Integrating Gen AI to Enhance Your Professional Practices

For many of us, the adoption of Generative AI remains a daunting challenge. You may have tried using AI but have yet to find any real benefits. You may be reluctant due to ethical and security concerns. This workshop is perfect for faculty and campus professionals looking to innovate their practices and overcome skepticism to effectively and ethically integrate GenAI into their workflows. Registration is open. 

August 20, 10 a.m.–12 p.m. • Workshop from 10 a.m. - 11 a.m., Hands-On Practice and Q&A from 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. • Armory Building Room 182

Join the Illinois Online Teaching Community on Microsoft Teams

Are you looking for a place to share your online teaching strategies and experiences, make meaningful connections, or find inspiration? We invite you to join our dynamic online teaching community here at Illinois on Microsoft Teams. Whether you want to join the conversation, post something interesting, or make a new friend by asking a question, our community is the perfect place for you. Come be a part of this exciting and supportive environment! Join us today and start connecting with others!

2024 Fall CITL Faculty Book Club: Creating Wicked Students 

Connect with colleagues and explore innovative teaching strategies in the CITL Faculty Book Club, meeting in 156 Armory. This semester, we’re reading "Creating Wicked Students: Designing Courses for a Complex World" by Paul Hanstedt (2023). Learn how to design courses that challenge students with real-world problems, preparing them for life after college. Benefits include free access to the book, a CITL notebook, an Accredible badge, and the chance to suggest future reads. Faculty and post-docs are welcome! Register Here.

Check your calendar to determine if you can commit to attending all of our meetings at Room 156 Armory Building from 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.on Sep 12, Sep 26, Oct 10, & Oct 24. 

Canvas Open Office Hours
Recurring: every Thursday, 11 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Zoom
Host: CITL Instructional Support Team

Integrating Gen AI to Enhance Your Professional Practices
Tuesday August 20, 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Armory Building, Room 182
Speaker: Christy Moss (University of Illinois Alumni Association, iSchool Adjunct Faculty)
Host: Jim Wentworth (CITL)
Registration Link

Stay tuned for this summer's events! Bookmark the CITL Event Calendar for all upcoming workshops and the Training Services (formerly FAST3) Calendar for additional training opportunities.

Don’t Just Review Your Syllabus on the First Day of Class!

It’s not surprising that students and teachers are a bit nervous and excited on the first day of class.  According to Krista Rudenga, writing for The Chronicle of Higher Education, that first class“may be the most important hour for determining the success of your semester.  In that hour, students form a lasting impression of the course, the subject, the classroom, the teacher, and one another.”  

In “6 Ideas to Perk Up Your First Day of Class” Rudenga shares ways to fully engage students on that first day.  Hint, it is not by showing off what you know right away, but by starting off with more active, student-based work:  

1. Have students explore and share their pre-existing knowledge about your subject
2. Engage students in their biggest worries about college, your discipline, your class
3. Pose intriguing questions and allow students time to explore and debate them
4. Ask students to share significant aspects of their lives and career hopes

Borrowing from Therese Huston’s Teaching What You Don’t Know, Rudenga describes the “most transformative element that I use – in every [first day] class I teach, without fail,” which is to give a “syllabus survey,” where students review the syllabus, work in groups to answer teacher-generated survey questions and, then, share their observations in a spirited class discussion.

Whatever your current strategies for the first day of class, consider ways to more fully involve your students and set the stage for a great semester.