May 2024

As we reach the conclusion of yet another academic year, I find myself reflecting on this both amazing and memorable year at CETL. It has been truly an honor to work with so many of you this year. I wanted to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt gratitude to each and every one of you for your unwavering commitment to CETL's mission. Your active participation in our FLOs really demonstrates that at Reynolds, student success is our #1 priority, and faculty are a key part in that success. Thank you for your dedication to our students and quality learning. I also wanted to take a moment to extend a special note of appreciation to Dr. Karen Layou and Kathy Larue, our esteemed faculty fellows for the 2023-2024 academic year. Your expertise, support, and guidance have been invaluable assets to our community, especially in this foundational building year for CETL. I honestly could not have made the progress we have made as a center without you both, so, from the bottom of my heart, thank you.

I am also thrilled about the upcoming events and other learning opportunities that we have planned for you in the 2024-2025 academic year! We plan to incorporate more opportunities for you to create things for your courses and for you to share your expertise with your peers.

Thank you once again for your dedication and passion. I am proud to serve as your director, and I look forward to continuing this journey of excellence with each and every one of you. Have an amazing summer!!

Bri Jackson

Director, Center for Excellence in Teaching & Learning

CETL FLOs by the Numbers

During the 2023-2024 academic year, CETL achieved significant milestones, surpassing previous records in the number of Faculty Learning Opportunities (FLOs) offered, delivered, and total number of attendees reached. These accomplishments are not solely ours but also reflect the dedication of Reynolds faculty and staff. Your attendance, participation, and interest in our programs are deeply appreciated. Therefore, we extend a heartfelt thank you to all who prioritized their valuable time to engage with our FLOs.

Assessment of CETL Impact Survey

CETL wants to better know how we have inspired you to make changes in your teaching practice as a result of information you've learned during our FLO sessions. Please complete the survey at the link below to let us know where we've been able to make a difference for you and your students.

Your insights are essential in shaping future Faculty Learning Opportunity sessions to best serve your needs and those of your students. Thank you in advance for your time and valuable input; it truly helps us tailor our professional development offerings to support your growth as educators.

Complete Survey

Presidential Faculty Fellows 2024-2025

Dr. Stephanie Daniel

Best Practice for Online Instruction

Dr. Jennifer Hitchcock

High Impact Practices in Student Success

CETL is proud to welcome Dr. Stephanie Daniel and Dr. Jennifer Hitchcock as CETL's 2024-2025 Presidential Faculty Fellows, starting this upcoming fall semester.

The Reynolds Presidential Faculty Fellowship is a distinguished role that releases a full-time faculty member from their teaching responsibilities to provide faculty leadership within a college division or initiative that advances the college’s strategic direction.

While serving the needs of campus faculty through their leadership, faculty fellows enjoy deep development and the opportunity to renew themselves professionally through innovation in teaching, learning, assessment, and technology.

Summer Canvas Course Sites

Summer 2024 Canvas course sites have been created and you should see them within Canvas. Please remember, if you are scheduled to teach a summer 2024 course and do not see it within Canvas, reach out to your Dean or Program Head to ensure that you are listed as the instructor of record in SIS. If you have confirmed that you are listed as the instructor of record and you still do not see your course listed in Canvas please email canvas@reynolds.edu. Student enrollment will be turned on Friday, May 3, meaning you will not see students in your spring 2024 course until that time.

If you would like to request your courses be combined into one Canvas course site you must first email your Dean for authorization. They will then email canvas@reynolds.edu with their approval. CETL cannot combine any courses without your Dean’s approval and all requests to combine courses must be received by May 10 for any course beginning on May 20.

Canvas Course End Dates

As you close out your course(s) for the spring semester, please remember not to set a course end date within Canvas settings. Adding an end date can interfere with student access for any incomplete grades and will cause course import issues in future sections of the course. Thank you.

As the spring semester draws to a close, please don't hesitate to reach out to canvas@reynolds.edu if you have any questions about course end dates, end of semester processes, or any general Canvas inquiries.

Good luck with the wrap up of the semester. We're nearly there!

Coming soon!

Canvas Discussions Redesign

Starting on May 13, the Canvas Discussions redesign will be replacing the existing Canvas Discussions legacy experience. You might be wondering, what’s changing? Will I have to relearn Canvas Discussions? The good news is that no existing Discussion functionality is going away. The redesign is focused on the UI, or user interface, giving more options and flexibility to how instructors and students search, manage, and use Canvas Discussions.

Some key updates of the redesign include:

Full or partial anonymous discussions
Flexible viewing options: split screen and inline view
Fully responsive and mobile friendly
Revamped sorting and filters, making it easier to find and manage discussions
Enhanced search functionality
Quote previous replies
Report replies to alert instructor
Track evolution of student response via edit history
And more!

To learn more about the new Canvas Discussions redesign, take a look at the following resources:

Discussions Redesign Data Sheet (PDF)
Discussion/Announcements Redesign (Canvas Community Guide)

Click the image below to watch the Canvas Discussion Redesign overview video:

Canvas Release Notes

Gradebook: Message Students Who Updates

In the Gradebook, the Message Students Who feature is enhanced to allow instructors to message students who have submitted or not submitted an assignment.

These updates help instructors provide positive reinforcement to students who have submitted their work and streamline the process of excluding excused students from messages about missing assignments, making the workflow quicker and more efficient.

Canvas Deploy Notes (2024-05-08)

Rich Content Editor: Find and Replace Plugin

In the Rich Content Editor, a Find and Replace plugin is available. The Find and Replace modal displays and users can use the Find field to enter keywords, then use the Replace with field for the desired replacement. Users can use the Replace All button to replace all items simultaneously or the Replace button to replace a single item.

This update allows for efficient data extraction, transformation, and manipulation.

Canvas Release Notes (2024-05-18)

Respondus LockDown Browser

& Monitor Training Webinars

Date/Time

Description

This comprehensive training webinar is intended for instructors who plan to use LockDown Browser and/or Respondus Monitor with online exams. The session provides a detailed demonstration of both applications, including enhancements that make Respondus Monitor even more effective and easy to use.