Teaching, Learning, & Technology Blog

Adjunct Faculty Development Day
2025-08-16 08:00 - 13:00 (America/Chicago)

Flex Course Delivery Training (Hands-on Training in Room 3127)
2025-08-15 14:00 - 14:30
Many courses at SSC are considered flex delivery courses. Flex delivery refers to students choosing to attend a course in-person in a physical classroom or virtually using the virtual classroom option in D2L. It’s their choice and they can switch up which way they want to attend each week.

However, instructors are always in the physical classroom. That means, instructors must set up their class to be delivered in both formats. This includes using the classroom equipment and the virtual classroom tool in D2L for those virtual students.

Join the Teaching and Learning Center for this hands-on training where we will demonstrate the technical aspects of running and managing a flex delivery classroom.

In this live training, we’ll cover:

Within the classroom, logging into the computer and turning on the front and back projectors.

Scheduling virtual classroom sessions for all your class times for the term.

Launching a virtual classroom meeting, selecting the classroom camera and microphone and discovering ways to verify your settings.

Using the camera remote so that virtual students have an equal experience to that of the in-person students.

Best practices of using the virtual classroom tools will also be discussed which include sharing your in-class screen so that virtual students can see clearly, using the large gallery view so you can see all your virtual students, recording your meetings so that all students can view later…and much more.

Due to limited seating, please register by emailing: ssconline@ssc.edu. You will receive an email confirmation.

This hands-on training will be held in room 3127.

Promethean ActivPanel Display Refresher (Hands-on Training in Room 3127)
2025-08-15 13:30 - 14:00
Some SSC classrooms are equipped with a Promethean ActivPanel as a display. Join the Teaching and Learning Center for this hands-on training where we will demonstrate the technical aspects of using the Promethean ActivPanel in the classroom.

In this live training, we’ll cover:

Navigating the center console, unified menu and touch screen.

Locating and launching applications that are pre-installed.

Allowing students to share their devices with you and other students by initiating a 6-digit sharing code.

Utilizing engaging lessons and activities pre-built into the Promethean ActivPanel that include annotation, capture app, spinner, timer, whiteboard, along with access to internet via Chrome, just to name a few.

Save content altered on the Promethean ActivPanel to USB drive.

Import existing resources, such as PDF’s, images and Powerpoints and/or connecting to your D2L course to access your course content.

Due to limited seating, please register by emailing: ssconline@ssc.edu. You will receive an email confirmation.

This hands-on training will be held in room 3127.

Faculty Development Day - 1/2 Day
2025-08-15 08:00 - 13:00

Faculty Development Day - Full Day
2025-08-14 08:00 - 17:00

D2L Basics and Simple Syllabus Refresher (Online Webinar)
2025-08-13 17:00 - 18:00
Join the Teaching and Learning Center for this online webinar as we get instructors started using D2L.  We’ll demonstrate D2L navigation, how to add and organize content into modules, how to create assignments, basic gradebook functionality, and ways to communicate with your students.

In this webinar, we’ll cover the following:

Introducing the D2L Pulse App and easy notifications to students (sort of like text messaging to mobile phones).

Where to locate your Syllabus and update – using Simple Syllabus

Creating weekly modules and posting a variety of content into those modules (powerpoints, pdf’s, videos, etc.).

Creating assignments (discussion forum, written assignment, online practice quiz) and passing the score to the D2L gradebook.

Basic grading functionality and submitting attendance, midterm and final grades to the student information system.

Various ways to communicate with your students (announcement, emails, students who missed assignments, etc.).

Register for this event

Building a Culture of Accessibility and Inclusion by Utilizing UDL in Online Course Design (Vendor Webinar)
2025-08-13 12:00 - 13:00
Presented by Annette Keca, Online Instruction Specialist; Judith Keigher, Online Instruction Specialist; Scott Thesen, Online Instruction Specialist; and Nikki La Grone, Director of the Center for Teaching & Learning from Governors State University

An ongoing effort of The Center for Teaching & Learning is to improve the quality of teaching at Governors State University. The primary goal of this initiative is to improve awareness of accessibility to reduce barriers that students may face in courses. The BCA Initiative seeks to resolve challenges with accessibility in online and hybrid courses at GSU. Further, with a focus on Universal Design and QM Standard 8, the initiative will benefit all students, not just those with disabilities.

