Center for Teaching and Learning Blog

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Coffee Chats with the CTL – Connect, Share, Inspire

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Take a break and join the William G. Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) Thursday Sept. 4th from 3:30–4:30 p.m. in Library 243 for our biweekly Coffee Chats!

Enjoy a complimentary beverage from Velodrome as you connect with colleagues from across campus in a relaxed, informal setting. These sessions offer an open space to:

  • Share teaching ideas
  • Learn from one another
  • Collaborate and build community

No agenda. No presentations. Just rich conversation and meaningful connections.

              September 4th Topic: Tips and Tricks for a Great Semester!

We’ll kick off the series by sharing strategies, tools and insights to help set the tone for a successful and engaging semester!

Come as you are—whether you’re looking for inspiration, support, or simply a warm drink and good company. We’d love to see you there!

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CTL Kickoff Coffee Chat – Building Communities of Practice

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Hosted by the William G. Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL)
Tuesday, August 19 | 10 a.m.-11 a.m. |  Outside of Velodrome -look for the orange conversation flag!

Start the semester with a warm beverage and a fresh perspective on teaching!

Join us for a special kickoff event to launch our Fall Coffee Chat series. This session will introduce the concept of Communities of Practice—informal, supportive groups where educators can connect, collaborate, and grow together.

What to Expect:

  •  A complimentary beverage from Velodrome
  • A pre-reflection activity to spark ideas and self-discovery
  • Opportunities to find like-minded colleagues and shared teaching interests
  •  A preview of the Fall Coffee Chat schedule—both formal and informal sessions
  •  Highlights of other CTL events and offerings this semester

Whether you’re new to teaching or a seasoned educator, this is a great chance to connect, reflect, and kick off the semester with energy and community.

No RSVP needed—just bring your curiosity and your coffee cup!

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CTL and IDEAhub Lunch and Learn

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Date: Tuesday, January 28, 2025

Time: 12:00pm – 1:00pm

Location: Memorial Union – Ballroom A

Registration is required.

Join IDEAhub leadership and participants from IDEAhub’s summer course redesign workshop. Find inspiration in faculty stories about their “small bite” course innovations and learn more about how to “level up” your teaching using IDEAhub tools for innovation.

To register please visit: https://mtu.libcal.com/event/13801954

For questions or request any accommodations, please contact the CTL at (906) 487-2275 or ctl@mtu.edu.

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CTL Technical Workshops: Getting Started with iClicker and Introduction to Panopto

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Getting Started with iClicker

Date: January 16, 2025

Time:  10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. 

Location: Library Room 243

The Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) will host a technical workshop Thursday (January 16, 2025) to introduce instructors to iClicker Cloud software.

iClicker Cloud helps instructors engage with their students in the classroom by asking polling questions that can promote discussion, identify areas of confusion and generate questions. Michigan Tech has a campus site license for iClicker Cloud, so instructors can use this tool at no additional cost to their students.

In this CTL technical workshop, we’ll review how to get started using iClicker Cloud in your classroom. We’ll review how to set up your instructor account, iClicker Groups, make custom course settings to meet your needs, and integrate the course with your Canvas course.

Register for the workshop — make plans to join us Thursday (January 16, 2025) from 10-11 a.m. in Library 243.  To register, please visit this link: https://mtu.libcal.com/event/13838699

Introduction to Panopto

Date: January 23, 2025

Time: 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. 

Location: Library Room 243

Are you looking for a way to incorporate video recordings to increase student engagement or provide course materials to be viewed in preparation for class? Perhaps you’re seeking a tool to capture lectures or meetings where multiple video sources can be captured at the same time which can be easily edited and shared? Compatible with multiple operating systems and file formats, Panopto is a robust and straight-forward tool to fit those needs and many more.

Join the Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning for an Introduction to Panopto workshop on January 23, 2025 at 10 a.m. at the Van Pelt and Opie Library Room 243. To register, please visit this link: https://mtu.libcal.com/event/13838721


Contact the CTL at ctl@mtu.edu with any questions about this workshop, accommodation requests, or using iClicker Cloud and Panopto in your class this Spring semester.

