NEWS
CITL Newsletter - Issue 19 for 2025
Welcome to the CITL Newsletter, your go-to resource for professional learning, teaching strategies, and innovative practices in education. Stay informed, get inspired, and explore new ways to enhance student learning and engagement.
To view the full newsletter: Issue 19 for 2025
Instructor Voices
Preparing Future Professionals: A Competency-Based Approach to Experiential Learning (The Art of Teaching Lunchtime Seminar Series)
Presenter: Jean Drasgow (ACES)
Jean Drasgow (ACES) outlines a course designed to bridge the gap between academic preparation and career readiness by embedding three key National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) competencies—communication, problem-solving, and collaboration—into experiential learning. Students work in diverse teams on real-world problems provided by external clients, engaging in activities such as needs assessments, data collection, and evidence-based decision-making. The course emphasizes professional skill development through written and verbal communication, peer reviews, and client interactions, while also providing a safe space for students to learn from mistakes and refine their approach. A structured 16-week timeline guides students from team formation and psychological safety training to final presentations and reflections, with testimonials and mentoring outcomes underscoring the program’s impact on student growth and career preparedness.
AI at CITL
CareerGPT: The Intersection of Generative AI and University Career Services (A Fall Into AI Session Recap)
In the recent Fall Into AI session, James Castree, Senior Assistant Director at the Career Center at Illinois led a thoughtful discussion on how generative AI has impacted career services. Make sure you watch the full session to learn more about AI's uses in career coaching, its impact on the job search process for our students, and how employers have responded to the AI boom. Full recording on Mediaspace!
Upcoming Fall Into AI Event: How Do Students Feel about Gen AI? Student Voices
In this upcoming student voices panel, students will provide their own Gen AI perspectives. This will be an informative conversation about the use of Gen AI in student's educational journeys, personal lives, and career preparations. Join us Thursday, December 4, 2 - 2:50 p.m. (Central) in the CITL Innovation Studio (Armory room 172) or on Zoom. See the calendar event here!
Announcements
Call for Participants: Small Teaching Reading Group (Spring 2026)
CITL is offering an 8-hour reading group during the Spring 2026 semester, led by Grad Affiliate Kathleen McGowan. We will be reading James M. Lang’s Small Teaching, 2nd edition (2021), which focuses on powerful, practical, and research-backed interventions for course design and teaching. This is a great opportunity to explore pedagogical literature, meet requirements for CITL teaching certificates, and learn how to apply concepts to your teaching philosophy.
👉 To register your interest, please fill out this availability form.
Illinois AnyWare: Your Virtual Computer Lab for Teaching and Learning
Illinois AnyWare is a virtual computer lab that supports both blended and remote learning. It provides students with secure access to over 100 academic software applications—anytime, anywhere. Whether students are on campus, off campus or attending class remotely, Illinois AnyWare helps ensure they have the tools needed to succeed.
Instructors can also use Illinois AnyWare in place of reserving a physical computer lab, making it easier to integrate specialized software into your courses without location or scheduling constraints. Learn more and get started on the Illinois AnyWare webpage.
Upcoming Workshops & Events
🔹 Fall Into AI Events
📅 Thursday, December 4 | ⏰ 2 - 2:50 p.m. | 📍CITL Innovation Studio (Armory 172) &💻 Online (How do students feel about Gen AI? Student Voices)
🔹 Quick Start Accessibility Workshops
📅 Monday, December 8 | ⏰ 10 - 11 a.m. | 💻 Online (Make Your Canvas Courses Accessible by Lindsey Sharp)
📅 Tuesday, December 9 | ⏰ 3 - 4 p.m. | 💻 Online (Make Your PDF Documents Accessible, Part 1 by Amber Dunse)
📅 Wednesday, December 10 | ⏰ 1 - 2 p.m. | 💻 Online (Using the Pope Accessibility Tool by Lindsey Sharp)
📅 Thursday, December 11 | ⏰ 2 - 3 p.m. | 💻 Online (Make Your MS Word Documents Accessible by Dan Hahn)
🔹 General Workshops
📅 Wednesday, December 3 | ⏰ 11:30 a.m. - 12:45 p.m. | 💻 Online (Course Design - Foundations by David Favre)
Recurring Events
🔹 Canvas Open Office Hours
📅 Thursdays | ⏰ 11 a.m. - Noon | 💻 Online
🔹 Innovation Studio Open Hours
📅 Mondays and Tuesdays | ⏰ Noon - 4 p.m. | 📍Armory 172
Bookmark the CITL Event Calendar for all upcoming workshops and check with Technology Services for additional training opportunities.
UDL Tip of the Month
Designing for Continuous Improvement - November 2025
By Marc Thompson (CITL)
One of the great paradoxes of asynchronous online courses is that the design itself becomes a source of instruction, yet the instructor is rarely present to witness moments of learner confusion, frustration, or insight. In this environment, barriers are often invisible until they reveal themselves in the form of poor performance, late submissions, or excessive help-seeking emails. To address this challenge, instructors can benefit from adopting a Universal Design for Learning (UDL) mindset that views each course offering as a valuable opportunity to design for, and gather, potentially useful information for optimizing students' learning experiences. To learn more, see this month’s full UDL Tip of the Month article on UDL and Instructor Reflection: Designing for Continuous Improvement.