Spring Teaching & Learning Support

Welcome to spring! We are excited to share some new ways in which ATUS can continue supporting your teaching and learning. We have new resources for learning about Canvas and generative AI, a request for feedback, and a new collaboration space called the TLC Studio.

Quick Feedback

Please take about five minutes to provide our Learning Systems team with some input into how we can improve our service and support for academic systems such as Canvas and Panopto, as well as our consultation and documentation offerings. 

Learning Systems & CIIA Feedback Form

Please reach out if you would like to chat with us (see How to Get Help).

Learning Opportunities

To best meet your needs, most of our presentations are released directly as videos, to watch when you have time (WWU login required). Watch for announcements for these offerings by joining the ATUS-CIIA Self-Enroll Canvas course, plus access to resources and recordings. All resources are free and are presented online.

• 4/23: Get to Know the Four Types of Quizzes: Chris Powell, WWU Canvas Admin, shares the differences with graded/ungraded quizzes and surveys, and will provide possible usage cases for each to help with your Canvas assessment needs.
• 4/30: Canvas Groupwork Gotchas: Chris Powell, WWU Canvas Admin, offers guidance for setting up Groups in Canvas and showing how to tie groups into assignments and discussions.
• 5/3: Academic Uses of AI for Students: AJ Barse and Justina Brown, WWU instructional designers, share new resources that are helpful for both faculty and students. With AI constantly changing, so are the approaches to using it and the features available for students and faculty. In this session, learn about the latest updates on AI image generation, a few free generative AI tools available, and some better conversational techniques when using AI tools in academia.
• 5/7: Canvas Announcements & Discussions Redesign Coming This Summer: Chris Powell, WWU Canvas Admin, shares a sneak preview of the updated interface for announcements and discussions that will be activated this summer and how this may impact your Canvas course.
• 5/30: End-of-Term Checklist: Our Learning Systems staff, Justina, AJ, and Chris, will give you a tour of the best ways to put a bow on your courses at the end of the term--and be better prepared for the next time you teach.

Generative AI (Artificial Intelligence) Updates

• Academic Uses of AI for Students - see: "How do I show that I did not use AI?" 
• FAQs: Generative AI... - see: "What AI detection can be used at WWU?" and "Can an instructor use third-party AI-detection tools to analyze student work?"
• Evaluating Student Work When AI is Suspected - see: "Evaluate Student Work" and "Using Third-Party AI-Detection Tools to Analyze Student Work" 
• Flowchart: Pathways for Academic Uses of AI at WWU

Accessible by Design

Check out this workshop offered by the Disability Access Center aimed at helping you better meet the needs of your students.

Date: Wed. May 8, 2024 - 3:00 pm 
Location: VU 735 Multicultural Center Multipurpose Room OR online via Zoom 
Zoom Event & Registration link (Registration required)

Description 
Join Dr. Josef Mogharreban, Director of the Disability Access Center (DAC), to discuss implementing Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles and framework in course design. Learn how to proactively design courses to be more accessible to all students while limiting the need for individual adaptations and accommodations.

TLCo-op Updates

• TLC Studio! Join CIIA/ATUS/OCE instructional support staff for IDEA Discussion & Brown Bag Lunches*
  • Tuesdays, College Hall 310, 12-1 PM
  • Join us to chat about your ideas related to *instructional design, edtech, & assessment. 
• Updated Posts: 
  • Whiteboard Options for Collaboration (new ideas since Jamboard is retiring)
  • Regular and Substantive Interaction (RSI) in Online Courses (requirements for instructor interaction in online courses)
• NEW Faculty Mentor Posts: See also their presentation recordings in TLCo-op Canvas course.
  • Abolishing the “Cop in your Head:” Working Towards Student Empowerment in the Classroom by Christina Gutierrez-Dennehy, Theatre and Dance
  • Unlocking Learning: Generative AI for Equitable Learning Practices by Kamarie Chapman, Theatre and Dance
  • First Steps: How to Begin Decolonizing Your Content by Jennifer Riepl, Education Leadership & Inclusive Teaching
  • How Can I Increase Student Buy-in in My GUR? by Kiik Araki-Kawaguchi, English

DIY Learning Options

• Monday Morning Mentor Weekly Videos (self-enroll MMM Canvas course) - Most sessions have transcripts available after the video expires (each video is available for 1 week).
  • 4/15-4/21: How Can I Use Virtual Reality to Impact Classroom Learning?
  • 4/29-5/5: How Can I Use Multimedia Course Content to Create a Tutoring Library for Students?
  • 5/6-5/12: How Can You Become More Intentional About Culturally Responsive Teaching?
• Teaching & Learning Co-op - strategies, tools, and practices for innovative teaching and learning
• CANVAS
  • Canvas Foundations (self-enroll Canvas course) - for anyone who is new to Canvas & WWU; 8 videos in about an hour! 
  • WWU Canvas Orientation for Faculty (self-enroll Canvas course) - everything teachers need to know to be successful users of Canvas
  • See also: Beginning-of-Quarter Course Checklist 
• PANOPTO
  • Advancing Video Instructional Design with Panopto (self-enroll Canvas course) - tips and techniques for bringing class videos to the next level
  • Getting Started with Panopto (self-enroll Canvas course) - Western's video management platform which is integrated into Canvas

Key Resources for Students

• Syllabi at WWU - WWU policies and campus resources written for students (Tip: link to this from your syllabi!)
• Study Spaces - places for students to study between classes or participate in a virtual class in between in-person classes
• WWU Canvas Orientation for Students (self-enroll Canvas course) - to help students be successful users of Canvas
• Stay Connected - ATUS & community resources options for computer access and accessing the Internet
• STC Online Workshops (self-enroll Canvas course) - an extensive collection of self-paced learning modules