Faculty are welcome to self-enroll in these CTL courses:
Modules for Teaching Online and Learning Brightspace from the Student Perspective.
Events Calendar
Brightspace Grading: Setting up the Grade Center
Microsoft TeamsThis workshop covers how to set up and manage the Grade Book in your Brightspace course. We will demonstrate the best ways to organize the Grade Book and the best ways to enter grades. Some instructors may find it beneficial to create their Grades area anew rather than editing what has been migrated from Blackboard, and this session will help you decide which option is best for your course.
Efficient Grading: 7 Tips to Ease the Work and Stress
Microsoft TeamsThis workshop explores ways you can tweak your approaches to grading and responding to written student work. With an eye to reducing your stress and workload while increasing clarity and effectiveness, we'll explore a variety of practical grading tips.
Brightspace Assignments
Microsoft TeamsIn this session we’ll focus on:
Creating and previewing Assignment (individual and group)
Settings and connecting Assignments to Grades
Editing and reordering Assignments
Evaluating student submissions (including annotations and rubrics)
Using the Submission Log for tracking student work
Grading with Rubrics in Brightspace
Microsoft TeamsDuring this workshop, we’ll explore how to create and grade with rubrics in Brightspace while keeping fundamental design principles in mind. If you have a rubric you’re using for a fall assignment, please bring it with you!
Teaching Writing: Why Students Cheat (or Don’t)
Microsoft TeamsWith generative AI use on the rise, some instructors may be wondering whether, why, and how students might be cutting corners (at best) or cheating (at worst). Others may be wondering how they might talk with students about writing processes in a way that will motivate them to thoughtfully approach each assignment. In this workshop, we’ll explore what might drive some students to take shortcuts, how instructors can encourage students’ intrinsic motivation, and how we can create meaningful writing assignments.
Brightspace Quizzes (Tests)
Microsoft TeamsIn Brightspace, the Quiz tool is used for both quizzes and tests. In this session we’ll show the workflow for creating quizzes, including:
Creating questions and question types
Creating a question library
Building a Quiz
Grading a Quiz
Quiz statistics and logs
Teaching Writing: Why Students Cheat (or Don’t)
Microsoft TeamsWith generative AI use on the rise, some instructors may be wondering whether, why, and how students might be cutting corners (at best) or cheating (at worst). Others may be wondering how they might talk with students about writing processes in a way that will motivate them to thoughtfully approach each assignment. In this workshop, we’ll explore what might drive some students to take shortcuts, how instructors can encourage students’ intrinsic motivation, and how we can create meaningful writing assignments.
UDL: Providing Options for Language and Symbols
303 Howe, CTL ClassroomIn this engaging webinar we will explore practical strategies for applying the UDL Guideline “Language and Symbols” to any modality. Join us at the CTL (303 Howe Library) to watch a webinar together and have a 30- minute discussion following the webinar. We’ll discover approaches that can apply in any modality and discipline.
Brightspace: Customize Your Course with Release Conditions and Intelligent Agents
Microsoft TeamsDuring this workshop, we’ll explore how you can use Release Conditions to create a custom learning path for your course materials in Brightspace. We’ll introduce Intelligent Agents, which can automatically send emails to students who meet course criteria you specify. Finally, we’ll share examples of how you can use Release Conditions and Intelligent Agents together to further customize learning paths and enable timely student communication.
Grant-Writing for Graduate Students
302 Howe Memorial 302 Howe Memorial LibraryGrant-writing can be a daunting task. But the GWC is here to help! This workshop will cover the ins and outs of writing grant proposals. We’ll discuss guidelines for grant-writing and effective ways to present your research to funding institutions.
Brightspace Tools & Workflows for Grading & Feedback
Microsoft TeamsThis workshop provides an overview of strategies for grading student work and providing feedback. We’ll demonstrate tools to provide students feedback (inline grading, audio/video, rubrics), different grading workflows, including Quick Eval, and a snapshot of Brightspace's automated feedback tool - Intelligent Agents. We'll also show how students can find their grades and feedback. Please note, if you are interested in learning how to set up your Grade Book, please register for "Brightspace Grades."
Brightspace – Course Design
Microsoft TeamsBrightspace offers a flexible, intuitive interface for organizing and delivering course content. Thus, the move to Brightspace presents an opportunity to shift how we think about course design. During this workshop, we will highlight different approaches to structuring course materials in the Content area. We will cover some Content fundamentals as well as provide tips to guide you as you think about optimal ways to structure your course materials to create a cohesive experience for your students.
Improve Course Accessibility with Ally
Microsoft TeamsAlly assists instructors in building a more inclusive learning environment and improving the overall student experience by assessing the level of accessibility of all instructor-uploaded content in Brightspace. Ally also provides guidance and tips for lasting improvements to content accessibility. In addition, Ally generates alternate formats to Brightspace course documents to meet different learner needs, abilities, and preferences.
AI Detectors: Perils and Pitfalls
Microsoft TeamsMultiple tools claim to be able to detect AI-generated material, but are they reliable? How can we know? And what ethical questions and dilemmas might such tools pose? In this forum, we’ll talk about the tools we’ve tested at WID and what we learned about their effectiveness. Come share your experiences with and questions about AI detectors and we’ll explore the impacts such tools can have in the classroom.
Writing a Literature Review for Graduate Students
302 Howe Memorial 302 Howe Memorial LibraryMany disciplines use literature reviews, but this can be a challenging genre to master. In this workshop, we will discuss the purposes and uses of literature reviews, as well as tips for making the most out of them in your own projects.
Metacognitive Strategies to Improve Student Learning
Microsoft TeamsMetacognition, or learning how to learn, is critical for students to develop to be successful in their academic lives. However, not all students enter college with an awareness of how to learn effectively. And strategies that once worked in high school could lead to frustration and surface-level learning now that the demands of the curriculum are greater. During this session, we'll share strategies that you can use in your teaching to support metacognitive development for all your students, thereby creating equitable learning environments. Many interventions are small (they may take 5 minutes of class time); other strategies may inspire you to rethink aspects of your curriculum design.
Accessible Documents in the Classroom or Lab
Microsoft TeamsThis workshop introduces accessible document design for the classroom context. When you create accessible documents with a wide range of users in mind, everyone in your course benefits. Join us to learn simple steps for creating accessible course materials and ways you can teach students to make their own assignments accessible—all with little added labor for you.
AI Detectors: Perils and Pitfalls
Microsoft TeamsMultiple tools claim to be able to detect AI-generated material, but are they reliable? How can we know? And what ethical questions and dilemmas might such tools pose? In this forum, we’ll talk about the tools we’ve tested at WID and what we learned about their effectiveness. Come share your experiences with and questions about AI detectors and we’ll explore the impacts such tools can have in the classroom.
Make Learning Accessible: Providing Options for Comprehension
303 Howe, CTL ClassroomUnlock the doors to inclusive learning with this insightful gathering, dedicated to exploring the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Guideline “Comprehension” and its versatile application across different teaching methods. Join us at the CTL (303 Howe Library) to watch a webinar together and have a 30- minute discussion following the webinar. We hope to share and […]
Metacognitive Strategies to Improve Student Learning
Microsoft TeamsMetacognition, or learning how to learn, is critical for students to develop to be successful in their academic lives. However, not all students enter college with an awareness of how to learn effectively. And strategies that once worked in high school could lead to frustration and surface-level learning now that the demands of the curriculum are greater. During this session, we'll share strategies that you can use in your teaching to support metacognitive development for all your students, thereby creating equitable learning environments. Many interventions are small (they may take 5 minutes of class time); other strategies may inspire you to rethink aspects of your curriculum design.