News + Updates

Summer Institute + AI Research Symposium

Save the Date! Join RIT’s Summer Institute on Teaching and Learning on May 14-16, 2024 and dive into active learning, AI, and student support in the classroom!

More importantly, you are doing amazing things in your classes, and your teaching experiences should be shared! A call for proposals to run a workshop or present a speed talk on your teaching will go out early March. Presenters will be confirmed by April 1.

Generative AI and Writing-Intensive Courses

Generative AI programs like ChatGPT and Midjourney have raised concerns among faculty about academic integrity and recognizing student work created using Generative AI. The Center for Teaching and Learning advocates exploring the technology's possibilities while being mindful of associated risks. Theoretical frameworks for First-year Writing and Writing-Intensive courses offer insights for integrating GenAI into coursework.

• Kleiman’s SPACE (2023): Embraces AI tools to enhance student expression, focusing on goals, content, and audience communication. It involves setting directions, prompting AI, assessing output, curating text, and collaborative editing.
• Dobrin’s Four Considerations (2023): Discusses GenAI for invention, revision, critical thinking, and research. Highlights using GenAI for collaborative discussion, specific feedback, and avoiding laziness through explicit discussion and classroom use.
• Harvard’s High-Level Principles (2023): Advises direct communication with students on assignment expectations, making the process visible, and creating opportunities for reflection to discourage unethical use of GenAI.

In conclusion, instructor adoption of GenAI should emphasize collaboration, critical thinking, and equal access for students. Instructors should explicitly present to students any theoretical framework that supports the use of GenAI as part of the writing process in their classrooms.

Generative AI: Share your Perspective

Help us better understand your perception and needs on generative AI. What are your feelings about the use of generative AI? How have you used Generative AI in your teaching? What support do you need, and what resources have you found helpful?

Google Jamboard to be Shut Down Fall 2024

Google has decided to discontinue offering the Jamboard tool in late 2024. On October 1, 2024, you will not be able to create new Jamboards and all current Jamboards will be turned to View Only. You can still export Jamboards as PDFs or PNGs to save a static copy. On December 31, 2024, Jamboard will be shut down entirely and all Jamboard files will be deleted.

The recommended replacement tools are Zoom Whiteboard (can be used outside of Zoom Meetings) and Microsoft Whiteboard.

Efficiencies in myCourses

There are many strategies you can use to be more efficient in myCourses. Here are a few:

• Digital Rubrics: Use digital rubrics to set clear expectations with your students, and be more efficient and consistent with your grading. Rubrics can be attached to Assignments, Discussions, and Grade items in myCourses. They can also be used to grade activities that occurred in person.
• Intelligent Agents: A tool that can send automatic emails to students or generate reports for the instructor based on things that have or have not happened in myCourses. Some common use cases are reaching out to students about their performance on graded items or lack of interaction in a course, or reminding students about activities they forgot to submit or about upcoming critical deadlines.
• Release Conditions: When you attach a release condition to an item in myCourses, students do not see that item until they meet the condition(s) you set. This can be used for things like sharing different material to different groups, releasing the next module after passing the prior module's quiz, or providing supplemental material to students who struggled on an activity.

Click the links above for more details on these strategies or meet with us to learn more.