Events

Registration for events is now handled through iPeople, unless otherwise specified. When registering from off campus locations, users may be asked to complete Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA). Users can see what they have previously registered for and cancel registrations by logging in to this tracking page.

If you have questions about the content of a workshop or need an accommodation to fully participate, please email ProDev@ilstu.edu. If you receive an error message while attempting to register, please contact the Technology Support Center.

Technology Consultations and Courses (New!)

We've recently redesigned our long-standing "Technology Short Courses" offerings, seen on our new Technology Consultations and Courses page. There you can find technology and online teaching workshops (also listed on this page), workshops offered by partner units at Illinois State (for example, Teams and the News.IllinoisState system), and contact information to connect you with experts on various software and teaching tools.

Browse our Summer Institute 2024 events, organized by the Framework for Inclusive Teaching Excellence (FITE).

Explore
Reimagining Teaching: Navigating Higher Education in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

Join us for an immersive, two-part workshop to empower faculty members with the knowledge and skills needed to navigate the rapidly evolving landscape of generative AI in higher education. Begins Tuesday, June 4.

Register by May 31
Indigenous Illinois 101: Making ISU’s Land Acknowledgment into Pedagogy and Practice

Learn about the Indigenous history of central Illinois prior to Indian removal in 1832. Explore ways to apply this new knowledge towards indigenizing your own pedagogy in the classroom, regardless of discipline.

Register by July 5

Summer Institute Workshops

Strategies to Support Student Success in Your STEM Courses

Register by:
Tuesday, May 14

Asynchronous work:
May 17 to May 21

Synchronous sessions:
Thursday, May 16 • 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Friday, May 17 • 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Wednesday, May 22 • 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Location:
Williams Hall 314

Facilitator:
Sarah Boesdorfer, Center for Mathematics, Science, and Technology

Important note: This workshop is funded through a grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and is only open to instructors (including instructional staff and graduate teaching assistants) in the following departments: Agriculture, Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Electrical Engineering, Geography, Geology & the Environment, Health Sciences, Information Technology, Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering, Physics, and Technology. Many students struggle to learn and succeed in early STEM courses, but there are some simple, quick, and research-based actions you can take that will improve student learning. Our discussions will begin using the book Teach Students to Learn (you do not have to read it to participate) and extend our explorations to additional research-based sources. We will look at some of the structures, supports, and actions we can put into our courses that will aid all learners to success in STEM. Come learn about the possibilities and develop a ready-to-implement action plan for at least one of your courses in the coming academic year. Participants will receive a voucher for lunch at campus dining facilities on May 16. Registration is required.

A $400 stipend is available to eligible participants who complete the program.

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Community Partner Lunch and Learn

Register by:
Monday, May 20

Synchronous sessions:
Tuesday, May 21 • 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Location:
Alumni Center 116

Facilitator:
Dana Karraker, Center for Integrated Professional Development
Paige Buschman, Center for Civic Engagement
Rachel Waring-Sparks, Center for Civic Engagement

Interested in incorporating civic engagement or service learning in your courses? This session can connect you with potential community partners. Join us for a lunch and meet representatives from agencies in town who would like to collaborate with Illinois State instructors and students. At this event, community partners will give a short overview of their programs, services, and needs, and then faculty will have the opportunity to talk with community partners and discuss possibilities. Registration is required.

There is no stipend for this event.

This workshop falls under the AAC&U High-Impact Educational Practices of Service Learning, Community-Based Learning. 

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Build Confidence in Creating Inclusive Course Materials

Register by:
Thursday, May 30

Asynchronous work:
May 31 to June 11

Synchronous sessions:
Wednesday, June 12 • 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Location:
Online

Facilitator:
Sarah Schafer, Student Access and Accommodation Services
Jen Bethmann, Web and Interactive Communications

Gain the knowledge you need to support students with disabilities. In this workshop, presenters will guide you step-by- step to improve the curation and creation of your digital course content, including how to use images, color contrast, and formatting in programs like Word, PowerPoint, and Acrobat. You will create an individual plan to update course content using tips and tricks for choosing documents and media universally designed for all students at Illinois State University. Registration is required.

A $100 stipend is available to eligible participants who complete the program.

This workshop falls under the AAC&U High-Impact Educational Practice of Diversity/Global Learning. 

