Adjunct Faculty Saturday Professional Development Session: Using Practice Quizzes in D2L to Prepare Students for Higher Stakes Assignments
2024-10-12 10:00 - 11:00 (America/Chicago)
This webinar is part of the D2L Brightspace Basics Bootcamp Micro-Credential for Adjunct Instructors at South Suburban College. Webinar sessions are offered on Saturdays, but also offered during the working week. Adjunct Instructors are welcome to attend these sessions at a time and date convenient to them.

About the D2L Brightspace Basics Bootcamp Micro-Credential for Adjunct Instructors

Complete these three webinars presented by the Teaching and Learning Center before the end of the term to receive the certificate of completion and compensation:

D2L Basics Introduction

D2L Gradebook and Assignments

Using Practice Quizzes in D2L to Prepare Students for Higher Stakes Assignments

This Saturday session covers: Using Practice Quizzes in D2L to Prepare Students for Higher Stakes Assignments

Join the Teaching and Learning Center for this online webinar as we do a deep dive into D2L Quizzes. If you are an instructor that does not use online quizzes, consider using practice quizzes. Studies show practice quizzes improve students’ preparation for higher stakes assignments.

In this webinar, we’ll cover the following:

Basic online quiz creation and review of various question types.

Improve student engagement by using images and videos in questions and answers.

Importing quiz questions from a publisher’s text bank.

Randomizing exam questions using the Question Library (every student gets a different quiz!).

Reviewing question statistics to determine areas instructors may need to revisit before the higher stakes assignments.

Releasing quiz results to students and D2L gradebook.

Using the Special Access function for students with accommodation or who may need more time.

(source: https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2017/06/07/study-skills.html)

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Holiday - College Closed
2024-10-14 08:00 - 17:00, 2024-11-11 08:00 - 17:00

2nd Week Courses Begin
2024-10-15 08:00 - 17:00

D2L Basics (Online Webinar)
2024-10-16 10:00 - 11:00
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 – 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).

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Introduction to Simple Syllabus (Online Webinar)
2024-10-16 11:00 - 12:00
Simple Syllabus is now integrated into SSC’s Brightspace D2L Learning Management System. This means all faculty will be using Simple Syllabus instead of uploading a Microsoft Word version of their syllabus to their D2L course shell.

Using Simple Syllabus means your syllabus will instead be in an electronic format, thereby saving you time and effort by just completing a few fields. Each time you teach a new term, the syllabus created in Simple Syllabus will be automatically imported into the new term’s D2L course shell.

Join the Teaching and Learning Center as we demonstrate how to use Simple Syllabus and showcase other features of Simple Syllabus.

Unable to attend? Watch an archive recording of this event.

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Educause: From Hype to Reality: AI-Driven Innovations for Student Success in Higher Education (Vendor Webinar)
2024-10-17 11:00 - 12:00
Thoughtfully designed generative AI can revolutionize education by enabling personalized, on-demand learning experiences that cater to individual student needs, enhancing engagement and outcomes. By leveraging AI’s adaptive capabilities, students can receive tailored content and real-time feedback to foster a more inclusive and effective learning environment. Advancements in AI are expected to further refine these personalized learning systems and make education more accessible, affordable and equitable. To receive all the benefits AI can offer, it’s paramount that AI is employed in a responsible manner with a priority of helping students learn.

Learning Outcomes:

Understand the importance of responsibly partnering with AI, and learn how edtech can design AI with academic integrity in mind.

Learn best practices to foster-self-directed learning, such as tailored prompts and on-demand learning experiences, to improve student success.

Discover levers that drive equity/accessibility, such as accessibility of supplemental learning tools, to help students who need it most.

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Note: SSC is a paid member of Educause, so webinars are free to faculty, staff and administrators. If you don’t have an Educause account when you register, simple create one using your SSC email address.

OLC: Unlocking Faculty Potential: The Impact of Professional Development on Course Quality and Student Success (Vendor Webinar)
2024-10-17 13:00 - 14:00
The better prepared that faculty members feel about their courses, the more effective they believe them to be for their students. Faculty planning and preparation can take multiple forms, with institutional-provided professional development (PD) being one of the more common. Our research indicates that faculty professional development can be very impactful, and institutions should consider how to reach more faculty with quality professional development options.

We will review the most recent data on PD and discuss the implications with our panel. Topics include the impact of PD on faculty ratings of their materials, common reasons for high and low ratings, and administrator views.

