The OTL Honors and Supports Transgender Awareness Week and Transgender Day of Remembrance
The OTL honors Transgender Awareness Week, observed November 13 through November 19 to raise visibility about the issues that members of the transgender and non-binary communities face. November 20 is Transgender Day of Remembrance to honor those whose lives have been lost due to acts of anti-transgender violence. The OTL calls attention to advancing advocacy around the issues of prejudice, discrimination, and violence. We encourage faculty to visit our Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity module on the Inclusive Teaching Practices website for reminders and supportive tips to amplify the diverse strengths and identities that students bring to the classroom.
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Finals and Grading Resources
As we wrap up the quarter and you prepare for students to take your final exams, make sure they are set up appropriately for students with Disability Services Program (DSP) accommodations (such as extra time). Please reach out to Ellen Hogan, OTL’s Accessibility Technologist for Learning and Instruction at Ellen.Hogan@du.edu for support in implementing these accommodations.
Final grades must be entered into PioneerWeb by 10 p.m. Mountain Time on Tuesday, November 30. Visit the Office of the Registrar's Grading Policies page to learn more about the processes and policies here at DU, and their Grading Guide for instructions on how to enter your grades.
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Accessibility Tip
LAST CALL: Do you have students planning to take their finals in the Disability Services Program (DSP) Testing Center this weekend? If you have not already, please make sure that you provide DSP with your testing information ASAP. Visit the OTL’s Knowledge Base article Providing DSP Testing Information for a video clip and step-by-step instructions on submitting testing information to the DSP.
In addition, please ensure that you have set up all your final exams with student accommodations. If you need support in ensuring your exams are set up appropriately for students with DSP accommodations (such as extra time), please reach out to Ellen Hogan, OTL’s Accessibility Technologist for Learning and Instruction at Ellen.Hogan@du.edu.
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Teaching Online - Advanced Practice Starts December 6
Did you complete the Teaching Online Short Course and now you are hoping to elevate your online teaching even more? Interested in exploring Canvas integrations, active learning techniques, and High-Impact Practices? Then join us for the upcoming session of the Teaching Online - Advanced Practice Short Course!
Teaching Online - Advanced Practice starts on December 6 and will help you get a head start on your winter courses! You will investigate topics related to multimedia, measuring individual and group learning outcomes, technology that promotes social and cognitive engagement, and more. You can take your time and work on the course at your own pace throughout the month of December and faculty who complete the requirements will receive a stipend!
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Canvas New Quizzes Available December 1
DU's Learning Management System (LMS) will be replacing the current quiz functionality known as “Classic Quizzes” with an update called Canvas New Quizzes. This is an update to Canvas that is being directed by Instructure, the company that designs/maintains Canvas LMS software. In order to understand the changes in quiz functionality, visit our Knowledge Base article, Canvas: New Quizzes v. Classic Quizzes Feature Comparison.
Starting December 1, faculty will be able to use the functionality of both New and Classic quizzes. When an instructor goes to create a new quiz they will be presented with the option of creating a New or Classic Quiz, and both types can be used in a course. Information on using New Quizzes can be found in our Knowledge Base article How to create a quiz using Canvas New Quizzes.
The current quiz functionality will be available to Instructors until July 2022 after which Instructure will start to restrict some features in Classic Quizzes as updated in the New Quizzes Timeline Overview. While instructors will be able to create/edit Classic Quizzes until July 2022, Instructure will eventually remove all Classic Quiz functionality. Currently this is slated for June 2023. We recommend that faculty migrate any Classic Quizzes in their course to New Quizzes before the deprecation date of June 2023. Information on this can be found in the Canvas Community: How do I migrate a Canvas Quiz to New Quizzes? You can also visit Instructure’s New Quizzes FAQ page.
