Welcome to the College of IST Learning Design eNewsletter
January 2021
Join Us for our Next Online Teaching and Learning Conversation
Please mark your calendar and join us on Friday, Jan 29, 2021 from 12:15-1:15 pm ET to share and discuss available University resources. During this session, each designer will be highlighting a resource that they think is worth sharing. We invite you to bring the fantastic resources you regularly use in your teaching as well. The session will take place via Zoom at https://psu.zoom.us/j/836774248
Email Chris Gamrat if you have requests for agenda topics.
As with last year, we will meet on the last Friday of the month and skip Nov and Dec. The remaining meeting dates for this academic year are: Feb 26, March 26, and April 30.
The meetings will be recorded for those who are unable to attend. The recording will be placed in Box.
Canvas’s New Rich Content Editor
Canvas has a new Rich Content Editor (RCE) for editing pages and assignments. The changes made are primarily to the layout, with functionality staying mostly the same. Check out the Canvas’s Rich Content Editor Comparison Document and/or the Knowledge Base article Canvas: New Rich Content Editor (RCE) for details about what’s changed.
And speaking of Canvas, course archiving will be happening February 9th. You must “opt out” to prevent prior courses from being archived, though once a course is archived, it can still be easily restored. More information is available on the Penn State Canvas website.
Amy Garbrick on Leave until March
Amy Garbrick is out on medical leave until March. Please join us in wishing her a speedy recovery.
Instructional Designer Course Coverage
With the addition of Dean Croll to the Office of Learning Design, we will be adjusting designer coverage for IST courses. Starting next month, Dean will be helping to support your SP21 course(s) with increasing responsibilities as the semester progresses.
Timeline for transition is projected as:
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Chris Gamrat’s by late February
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Jon Hughes’s by mid-March
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Kent Matsueda’s sections by the end of March
For more detail, refer to the dashboard listing to view which sections will be impacted: https://app.smartsheet.com/b/publish?EQBCT=230080e06035420e9c0535a50a282760
Updates will be sent as the semester progresses. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Kent Matsueda <kkm11@psu.edu> or Lisa Lenze <lfl2@psu.edu>.
Career Exploration Opportunity to Share with Students
February 11, 2021 12:00p.m. to 1:00 p.m. Please feel free to share with your students the upcoming career exploration opportunity. Students will have an opportunity to engage in conversations and virtual career exploration with the Penn State Information Technology (ITS) professional. This is an opportunity to ask questions about potential careers in information technology that you can explore right here at Penn State. Details and registration found here: http://ist.psu.edu/IT-career-panel
Interested in making this an assignment for your first-year students? Please contact careers@ist.psu.edu. We are happy to help you to develop an activity that makes sense for you and your students.
Learning Design Support
The Learning Design team is available to help you!
Email the Learning Design team with specific questions or to schedule a consultation at LD@ist.psu.edu and one of the team members will get back to you as soon as possible.