This research comes from the latest results on curricula adoption topics in the 2023-24 survey by Bay View Analytics. This is the tenth survey in the series of annual surveys focused on curricula adoption decisions. This survey included a national representative sample of higher education faculty and administrators.

Intended Audience:

Centers for Teaching & Learning, Instructional Designers, Faculty and Instructors

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The Evolution of AI in Education: Moving Beyond Adoption to Student Success (Vendor Webinar)
2024-10-17 13:00 - 14:00
Every education leader has to answer the question: How do we innovate with AI without compromising academic integrity? As student-AI collaboration grows, merely detecting AI-assisted work is insufficient and, in many cases, creates unnecessary tension between students and faculty.

In response, Grammarly has launched Authorship, a first-of-its-kind tool designed not to detect AI use but to create transparency across the entire writing process. Helping educators understand students’ writing practices across various tools, sources, original writing, and editing, Authorship gives educators the visibility they need to best instruct and students the documentation they need to explain their work accurately.

Join this webinar to learn about the state of responsible AI informed by Grammarly’s 3,000+ education customers, get a first-hand tour of Authorship, and be first to hear exclusive insights learned during the first 30 days it has been available to institutions and students.

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Using D2L Gradebook for In-Person, Flex and Online Courses (Online Webinar) (.25 PGU)
2024-10-21 16:00 - 17:00
If you are teaching a traditional in-person, flex and online courses, students appreciate instructors using the D2L online Gradebook as it promotes:

Transparency, Accountability and Timely Feedback (24/7 access to real-time grade totals. Students know where they stand throughout the term.)

Encourages Communication Opportunities (students asking about how to improve grades)

Reduction of Errors (automatically calculates total column)

Promotes Accessibility Accommodations (students can access with screen readers)

Faster Midterm, Final and Attendance grade submission from D2L and export to the official Student Information System (Colleague)

In-person instructors have two options when using D2L online gradebook:

Simple Option: Manually create Gradebook columns. The D2L gradebook looks and feels like an Excel spreadsheet and entering grades into the cells is just as easy. If instructors are using Excel to calculate their grades, why not use D2L Gradebook instead? It is just as easy.

Second Option: If students are submitting assignments in class or through email, instructors can create a D2L assignment, which will auto create a Gradebook column. Instructors can easily grade the submitted assignment and scores automatically sync to the D2L Gradebook. If due dates are associated with D2L assignments, they will automatically appear in your syllabus after the rollout of Simple Syllabus (coming this Spring 2024). This will eliminate a step for instructors when they create their syllabus each term.

Join the Teaching and Learning Center for this online webinar as we get instructors started using the D2L Gradebook. During this online webinar, we’ll start out demonstrating the simple option. If time permits, provide move into option two.

Here’s what we play to cover:

If weighing grades, setting up categories and applying to the Gradebook columns.

Manually creating Gradebook columns and how to simply enter grades.

Demonstrate how assignments, quizzes and discussion forums sync to the Gradebook.

Best practices of exporting Attendance, Midterm and Final Grades to the SIS (Student Information System).

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Channeling Stress Responses into Positive Outcomes (Vendor Webinar)
2024-10-22 13:00 - 14:00
Presented in partnership with Human Anatomy & Physiology Society

What is stress? Is it helpful or harmful? Our students talk about stress often—are there ways we can help them navigate these responses?

During this session, we’ll discuss what stress actually is and the literature around helpful and harmful stress. We’ll also suggest some evidence-based ways to help channel this evolutionary safety mechanism into positive academic outcomes for students.

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D2L: Take a Deep Dive Look at your D2L Course Data for the Fall 2024 Term (Online Webinar) (.25 PGU)
2024-10-22 16:00 - 17:00
Knowing how and when students are interacting with course material can be invaluable in various ways. First, it allows instructors the opportunity tweak and adjust their content during the term. Second, at the end of a term, instructors can view data and see what worked and what didn’t and have the statistic data to back up these findings. This allows an instructor to tweak their course content for next term.

Join the Teaching and Learning Center team in this online webinar where we focus on various places within D2L instructors can access analytics and statistics about their courses. Other areas that will be explored include looking for trends in late and missing submissions, viewing quiz questions and responses, comparing student learning between topics, confirming student are indeed accessing course material and strategic planning for intervention, if necessary.

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Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education (Online Webinar) (.25 PGU's)
2024-10-23 16:00 - 17:00
Join the Teaching and Learning Center for an insightful one-hour webinar tailored specifically for instructors at South Suburban College interested in integrating artificial intelligence, particularly ChatGPT, into their course design and assignment processes. This session will explore how AI can enhance curriculum development and provide a unique perspective on the student experience when using ChatGPT.