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Support for Preparing for the Winter Term
As a reminder, the OTL observes DU's winter holiday closure. Our office will be closed the week of December 27, reopening Monday, January 3, so we'd love to help you get a jump-start on your courses. OTL Instructional Designers and Faculty Developers will be available online and in person for drop-in support as you wrap up the fall and prepare for the winter term. We can support you with:
- Importing and updating Canvas course content
- Developing and uploading your syllabus
- Designing your assessments
- Incorporating Universal Design for Learning (UDL) into your courses
- And more!
Tuesday, December 7, 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
In person - OTL Suite, Anderson Academic Commons, 350
Tuesday, December 7, 5:00 - 7:00 p.m.
Wednesday, December 8, 5:00 - 7:00 p.m.
Thursday, December 9, 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
In person - OTL Suite, Anderson Academic Commons, 350
Thursday, December 9, 5:00 - 7:00 p.m.
And don't forget to join us to learn how to make your course content more accessible:
Wednesday, December 15, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Hyflex - join us online or in person at Anderson Academic Commons 345
We will also be providing drop-in hours during the first week of January. Check the OTL Events Calendar for more information and to discover other upcoming events!
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Faculty Learning Community (FLC): Teaching and Professional Faculty Tools for Success
Tools for Success is a faculty learning community designed for teaching and professional faculty (TPF) in the assistant rank at the University of Denver. The FLC will explore areas essential to the success of teaching faculty including: community building, effective instruction, wellness, DU culture, promotion, national trends, and the roles of TPF. We will utilize one book in our sessions (Inclusive Collegiality and Nontenure-Track Faculty: Engaging All Faculty as Colleagues to Promote Healthy Departments and Institutions). The FLC will be led by Dr. Laura Sponsler, Clinical Associate Professor, Higher Education, and Faculty Scholar - Teaching and Professional Faculty.
We will meet in the OTL Conference Room (Anderson Academic Commons 345) weekly during the Winter Quarter on Fridays from 9:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m., starting on Friday, January 7.
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4D Student Experience Opportunities
The 4D Experience is DU's reboot of the traditional college experience, continuing our commitment to a customized, holistic education that empowers students to lead lives of meaning and purpose that serve the public good, enabling them to thrive at and beyond the university. There are many opportunities for faculty to get involved in this experience!
4D Faculty and Staff Learning Community
The 4D Learning Community offers both faculty and staff educators the opportunity to develop a deep understanding of students' needs and best practices in holistic student learning and development; inclusive curricular and co-curricular design; and assessment of teaching and learning around the four dimensions (4D) of advancing intellectual growth, exploring character, promoting well-being, and pursuing careers and lives of purpose.
Facilitated by the Faculty and Staff Co-Directors of the 4D Experience, the 4D Learning Community will progress through ten sessions focused on the educational design elements central to the 4D. These sessions will be co-led by critical curricular and co-curricular partners to highlight how we can work together to support holistic learning and development and take an integrated approach to teaching, learning, and programming. Topics will include the public good; justice, equity, diversity, and inclusivity; inclusive teaching and learning; integrative learning and high-impact practices; global learning; mentoring; and career development.
4D Infusion Grants
The 4D Infusion Grants support faculty, staff, and co-curricular educators in conceptualizing, developing, and implementing a specific project that enhances student learning and development around the 4D. These projects may take a variety of forms and may apply towards either curricular or co-curricular educational design over the course of an academic year. Projects will be evaluated on the basis of potential impact; integrative or collaborative design; and scalability.
It is expected that 7 - 8 grants will be awarded for projects taking place over the 2022 winter and spring quarters. Individual applicants are eligible to receive up to $700; teams (not to exceed more than three people) may receive up to $1,500.
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Teaching Resources
This tool kit provides practical steps for readying your courses, no matter the modality. From Canvas basics to hyflex considerations, and complete with worksheets to guide you, this toolkit is a great starting point for course planning.
This Knowledge Base article provides helpful tips and tricks you can use as you create pre-recorded videos, lectures, and demonstrations to enhance the asynchronous components of your course. You can also learn more about the various tools you can use to create your videos, such as Zoom and Kaltura.
This web page provides access to the robust virtual services and resources that the Libraries provide along with a host of online services and resources.
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