Welcome to Jenn Bellamy, new Vice Provost of Faculty Affairs!

The OTL is excited to welcome Jenn Bellamy as the new Vice Provost of Faculty Affairs! Jenn is looking forward to working with the OTL and supporting all of our amazing programming and initiatives.

Congratulations, Jenn!

Thank you to Kate Willink!

The OTL thanks Kate Willink for being a leader and advocate for our office! She joined us as Faculty Director in June 2018 and became our inaugural Vice Provost of Faculty Affairs in 2019 to help support all DU faculty through their teaching and career development journey. As she transitions back to teaching, we are excited to continue to work with her as a Friend of the OTL (FoTL)!

Resources for Starting Your Courses

Welcome back! We are excited to jump into the spring quarter, and we have many resources to help you start strong.

• Our OTL Homepage has a course preparation checklist, a frequently asked questions section, and links to support and resources.
• Our Syllabus Statement web page provides sample language that you can use to share information with your students
• Our Ed-Tech Knowledge Base has step-by-step guides to help you learn more about Canvas, Zoom, Kaltura, and many more academic technologies.
• Our OTL Blog has several posts to support your teaching practice. Read our newest posts Getting Proactive with ChatGPT and Other AI Tools and Embracing Inclusive Approaches to Attendance Policies.
• Visit the Inclusive Teaching Practices website for resources to support inclusivity in your classroom
• Don't forget to publish your Canvas course to provide access to your students!

Visit our OTL Staff page to schedule a time to meet with an OTL staff member or book a one-on-one consultation with one of our OTL Instructional Designers.

Check the OTL Events Calendar for more information and to discover other upcoming events!

2023 OTL Teaching Celebration: Call for Nominations

The OTL is excited to host a Celebration of Teaching on May 17! Please take a

few minutes to complete the Teaching Accomplishment survey to nominate yourself and/or a colleague to be recognized during this event. Please fill out the survey by Friday, April 7. We look forward to celebrating all of the teaching innovations and successes at DU this year.

Accessibility Tips

UDOIT Tool for Canvas Accessibility

As you prepare for the upcoming term, consider using UDOIT (Universal Design Online content Inspection Tool) to check the digital accessibility of your Canvas courses! Centering digital accessibility allows for all students to have a better experience interacting and engaging with your course. UDOIT prompts faculty to consider elements such as alternative text, style structure, and video captioning. Learn more in the OTL Blog from Instructional Designers Kellie Ferguson and Jeff Schwartz, Using UDOIT to Make Your Canvas Course More Accessible!

Scanned PDFs

Do you use photocopied scanned PDFs in your course? A common practice to procure additional readings for students is to scan a paper copy of text. Often times, these files are not fully accessible to all students, including students who use assistive technologies, students who need to be able to search for key words, and students who like to use digital tools to highlight content. Don’t know if your scans are accessible? Check out the OTL Knowledge Base article on Top 8 Characteristics of an Accessible PDF to learn more, and request support via the OTL Accessibility Request form.

Turnitin and AI Writing

Starting on April 4, Turnitin will have detection capabilities for AI writing, including writing that comes from ChatGPT. You will not have to do anything new for your Canvas assignments that already have Turnitin enabled! Learn more about the Turnitin detection capabilities and limitations on the webpage AI Writing & Turnitin.

If you are interested in using Turnitin with your Canvas assignments, learn more by visiting our Knowledge Base article How to Use Turnitin for Faculty or book a one-on-one consultation with one of our OTL Instructional Designers.

Learn more about teaching strategies related to AI writing and ChatGPT in our OTL blog:

• Getting Proactive with ChatGPT and Other AI Tools
• ChatGPT and Being a Student: What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
• ChatGPT, Friend or Foe in the Classroom?

And join us for an upcoming webinar to get your questions answered:

ChatGPT in the Classroom

Tuesday, April 11, 10:00 - 11:00 a.m.

Online

Pronoun Changes in Canvas and Banner

Please note that the list of pronouns in the Banner user profile has been recently expanded to 15 unique choices. Visit MyDU to make edits to your Banner profile, and please encourage your students to do the same. At the start of the Spring Quarter, the pronoun choices in the Banner user profile will feed directly into the Canvas user profile. You will not be able to change your pronouns directly within Canvas after March 27 - any changes will have to be made in MyDU. If you would like to give feedback on the pronoun choices available in your Banner profile, please fill out this form.

