The LTC is committed to providing reliable, accurate information about all things educational technology. Recently, ChatGPT, and other AI writers, catalyzed a national discussion, leaving many in the higher education community overwhelmed and unsure. To help answer some commonly asked questions and provide some useful resources, the LTC and LEARN Center are partnering to host an informational discussion on ChatGPT and other AI platforms. There will be AI experts, faculty, and a representative from Student Government present. The discussion will be held on February 28th at 3:30pm in McGraw Hall 19A or via Webex.
The UW-Whitewater Learning Technology Center (LTC) is pleased to announce that applications are now open for a Winterim 2023 Online and Blended Teaching Institute in a condensed hybrid format. The overall goal of the institute is to align quality course design with best practices in blended teaching, preparing faculty for online course development, and teaching in future academic terms. The course models a blended course including readings, materials, and short homework assignments. Participants will be required to build an online unit of a course they could teach.
This institute is intended for people designing a course for Summer or Fall 2023 or for those teaching in Spring 2023. It would also be appropriate for instructors designing a new course.
There are six 90-minutes workshops that are part of this Institute. These will include a student panel discussion and a peer-to-peer review session to share ideas and collaborate on online course designs in progress. Final course materials will be due January 30th.
Winterim workshop schedule — all meeting are 90 minutes, online in Webex at 10:30 am:
Applicants will be emailed regarding their acceptance on Wednesday, December 7.
The application takes approximately 10 minutes to complete. We recommend completing the application on a computer, as some questions involve typed responses.
For any additional information or questions, please contact the LTC. Learning Technology Center (262) 472-1004 ltc@uww.edu
The UW-Whitewater Learning Technology Center (LTC) is pleased to announce registration is now available for a self-paced asynchronous version of our Online and Blended Teaching Institute (OBTI) for Spring 2023…or for the ambitious, you can still enroll and complete the Fall 2022 iteration!
OBTI aligns quality Canvas course design with best practices for teaching in a variety of modalities. Upon completion of OBTI, faculty and instructors will be well-prepared to design and develop their own courses, prepared with tips to continue the iterative process for future academic terms.
Online and Blended Teaching Institute now available in a self-paced format.
The Online and Blended Teaching Institute offers an independent, online, self-paced experience combined with full support and contact with the Learning Technology Center. It showcases the work of Whitewater instructors and staff, allowing participants an opportunity to explore what has worked for their colleagues. After an initial consultation, participants will complete a series of short online assignments, be provided a sandbox to design content, and develop objectives and activities to serve as an exemplar module for future courses. This course will take an estimated 30 hours to complete during the fall semester.
This Winterim, we’ll again offer our traditional cohort model OBTI with online synchronous workshops that include a live student panel and peer review. Moving forward we anticipate offering both synchronous and asynchronous options on a regular basis.
For more information or to enroll in this exciting training, contact Ted Witt at wittt@uww.edu.
The Learning Technology Development Council’s call for proposals for the 2022 Virtual Showcase has been extended until 12:00pm on Monday, May 9th! This year’s theme “On Resourcefulness and Resiliency” focuses on reflecting on our journey, sharing our experiences, learning from them, and taking the knowledge gained into our next experiences is key to personal and professional growth. Please consider submitting a proposal for a presentation session and/or a TechTalk. Find more information and the Call for Proposal link on the LTDC 2022 Virtual Showcase website.
The 2022 Virtual Showcase will be held on on June 21 & 22, 2022. The Showcase includes panels, presentations, and TechTalk virtual sessions in polysynchronous format (i.e., some presentations are pre-recorded while others are “live”). Registration is free.
During the Fall 2019 Semester, the LTC will be offering opportunities to work on and learn about Canvas features. For self guided assistance, please view the Canvas Service Page.
Canvas Open Lab
We will be available to answer your Canvas questions during the sessions below! Whether you are working on your current course, or planning for the future – stop on by!
Canvas Deep Dives (1 Hour) We will focus on a single tool, and dive deep into various options and use cases for how that tool works.
Groups: This training will discuss what the toolis, how it differs from what we are use to in D2L, when it should be used, and when it shouldn’t be used.
Webex Tools: Webex is usable through Canvas, but does take some initial setup there. If you are interested in using Webex for your classes, this is the workshop for you.