Register for this Event

Special Note: SSC is a member of Quality Matters, so this webinar is free. You may have to create a Quality Matters account to register. Remember, to use your SSC email when creating an account.

D2L Basics and Simple Syllabus Refresher (Online Webinar)
2025-08-12 14:00 - 15:00
Join the Teaching and Learning Center for this online webinar as we get instructors started using D2L.  We’ll demonstrate D2L navigation, how to add and organize content into modules, how to create assignments, basic gradebook functionality, and ways to communicate with your students.

In this webinar, we’ll cover the following:

Where to locate your Syllabus and update – using Simple Syllabus

Creating weekly modules and posting a variety of content into those modules (powerpoints, pdf’s, videos, etc.).

Creating assignments (discussion forum, written assignment, online practice quiz) and passing the score to the D2L gradebook.

Basic grading functionality and submitting attendance, midterm and final grades to the student information system.

Various ways to communicate with your students (announcement, emails, students who missed assignments, etc.).

Introducing the D2L Pulse App and easy notifications to students (sort of like text messaging to mobile phones).

Register for this Event

Reminder: Register for ION courses that start on 8/18/2025
2025-08-11 08:00 - 17:00, 2025-08-04 08:00 - 17:00
The Teaching and Learning Center is continuing to offer the opportunity for instructors to take courses from the Illinois Online Network, a subsidiary of the University of Illinois. Courses begin August 18, 2025 with a registration deadline of August 18, 2025.

Step 1: Decide what course you plan to take. For full course descriptions, visit https://www.uis.edu/cape/professional-development/ion/course-catalog-registration

Step 2: Get Approval from SSC. If you are interested in registering, please complete our TLC application to get started – https://forms.office.com/r/axmQgDiETK (your login for this form is your SSC email address and regular network password).  If you are approved, SSC will cover the cost of your registration.

Once you are approved, you will receive a code to use at registration in Step 3. Using this code allows you to register with SSC paying for the registration.

Step 3: Register for the Ion Course. Visit: https://www.uis.edu/cape/professional-development/ion/course-schedule-important-dates#calendar

On this page you have two options:

Already have an ION Account? If you already have set up an ION account, visit the Continuing and Professional Education self-service portal.

Don’t have an ION Account? Follow the directions to create an account, then proceed to the Continuing and Professional Education self-service portal.

Remember: Use the Code provided in Step 2 during registration. This means that SSC will pay for the course on the instructors’ behalf.

LockDown Browser and Respondus Monitor: Protect the Integrity of Online Tests (Vendor Webinar)
2025-08-05 13:00 - 14:00, 2025-07-09 13:00 - 14:00, 2025-06-24 14:00 - 15:00
This comprehensive training webinar is intended for instructors who plan to use LockDown Browser and/or Respondus Monitor with online exams in Blackboard, Brightspace, Canvas, Moodle, and Schoology. LockDown Browser is a custom browser that prevents digital cheating during an online exam. Respondus Monitor is a companion product for LockDown Browser that deters cheating when students take online exams in non- proctored environments. Students use their own computers with a standard webcam to record assessment sessions. The training will cover: – How to use LockDown Browser to prevent digital cheating in proctored testing environments – How to use Respondus Monitor in non-proctored environments, to protect exam integrity and confirm student identity – The student perspective using each application – Efficient review of the assessment data collected, including the Review Priority system, timeline, and milestone features – Best practices and tips for success with both applications All attendees will receive a link to a recording after the session.

