More AI Learning Opportunities this Fall!

The University of Wisconsin System’s Office of Professional and Instructional Development (OPID) is hosting a webinar series on artificial intelligence. The series is open to systemwide faculty and instructors and will consist of four 90-minute livestreams via Zoom. Be sure to register to attend the sessions and to receive access to recordings!

Integrating Gen AI into Your Teaching – Wednesday, September 13th at 12 p.m. – Dr. Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph. D, University of Calgary

Dr. Eaton presents a thought-provoking look at current and upcoming issues related to the use of generative AI tools for teaching, learning, and assessment, focusing on Large Language Models (LLMs). She will share practical ways to actively explore Chat GPT and other AI apps, integrating them in your teaching and learning, and communicating with students about our AI world. 

Redesigning Assignments – Wednesday, September 28th at 12 p.m. – Dr. Tricia Bertram Gallant, Ph. D, University of California- San Diego

In this talk, Dr. Bertram Gallant will help us move past the fear and anxieties created by Gen AI and towards the creative possibilities for teaching, learning and assessment. Attendees should come to this talk prepared to work on one course syllabus and one assessment prompt (from the same course), and to leave with at least three concrete ideas for how they will modify their teaching practice to better assure integrity in a Gen AI world. 

Example Artificial Generative Intelligence (AGI) Syllabus Language Resource and Detection Demonstration

a college professor lectures in front of a projector screen on the first day of classes
Associate Professor Matthew Winden begins his business statistics class in Hyland Hall. (UW-Whitewater photo/Craig Schreiner)

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater is committed to supporting faculty and staff as the higher education landscape evolves in the age of AGI. Questions continue to mount regarding AGI and academic integrity, particularly with regard to detection options and classroom policies. The LTC has drafted an example of appropriate syllabus language addressing the use of AGI in assignments and other course work. The language is optional and designed to give instructors the flexibility in determining how AGI may, or may not, fit into their course. 

The sample language can be found in the AI Syllabus Resource Knowledge Base (KB) article. Additional open source syllabus language resources include Classroom Policies for AI Generative Tools and the AI Policy Hub at UC-Berkeley.

For those interested in an AGI detection demonstration, IT Services’ annual Technology Open House on August 30th (1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. in McGraw Hall), will feature an overview of the Turnitin detection software built into Canvas at 3:15 p.m. Other offerings include a general AI demonstration at 2:45 p.m. and a wide range of helpful technology resources on many topics throughout the afternoon. (Plus free food and prizes!) 

The LTC is also hosting a series of workshops over the fall semester, including one on AI Detection and Awareness

If you have any other AGI-related inquiries, or would like a personal or group consultation related to AGI, please contact the Learning Technology Center.

Navigating the Frontiers of Artificial Generative Intelligence: Updates, Workshops, and Transformations at UW-Whitewater

In an era where innovation propels us forward at an astonishing pace, staying up to date with the latest advancements can be a challenge. To help, the LTC has summarized some of the recent updates related to artificial generative intelligence (AGI)

General AI Updates

Key updates include the release of ChatGPT versions 3.5 and 4, Microsoft’s Copilot, and Google’s AGI, Bard. Tech companies are expected to continue ferociously to compete, with the AI landscape likely evolving by the Fall 2023 semester.

Incorporating AI into Assessments – UWW Event Recap

The LTC conducted a workshop on April 24th called “Incorporating AI into Assessments.” The workshop aimed to demonstrate how ChatGPT can be utilized to streamline the process, reduce instructor workload, and enhance learning objectives, assessments, and assignments. Led by Ted Witt and Ravneet Kaur, the LTC team guided instructors in real-time usage of ChatGPT, featuring practical demonstrations with real-life examples from various courses such as business, diversity, equity, and inclusion. The workshop also delved into the art of crafting effective prompts.

How ChatGPT and AI are Transforming Academia – UW System Event Recap

The UW System Learning Technology Development Council (LTDC) hosted two panel discussions on April 18th, 2023 centering on how AI is transforming education from both the student and instructor perspectives. 

Watch the Student Panel to discuss how students are already using AI, including the benefits and potential pitfalls in and out of the classroom. Watch the Instructor Panel to explore how fellow instructors have already begun to incorporate AI into their courses and how it can be leveraged for future use. 

TurnItIn Update

TurnItIn has launched an AI generated content detection feature on April 4th, 2023. It is integrated with the Similarity Report to show an overall percentage of the document that was likely AI generated. It is currently available to UW-Whitewater users. 