KNOWN ISSUE: Some instructors report that Canvas Gradebook columns have been “hidden” from students even through the instructors did not choose that setting. Canvas is working on a fix for the issue. There is a workaround and more information available at: https://kb.wisconsin.edu/dle/news.php?id=10487
On Saturday, July 13, Instructure deployed the latest release to the Canvas environment. The highlights of this release are listed below. The full release notes are also available.
New Features
Grade Posting Policy. Located in the gradebook settings, the Grade Posting Policy can be set to automatic or manual. When set to Manual, grades are automatically hidden (muted) by default.
The Cisco Webex Connector is now available for use in Canvas! The Webex Connector allows you to interact with Webex Meetings and Webex Teams directly from your Canvas course. It can be accessed by clicking on “Cisco Webex” in the course navigation menu.
Between 7:35 PM CDT and 8:20 PM CDT on Sunday, April 28th some users were unable to access Canvas. The Canvas team found an issue with one of their backend services that caused multiple instances to become unresponsive. At this time the issue is resolved and Canvas is operating normally.
The LTC will be offering a full day of rotating workshops on Thursday, May 23rd, 2019. We also have a series of Hands-On Introduction and Canvas Construction Zone sessions scheduled for June. We will continue to offer workshops throughout the summer.
Canvas Hands-On Introduction (2 Hours) – Thursday, May 23rd We will cover the basic function of the core tools in the Canvas platform. There will be time to ask questions throughout the session. We will offer repeats of this workshop all day – so feel free to attend multiple sessions – or drop in at any time. Please register for any sessions that you may attend to help give us an idea for planning. Registration is not required and you are welcome to drop in the day of the event. Remote viewing options will also be available. Light refreshments will be available.
Canvas Hands-On Introduction (2 Hours) We will cover the basic function of the core tools in the Canvas platform. There will be time to ask questions along the way. If this is your first time touching Canvas, this workshop is the one for you!
Canvas Construction Zone (2 Hours) Are you ready to start digging into your course setup? Do you need help straightening up after moving a course from D2L into Canvas? Do you have questions on how to set things up? This is the session for you! This session will be 2 hours of lab time with support staff on hand to help you construct your course in Canvas. Don’t forget your hard hat!
Canvas Open Lab (2 Hours) We will be available to answer your Canvas questions during the sessions below! Whether you are working on your current course, or if you are getting ready to teach in Canvas for the first time – stop on by!
Canvas Deep Dives (1 Hour) We will focus on a single tool, and dive deep into various options and use cases for how that tool works.
Content: This is delivered on the concept of backwards design driving the look and feel of course setup. It is about taking what you already do and molding a better experience for you and your students.
Quizzes: This will touch on different question types, building in targeted feedback in auto-graded quizzes, and most likely spend the bulk of the time in the Question Bank area to help instructors get a feel for how Canvas Question Bank is different than D2L Question Library.
Rubrics: This will start by touching briefly on rubric creation, but will focus on techniques to maximize the amount of value you can get by building rubrics directly in Canvas.
Discussions: We will look at setup (including threaded vs unthreaded), visibility, the lack of a “Forum” in Canvas (compared to how D2L had it), group setup, and grading.
Grades: Weighting grades, Late policies, Muting Assignments, SpeedGrader, setting a default grade, and setting up extra credit.
The Online/Blended Teaching Institute consists of a series of interactive workshops focusing on designing and teaching courses in a blended or online format. There is an emphasis on developing appropriate online or blended content, assessment, and learning activities. Additionally, the Institute teaches best practices for managing instructor workload and supporting students in an online or blended environment. The Institute accepts applications from faculty or instructional staff. Deans select participants from their respective College’s pool of applicants.
online learning is fun!
The Summer iteration of the Online/Blended Teaching Institute prepares for the Spring 2020 semester. The Winterim iteration prepares for teaching in the Summer and Fall terms. Ted Witt, Teaching Learning and Technology Consultant, and Eric Loepp, Assistant Professor of Political Science are your 2019 summer co-facilitators.
Dates for the 2019 Summer Online/Blended Teaching Institute:
June 14: Face-to-Face meeting: 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
June 21: Face-to-Face meeting: 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
June 28: Online using WebEx: 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
July 12: Online using Web Ex: 9:00 am – 12:00pm
Submission of final Institute content: July 26th
For any additional information or questions, please contact the LTC.
Learning Technology Center
(262) 472-1004 ltc@uww.edu
