CTL Newsletter - September 2024

News + Updates

AI Hub / CTL Fall Symposium on AI in Instruction

Join us Friday, October 4th to explore how AI enhances student learning and empowers faculty. Meet the new hub director Dr. Chris Collison and see demos of AI tools for education, discuss potential applications in your teaching, and learn how to integrate AI while maintaining quality student interactions. Network with faculty colleagues in leading RIT's AI integration in education.

Participate in our collaborative symposium to shape AI's role in education. Engage in research on AI tool effectiveness and form partnerships to align with the provost's vision. Your voice matters as we work towards AI-enhanced education. All skills and perspectives are welcome.

A second session will be held on Friday, November 1, 2024. Details will be forthcoming!

Get to Know Your Faculty Fellows

Faculty Fellows across multiple disciplines, spanning all colleges, are available to you for confidential advice and mentorship throughout the semester.

For 2024 CTL welcomes four new Faculty Fellows; Jessamy Comer for the humanities, Mario Gomes from engineering, Bernie Brooks a strategic priority fellow for math education and Makini Beck a strategic priority fellow in diversity, equity and inclusion. Thank you Amanda Bao, Keri Barone, and Nickesia Gordon for your service this past year and good luck with your new endeavors!

Check out your Fellows and their areas of expertise

Faculty Learning Opportunities - Register today!

The Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) offers practical training and expert advice on how to thoughtfully integrate teaching technologies and proven teaching strategies into any subject area.

Fall 2024 learning opportunities for faculty focus on inclusive practices, student support, and using new-to-RIT teaching technologies. Some of our upcoming workshops include:

SEP 18 | Conversations on Student Support: Classroom management
SEP 18 | Teaching Assistant Training - Facilitating learning
SEP 24 | Inclusive Practices: Creating video for flipped learning
SEP 25 | Grade Handwritten Activities Faster: How Gradescope can help
SEP 30 | Teaching Assistant Training - Group work dynamics with Spectrum Support Services
OCT 1 | Inclusive Practices: Using electronic rubrics for transparent grading
OCT 9 | Faculty Panel: Maximize your printouts for grading in Gradescope

Visit the CTL Events webpage to see the current listing of all workshops and register to attend. If you are interested in a session, but it does not fit your schedule, you can always request an individual consultation with CTL staff.

Making Grading Easier with Gradescope

The CTL is excited to announce a new tool for myCourses called Gradescope. Gradescope provides grading consistency and time-saving features for grading hand-written worksheets, problem sets, and exams/quizzes. Gradescope can also auto-grade programming code against instructor-created test cases.

The CTL is offering fall semester workshops and individualized training to support faculty in the adoption of this new tool as RIT upgrades our paper-based assessment grading solution.

Learn More about Gradescope

Google Jamboard to be Shut Down Fall 2024

Google is discontinuing the Jamboard tool.

October 1, 2024: You cannot create new Jamboards. On this date, all current Jamboards will become view only, but you can export them as an image file.
December 31, 2024: Jamboard will be shut down entirely. All Jamboard files will be deleted.

RIT has access to Zoom Whiteboard and Microsoft Whiteboard to replace this tool.

Learn More

Originality Checking with Turnitin

Turnitin's Similarity Report in myCourses Assignments can help instructors and students understand how similar assignment submissions are to items in Turnitin's robust content database. Students can also use the Turnitin Draft Coach Google Docs add-in to check the originality, citations, and grammar of their draft documents while writing.

In May 2024, the CTL turned off the newer Turnitin AI detection feature based on a number of concerns related to the accuracy and equity of the tool.

While this one function is no longer available for use, please note that all other features of RIT's Turnitin instance–including Similarity Checking, Draft Coach for Google Docs, and Feedback Studio–remain active.

Learn More

Classroom Reminder

Update your Laptops

This semester we have assisted a large number of faculty with critical updates that are needed on their laptops (both Mac and PC). By making sure your device is fully up to date, you will ensure your device is working optimally and ready to teach class. Devices that are not updated often have issues connecting to the Classroom AV Technology.

We encourage you to work with your department IT administrator or RIT's ITS to ensure your device is fully up to date.

Upcoming Events

To learn more and to register click on the event title or date.

Teaching Strategies

Conversations on Student Support: Classroom Managment
SEP 18 | Grading in large classes (and some not so large classes!) is daunting! No one became a teacher because they love grading! Meet with a group of faculty who have implemented AI-based grading tools in their classes. Hear the pro's, con's and everything in between.

Teaching Assistant Training: Facilitating Learning
SEP 18 | Join us to learn more about being an undergraduate Teaching Assistant (TA). In this session the topics will include: Identifying students who may need additional support, Facilitating learning individually, Facilitating learning in groups, Working with students in and out of the classroom.

Teaching Assistant Training: Group Work Dynamics
SEP 30 | Join us to learn more about being an undergraduate Teaching Assistant (TA). In this session, TAs will work with Kendra Evans from RIT's Spectrum Support Services to discuss real classroom experiences and determine what strategies may be used to support student learning.

Teaching Tools

Inclusive Practices: Creating Video for Flipped Learning
SEP 24 | Create course videos using Panopto. We will include best practices in creating educational video, tips for maximizing your equipment, and demonstrating Panopto video capture.

Grade Handwritten Activities Faster: How Gradescope Can Help
SEP 25 | An introductory session on using Gradescope with myCourses to streamline grading of handwritten assignments. Session repeats on Oct 24.

Inclusive Practices: Electronic Rubrics for Transparent Grading
OCT 1 | Explore how electronic rubrics in myCourses can be used to support transparency in grading electronically-submitted student work.

Faculty Panel: Maximize Your Printouts for Grading in Gradescope
OCT 9 | Gradescope can help instructors save time when grading handwritten activities, but the way you format your worksheets can maximize your efficiency.

Generative AI

FRAM Signature: Panel Discussion on AI in Higher Education
SEP 23 | Explore the transformative impact of AI on modern educational practices with the Fram Signature guest speaker Kerri Holley and RIT Faculty.

Fall Symposium on AI in Instruction
OCT 4 | Explore how AI enhances student learning and empowers faculty, hosted by the AI Hub and CTL. A second session will be held on Friday, November 1, 2024.

CTL Partners

Starfish Hands-on Academic Progress Report Assistance
SEP 19 | SEP 30
This session is for instructors who would like assistance completing their Academic Progress Reports in Starfish.

Starfish for Academic Alerts - Ask Anything!
Weekly on Wednesdays
Drop into any of these weekly Zoom calls to ask your Starfish questions.

Tools for Teaching

The Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) supports faculty in using a variety of academic technologies. These three tools are a good addition to core tools like myCourses. Learn more visit our website.

Ally
Reviews myCourses materials against accessibility standards and provides advice to instructors for improvement. Also provides alternative file formats for students in myCourses. Learn more >

Turnitin
Help promote academic integrity and improve students’ writing. Includes originality checking for myCourses Assignments, and originality and grammar checking for Google Docs. Learn more >

Gradescope
Speeds up grading of handwritten activities/quizzes with automatic answer grouping. Auto-grade computer code against instructor-submitted test cases. Learn more >

Looking for more teaching tools?
See our Technology for Teaching Overview, or come meet with us.

Tool Tip

Duplicating Items in Your Course

Assignment: Next to the name of the item you want to copy, click the down arrow. Then click Copy Assignment.
Quiz: Next to the name of the item you want to copy, click the down arrow. Then click Copy.
Discussion: At the top of the page, click the More Actions button. Then click Copy. Complete additional steps as prompted.