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New tools in Canvas coming this Summer!

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Rich Content Editor – Find and Replace

A longtime requested tool from the Canvas community is nearly here! If you’re a Canvas user and you’ve created a quiz, discussion, or assignment, you’re probably familiar with the Canvas Rich Content Editor tool. Coming next month as a Canvas update, the RCE tool will have a new plugin tool Find and Replace which will work throughout Canvas wherever the RCE can be utilized. It will be similar in functionality to Find and Replace in other applications. When it’s available, choose Tools from any RCE toolbar and enter the text you’d like to find and replace; it’s quick and simple! 

Find and Replace tool in Canvas's Rich Content Editor toolbar.
Find and Replace interface.

Discussion Redesign

This video from Instructure will share with you the updated features to include Full and Partial Anonymity for Graded Discussions, Improved Accessibility, Split View, Reply Reporting, and Quoting and @ Mentions along with all the existing functions! Additional information is available from Canvas here! Whatever your role, this information will ensure you make the best use of the Discussion redesign; stay tuned for more information!

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Canvas update: New Analytics replacing Course Analytics

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Canvas update: New Analytics replacing Course Analytics

New Analytics, the updated version of Course Analytics, will be available in this month’s Canvas release on December 16th! Are you curious about your student course engagement, coursework status, or keeping track of students who may need extra assistance (low scores or missing/late coursework) and desire the ability to reach out to them directly? New Analytics fulfills those instructional requirements by updating the New Analytics dashboard every 24 hours in published courses with Course Activity Reports taking approximately 40 hours. Special note: only active and completed student enrollments are included in data for New Analytics; deleted or inactive user enrollments do not generate data. 

Use New Analytics to:

  • View average course grade analytics as an interactive chart graph or a data table
  • Compare the course average with an individual assignment, course section, or student filter using the chart graph comparison or data table comparison
  • View average weekly online participation analytics as an interactive chart graph or a data table
  • Compare the course average weekly online participation analytics with an individual student or section using the chart graph comparison or data table comparison
  • Send a message to all students based on specific course grade or participation criteria
  • Send a message to an individual student based on specific course grade or participation criteria
  • View course grade and participation analytics for an individual student
  • View and download reports on missing, late, or excused assignments, class roster, and course activity.
  • View a report that displays if students have met online attendance criteria that has been selected by an admin.

Additional notes from Canvas:

  • In order for New Analytics to display in Canvas, third-party cookies may need to be enabled in your browser settings.
  • New Analytics data does not display for unpublished courses.
  • Because mobile page view data is based on device settings and network connection, it may vary from the time the page views actually occurred. Page view data should not be used to assess academic integrity.
  • Unposted assignments are not included in the New Analytics course grade tab.

If you wish to see what New Analytics will look like in a current course:

  • From your left hand navigation menu choose Settings
  • From the top menu choose Feature Options
  • Under Features, find New Course and User Analytics and from that option on the right hand side enable the feature by selecting the red circle/x and choose Enable

A Canvas designed How-To and what it can do for instructors can be found here. The Canvas Community has a FAQ on New Analytics here and if you’re curious what other New Analytic users are saying in the Canvas Community, direct your browser to this link!

Otherwise after December 16th, choose New Analytics located in the upper righthand corner from within your course shell. If you are currently using Course Analytics and wish to preserve course data, Canvas recommends taking screenshots of the course data prior to December 16th. (It should still be there, just in a different format.)

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CTL Services and Points of Interest

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CTL Services

Ever wonder how the Center for Teaching and Learning can support your instructional needs? We are here with support for any questions you may have about Canvas, Huskycast, Gradescope, Turnitin, Zoom, or iClicker. Already familiar with these but would like to take a deeper dive into some of these technologies or maybe you have never used these and would like to give them a try in your classroom, we would be happy to provide some one-to-one training! Feel free to drop by during our walk-in hours from 10-noon and 1-4pm Monday through Friday. We can also provide in-person consultations in classrooms for classroom teaching technologies. No time to stop by the CTL? Be sure to check out our online resources that can be found on our site in our Teaching and Learning Knowledge Base, Canvas Instructor Guides, and the Getting Started With Canvas sections. 