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Reimagining Teaching: Navigating Higher Education in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

Register by:
Friday, May 31

Asynchronous work:
Tuesday, June 4
Thursday, June 6

Synchronous sessions:
Monday, June 3 • 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Wednesday, June 5 • 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Location:
Williams Hall 314

Facilitator:
Roy Magnuson, School of Music
David Giovagnoli, Center for Integrated Professional Development

Join us for an immersive two-part workshop designed to empower faculty members with the knowledge and skills needed to navigate the rapidly evolving landscape of generative AI in higher education. Explore the fundamentals of generative AI, increase your AI literacy, and gain hands-on experience with tools such as ChatGPT, Adobe Firefly, and other similar products. Engage in discussions and collaborative activities aimed at assessing the potential of AI tools and strategizing how to effectively incorporate them into your teaching practice. Whether you are an early adopter or skeptical about the role of AI in education, this program will provide you with the insights and resources needed to make informed decisions.

By the end of this workshop, you will craft a personalized AI teaching philosophy or research agenda statement that thoughtfully incorporates AI or articulates a well-reasoned stance on its exclusion. You will also be able to navigate and leverage AI tools with confidence to enhance student learning experiences and outcomes.

Dining vouchers will be provided for lunch during the in-person sessions. This program is intended for tenure-track and non-tenure-track faculty, but any employee with instructional responsibilities, including those with graduate assistantships in the fall of 2024, may register.

A $200 stipend is available to eligible participants who complete the program. Registration is required.

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Responding to Disruptive Classroom Behaviors

Register by:
Monday, June 10

Synchronous session:
Tuesday, June 11 • 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Location:
Williams Hall 314

Facilitators:
Donald Reed, Dean of Students Office
Janice Blair, Dean of Students Office
Mayuko Nakamura, Center for Integrated Professional Development

Learn strategies that enable you to effectively facilitate challenging conversations, respond to disruptive classroom behaviors, and engage your students in dialogues that cultivate an understanding of diverse perspectives. Additionally, this course will equip you with instructional strategies to mitigate distracting behaviors and create inclusive, respectful learning environments. Participants will receive a voucher for lunch through Campus Dining.

A $100 stipend is available to eligible participants who complete the program. Registration is required.

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Effective Practices for Peer Feedback on Teaching

Register by:
Tuesday, June 11

Synchronous session:
Wednesday, June 12 • 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Location:
Williams Hall 308

Facilitators:
Dana Karraker, Center for Integrated Professional Development
Mayuko Nakamura, Center for Integrated Professional Development

Peer observation can be a valuable tool for gathering feedback on teaching practices. When used formatively, feedback gathered from peer observation can encourage scholarly teaching and has the potential to transform teaching and learning (Barbeau & Happel, 2023). This workshop will examine the role peer observations play in professional growth, identify effective practices in the classroom observation process, and provide strategies for giving formative feedback. Because this workshop focuses on peer dynamics, it is only open to tenure-track and non-tenure-track faculty or staff with teaching responsibilities. Registration is required.

A $50 stipend is available to eligible participants who complete the program.

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Teaching Civic Skills Through Deliberative Dialogues

Register by:
Monday, June 24

Synchronous sessions:
Tuesday, June 25 • 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Wednesday, June 26 • 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Location:
Williams Hall 314

Facilitators:
Dana Karraker, Center for Integrated Professional Development
Paige Buschman, Center for Civic Engagement

The National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation describes dialogue and deliberation as “innovative processes that help people come together across differences to tackle our most challenging problems.” By incorporating these processes into the curriculum, we can give students opportunities to productively engage with society's challenging problems in authentic ways.

In this two-day workshop for course instructors, you’ll learn about deliberative pedagogies and how to teach the civic skills of investigating social issues, exploring perspectives, and gaining a deeper understanding of complex problems. You’ll start by learning about the theoretical foundations of deliberative pedagogies and then participate in a Deliberative Dialogue. You will also identify complex problems related to the courses your teach and plan how to incorporate Deliberative Dialogues into that learning experience. Upon completion of the workshop, you will be trained as a Deliberative Dialogue facilitator. Registration is required.

A $100 stipend is available to eligible participants who complete the program.

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Engaging Students with Online Primary Sources

Register by:
Tuesday, June 25

Synchronous sessions:
Wednesday, June 26 • 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Location:
Milner Library 165

Facilitator:
Rebecca Fitzsimmons, Milner Library

Libraries, museums, and archives provide online access to unique and rare materials on just about any research topic imaginable, but knowing where to find them can be a challenge. Learn about the various strategies for locating relevant primary source materials across institutions. You will then explore ideas for incorporating these resources, such as diaries, letters, oral history interviews, newspapers, business records, and more into lectures, classroom activities, and assignments. We will cover in depth a few easy to use tools, methods, and project ideas that use primary source materials as the starting point, with time during the workshop for hands-on exploration of each resource. Bring your own laptop or use a computer in the Digital Scholarship Lab. Participants will receive a voucher for lunch at the Bone Student Center. Registration is required.

