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:
- Fall 2025 Semester Launch for Faculty Letter: While some of this information was specific to the days leading up to classes starting, we want to draw your attention to our new policy regarding combining courses as well as the Canvas Course Accessibility Intake Form. Both of these changes to our processes will be important moving forward.
- Canvas Basics Workshop: If you haven't used Canvas before (or haven't used it in a while), feel free to watch this workshop recording where Carrie and Taylor walk you through some important features in our LMS. If you'd like more information about Canvas, visit the Canvas for Instructors page on our website.
- Demystifying AI Detectors Workshop: In this workshop, Kara McElwrath (ITS), Emily, and Taylor share their thoughts and insights regarding AI detectors and demonstrate how Copyleaks--UIS's AI detection software--works. If you'd like more information about Copyleaks, visit the Copyleaks page on our website.
Instructor spotlight
Every year, our instructors go above and beyond to make their online courses as welcoming, engaging, and student friendly as possible. In the spirit of getting the semester started right, we wanted to highlight homepages, syllabus templates, and getting started pages from some of our all-star faculty!
- View the homepage gallery in the Instructor Guide! This is just a small sample of all of the homepages that our instructors have implemented in their courses using DesignPLUS.
- While we do offer a syllabus template for all UIS instructors, we also love working with departments on more specific syllabus templates. For example, the COM 112 team--with excellent leadership from Tim Bill--worked with COLRS to develop a syllabus template for all of their instructors with department-specific policies.
- Another best practice is creating a "Getting Started" page, which outlines important information navigating your specific course. Check out the example of a getting started page from MLS 449, which was worked on by Andrea Jensen and Jennifer England.
Call to action
We want to highlight the amazing work you're doing! During the Fall semester, we will be focusing on AI-proofing assignments, journaling, and online discussions.
Do you have a teaching practice, course materials, or technology tool to share about any of these topics? If so, send us an email at colrs@uis.edu. We'd love to highlight the work you're doing in these areas!
Canvas catch up
Things change quickly in Canvas! Here are some highlights of new features that might be of interest:
- In Canvas discussions, you can now set up graded checkpoints. This feature allows you to set point values and separate due dates for topic replies and replies to peers. These due dates will show up on student course calendars separately, helping students stay on track.
- If you use Harmonize discussions, you may have noticed that they have added many new features. Join the Harmonize team for a Harmonize Overview webinar on September 9, where they'll share all the ins and outs of this tool, available to all UIS instructors.
Looking ahead
Our theme for this year’s faculty professional development series was inspired by a Faculty Focus article from Dr. Crystal M. Voegele, Dr. Tammy R. Benson, and Dr. Nancy P. Gallavan titled “Four Powerful Practices to Promote Student Success.” The “four Cs” described in the article–curiosity, communication, connections, and compassion–will serve as the foundation for our teaching tips and workshops.
Speaking of workshops, we’ll hope you’ll be able to join us in the coming months for our Fall workshops.
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
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.
- When: Thursday, October 23 at 3 p.m.
- Where: BRK 416 and COLRS Zoom
- Duration: 1 hour
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
As always, thank you for your incredible work with our students! We’ll catch up with you again soon.
-Emily, Carrie, Scott, & Taylor