Introduction

Welcome to the MSW program! Whether you’re taking classes online, in person, or a mix of both, you’ll use Blackboard to access materials, participate in discussions, and submit your assignments. Learning new systems can feel overwhelming at first, but don’t worry—you’re not expected to figure everything out on your own.

There are several teams and resources available to support you. This page will help you understand who to contact when you need help with technology, Blackboard, field education tools, or general IT access. Reaching out to the right team can save you time and reduce frustration, especially during busy times like the start of the semester.

General Technology Support

Please view this handy flowchart to determine who to contact when you need support.

Your Go-To for Course Support: The IDEA Team

The IDEA Team (Instructional Design, Education, and Assessment) is your first stop for anything related to Blackboard course access, navigation, or technical issues once you’re logged in. If you’re not sure where to find something, encounter an error message, or have trouble submitting work, we’re here to help.

📌 Contact the IDEA Team for:

• Trouble uploading assignments or accessing course content

• Quiz errors, discussion board glitches, or broken links

• General Blackboard questions or how-tos

📬 How to reach us:

• Use the “Help!” link in the left-hand menu of your Blackboard course

• Email: ideateam@ssw.umaryland.edu

• Phone: 410-870-9663 (M–F, 8 AM–4 PM)

• Live Support:  (https://bit.ly/ideateamlivesupport) (M–F, 8 AM–4 PM)

(Works best on a laptop or desktop. Screensharing helps us support you more efficiently. There may be a brief wait in the Zoom waiting room before someone joins.) 

⚠️ Please do NOT reach out to IDEA Team (or its members) using Blackboard's messages or email tool. 

 Tips to help us help you faster: When you email us, include:

1. Your course number and section (e.g., SOWK 600 SY1)

2. The name of the assignment or exam.  

3. A direct link (URL) to the item if possible  

(Copy and paste the web page address into your email) 

4. A screenshot, especially if you’re getting an error

5. We suggest CC'ing your instructor so that they know you are having a technical problem and are seeking support.

We aim to respond within 24 hours on business days—and often much faster during core hours. 

⚠️ Important: If an assignment is missing, closed, or a folder isn’t visible, your instructor is the best person to contact first. Instructors control what’s available and when.  At the beginning of the semester: The availability of your course and the course content is set by your faculty member. If you see your course unavailable or don't see content in your course that you expect to, first reach out to your instructor. 

 Blackboard Help

You can access Blackboard course help (http://tinyurl.com/sswideateamhelp) at anytime within the course, or by bookmarking the Blackboard Course Help link.   The screenshot below shows the location of this support link.

Your Instructor: First Contact for Course-Specific Content

Your instructor controls most of what you see in your Blackboard course - including when it becomes visible. If you’re missing a course from your homepage, it likely hasn’t been published yet. Instructors often publish courses the first day of class.

📌 Contact your instructor for:

• Missing or locked course content

• Confusing due dates or closed assignments

• · Broken links inside the course

📬 How to reach your instructor:

1. You can find your instructor’s email in your syllabus or the UMB SSW Directory

2. When composing an email in Outlook, start typing their last name to find suggestions from the directory

Include in your message: course number, a clear description of the issue, the item name, and a screenshot or link if possible 

Technology or Equipment Issues? Contact Informatics

The SSW Informatics Team supports your technology setup and on-campus hardware. They’re who to call if you’re having trouble with:

• Wi-Fi connections or printing

• Computer hardware or software

• Projectors or A/V equipment

• Microsoft Office, Outlook, or device setup

📬 Contact SSW Informatics:

• •  Email: sswinformatics@ssw.umaryland.edu

  •  Computing Support: 410-706-5113

  • Media Support: 410-706-7232

Questions About Practicum Education or the Practicum Notebook?

For anything related to your field placement, supervision, or the Practicum Education Notebook , reach out to the Practicum Education team.

