Author: Carolyn Speer

All staff, instructors, and campus partners are invited to attend the  August Academic Resources Conference Aug. 9-12. The events are free, online and open to the campus community. One event each day this week will be offered in a HyFlex format so you can participate online or in-person 2-2:50 p.m. at Devlin Hall (room 010). Please email the Office of Instructional Resources  at OIR@wichita.edu if you require an accommodation to participate. The schedule for Aug. 11 is as follows:

• Teams Meetings: New Updates, Tips, and Tricks — 9-9:50 a.m.: What is the difference between Teams Meetings and Zoom Meetings? As far as feature availability is concerned, it’s very little. In fact, in some cases, Teams now has the edge. Teams meetings have transformed dramatically in the last year, so if you haven’t checked in for a while, you won’t want to miss this session. Presented by Ali Levine.
  • Add Teams to calendar.
  • Join Teams directly.
• Teaching Resources for You — 10-10:50 a.m.: There are so many resources to help instructors improve in the craft of teaching, but if you don’t know what they are or how to find them, it’s hard to benefit from them. This session will show you what the university has for you. Presented by Carolyn Speer.
  • Add Teaching Resources to calendar.
  • Join Teaching Resources directly. New graduate teaching assistant recommended session.
• Accessibility for Math and Science Courses — 11-11:50 a.m.: Math and science courses present special challenges in the area of accessibility. This session will introduce instructors to the methods to make their math and science courses accessible for all learners. Presented by Jay Castor.
  • Add Math and Science Accessibility to calendar.
  • Join Math and Science Accessibility directly.
• Supporting Freedom of Expression on Campus panel —Noon-12:50 p.m.: Wichita State values and supports freedom of expression and this panel discussion will provide instructors and others with information about how to support FoE on our campus. This panel discussion will be led by President Rick Muma. It will also include Dr. Teri Hall, Student Affairs vice president, and Dr. Neal Allen — political science associate professor, department chair, undergraduate advisor, and WSU’s Washington D.C. and Topeka internship coordinator. This session will be live-streamed on YouTube.
  • Video, “Lean Into Difficult Conversations”
• Copyright Considerations for Teaching — 1-1:50 p.m.: Do you know the lay of the copyright landscape for education? This University Libraries sponsored event will help. Presented by Maria Sclafani and Jessica Pierpoint.
  • Add Copyright to calendar.
  • Join Copyright directly.
•  HyFlex Session: You Can Afford Video! — 2-2:50 p.m.: Would you like to add a video to your university website, your course or on social media? Are you worried you don’t have the budget to do what you want? This session will show you how you have the budget to have a video. Come in person to Devlin Hall (room 010) or join synchronously online for this HyFlex session. Presented by John Jones.
  • Add Video to calendar.
  • Join Video directly.
• Introduction to Panopto — 3-3:50 p.m.: Panopto is the university’s video creation and hosting solution. If you are unsure how to use it, this session is for you. Presented by Jay Minster from Panopto.
  • Add Panopto to calendar.
  • Join Panopto directly. New GTA recommended session.

Join President Rick Muma, Dr. Teri Hall, Student Affairs vice president, and Dr. Neal Allen — political science associate professor, department chair, undergraduate advisor, and WSU Washington D.C. and Topeka internship coordinator — as they discuss, “Supporting freedom of expression on campus” at noon Aug. 11.

The discussion is part of the Academic Resources Conference Aug. 9-12. The focus of the event is how the campus community can support freedom of expression in classes and on campus. A live stream of the event will also be available via YouTube.

All staff, instructors and campus partners are invited to attend the August Academic Resources Conference which begins today, Aug. 9 through Aug. 12. The events are free, online and open to the campus community. One event each day this week will be offered in a HyFlex format so you can participate online or in-person 2-2:50 p.m. at Devlin Hall (room 010). Please email the Office of Instructional Resources  at OIR@wichita.edu if you require an accommodation to participate. The schedule for Aug. 9 is as follows:

• Meet Ultra! — 9:00-9:50 a.m.: This session covers what Ultra is, the timeline for rollout and the support available to instructors.  Hosted by Brad Katz from Blackboard.
  • Add Meet Ultra to calendar.
  • Join Meet Ultra directly.
• Curriculum Mapping at the Program Level — 10-10:50 a.m.: This session is designed for department chairs and program directors. The basics of curriculum mapping at the program level will be covered, and there will be a discussion about the ways OIR can assist with the process and an explanation about how the Blackboard Goals tool can help. Presented by Carolyn Speer.
  •  Add Curriculum Mapping to calendar.
  • Join Curriculum Mapping directly.
• Meet the OIR Website — 11-11:50 a.m.: This session will show you what OIR offers and how to locate it. Presented by Carolyn Speer and John Hammer.
  • Add Meet OIR Website to calendar.
  • Join Meet OIR Website directly.
• Adjunct and other Part-time Instructor Special Session —Noon-12:50 p.m.: Are you an adjunct, part-time instructor or graduate teaching assistant (GTA) at Wichita State? Join us for a conversation about the resources available to you. There will be a question and answer session as well. Presented by Carolyn Speer.
  • Add Adjunct/Part-time Instructor to calendar.
  • Join Adjunct/Part-time Instructor directly.
• Getting Started with OER — 1-1:50 p.m.: Are you an instructor who would like to reduce costs for your students but are unsure about how to accomplish this? This session will show you how University Libraries can help you locate and use open educational resources (OER). Presented by Maria Sclafani and Victoria Koger.
  • Add OER to calendar.
  • Join OER directly.
• HyFlex Session — 2-2:50 p.m.: HyFlex? Hybrid? F2F? What are the Options? What are the Reasons? What is the difference between HyFlex and Hybrid? Would you like to think about ways you can structure your classes for maximum flexibility? This session is for you. You are welcome to join us in person on campus in Devlin Hall  (room 010) or join the session online. The session will also be live-streamed via Zoom. Presented by Carolyn Speer.
  • Add HyFlex, What Are the Options? to calendar.
  • Join HyFlex, What are the Options? directly. 
• The State of the Alternative Assessment Conversation in Higher E — 3:00-3:50 p.m.: Alternative assessment is a hot topic in higher education, but what is it, and what is its purpose? Come to this session to find out! Presented by Mark Porcaro.
  •  Add Alternative Assessment to calendar.
  • Join Alternative Assessment directly.
• A Conversation About Student Retention — 4-4:50 p.m.: What can instructors do to help students persist toward their degrees? Join this conversation with Lisa Garcia and Sarah Taylor.
  • Add Student Retention to calendar.
  • Join Student Retention directly.

Did you know that all Wichita State faculty, staff and students have free access to LinkedIn Learning? As part of the August Academic Resources Conference events Aug. 9-12, the Office of Instructional Resources (OIR) has identified five LinkedIn Learning courses that will be useful to instructors and staff at WSU:

• Having difficult conversations (one hour)
• Grant writing for education (two hours)
• Confronting bias: thriving across our differences (40 minutes)
• Core strategies for teaching in higher ed (two hours)
• Delivery tips for speaking in public (30 minutes)

The Office of Instructional Resources is offering a workshop to help instructors and staff confused by Blackboard Ultra. The next workshop, titled “Please Help Me With Ultra!”, is scheduled 10 a.m.-noon Aug. 10 via Zoom.

The Office of Instructional Resources is offering a workshop to help instructors and staff confused by Blackboard Ultra. The next workshop, titled “Please Help Me With Ultra!”, is scheduled 9 a.m.-11 a.m. Aug. 13 via Zoom.

The Office of Instructional Resources is offering a workshop to help instructors and staff confused by Blackboard Ultra. The first workshop, titled “Please Help Me With Ultra!”, is scheduled 10 a.m.-noon Aug. 2 via Zoom.

Sara Zafar, Wichita State University Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance Human Title IX coordinator, will offer an additional online Advanced Title IX training from 1 to 3 p.m. Aug. 3. The training is part of the August Academic Resources Conference (ARC). The session will last approximately two hours, including an hour for questions.

President Rick Muma will lead a discussion of the book “Broke: The Racial Consequences of Underfunding Public Universities” 2-2:50 p.m. Aug. 12, at Devlin Hall. The event will also be available live on Zoom.

All university community members are welcome to attend. The discussion is part of the August Academic Resources Conference.

If you are interested in reading “Broke” before Aug.12, you can access an ebook copy of the book or a physical copy through University Libraries. If you have trouble accessing the book, contact University Libraries through the Ask a Librarian live chat feature.

Blackboard has gone through several changes lately and there are more to come. If you are confused by Ultra, you’re not alone.

To help  with the confusion, the Office of Instructional Resources has put together several web pages to answer your questions and to give you the information you need to make the necessary choices about your class materials in Blackboard:

• Am I “in Ultra”?
• Ultra Transition Schedule
• What is Ultra?
• Turning on Ultra Course experience
• Using Both “Old” Blackboard and Ultra
• Ultra FAQ

In May, Wichita State University began the transition from the Blackboard platform to the Ultra platform. The complete transition will take more than a year and a half, but you may have noticed significant changes already.

WSU is currently in the “Ultra Base Navigation” platform, which means logging in and finding courses is different than before. However, once professors and students log in, they look almost identical because the move to Ultra is a two-step process. At this time, most WSU courses are still in the Blackboard format.

If you are unsure whether the course you are teaching is in Ultra, please visit the Am I in Ultra? webpage.