Are you interested in taking a deeper dive into a specific instructional topic? We also have a periodical library available for checkout covering a wide range of topics! Feel free to stop in anytime and review the collection.

Points of Interest

iClicker Cloud – Reminding you that iClicker Classic is being retired at the end of 2023 and iClicker Cloud will be the only supported polling software. The student experience will not change and students can still use either physical iClicker remotes or the mobile/web app. iClicker hardware – student remotes, instructor remotes, and bases – as well as the student mobile app will continue to be supported in iClicker Cloud. Visit the Center for Teaching and Learning’s iClicker resource page to get started using iClicker and for more information on transitioning to iClicker Cloud visit iClicker’s online resource page.

iClicker Groups (Beta) – iClicker Groups is now available in Beta, a new method of engaging your students with polling: promote discussion, open new lines of communication, and encourage collaboration. Utilizing this part of the iClicker suite divides your participants in groups to work on building a consensus for your polling. You can find the instructor guide at iClicker Groups (Beta). If you have any questions or would like to know more, visit the iClicker Groups Instructor FAQ or contact us at the Center for Teaching and Learning for more information.

Feel free to contact us at 7-3000 or email us at elearning@mtu.edu.

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November 2023

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Thursday November 2, 2023, at 3:30 PM

Attention Instructors: Let’s Talk AI in the Classroom!

Do you have insights or questions about the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in education? Are you curious about how your colleagues are integrating AI into their teaching? Join us for an engaging coffee chat on November 2, 2023, at 3:30 PM hosted by the Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning, the Van Pelt and Opie Library, and the Office of Academic and Community Conduct.

What We’ll Discuss

  • Course Policies: Do you have an official policy on the use of AI tools in your classes?
  • Student Engagement: How are you encouraging or discouraging students to utilize AI in their coursework?
  • Instructor Use: How much are you using AI tools in your teaching?
  • Workforce Preparedness: What skills do your students need to effectively use AI tools in their future careers?

Why You Should Attend

  • Share Best Practices: Learn from your peers and share your own experiences.
  • Influence Policy: Your input may help shape institutional guidelines on AI use.
  • Network: Connect with other forward-thinking educators on campus.

Event Details

  • Topic: Navigating the AI Landscape in Teaching and Learning
  • Date: November 2, 2023
  • Time: 3:30 PM
  • Location: Library East Reading Room

Register, and make plans to be part of this conversation about the role of AI in education. Refreshments will be provided. We look forward to seeing you there! 

Thursday November 2, 2023, 2:00pm – 3:00pm

CTL Course Design Series: #1- Learning Objectives

Join the CTL Instructional Design team for an active and hands-on workshop where we will take a deep dive into the first step in creating high quality courses: defining and developing observable and measurable learning objectives.

When you begin creating a course, you want to design with the end in mind. The best way to approach this is to start by writing observable and measurable course learning objectives. Course learning objectives are the destinations on your course map. They state where you want students to go. A learning objective is a statement that clearly and precisely describes what the learner will know and be able to DO by the end of the course, module or unit. Bring your tablet or laptop and have a course in mind you would like to start the Instructional Design process on, and let’s get to work!

Register here for part 1, the second event in the series will be held on Nov 9. Watch for details to be published Thursday, November 9, 2023

soon.

Thursday, November 9, 2023, 2:00pm – 3:00pm

Planning out your course map is a pivotal step towards success in teaching your course. It serves as the blueprint for your course design. In this workshop, we will help you plan out your course content, assessments, and learning activities using backward design so that they align with your module learning objectives.  Backward design starts with the end in mind, which is a very useful model for planning out your course map.

So bring your tablet or laptop, have a course in mind that you would like to start the Instructional Design process on, and let’s get to work!

Register for this event here.

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