Author: Carolyn Speer

Wichita State will offer only the Blackboard Ultra course format after spring 2024 semester, and that’s going to mean a lot of work getting ready for summer and fall for many professors, but the December issue of “Teaching Today” has the basic information needed to get started.

Many professors mistakenly believe they are in Blackboard Ultra but are actually teaching Classic courses. Please have a look at this month’s “Teaching Today” to learn more. For questions, reach out to the Office of Instructional Resources at OIR@wichita.edu.

The Office of Instructional Resources is happy to announce the dates for the January Academic Resources Conference (ARC). Join online via Teams during the week of Jan. 8-12 to hear about things like:

• Helping students save money on textbooks
• Building and running Blackboard classes in Ultra
• What’s new with generative AI
• Supporting students through culturally responsive practices (in partnership with the College of Applied Studies)

This January, it will also offer two hybrid sessions, so those who have been wanting to join the ARC in person, there will be a couple of options. At noon Wednesday, Jan. 10, participants can attend a panel discussion on the impact of generative AI on business and work, and at 2 p.m., participants can listen to Dr. Jennifer Friend, dean, College of Applied Studies, Dr. Bobby Berry, assistant dean, and Dr. Sara Mata, executive director of Hispanic Serving Initiatives, discuss culturally responsive practices. Later that afternoon, make time for the WSU Faculty Mixer, a fully in-person event hosted by Provost Shirley Lefever and taking place at the WSU Connect building (the old Wonder School building, just west of Woolsey Hall).

Ready to learn more? Check out the January ARC schedule today.

Each month, the Office of Instructional Resources (OIR) publishes Teaching Today, a teaching-focused newsletter for instructors at WSU. For March’s issue, OIR handed the reins over to the Retention Faculty Fellows for a takeover.

March’s issue took longer than expected due to a shift to Microsoft Sway. Readers don’t need any special software or access to continue reading, but for any issues, contact OIR at OIR@wichita.edu.

Each month, the Office of Instructional Resources (OIR) publishes Teaching Today, a teaching-focused newsletter for instructors at WSU. For February’s issue, OIR highlights many things it loves, including free training resources, Blackboard Ultra updates, an archive of available data sets and more.

OIR asks readers to share Teaching Today with a friend and to reach out if they think there is something it should cover. Contact the OIR at OIR@wichita.edu.

Thanks to COVID relief funds, Wichita State has been able to offer free human captioning on Panopto videos for the past three years. The funding has since been spent, and the service will discontinue as of the last day of February.

Human captioning services through Cielo24 will not be available in Panopto as of March 1, but AI-generated captions will remain available in Panopto. Any questions about how to access AI-generated captions can be directed to the Office of Instructional Resources at OIR@wichita.edu.

Each month, the Office of Instructional Resources (OIR) publishes Teaching Today, a teaching-focused newsletter for instructors at WSU. For the first Teaching Today of 2023, it is taking a look back at the January Academic Resources Conference (ARC) with links to all available session recordings.

OIR has organized all its sessions by topic so they are easy to find. Nearly all of the January ARC23 sessions are there, but a few will not be available until the February issue because of necessary editing.

It hopes readers enjoy the look back at the ARC and are able to catch up on any sessions they missed. Suggestions for topics for the May ARC or in future issues of Teaching Today can be sent to the OIR at OIR@wichita.edu.

Free artificial intelligence (AI) tools that can write full essays are now here. In the past two months, free online AI tools have gone from being able to write reasonable paragraphs from a simple prompt to producing full essays with citations on more complex topics. These tools will continue to develop rapidly, and professors, advisors and others who work with students need to be aware of these tools and what they can do.

During the week of Jan. 9-13, there will be several online presentations on topics associated with artificial intelligence, and we hope instructors and student-facing staff can make time to attend at least one of these sessions:

• 10 a.m. Jan. 9: President Muma will be discussing Digital Transformation at WSU, and he will be followed by John Jones, who will provide further context for discussions about AI and related topics. Here is the Outlook Invite for President Muma’s discussion.
• Noon Jan. 10: WSU will be hosting a panel on partnering with AI for creative pursuits such as writing and visual art. There will be a related discussion of the academic integrity implications of AI as well. Here is the Outlook Invite for the Creative Use of AI panel.
• Noon Jan. 12: A panel of WSU experts will discuss “Academic Honesty in the Age of AI.” The panelists will explain the issues and take questions from the audience. Here is the Outlook Invite for Academic Honesty in the Age of AI.
• 2 p.m. Jan. 12: There will be a book discussion of “Robot Proof: Higher Education in the Age of AI” WSU libraries has a digital copy available. And if you do not have time to read a book right now, you can get what you need from this 30-minute podcast interview with the author Dr. Joseph Aoun.

The Winter Teaching Today provides an opportunity to learn more about the January Academic Resources Conference and the many ways it will be tackling issues surrounding digital transformation and artificial intelligence.

Thank you for being a regular reader of Teaching Today, and as always, if you see something you find interesting, please share it with a friend. Have questions about Teaching Today, or want to subscribe? Please email the Office of Instructional Resources at OIR@wichita.edu.

The Academic Resources Conference (ARC) is back for a week of events Jan. 9-13. In addition to technical training, the conference will focus on the impact digital transformation has on education. The whole campus community is invited.

All ARC events are free and take place via Zoom. You can see the full schedule of sessions, panels and discussions and grab calendar invites on the ARC session page.

A sneak peek at some can’t-miss sessions:

• At 10 a.m. Jan. 9, President Rick Muma will speak on Digital Transformation and its impact on education. The conference will then offer 12 other sessions with some kind of digital transformation or artificial intelligence focus. This discussion culminates in a presentation on the “Ethics of Big Data,” presented by Dr. Susan Castro at 10 a.m. Friday, Jan. 13.
• Roy and Polly Wenzl join the conference at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 11 to show how “Narrative Storytelling is a Skill You Can Learn.”
• Technical training and information opportunities include hearing about Navigate from Kim Sandlin from 1 to 3 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 11 and ArcGIS with Ethan Lindsay from 2 to 3 p.m. Jan. 12. There will also be Blackboard, Panopto and Watermark training opportunities throughout the week.
• Monday-Thursday, there is a lunch-and-learn Panel Hour from noon-12:50 p.m. We will discuss equity and digital transformation (Monday), creative intelligence and AI (Tuesday), the future of work (Wednesday), and academic honesty and AI (Thursday).
• From 1 to 1:50 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 12, there will be an ARC book club where participants will discuss the book “Robot Proof: Higher Education in the Age of Artificial Intelligence,” (available free through University Libraries).

All events will also be recorded, so make sure to check out the schedule to see what you can attend live or virtually. ARC is presented by the Office of Instructional Resources.

Questions? Email OIR@wichita.edu.

The November edition of Teaching Today is all about gratitude.

In this edition, Provost Shirley Lefever extends her thanks to Wichita State instructors. In addition, Office of Instructional Resources staff and contributors thank those who make our everyday lives at WSU better in large and small ways.

Have a look, and maybe you’ll see your name in a gratitude shout-out section.

If you have questions about Teaching Today or would like to subscribe, please email OIR@wichita.edu.