A few key points regarding the AI detection feature: 

  1. Text that is flagged is 98% certain to be generated by AGI
  2. False positives have been reported both by users and TurnItIn
  3. Only instructors can see the AI detection indicator 

Further Reading

The LTC has curated a set of resources, including webinars, policy examples, and options to incorporate AI into the classroom. Have specific questions? Reach out to the LTC!

Canvas to WINS Final Grade Submission – Spring 2023

The Spring 2023 WINS Grades Roster is open from Wednesday May 10, through noon on Tuesday May 16. The eGrading process allows instructors to transfer final grades from their Canvas Gradebook directly to their WINS Grade Roster.

Each semester, grades need to be entered into WINS. While many instructors do this manually, Canvas can help automate some of the steps for you. The Learning Technology Center is providing training on the three steps needed to push grades from Canvas so they can be accepted in WINS.

Please be mindful that any ungraded items can result in different final grades showing to Teachers, Students, and/or the Student Information System (WINS), depending on the settings used by each individual. Check here for information about ensuring Total Grades are as intended: https://kb.wisconsin.edudle/page.php?id=91483

In person support sessions on this process are also available: https://my.uww.edu/SignUp/Registration/Details?id=17479

If you have any additional questions, please contact Canvas 24/7 Support

Canvas Update (Spring 2023)

On Saturday April 15, Instructure deployed the latest release to the Canvas environment, and the final one before Summer 2023. The highlights of this release are listed below. The full release notes are also available.

  • Gradebook Submit Assignment on Behalf of Student: instructors can submit a file upload assignment on behalf of a student in the Gradebook. The submission includes the timestamp and who submitted the assignment. Additionally, the instructor can submit multiple files at a time for a single student and submit beyond the availability date.
  • Gradebook – Sort Assignments by Excused Submissions and Unposted Grades: In the Gradebook, instructors can sort individual assignment columns and rows by excused submissions and unposted grades.
  • Equation Editor Equilibrium Button: In the Rich Content Editor Equation Editor, an Equilibrium button is available.
  • Pages Schedule Page Publication:  When editing an unpublished Page, instructors can set a publication date. Scheduled pages remain invisible to students until the publish date and time.

      New Quizzes Improvements: While New Quizzes has been available for several years now, many instructors still opt to use Classic Quizzes. Multiple updates have been made to improve New Quizzes, which will not be made in Classic.

      • New Quizzes – Allow Clearing of Multiple Choice Question Answers: In the New Quizzes settings, instructors can enable Allow Clearing Selection (Multiple Choice) allowing students to clear multiple choice answers.
      • New Quizzes – Fill in the Blank with Multiple Word Bank Improvements: In New Quizzes, when building a Fill in the Blank question with multiple word bank choices, distractor words display in a separate section for instructors. Also, word choices can be used more than once when Allow Word Bank Choices to be Reused is selected and duplicate answer choices are graded correctly. Additionally, for students, Fill in the Blank questions with multiple word banks display all word bank choices in the answer blank drop-down menu.
      • New Quizzes – Grade by Question in SpeedGrader: SpeedGrader supports grading one question at a time in New Quizzes. When in Grade by Question mode the question navigation bar is available and the Update score button location has been updated. Additionally, hyperlinks have been added to questions requiring manual grading
      • New Quizzes – Share Item Bank to Current Course Checkbox: When creating a new item bank in the New Quizzes Build page, instructors can share the bank to the current course. This change reduces extra steps to share an Item Bank and improves instructor workflows when building New Quizzes.

      If you have any questions or concerns about the service pack updates, or even just curious about how they can help you, please contact UW-W Canvas Support.

      Canvas Update (11/19/2023)


      On Saturday November 19, Instructure will deploy the latest release to the Canvas environment. The highlights of this release are listed below. The full release notes are also available.

      • Outcomes – Outcome Alignment Summary Tab:  Instructors can quickly view a summary of alignments to the Outcomes in their course. Additionally, instructors can use a filter to view all Outcomes, view only those with alignments or those without alignments. 
      • Pages – Schedule Page Publication: The Schedule Page Publication default status has been updated. Instructors can delay pages for publication on a specific date and time. Scheduled pages remain invisible to students until the publish date and time.
      • SpeedGrader – Multi-File Submission Display as Single Submission for Third Party Tools: When using third-party tools to upload assignments, multiple files submitted together will display as a single submission in Speedgrader. This update allows instructors to view submissions with multiple files together in SpeedGrader.

      If you have any questions or concerns about the service pack updates, or even just curious about how they can help you, please contact UW-W Canvas Support.

