FEB 12 2025 - CTL Newsletter

CTL Newsletter

February 2025

News + Updates

CTL Studio Opens for Faculty Video Production

Coming soon! CTL Studio is a dedicated recording space designed to assist RIT faculty in creating engaging, high-quality educational video for their courses.

Equipped with a variety of production resources, like a full-sized lightboard, and a team ready to support content creation, the CTL Studio will make it easier than ever to produce polished, impactful educational videos that resonate with RIT students.

Learn more about the CTL Studio

Faculty Fellow Highlight

Phil Shaw is beginning his fifth semester as your Faculty Fellow in Gateway Course Student Success. He has been actively participating in committees working to support our students, especially in their consequential first semesters at RIT. This includes promoting relationship-rich education, active learning, equitable assessment practices, and student-centered curriculum and pedagogy. He has most recently presented at the CTL Summer Institute and Fall Symposium on Artificial Intelligence in Instruction. But what he really likes to do is brainstorm with faculty about ways to make their teaching more effective, accessible, and enjoyable. Schedule an individual or team consultation when you want to shake it up!

"Education works when we engage one another in the joy of learning."

Phil Shaw
Senior Lecturer, University Writing Program, SOIS
Faculty Fellow in Gateway Course Student Success

Connect with Phil Shaw

Open Educational Resources (OER)

Open Educational Resources (OER) are free, high-quality teaching materials that enhance college courses. Integrated into myCourses, they provide students with cost-free access to textbooks, articles, videos, and more, reducing financial barriers to learning.

Instructors can tailor OER to course objectives, keeping content relevant and up to date. Integrating OER into myCourses enhances accessibility, supports diverse learning styles, and fosters an inclusive learning environment. Interested? Explore Third Party Integrations in myCourses

Learn more about OER

Enhancing Student Presentations with the Expressive Communication Center (ECC)

Are you incorporating presentations or speeches into your courses? The Expressive Communication Center (ECC) offers one-on-one peer coaching to support students in developing their public speaking skills. They also collaborate with faculty to design effective speaking assignments, workshops, and strategies to enhance oral communication in the classroom.

Faculty can also take advantage of the ECC's one-button recording studio, a streamlined space where students can easily record and review their presentations for self-assessment, improvement, and assignment submissions. Many faculty members have successfully integrated ECC visits and recording sessions into their courses, providing students with valuable opportunities for practice and feedback.

If you’re interested in learning more or exploring potential collaborations, visit rit.edu/ecc or contact Elizabeth Reeves O'Connor, ECC Director, at eargpt@rit.edu.

Save the Date: May 14-16, 2025 Summer Institute

Mark your calendars! Join us for the third annual Summer Institute from May 14-16, 2025, sponsored by RIT Research and in partnership with the AI Hub. This year's theme is "Creativity and Innovation" in teaching and learning. Look forward to dynamic workshops, panels, guest speakers, and presentations across four tracks:

Teaching with Technology
Engaging Learning Experiences
Advancing Faculty Success
Exploring AI In Practice

Call for Proposals coming soon—keep an eye on your inbox!

Classroom Reminder

Apple M-Series Flickering: Best Practices with TVs/Projectors

If your classroom projector or flat panel display flickers when connected to a Mac or iPad, it may be due to compatibility issues with Apple M-Series devices over HDMI or USB-C. To minimize this, try updating your software, restarting your device, adjusting display settings, or using wireless projection.

For detailed troubleshooting steps, visit our Knowledge Base Article focused on this subject Apple M-Series Flickering: Best Practices or refer to Apple Support.

Upcoming Events

Summer Institute for Teaching and Learning
May 14-16 | This annual symposium is a celebration of teaching and learning at RIT, and a time for faculty to come together to discuss and inspire each other on a variety of teaching and learning topics. With the theme of Creativity and Innovation, session tracks will include Teaching with Technology, Engaging Learning Experiences, Advancing Faculty Success, and Exploring AI In Practice.

Looking for Customized Support?

Departments and Faculty Groups
Tailored workshops and training designed to meet your teaching goals. Connect with us.

Individual Consultations
Collaboration on questions specific to your teaching needs.
Request a consultation.

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 on 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.

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

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

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

Tool Tip

Assessing Student Performance in myCourses

Did you know that myCourses (Brightspace) can quickly assess a student’s performance in a class, for things like Early Alerts and CRP Reports?

Check out the Class Progress Tool and the Engagement Dashboard to see your student’s status in the class.