Also make sure to visit the OTL's Sample Syllabus Statements for language you can put in your syllabus regarding name and pronoun etiquette.

ePortfolio Information and Resources

DU is excited to announce that we have officially adopted Digication as our new ePortfolio platform! You can log-in to Digication now using your DU email address and password. Learn more in our new OTL blog post From DU Portfolio to Digication: How We Got Here.

IT has many resources to help support you if you would like to transfer content from DU Portfolio to Digication. Visit their IT Digication web page to learn more. IT will also be conducting a series of show and tell sessions for faculty and staff to demo the robust features within Digication. The first session is scheduled for April 6, 2023, at 3 pm. Please RSVP here for the show and tell session.

The OTL's DU@Digication web page also has many links, guides, and videos to help you get started. For technical questions, the Digication Help Desk has faculty help guides and student help guides. Have more specific questions or issues? Submit a request to Digication or email your question to support@digication.com.

Open Heart Stories: Suturing the Self for a Post-Pandemic Future

Though the academy moves toward a post-pandemic future, many faculty and staff are left with open wounds caused by past and present COVID-related inflictions. For some these sores include questioning who they are as teachers in an ever-changing virtual classroom. Many are experiencing the loneliness of isolation as they continue to feel disconnected from their former university communities. Others contemplate leaving academia altogether in hopes of redefining their lives and purpose. In short, many of us are questioning: Who am I now and who do I want to become in the post-pandemic future?

In line with the 4D's focus on well-being and the pursuit of careers and lives of purpose, as well as the Office of Teaching and Learning's commitment to faculty development, Dr. Erin Willer (4D Director of Faculty Innovation, Prof. Communication Studies) and Dr. Virginia Pitts (Director of University Teaching, Office of Teaching and Learning) invite faculty and staff to join us for “Open Heart Stories: Suturing the Self for a Post-Pandemic Future.” Grounded in Dan McAdam’s life-story research, in this creative workshop participants will re-purpose Valentine's Day candy boxes. Doing so will allow them to story their COVID-related highs, lows, turning points, regrets, and vivid experiences as a means of beginning to stitch themselves anew.

Open Heart Stories: Suturing the Self for a Post-Pandemic Future

Wednesday, April 5, 4:30 - 6:00 p.m.

Community Commons 3035 (Inside Blue Suite)

We invite you to wear something (e.g., clothing, accessories, shoes) that makes you feel full-hearted (interpret as you wish!). Please contact Erin Willer with any questions.

Celebrating Teacher Scholars: An Evening with Provost Clark and Dr. Chadd Clary

Being a teacher and a scholar are not mutually exclusive, rather, these identities complement one another. When we cultivate a teaching practice informed by research, train the next generation of researchers, and bring cutting edge scholarship into the classroom, we are engaging in scholarly teaching. At DU, the teacher-scholar model has been described as the heart of our identity.

To honor the many ways DU faculty live this value, Provost Clark in collaboration with the OTL, is celebrating teacher scholars by highlighting faculty who exemplify this work.

Join us for the second Celebrating Teacher Scholars of 22-23 on April 12^th from 5-6:30pm for an evening with Provost Clark and Dr. Chadd Clary, Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering in the Ritchie School of Engineering and Computer Science. He will be presenting, “Leveraging Research and Experiential Learning to Educate Future Engineers”, followed by Q&A with Provost Clark.

Celebrating Teacher Scholars: An Evening with Provost Clark and Dr. Chadd Clary

Wednesday, April 12, 5:00 - 6:30 p.m.

Faculty Lounge (Community Commons 2800)

Upcoming Events

The Office of Teaching and Learning and the Vice Provost of Faculty Affairs office are hosting several events throughout this term. Visit the OTL Events Calendar to discover other upcoming events!

You Aren't Alone: Burnout Resilience in Challenging Times Part 2

Thursday, April 6, 2:00 - 3:30 p.m.

Online

ChatGPT in the Classroom

Tuesday, April 11, 10:00 - 11:00 a.m.

Online

Celebrating Teacher Scholars: An Evening with Provost Clark and Dr. Chadd Clary

Wednesday, April 12, 5:00 - 6:30 p.m.

Faculty Lounge (Community Commons 2800)

R1 Our Way: Celebrating Workload Equity and the First Cohort of DEAP Teams

Thursday, April 13, 12:30 - 2:00 p.m.

Community Commons 2600

Heart of Higher Education

Wednesday, April 19, 12:00 - 1:00 p.m.

Hyflex - Join us online via Zoom or in the OTL Conference Room (AAC 345)