      April 2022 @ LTC – General Campus Technology

      Google Workspace

      “Google Drive and Apps Essentials” – April 8 at 9:00AM

      Learn about how to effectively use Google Drive and Apps for collaboration and file-sharing. This workshop offers an overview of Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, Presentations, Forms, Drawing, and Sites. Learn the basics of each program to get you up and running quickly with Google applications as well as some helpful tips and tricks!

      Interactive Polling with Slido

      April 12 at 9:00AM

      Webex Meetings now has an interactive polling feature built right into the meeting so you can easily engage with your participants. In this session, you will learn: how to create, activate, and share content; view results; add collaborators; and more!
      Access your Slido account from https://slido.com 

      Suggestions for Effective Online Meetings & Webinars

      April 19 at 9:30AM

      Do you know how to schedule a Webex Meeting and/or Webinar, but are looking to make them more smooth, efficient, productive, and comfortable? We’ll cover some pre-meeting details that can help as well as and facilitation techniques to help you and your attendees have better virtual meeting experiences. We’ll focus on tips and tricks for Webex Meetings and Webinars to take your baseline skills to the next level.

      New to Campus? Need a refresher?

      “Campus Technology: Resources to Help You Succeed” – April 14 at 1:30PM

      The goal of this session is to create awareness of the campus-supported communication, collaboration, and work productivity tools that apply to all staff and introduce participants to support resources.

      Can’t make it at the scheduled time? Check out our on-demand technology orientation!

      Getting Started with Webex

      April 26 at 10AM

      Webex, formerly known as Webex Teams, is ideal for ongoing communication and collaboration among teams, departments and work groups. Interested in learning how to utilize Webex? This session will help you understand the basics of Webex (Teams) including the new Calling features, best practices for use, and how to get others on board with using it.

      Microsoft Outlook – Tips and Tricks

      “Outlook Email/Calendar Basics (and Tips & Tricks)” – April 27 at 9:30AM
      Open to both Windows and Mac users, this training will cover strategies to manage email messages, calendar scheduling, and more!

      April 2022 @ LTC – The Student Experience

      What is the student experience in your course? How do they view their interactions with reading assignments, discussions, and assessments? This April, join the Learning Technology Center as we re-center the student experience!

      Starting April 1! Universal Design for Learning

      Universal Design for Learning (UDL) encourages us to improve our teaching and students’  through a philosophy of “multiple means” of representation. This collection of workshops will explore the fundamentals of UDL as a means to engage all learners.

      What Students Want in Canvas

      April 5, 2022 at 1:00PM (via Webex)

      This training will focus on making a series of small, easy, and optional, shifts from your current course design to a setup backed by feedback from student panels conducted right here at UW-Whitewater. The goal is not to change how you teach, just how students view the course. This training session will focus on four areas:

      • Matching your Assignments and Grades area to your course syllabus
      • Reorganizing Modules to a chronological layout
      • Getting assignments and tasks populated to student calendars
      • Utilizing the description area of Quizzes and Assignments

      A recording of this training is already available!

      UW System Administration “Digital Learning Environment” – Student Survey

      April 15, 2022 at 1:00PM (via Webex)

      In 2021, a student usability study of the UWS digital learning environment (DLE) was conducted. This workshop reviews those results and discusses ways to improve your classroom and teaching to incorporate specific suggestions from the research.

      Building Better Syllabi

      Join us on either April 19 (1:00PM) or April 20 (9:00AM)Register by April 13, 2022!

      What makes a good syllabus, and what makes a good syllabus better? This session will talk about what can be done to improve an existing syllabus, and interesting reworks from the ground up. You can get started on your own with these great resources.

      More Information

      The LTC offers individual and small group consultations on a variety of topics and services.

      If you require assistance or have questions on campus technology, please feel free to contact the Help Desk. Outside of Help Desk hours, we invite you to search our Knowledge Base for helpful articles on using and troubleshooting campus technology.

      Canvas Update (03/19/2022)

      On Saturday March 19, Instructure deployed the latest release to the Canvas environment. The highlights of this release are listed below. The full release notes are also available.

      • Gradebook – Enhanced Gradebook Filters:  When the Enhanced Gradebook Filters feature preview is enabled for a course, instructors can create filters that can be saved or used one time.
      • Rich Content Editor – Equation Editor Update: When a user creates equations in the Rich Content Editor, the Equation Editor displays an updated user interface.
      • New Quizzes – Item Bank Filtering Terminology Adjustments: In New Quizzes item banks, the All My Banks and All My Course Banks filters have been replaced as the All Banks and Banks Shared to Course filters. Additionally, the This Course filter has been added to the filter options.

      If you have any questions or concerns about the service pack updates, or even just curious about how they can help you, please contact UW-W Canvas Support.