Register for this Event

OLCL Engaging Online & Hybrid Learners: Using Custom GPTs to Facilitate Interactive Learning Experiences (Vendor Webinar)
2025-08-05 11:00 - 12:00
As online learning grows, educators face the ongoing challenge of fostering interactive, student-centered experiences, particularly for asynchronous learners. This challenge becomes especially significant for what the presenter terms “Accidental Asynchronous Learners”—students who prefer synchronous learning but find themselves forced into asynchronous participation due to scheduling or situational constraints. These students often struggle with high transactional distance, a concept defined by Michael Moore (1997), which refers to the psychological and communication gaps that can arise in distance education. In asynchronous learning, where there is often less interpersonal dialogue and higher course structure, students with low learner autonomy (i.e., those less adept at self-directed learning) can feel isolated and unsupported.

In the face of these challenges, Generative AI (GenAI) tools, particularly those based on GPT models, present a potential solution. These tools offer opportunities for simulating interactive learning experiences, providing Accidental Asynchronous Learners with much-needed dialogue and flexible learning activities. This webinar will explore the use of custom-built GPTs to support students who cannot engage in real-time interactions, showcasing how these tools can foster deeper learning and greater engagement in asynchronous online environments. This session is designed to be dynamic, engaging, and exploratory. By positioning GenAI as a thinking partner rather than a thinking replacement, we can help students develop the skills they need to thrive in an increasingly AI-driven world

Intended Audience:

Faculty, instructional designers, technologists, design thinkers

Key Takeaways:

Understand the potential of GPTs to reduce transactional distance and increase engagement for asynchronous learners.

Gain hands-on experience with several custom GPTs designed to simulate interactions with instructors, peers, and content.

Explore practical strategies for integrating GenAI tools into their own teaching practices, with a focus on student-centered learning.

Reflect on the role of AI in future learning environments and consider how these tools can be used to foster critical thinking and autonomy among students.

Register for this Event

College Closed
2025-08-01 08:00 - 17:00, 2025-07-25 08:00 - 17:00, 2025-07-18 08:00 - 17:00, 2025-07-11 08:00 - 17:00, 2025-07-04 08:00 - 17:00, 2025-06-27 08:00 - 17:00, 2025-06-20 08:00 - 17:00

Summer Final Grades Due
2025-07-28 08:00 - 17:00

OLC: Stress-Free Course Policies: Supporting Student Learning & Easing Anxiety Without the Extra Work (Vendor Webinar)
2025-07-24 13:00 - 14:00
Today’s undergraduate students experience high levels of anxiety, which can hinder their learning. Course policies grounded in Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles can help alleviate student anxiety by supporting both cognitive and emotional aspects of learning, thus promoting learner agency. This webinar will present findings from several semesters of student surveys that indicate common stressors and reveal ways UDL-based course policies can decrease anxiety.

The webinar will focus on two course policies that reduce stress for students while maintaining manageable workloads for instructors. The first policy addresses flexible late work submissions, including examples, implementation techniques, and student feedback on specific policies. The presenter will also share data she’s collected where students report just having these policies available to them reduces their anxiety and the number of students who actually utilize late-work policies are far fewer than one might expect. The second policy covers the acceptance of multiple assignment formats (e.g., audio, video, written), offering practical strategies for grading efficiency. The session will conclude with reflections on survey feedback and actionable takeaways for creating low-stress, anxiety-reducing classroom environments.

Intended Audience:

Faculty, instructional designers, and student support personnel

Key Takeaways:

Identify key factors of how student anxiety can impact learning in undergraduate classrooms.

Apply Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles to course policy development.

Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of different approaches to late work submissions, with consideration for grading efficiency and instructor workload.

Evaluate strategies for accepting multiple formats (audio, video, written, etc.) for the same assignment, with consideration for grading efficiency and instructor workload.

Develop course policies and strategies for creating anxiety-reducing classroom environments while increasing learner agency and maintaining similar instructor workload.

Register for this Event

Overcoming Academic Freedom Objections to QM (Vendor Webinar)
2025-07-16 12:00 - 13:00
Presented by Amy Heston, Professor of Inorganic Chemistry at Walsh University; Stephen Kaufman, Senior Instructional DesignerStrategic Initiatives Coordinator at University of Akron; and Brenda Boyd, Vice President of Quality Standards & Evaluation at Quality Matters

Faculty resistance to using the QM Rubric is often framed in the context of “Academic Freedom” however, the QM Rubric supports faculty choice and academic freedom. Join us for this interactive session that will give instructional designers techniques and tactics to overcome this common objection to using the QM Rubric.

