our attention on the role that individual students and teachers can play.

As such, the theme for this year's #durbbu is Little things that can make a big difference.

It is designed so you can interpret this in multiple ways. You could talk about the positive impact of small acts by staff or students, or a feature of a tool that really makes a difference to learning and teaching today. Or you could turn it on it's head and identify small changes that would make a process simpler or more effective. This is a user-led event, so feel free to call for change if it is needed!

One of the reasons behind the longevity of this conference is the range and strength of user presentations. As ever, the theme is only a prompt for ideas. If there is something else that you'd like to share with delegates that relates to learning and teaching with Blackboard and other tools (at the chalk-face or behind the scenes) then please submit a presentation or workshop proposal on that too!

Little Things that make a big difference

Conference programme

Now that the last few presenters have registered :-) we are delighted to release the final conference programme. We suggest you download a copy in your preferred format and bring it with you to the conference.

Word version

PDF version

Registration

Sorry registration is now closed.

Locations

Teaching & Learning Centre

Durham University
South Road
Durham
DH1 3LS

Accessibility information for the TLC

Hatfield College

North Bailey
Durham
DH1 3RQ

Accessibility information for the Dining Hall
Accessibility information for the College Bar

Pre-conference workshops

1. Grade smarter (Blackboard)

Explore the new gradebook experience and get a first look at upcoming enhancements shaping the future of assessment.

This pre‑conference session blends presentation with interactive elements, giving participants opportunities to discuss redesigned workflows, review planned improvements, and share perspectives on evolving assessment needs.

We’ll highlight changes that support more intuitive grading, greater transparency, and more flexible assessment practices. Join us to see what’s coming next—and to help shape tools that better support teaching, learning, and meaningful evaluation.

This session will be led by staff from Blackboard

2. Course catalog(ue)

Durham's own Julie Usher and Nathan Cobb from Blackboard will be leading a session for users of TDM/Course Catalogue (and those just wanting to know more).

In the session, Julie will be inviting colleagues to share their experiences, as well as exploring some of the approaches that are in development at Durham. We’ll be discussing practical workflows for administration of courses and users, reporting, payment options and more.

3. Turnitin and Learning Integrity - The next chapter

A workshop for all Turnitin customers to interact and discuss what learning integrity means to us all.

We'll discuss the current landscape regarding AI's impact on assessment and integrity and let you see and use some of what is here now and what is coming for Turnitin, including; Updated Grading and Feedback, Clarity and data insights.

This session will be led by Glenn Thomas from Turnitin.

4. From Assessment to Improvement (Blackboard)

Continuous improvement is not a reporting exercise, it is a connected institutional strategy.

This interactive pre-conference workshop introduces Outcomes for Blackboard LMS, providing a practical framework for aligning course-level learning activities with program and institutional outcomes. Participants will explore how institutions can move from collecting assessment data in the Blackboard LMS to demonstrating evidence of student achievement, closing the loop, and strengthening accreditation narratives. Through guided demos, hands-on activities, and collaborative discussion, attendees will leave with a clearer understanding of governance considerations, data structures, and readiness steps needed to implement a connected outcomes ecosystem across the institution supporting institutional effectiveness and continuous improvement.

This session will be led by staff from Blackboard.

5. Empowering Independent Student Thinking in the Age of AI (PebblePad)

This interactive workshop, led by PebblePad’s Customer Success Manager, Joanne Spencer, focuses on innovative approaches to encourage students to demonstrate their process of learning and think independently, amidst the growing influence of artificial intelligence. Participants will engage in practical activities and discussions designed to explore how digital tools like PebblePad, and small changes (those little things that make a big difference!) can support authentic evidencing of skills, understanding and the development of critical, autonomous thinking. The session shares practical ideas to help educators build student independence and maintain academic integrity in an AI driven learning environment.