The OTL Celebrates Asian, Pacific Islander, and Desi American Heritage Month

In May, we celebrate Asian, Pacific Islander, and Desi American (APIDA) Heritage Month. APIDA is a classification that intentionally includes South Asians (Desi) as part of the community and highlights the diversity of identities and ethnicities including East Asian, South Asian, Southeast Asian, and Pacific Islander. As part of this heritage month, it is important to educate yourself about the cultural contributions of these communities as well as acknowledge the lived experiences of members of these communities which include significant challenges in the face of anti-Asian racism. Take a moment to explore this article on the “Model Minority Myth” offered by the Learning for Justice website, which has practical suggestions to dismantle this myth in your classroom and teaching practices.

Finals and Grading Support

As you prepare for finals, don't forget that if you have students with accommodations, you will need to provide DSP with the parameters of your final exams via the Faculty Accommodate Portal. Learn more on DSP’s Faculty Responsibilities for Testing webpage and contact the DSP if you have questions.

The OTL has many resources to help you as you wrap up this term and prepare to grade your finals. You can reach out to us with questions or schedule a consultation by contacting OTL staff directly or booking 1:1 time with the OTL Instructional Designers. We also have many asynchronous resources on our Ed-Tech Knowledge Base and our OTL website, including information on using the Canvas Speedgrader. Visit our blog post Addressing Bias in Assessment to learn strategies for reducing implicit bias in your grading and How to End the Term on a High Note to for information about streamlining your grading.

Turnitin now has detection capabilities for AI writing, including writing that comes from ChatGPT. Keep in mind that this technology is not perfect, and it is still important that you review these reports carefully and communicate thoughtfully with your students. Learn more about Turnitin and its new AI detection capabilities in our blog post Checking the Checkers: Guidance for Using Turnitin (Including its Artificial Intelligence Detection Tool). Review our new webpage Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the Classroom for many more resources.

Summer with the OTL

With the spring semester complete and final exams around the corner for quarter programs, we know you are looking forward to a much-deserved summer. Thank you for all the ways you've worked so hard for our students. We hope that your summer will be restful and restorative.

If your summer plans include taking advantage of opportunities for your own professional growth or advancing your teaching practice, the Office of Teaching and Learning will be offering several short courses and institutes--many of which carry a stipend to honor the additional work.

Course Design Institute

Will you be designing a new course for the coming academic year, or are you wanting to make big changes to an old one? The Course Design Institute, which takes place August 14-18, supports faculty in designing learning experiences that result in significant learning – that is, learning that has the potential to change students’ lives in lasting and important ways. 

Learn more and register for this summer’s Course Design Institute!

New Teaching and Learning Online Short Courses

Registration is now live for Summer 2023 asynchronous short courses in the OTL!

Access the direct registration link for each course below or read more in our OTL Short Course Catalog.

Facilitating Online Courses begins June 14

Designing Online Courses begins July 3

Creating Community Online begins July 19

Digital Accessibility begins August 7

Teaching with Canvas begins August 23

Teaching with Technology begins August 23

Upon completion of each course, faculty are awarded a $200 stipend. Faculty are invited to participate in as many short courses as their interest and schedule allows. If you are interested in receiving a digital badge for completing multiple courses, consider signing up for the Teaching and Learning Online (TLO) Badge Program prior to completing a course. Please reach out to lexi.schlosser@du.edu with any questions.

OTL Summer Support

The OTL is available all summer to support you! Please note, the OTL will have alternate hours during the summer. Starting the week of June 12, we will be available in person and virtually from 9:00-3:00 Tuesday through Thursday. On Mondays and Fridays, all "walk ins", support requests, and consultations will be held virtually. Contact us directly or reach out to otl@du.edu.

Heart of Higher Education Online Retreat

Dr. Paul Michalec, Clinical Professor, University of Denver is inviting you to join Parker Palmer and friends for a remote conference-retreat taking place in June 2023, entitled The Heart of Higher Education 2023: Finding Our Place in Shifting Landscapes, June 14-16, 2023. There is also a hybrid in-person option, gathering in the Office of Teaching and Learning on the DU campus. Please contact Paul Michalec at paul.michalec@du.edu for additional information on both the remote and in-person options.