Register for this Event

Special Note: SSC is a member of Quality Matters, so this webinar is free. You may have to create a Quality Matters account to register. Remember, to use your SSC email when creating an account.

OLC: Call Us Irresponsible: Designing Online Curricula for the AI Era (Vendor Webinar)
2025-07-09 12:00 - 13:00
In this webinar, we propose a bold new model for course design that integrates Large Language Models (LLMs) directly into the curriculum. Breaking away from traditional limitations on AI use, we explore how strategically embedding AI tools within online course content enables students to experiment, problem solve, and improve their digital competencies.

The webinar will begin with a brief demonstration of how students can easily use LLMs to complete traditional online assignments like discussion posts, essay questions, and quizzes. Next, attendees will be introduced to a course design model grounded in a rearranged Bloom’s Taxonomy (Hardman, 2024). Then, attendees will engage in a design sprint aimed at developing content and assessments that directly incorporate LLMs into the student experience. The focus will be on real-world applications of LLMs in online course design, with participants leaving the session equipped with strategies and examples they can use immediately in their own contexts. Join us in a foray into irresponsible student use of AI!

Intended Audience

This session is aimed at educators and designers at all levels of tool proficiency, with scaffolded models and examples.

Key Takeaways

Identify and implement strategies for integrating generative AI tools into online course designs.

Collaboratively develop an assignment or project that encourages students to explore the capabilities of AI for enhanced learning.

Examine how AI can shift course design away from preventing its use and toward a more open, experimental approach that encourages creativity and critical thinking.

Register for this Event

Holiday - College Closed
2025-07-07 08:00 - 17:00, 2025-06-19 08:00 - 17:00

D2L: Q&A
2025-07-02 10:00 - 11:00
You bring the agenda. Ask your Brightspace D2L questions about teaching, course building, training, supporting or administering in our open question and answer session.

Register for this Event

OLC: Learning Together, Leading Together: A Look at the Ivy Tech & Purdue Global Collaboration (Vendor Webinar)
2025-06-30 01:00 - 12:00
This session unpacks the urgent need for collaboration in higher education, examining the significant hurdles students face today, from navigating complex transfer pathways and the demand for diverse skill sets to rising affordability concerns. No single institution can tackle these multifaceted challenges alone; therefore, collaboration isn’t just beneficial, it’s a strategic imperative for both student success and institutional vitality.

We’ll highlight the powerful partnership between Ivy Tech, Indiana’s community college system, and Purdue Global. This collaboration thrives due to shared student demographics, particularly their strong support for adult learners across Indiana. We’ll delve into the specific reasons this alliance was forged, demonstrating how each institution leverages the other’s strengths. This reciprocal learning has not only advanced both institutions but also positioned them as leaders in innovation and adult learner support statewide.

ntended Audience

This webinar is primarily intended for higher education professionals, administrators, and faculty, particularly those involved in student success, institutional leadership, and program design. Participants will benefit from learning insights into effective collaborations, understanding best practices for adult learners in online education, identifying solutions for common student challenges, leveraging institutional strengths, and fostering innovation and leadership.

Key Takeaways

At the end of the session, participants will be able to:

Identify critical student challenges (e.g., transfer complexity, skill gaps, affordability) that necessitate inter-institutional collaboration in higher education.

Articulate how leveraging complementary institutional strengths, particularly in serving shared student populations like adult learners, forms the foundation of successful higher education partnerships.

Register for this Event

QM: Optimizing Online Learning: Bridging UDL & Cognitive Load Theory (Vendor Webinar)
2025-06-17 13:00 - 14:00
Explore how integrating Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and Cognitive Load Theory (CLT) principles enhances the usability and effectiveness of online lectures, promoting inclusive and engaging learning experiences.

Register for this Event

Please note: SSC is a member of Quality Matters, so these webinars are free. You may have to create a Quality Matters account with your SSC email.