📬 Contact Practicum Education:

•  Email: fieldeducation@ssw.umaryland.edu

• Phone: 410-706-7136

When to Contact the CITS Helpdesk

You may hear about the CITS Helpdesk, and they’re great - but their role is specific.  CITS stands for Central Information Technology  They manage university-wide tools like logins and email and they cannot provide  course-level help. 

📌 Contact CITS only if:

•  You can’t log into Blackboard, Zoom, or your UMaryland email

• Blackboard appears completely down or unreachable

•  You have a Duo or UMID issue

• You cannot access Eduroam Wireless

• You cannot reach the UMB campus portal,

📬 CITS Helpdesk:

•  Phone: 410-706-HELP

•   Email: help@umaryland.edu

•  Website: www.umaryland.edu/helpdesk

🚫 Please don’t contact CITS for course or content problems inside Blackboard. These get forwarded to the IDEA Team, which causes delays. It’s faster to contact IDEA or your instructor directly.

🌙 Need Help After Hours?

If you’re working outside of business hours and need help, you’ve still got options:

• Visit our IDEA Team Knowledgebase for step-by-step guides and how-tos:
  IDEA Knowledgebase Home

• Check out the official Blackboard Student FAQs for help navigating common issues:
  Blackboard Help – Student FAQs
  
  

Both resources are available 24/7 and are a great first stop for troubleshooting when live support isn’t available.

Important: Setting Up Your @umaryland.edu Email

Your @umaryland.edu email is where all official communication from UMB and the SSW will go, so getting it set up is a key early step.

• Your account is created after you pay your confirmation deposit and register for classes. This may take a few days.

• Watch for an email titled “Welcome to Office 365 – University of Maryland, Baltimore – Action Needed.” It might go to your spam or junk folder.

• To activate your email, log in at directory.umaryland.edu with your UMID and password. If the option isn’t available, your account is still being processed.

• Once activated, you can access your email at portal.office.com.

• If your Blackboard Profile doesn’t show your Umaryland email after setup, send a message from your @umaryland.edu account to ideateam@ssw.umaryland.edu to request an update.

⚠️ Note: The IDEA Team and Informatics can’t speed up this process—please allow time and check your folders carefully.

Who are the IDEA Team?

The mission of the University of Maryland School of Social Work IDEA TEAM is to support quality teaching, learning and research.

Below is an image of the five IDEA Team members (in order of appearance): Senior Instructional Technologist, Colin Fagan, MS; Cathy Hanssens-Passeri, MA; Dr. Clark Shah-Nelson, DBA, MA; Alexis Guethler, Instructional Designer; and Instructional Technologist, Rodney Urand, MS.

Page Summary

If you’re having trouble in Blackboard or need help understanding your course layout, the IDEA Team is your go-to resource. We support all technical issues inside your course, from quizzes to uploading assignments. Need to reach out? Use the “Help!” link in your course or email ideateam@ssw.umaryland.edu. To get the fastest support, include your course name, assignment title, a link, and a screenshot if you can. Contact your instructor first if you don’t see your course, a due date has passed, or content is unavailable. CITS Helpdesk is only for full login issues—when you can't access Blackboard or your UM email at all. 

EXERCISE 1

There is no actual place to write the  answer to these questions, they are just a learning activity. However, for your success, you will need to know the answers to these questions!

1. When should you contact CITS Helpdesk and when should you contact the SSW IDEA Team for Blackboard issues?  

2. If you have a Blackboard issue inside a course after logging in, whom would you contact for help? CITS, IDEA Team, or Informatics

3. To whom might you go for help with a wi-fi issue?  CITS, IDEA Team, or Informatics

4. From whom would you seek support for UMB campus email?  (Hint: It's NOT the IDEA Team!)

4. When is the IDEA Team available to assist you?  Think about what you can do to prepare to receive the help you need within the timeframes available. 

5. What information might you need to provide to receive efficient assistance?  (ie. is it helpful to simply say "I have a problem with an assignment in my research class?")

Can you answer these questions correctly?  If you can, go to Step 2.

This page was last edited 7/1/2025.