This retreat-conference is for those higher education professionals (faculty, staff, and administrators) who are eager to foster ways to sustain and renew personal identity and professional integrity in the midst of the profound changes that impact our lives.

Parker J. Palmer and friends will join us in this time of inner reflection and outer commitment to cultivating a renewed vision of education. With this rekindled sense of vitality, we will rediscover strengths to use for the common good – connecting with those purposes for which we originally sought this vibrant work.

For more information see:

The Heart of Higher Education 2023: Finding Our Place in Shifting Landscapes | Center for Courage & Renewal (couragerenewal.org)

Or contact Paul Michalec at paul.michalec@du.edu.

Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) Institute

This summer the Office of Internationalization and the Office of Teaching and Learning will hold an institute on August 8th and 9th designed to support faculty in understanding and applying the principles of Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL).

COIL is a type of virtual mobility, where students from DU and a partner institution engage in purposeful interaction for intercultural and global learning in a joint course. COIL can work with a course that faculty currently teach at DU, or a completely new course can be developed. Students from both classes may interact synchronously or asynchronously for a few weeks or an entire term through whichever technologies are most relevant and useful. Often culturally diverse students work together on a project, class discussions, or similar group work with discipline-based and intercultural learning outcomes. COIL is ultimately about building connections and new relationships with people, knowledge systems, and perspectives across numerous types of borders. It a powerful opportunity to help students engage in cross-cultural and global learning.

Participating faculty will be given a stipend from the Office of Internationalization. Contact Casey Dinger, Executive and Academic Director for Internationalization, at Casey.Dinger@du.edu for more information.

COIL Institute

Tuesday, August 8 and Wednesday, August 9, 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Gregg Kvistad Special Events Room (AAC 290)

Note: This is a 2 day institute--registering for Day 1 will register you for the entire institute.

DU Assessment Decommissioning

DU Assessment, the website developed by DU for assessment reporting, will be decommissioned on June 30th. You do not need to do anything as the Office of Teaching and Learning staff has already copied all materials and will have them available for you as you need them. After June 30th, you will not be able to access DU Assessment. If you have questions or concerns, please reach out to the Office of Teaching and Learning at otl@du.edu.

Help us better understand Teacher-Scholar Identity!

We invite you to participate in a research study on teacher-scholar identity at the University of Denver. This timely study coincides with our transition to R1 and our institutional dedication to uphold the teacher-scholar model that has become embedded into the university’s structure in the last decade. The findings will not only advance the greater body of knowledge about the teacher-scholar model but also may inform professional development and other initiatives to support faculty at the University of Denver. We anticipate minimal risk to participants.

If you are a full time, appointed faculty member at the University of Denver, we invite you to participate (assistant, associate, full; tenured, tenure track, teaching, clinical, practice, research, and visiting)

Eligible participants will be asked to complete a 15-20 minute survey and will be thanked for their time with a $5 credit to Beans

For more information, please contact PI Sarah Huff or CO-PIs Ellie Dannenberg, Laura Sponsler, and Michele Tyson at the University of Denver. PI Huff can be reached at: sarah.t.huff@du.edu.

CO-PIs Dannenberg, Sponsler and Tyson can can be contacted at their respective email addresses: ellie.dannenberg@du.edu, laura.sponsler@du.edu, or michele.tyson@du.edu

Sign Up via Qualtrics.

Principal Investigator: Sarah Huff, Teaching Assistant Professor, Psychology

This study is sponsored, in part, by the Faculty Research Fund.

Center for Sustainability Community of Practice

The Center for Sustainability is excited to launch its first interdisciplinary Community of Practice, dedicated to supporting staff and faculty in addressing global environmental change via the integration of ecological justice and regenerative sustainability concepts into their diverse curricula and programming. This CoP will offer participants an opportunity to learn with and from each other, exploring trauma-informed and community-embedded approaches to supporting students in imagining and creating a regenerative future that is just, joyful, and healthy for all beings and the planet. The community will meet four times throughout the academic year (one time during Fall, two times during Winter, and once in the Spring). Meetings will be offered in a hybrid format. Participants will receive a $500 stipend for their year-long participation. Please fill out this survey to apply.

For questions/more information, please contact Julia Senecal at julia.senecal@du.edu.