Welcome to the College of IST Learning Design eNewsletter
April 2024
PSU AI Week
Want to get a sense of how others are using AI in their research and teaching? There are a number of events happening during Penn State’s AI week which feature the work of faculty and staff in the realm of AI. Check the calendar for events throughout the week!
4/1-4/5/24, Virtual and In Person Events
Generative AI Faculty Guides
Curious about how Generative AI can be put to good use in your teaching? Commonwealth Campus Teaching Support created these faculty guides to help! Check them out today!
Tips and Tricks: Accessibility
UDOIT was the primary tool to use to see an accessibility snapshot of your Canvas course, however Anthology Ally has the same capabilities and is replacing UDOIT. In order to see a full course accessibility score, go to Settings > Navigation, and then drag Anthology Ally up to course navigation. Review your report to see what areas will have the biggest impact on your overall course accessibility score, as well as fixes that can be easily accomplished (such as adding headings to a document).
Learn more about Anthology Ally via Penn State Accessibility.
Course Materials
As a reminder, the LD Office can’t facilitate textbook or materials changes less than 6 months before a semester start due to World Campus requirements. Changes made after this date create a disadvantage for students who plan for their textbook purchases.
Request World Campus Course Templates
If you are teaching a Resident Instruction (RI) version of a College of IST course, you can request a copy of the World Campus (WC) course template for that course. Many of the courses that run in residence have an online WC version, and while the format is different from the RI section, you may find useful elements that you can utilize in your course. You can also request the RI shell or just the Academic Integrity module. Make sure that you also contact the course committee chair for info about the course.
Upcoming Training and Events
This month there are many opportunities to enhance your teaching by learning something new. See the opportunities below:
Are you interested in learning about the gradebook features in Canvas? Join us for this 1.5-hour session for an overview demonstration of the Canvas gradebook.
Thursday, 4/4, 10:30-12pm, Via Zoom
Dreamery Speaker Series
Spring 2024 Speaker: Joseph Yun
Yun is the artificial intelligence and innovation architect for the University of Pittsburgh. He also is a research professor of electrical and computer engineering in the Swanson School of Engineering, University of Pittsburgh. Come join us at the Dreamery! He will be giving the following two presentations:
Let’s Get Real with Artificial Intelligence
Tuesday, 4/16, 1:30-3pm
How Do We Realistically Move Forward in This New Age of AI?
Wednesday, 4/17, 10:30am-12:00pm
Accessible Syllabus Templates
Facilitated by Mary Ann Tobin, Associate Research Professor and Elizabeth J. Pyatt, IT Accessibility Consultant
Wednesday, 4/17, Noon-1pm, Via Zoom
Preparing to Teach a Summer Course
Facilitated by Shannon McClellan Brooks, Graduate Instructional Consultant, and John Elia, Graduate Instructional Consultant
Wednesday, 4/17, 10:10-11:25am, Via Zoom
Accessibility via Anthology Ally
Assistant Professor Lauraine Hawkins and Elizabeth Pyatt Lecturer/IT Consultant from IT Accessibility will discuss how the tools deployed within the Anthology Ally Canvas plugin can create a more accessible environment for students.
Thursday, 4/18, 12:05-1:10pm, Via Zoom
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 istlearningdesign@psu.edu and one of the team members will get back to you as soon as possible.
IST Teaching Site
The IST Teaching https://teaching.ist.psu.edu/ site has information that you will find useful.