A $100 stipend is available to eligible participants who complete the program.

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Indigenous Illinois 101: Making ISU’s Land Acknowledgment into Pedagogy and Practice

Register by:
Friday, July 5

Synchronous sessions:
Monday, July 8 • 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Tuesday, July 9 • 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Wednesday, July 10 • 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Thursday, July 11• 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Wednesday, July 17 • 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Location:
Williams Hall 314

Facilitator:
Shannon Epplett, English

Illinois State University’s land acknowledgment lists thirteen different tribes that once occupied the land on which our campus now stands. What it doesn’t tell us is who these people are, what happened to them, and what this might mean for us today. Finally, if we know these things, what do we do with this knowledge?

This workshop presents the Indigenous history of Central Illinois prior to Indian removal in 1832, with a focus on three tribes: the Peoria, Myaamia, and Kickapoo. Participants will get an overview of their specific histories and cultures and then explore ways to apply this new knowledge base towards indigenizing one’s own pedagogy in the college classroom, regardless of discipline.

This workshop has applications beyond local history and native studies. The final project asks participants to think through ways to incorporate Native epistemologies and Indigenous praxis and scholarship into existing courses.

A $300 stipend is available to eligible participants who complete the program. Registration is required.

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Inclusive STEM

Register by:
Thursday, July 11

Asynchronous work:
July 14 to July 21
July 24 to July 25
July 26 to August 1

Synchronous sessions:
Tuesday, July 23 • 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Williams Hall 313

Friday, July 26 • 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.
Online

Thursday, August 1 • 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Williams Hall 313

Facilitator:
Sarah Boesdorfer, Center for Mathematics, Science, and Technology
Steve Travers, Center for Integrated Professional Development

As educators, we work hard in developing our course environments because we know that when students feel connection to the class or the material they are more engaged and more successful. The Inclusive STEM Teaching Project advances the awareness, self-efficacy, and the ability of faculty, postdocs, and doctoral students to cultivate inclusive STEM learning environments for all their students and to develop themselves as reflective, inclusive practitioners. Learn to implement inclusive teaching methods in your STEM classes which will reduce gender and traditionally underrepresented minority disparities in performance and improve students’ sense of belonging, self-efficacy, and STEM identity. Drawing on embodied case studies and vignettes, participants will engage in deep reflection and discussions around topics of equity and inclusion in learning environments across a variety of institutional contexts. This project was developed to positively impact retention and degree attainment in STEM fields over time. Join colleagues from Illinois State University as we pace through this online course together, extending the asynchronous online activities with in-person and online meetings. Registration is required.

A $1,200 stipend is available to eligible participants who complete the program.

This workshop falls under the AAC&U High-Impact Educational Practice of Diversity/Global Learning. 

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Creating Digital Exhibits and Digital Publications Using Omeka and Scalar

Register by:
Monday, July 15

Synchronous sessions:
Tuesday, July 16 • 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Location:
Milner Library 165

Facilitator:
Rebecca Fitzsimmons, Milner Library

Omeka and Scalar are both popular, open-source, flexible, and easy-to-use platforms. Omeka contains a variety of tools for populating curated collections of text, images, audio, and video. Similarly, Scalar supports adding detailed metadata and annotations to images, audio, and video, as well as working with timelines, maps, and visualizations. Both can be used in creating digital exhibitions or publications.

In this workshop, you’ll examine the similarities, the differences, and the types of projects that these systems support. We’ll explore ideas for using these platforms for individual or collaborative course assignments, research, and digital scholarship.

Participants will receive a voucher for lunch through Campus Dining.

A $100 stipend is available to eligible participants who complete the program. Registration is required.

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Revamp Your Course Materials in the Age of AI

Register by:
Wednesday, July 31

Synchronous sessions:
Thursday, August 1 • 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Location:
Williams Hall 314

Facilitators:
Jen Friberg, Center for Integrated Professional Development
David Giovagnoli, Center for Integrated Professional Development

Whether you're embracing AI in the classroom or hoping to mitigate its use by your students, this workshop will guide you through crafting syllabus and assignment language to help communicate your expectations clearly. You will leave with a completed or nearly-completed policy for your syllabus, so please bring artifacts from a course you plan on teaching in the fall. You will also explore a framework that you will be able to use while creating your documents and in planning other classes.

Lunch will be provided, through a voucher for on-campus dining, and you can join the group at Watterson Dining Commons or eat on your own. Registration is required.

There is no stipend for this event.

