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The rapid emergence of generative AI tools has added new pressure to the challenges already facing higher education faculty. While these technologies can be used responsibly, many instructors are alarmed by the growing tendency of students to rely on AI as a shortcut. This practice not only raises serious questions about academic honesty but also threatens to erode the very skills higher education is meant to cultivate—critical thinking, clear writing, and independent problem-solving.
Welcome to the first COLRS Catch Up of the year! Periodically, we will send out these emails to provide reminders or updates, share materials you may have missed, and highlight some of the amazing work our faculty is doing in their online classes.
In case you missed it
In August, our focus was getting your semester started right, and we offered three resources to help you get started:
Online Discussions Workshop
Online discussion are vital to building a community in an online course. In order to achieve that goal, we need students to engage in these online discussions. Join COLRS staff as we explore some strategies for making the most of your online discussions. We'll think about different thinking routines and prompts, post length, frequency, and more!
- When: Tuesday, November 11 at 1 p.m.
- Where: BRK 416 and COLRS Zoom
- Duration: 1 hour
Journaling Workshop
Understanding how our students are feeling about our classes is important, but survey fatigue might prevent them from sharing those thoughts--especially multiple times in a course. Journaling is a strategy we can use to find out how our students are doing in a low-stakes and personal way (and for so much more!). Join COLRS staff to learn more about how journaling can be leveraged in your courses.
AI-Proofing Assignments Workshop
While generative AI can be a powerful tool, it can also keep students from meeting course objectives and developing necessary skills in our courses. Join COLRS staff to discuss ways that we can build assignments to prevent students from turning to AI tools.
- When: Wednesday, September 17 at noon
- Where: BRK 416 and COLRS Zoom
- Duration: 1 hour
Google Assignments
Google Assignments allows UIS instructors and students to use their Google accounts to create and submit assignments. This tool is built right into Canvas assignments but provides users with all the benefits of Google Docs, Google Sides, and other documents created in Google Drive.
Register Now! Harmonize Discussions (and more) Overview
Never heard of Harmonize? Love Harmonize discussions but want to know what else is available? Whether you're a noobie or a pro, this webinar is for you! Learn how to save time and improve the classroom experience with all the tools that are available to you today as part of your Harmonize subscription: discussions, peer review, PDF annotations, individual assignments, polling, and more.
COLRS provides this tool for the campus to enhance the discussion, multimedia interaction, and peer review tools in Canvas. Come to this session to learn more about this
Welcome to the Fall 2025 semester! We're excited to work with you this school year. In this article, you will find some important reminders and information to help you start the term strong. As always, if you have any questions or would like to meet with a member of the COLRS staff, please contact us. We're happy to help anytime!
-Emily, Carrie, Scott, & Taylor
Canvas Basics for Faculty
Join COLRS staff to learn about navigating the Canvas interface and the foundational tools for organizing and building a course at UIS. Topics covered include: navigating, communicating with students, creating modules and assignments, and gradebook.
Overview of Assessment
Assessment is a word that is used a lot in education. A great deal of scholarship focuses on the importance of assessment in higher education. But what do we mean by assessment? Instructors sometimes conflate grading with assessment. It is more than grading. Assessment is the strategic measurement of the extent of student learning in a course. Assessments should link student performance to specific learning objectives and provide feedback to both the instructor and the student on the performance of the student and areas for improvement.