Objectives:

Understanding ChatGPT: Learn the basics of how ChatGPT works and its potential applications in education.

Course Design Enhancement: Discover strategies for incorporating ChatGPT into course design, including generating content ideas, creating assessments, developing quiz questions and online discussion prompts.

Student Perspective: Experience a live demonstration of how students are using ChatGPT along with best practices for guiding students in using AI responsibly.

Other Applications: If time permits, we’ll also demonstrate some other applications that may be helpful for course design such as creating images and music using AI software.

Who Should Attend: This webinar is designed for instructors at all levels who want to innovate their teaching methods and enhance student engagement through the use of AI technology.

Takeaways: Participants will leave with actionable insights on how to effectively incorporate ChatGPT into their course design and an understanding of the student’s experience with AI.

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DL2: Checklist Tool to Keep Students on Track (Online Webinar) (.25 PGU)
2024-10-24 16:00 - 17:00
Do you have a rather large project assignment in your course that includes numerous requirements? Or do you have course activities that include discrete steps students must complete? If so, join the Teaching and Learning Center as we showcase the use of the D2L Checklist tool that may help in keeping students on track with course activities.

In this live training, we’ll cover:

Using D2L Intelligence agents to send auto emails to students who have not completed the checklist.

Creating D2L checklists and posting the checklist within a D2L course.

How students complete the D2L checklist to self-regulate their progress.

Reviewing instructor data reports indicating the student’s progress.

Advance features, such as releasing a checklist based on certain conditions (example: student who may be getting behind on a rather large project and may need extra organizational help).

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Adjunct Faculty Saturday Professional Development Session: Introduction to Teaching Best Practices (Online Webinar)
2024-10-26 10:00 - 11:00
This webinar is part of the Inclusive Teaching Micro-Credential for Adjunct Instructors at South Suburban College. Webinar sessions are offered on Saturdays, but also offered during the working week. Adjunct Instructors are welcome to attend these sessions at a time and date convenient to them.

About the Inclusive Teaching Micro-Credential

Complete these three webinars presented by the Teaching and Learning Center before the end of the term to receive the certificate of completion and compensation:

Introduction to Teaching Best Practices

Blackboard Ally & ILCCO Accessibility Best Practices

SSDO Passports & Accommodations (including pregnancy)

This Saturday session covers: Introduction to Teaching Best Practices (Online Webinar)

Are you new to teaching at the college level and/or perhaps would like to pick up a few tips and tricks on teaching best practices? Join the Teaching and Learning Center as they provide helpful tidbits on communication with students, classroom management (in both face-to-face and virtual classroom settings) and discuss examples of designing content based on educational strategies.

We will conclude this session by introducing you to the new ION course entitled Welcome to Effective Teaching and Learning Strategies. This course is designed to take teaching best practices to the next step. Tuition for this 8-week, fully online ION course will be fully paid for by the college and will greatly enhance your teaching skills. A certification of completion will be granted, which you can provide to the Teaching and Learning Center to showcase your accomplishment.

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Reminder: Register for an free ION Course
2024-10-28 08:00 - 17:00
We are continuing to offer the opportunity for instructors to take courses from the Illinois Online Network, a subsidiary of the University of Illinois. Courses begin B, 2024 with a registration deadline of November 11, 2024

Step 1: Decide what course you plan to take. For full course descriptions, visit https://www.uis.edu/ion/registration/schedule/

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/ion/registration/creating-your-self-service-account.

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.

Introduction to Teaching Best Practices (Online Webinar)
2024-10-29 14:00 - 15:00
Are you new to teaching at the college level and/or perhaps would like to pick up a few tips and tricks on teaching best practices? Join the Teaching and Learning Center as they provide helpful tidbits on communication with students, classroom management (in both face-to-face and virtual classroom settings) and discuss examples of designing content based on educational strategies.

We will conclude this session by demonstrating to you to the new ION course entitled Welcome to Effective Teaching and Learning Strategies. This course is designed to take teaching best practices to the next step. Tuition for this 8-week, fully online ION course will be fully paid for by the college and will greatly enhance your teaching skills. A certification of completion will be granted, which you can provide to the Teaching and Learning Center and your department to showcase your accomplishment.