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Canvas Workshops

Quick Start for Canvas

Register by:
Wednesday, June 5
Monday, August 5

Synchronous session:
Thursday, June 6 • 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
Tuesday, August 6 • 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

Online

New to teaching in Canvas? Still working on building out your Canvas site and need a quick crash course as the semester begins? This workshop packs a lot in just 90 minutes: Learn how to get started with the most important settings and tools, create basic course content using Pages and Modules, communicate with students using Announcements and Inbox, create Assignments, and navigate the Gradebook. The Quick Start for Canvas workshop is a fast-paced combination of several of our most popular workshops. Registration is required.

There is no stipend for this event.

Facilitator:
Allison Hauser, Center for Integrated Professional Development

Building Regular and Substantive Interaction into Your Online Courses

Register by:
Monday, June 10

Synchronous sessions:
Tuesday, June 11 • 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.

Online

Explore ways to increase interactivity and engagement within your online courses, while also meeting federal regulations for distance education. Regular and substantive interaction (RSI) is a federal requirement for all online courses that distinguishes “distance education” from “correspondence education.” Come and learn what constitutes RSI and how you can build RSI into your courses to increase interactivity and engagement (Hint: You may already be doing some of this). Registration is required.

There is no stipend for this event.

Facilitator:
Tony Piña, Center for Integrated Professional Development

Canvas Tips All Instructors Should Know

Register by:
Wednesday, June 19

Synchronous sessions:
Thursday, June 20 • 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

Online

Instructors at ISU who are using Canvas have had a year to familiarize themselves with using the LMS. In this workshop, we will briefly discuss several “tips and tricks” that can enhance your Canvas courses. These tips can help you address minor troubleshooting questions, enhance your course design, and streamline your Canvas experience. Registration is required.

There is no stipend for this event.

Facilitator:
Steve Travers, Center for Integrated Professional Development

Create Videos Within Canvas

Register by:
Tuesday, June 25

Synchronous sessions:
Wednesday, June 26 • 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

Online

You do not have to be a tech to incorporate video into your Canvas courses. Import videos from your computer or record video from your webcam or screen capture—quickly and easily. All videos will be automatically closed captioned. You can record videos once and embed them into multiple courses for teaching, assignments, assessment, and feedback. You can also see how long each of your students has watched your videos. You will also learn how to easily edit your videos and share them with users inside and outside of ISU. Registration is required.

There is no stipend for this event.

Facilitator:
Tony Piña, Center for Integrated Professional Development
Greg Maier, Center for Integrated Professional Development

Engage Your Students with Instructor Video

Register by:
Monday, July 1

Synchronous sessions:
Tuesday, July 2 • 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Online

Students report that courses which incorporate instructor videos into their Canvas courses are much more engaging and effective than those containing only text and still images. In this workshop, you will learn how to build interactivity into your videos by inserting hyperlinks and test questions to turning videos into graded assignments. You can also create assignments where students can record videos within Canvas and submit them as gradable assignments in Canvas SpeedGrader. You can also create video-based discussion boards. This workshop assumes that you have attended the “Create Video Within Canvas” workshop or have used Canvas Studio. Registration is required.

There is no stipend for this event.

Facilitator:
Tony Piña, Center for Integrated Professional Development
Greg Maier, Center for Integrated Professional Development

Rethinking How We Grade: Schemas, Equity, and the Math Behind the Canvas Gradebook

Register by:
Wednesday, July 24

Synchronous sessions:
Thursday, July 25 • 9 a.m. to 12 a.m.

Online

This half to day workshop will ask participants to investigate and establish the grading practices for a given course. We’ll be considering different approaches to grading and set up a gradebook, while considering best practices that promote equity. Then, we’ll do a deep dive into the math behind the Canvas gradebook to ensure that scores are adding up as you intended. This workshop will include time to discuss, determine, and build your Canvas gradebook and grading policies. Registration is required.

There is no stipend for this event.

Facilitator:
Allison Hauser, Center for Integrated Professional Development

Sustaining Student Engagement and Motivation Online

Register by:
Tuesday, July 30

Synchronous sessions:
Wednesday, July 31 • 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

Online

Online courses can appear to be an obstacle to student engagement and motivation when compared to face-to-face courses. There are challenges in online courses that instructors face, such as the absence of non-verbal cues seen in student faces, the ability to show enthusiasm for the content being taught, and the apparent absence of a community feeling found that is natural to the traditional classroom. This workshop will help instructors overcome those apparent obstacles by examining methods for online instruction and course design that can encourage and sustain student engagement and motivation in the online environment. Registration is required.

There is no stipend for this event.

Facilitator:
Steve Travers, Center for Integrated Professional Development

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