Register for this Event

OLC: Student Motivation in the Age of AI: A Discussion on Creating Assessments that Matter (Vendor Webinar0
2024-10-30 13:00 - 14:00
Many faculty, instructors, and instructional designers strive to develop meaningful activities and assessments that students actually want to complete. Peer review is an effective way to create opportunities for students to truly engage with richer course content and their classmates. Now, with the rise of generative AI, educators must consider additional factors when it comes to motivating students to think for themselves and engage with a community of ideas. Could peer review be the scaffold that helps instructors cultivate critical thinking even in the biggest courses?

Please join our two presenters, Dr. Chris Schunn and Dr. Ryan Straight, who will discuss peer feedback in the age of generative AI. Dr. Schunn will begin with a brief overview of relevant research and effective practices for peer review using leading-edge learning technology, and Dr. Straight will address key considerations related to generative AI, assessment, and peer feedback. Then, both presenters will participate in an engaging reflective panel discussion, answering questions from a moderator and the audience. This thought-provoking webinar is one you don’t want to miss!

Intended Audience:

Faculty and instructors; instructional designers

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Chronicle on Education: Clear Pathways: From College to Career (Online Webinar)
2024-10-31 13:00 - 14:00
When colleges and employers work together, they can match the right talent with the right opportunities.

Join The Chronicle for a conversation with experts on preparing and connecting students with local and regional job opportunities. During this Virtual Forum, “Clear Pathways: From College to Career”, we’ll discuss the key ingredients for successful partnerships, including:

Student recruitment

Industry selection

Curriculum development

Host: Ian Wilhelm, deputy managing editor, The Chronicle of Higher Education

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Reminder: Register for free ION courses
2024-11-04 08:00 - 17:00

Elements of Quality Matters: 2-Hour Self-Paced Online Course (.25 PGU)
2024-11-05 08:00 - 17:00
This self-paced course is an addition to the internal Introduction of Quality Matters at SSC course and offers a deep dive into getting your course ready to meet Quality Matters standards. Quality Matters (QM) is the global organization leading quality assurance in online and innovative digital teaching and learning environments. It has advanced quality assurance practices in online teaching and learning for over a decade. This course takes about 2 hours to complete.

Learn more about QM in this self-paced course, including:

QM’s origin, evolution, and scope

Factors that affect the quality of online learning

What it takes for a course to be QM-Certified

How QM certifies online programs

QM professional development and tools to support online teaching

To Register: https://www.canvas.net/browse/qm/courses/elements-of-quality-matters

Reminder: Once completed, remember to send the TLC your certification of completion.

LockDown Browser and Respondus Monitor: Protect the Integrity of Online Tests (Vendor Webinar)
2024-11-06 13:00 - 14:00
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.

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Educause AI Series - Part 1 - AI Literacy (Online webinar)
2024-11-07 14:00 - 15:00
The EDUCAUSE AI Webinar Series is a five part series. Each webinar dives deep into the latest innovations, practical applications, and future trends of AI, providing you with the knowledge and tools to stay ahead in the rapidly evolving tech landscape.

Note: Each webinar requires individual registration. Don’t miss out—secure your spot for each webinar.

Session 1: Developing a multi-layer capability curriculum for AI Literacy

Session 2: AL Literacies for a New Era of Learning

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Note: SSC is a member of Educause, so registration for this event is free. If you haven’t created your Educause account, please do so using your SSC email. Then register for the event.

Part 2 of this series takes place December 3, 2024Part 3 of this series takes place January 21, 2025Part 4 of this series takes place February 6, 2025Part 5 of this series takes place February 18, 2025

Adjunct Faculty Saturday Professional Development Session: Blackboard Ally & ILCCO Accessibility Best Practices (Online Webinar)
2024-11-09 10:00 - 11:00
This webinar is part of the Inclusive Teaching Micro-Credential for Adjunct Instructors at South Suburban College. Webinar sessions are offered on Saturdays, but also offered during the working week. Adjunct Instructors are welcome to attend these sessions at a time and date convenient to them.

About the Inclusive Teaching Micro-Credential

Complete these three webinars presented by the Teaching and Learning Center before the end of the term to receive the certificate of completion and compensation:

Introduction to Teaching Best Practices

Blackboard Ally & ILCCO Accessibility Best Practices

SSDO Passports & Accommodations (including pregnancy)

This Saturday session covers: Blackboard Ally & ILCCO Accessibility Best Practices

Have you noticed new colorful icons next to all content posted in your D2L courses? That is Blackboard Ally working to provide alternative methods to students in consuming your content.

We are excited to announce the implementation of Blackboard Ally with Brightspace D2L effective for the Spring 2024 term. Blackboard Ally is a revolutionary product that focuses on using inclusivity, sustainability and automation as its key pillars in helping faculty tackle accessibility in a way that benefits all students. Blackboard Ally automatically converts content posted to D2L courses in alternative formats, such as using the Immersive Reader, Beeline Reader, audio, electronic braille, and translation into many different languages, just to name a few.

In this session we will also introduce you to the Illinois Community College Online (ILCCO) accessibility best practices to discover how Blackboard Ally will increase SSC’s requirements in meeting accessibility standards for all students.

Join the Teaching and Learning Center as we showcase Blackboard Ally in D2L.

Register for this Event

ION courses start
2024-11-11 08:00 - 17:00

D2L Intelligent Agents: Automate Communication with Students (Online Webinar) (.25 PGU)
2024-11-12 16:00 - 17:00
An Intelligent Agent is a communication tool feature built-in to D2L that can assist instructors in monitoring student activity and automatically sending email reminders to students based on those activities.

For example, instructors can prepare an intelligent agent to automatically email students as follows:

Welcome students when they first access the course.

Remind students they failed to login and access your course within the last week and how important it is to keep up.

Encourage students when they miss deadlines.

Recognize students when they are doing well in the course.

Catch them early by notifying them of tutoring services available if they are receiving a low score in their assignments.

In this webinar, we’ll cover the following:

Introduce the concepts of Replacement Strings – internal fields that can be used to personalize the communication, such as First Name, Last Course Assess Date, Course Name, etc.

Creating an Intelligent Agent based on a variety of different criteria mentioned above.

Test an Intelligent Agent with a Practice Run.

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Beyond for Learning: Classroom Assessments as Learning (Online Webinar)
2024-11-13 11:00 - 12:00
We know that formative classroom assessments are often seen as assessments for learning, shifting the focus from evaluation to student growth. But did you know that they can also be assessments as learning? Join us for a thoughtful discussion on classroom assessment practices with Dr. Laine Bradshaw, founder of the Navvy formative classroom assessment system.

Hosted by Pearson (but you don’t need to be using a Pearson publication, this is open for all instructors regardless of which textbook they use in their course).

Register for this Event

D2L Mini-Webinar Series for Higher Education: Part 1 - Creating Assessments in D2L (Online Webinar)
2024-11-13 12:00 - 13:00
Save your seat for our “Bright Ideas” 💡 Webinar Series. Each webinar is 45 minutes followed by 15 minutes of Q&A and networking. Take a deep dive with D2L tips and tricks for better digital learning experiences!

Part 1: Creating Assessments

📃 Learn how to create Assignments, Discussions, and Quizzes

🎉 Features to personalize and differentiate learning

📊 Tips to enhance your assessment skills

👩‍🏫 Ideal for faculty and instructional designers

Register for this Event

Note: Make certain to register for the other parts of this mini-webinar series at the same link above.

Part 2: Assessment and Feedback (12/11/24)Part 3: Evaluation (1/8/25)Part 4: Course Design Best Practices (2/12/25)

AI Student Coaching: First Results from the Classroom (Online Webinar)
2024-11-14 12:00 - 13:00
Come see the results of how AI Coaching of students performed in the online classroom and hear both instructor and student perspectives on using AI to provide real-time feedback assistance that promotes constructive learning.

Harmonize’s rubric coach helps the instructor build a rubric based on their assignment or discussion prompt and then allows instructors to enable real-time feedback designed to make the student pause and self-assess using the instructor’s rubric. The goal is to trigger the students to go through productive revisions in real-time so that their work is more complete and helpful to their classmates, and so that the instructor is grading the student’s best efforts.

Key Takeaways:

Understand how AI can use instructor inputs to guide coaching of students in real-time.

Understand instructor and student perspectives of the use of AI for this purpose.

Intended Audience:

Institutional Effectiveness, Distance Education Leaders, Center for Teaching and Learning, and Directors of Assessment

Register for this Event

Search Like a Pro: Discover Google Search Tricks to Empower Your Students (Online Webinar) (.25 PGU)
2024-11-18 15:00 - 16:00
Google remains the number one search engine globally. It dominates the search engine market with a significant share, handling over 90% of global search queries. But many enter search terms in a way that can sometimes provide millions of results that one must sort through.

Join the Teaching and Learning Center in this one-hour training designed to introduce faculty and staff to Google search operators—powerful tools that can accurately target your search results more precisely. These operators help users filter, exclude, or focus the information they’re looking for, making searches more efficient and effective.

Additionally, this training will equip faculty with the skills to assist their students in conducting more effective internet searches and fostering critical information literacy skills that can last a lifetime.

Register for this Event
