**NEW - ONLINE** Creating Podcasts with Adobe’s AI Powered Tools
Tuesday, October 28, 2025 from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Adobe Podcast is an online platform which simplifies podcast creation and editing using AI-powered tools. Allowing users to record, transcribe, edit, and enhance audio directly in their browser. This makes podcasting easier by offering features like speech enhancement, text-based editing, and collaboration tools. This workshop will cover how to engage faculty and students with their educational content by leveraging audio podcasts. As part of NIU’s Adobe License, NIU faculty, staff, and students now have access to the Adobe Podcast online tools. Advance registration required.
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**NEW - ONLINE** Improving PDF Accessibility
Wednesday, October 29, 2025 from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM
PDFs are everywhere in our courses, but too often they create hidden barriers for students who use screen readers or other assistive technologies. The good news is that a few simple fixes can make a big difference. In this workshop, we’ll explore easy, practical steps you can take with the tools you already have to improve PDF accessibility. You’ll learn how to check if your PDFs are readable, add tags, adjust reading order, and include headings and alt text. Join us to discover how small changes now can help ensure all students can fully engage with your course materials. Advance registration required.
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**ONLINE** LockDown Browser and Respondus Monitor: Protect the Integrity of Online Tests
Wednesday, October 29, 2025 from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM
This comprehensive training webinar is intended for faculty who are interested in using LockDown Browser and/or Respondus Monitor to promote academic integrity for their online exams. The session provides a detailed demonstration of both applications, including enhancements that make Respondus Monitor even more effective and easy to use. Workshop is led by staff from Respondus. Register Now!
**ONLINE** Meeting the Needs of Students with Disabilities
Friday, October 31, 2025 from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM
When courses aren’t created with students with disabilities in mind, educators may be unprepared for accommodating them. Designing your course with accessible features built in can help you avoid scrambling to meet students' needs. Accessible course design also ensures all of your students can access content and participate in class without being shamed for their needs. In this workshop, we will discuss how to create accessible course materials, as well as class policies and coursework that take into account students' needs. Advance registration required.
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**ONLINE** Anthology Blackboard: The Exemplary Course Program: What’s New and How to Get Involved
Wednesday, November 5, 2025 from 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM
Join Anthologists, Dr. Misty Cobb and Dr. Lisa Clark, as they introduce the Anthology Exemplary Course Program (ECP). They will highlight the key characteristics of high-quality courses, review the updated ECP rubric, and share practical guidance on building an exemplary course. You’ll also gain a clear understanding of the submission process and how to get involved.
For a course to be considered exemplary, it must meet several quality criteria as per the recently revised Exemplary Course Rubric. Categories of the rubric are Course Design, Interaction and Collaboration, Assessment Design, and Learner Support.
By the end of this session, participants will:
- Be familiar with the updated ECP Rubric
- Have the confidence to apply the rubric to evaluate their own courses
- Understand the submission process.
As this webinar is being offered by Anthology/Blackboard, you will need to register directly with their organization for more information and login details.
Register Now!
**ONLINE** Recenter, Recharge, Redesign: AI's Role in Student, Faculty and Staff Wellness
Wednesday, November 5, 2025 from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM
This interactive session explores the intersection of stress and burnout and the potential impact of AI in higher education, bringing together mental health perspectives and wellness strategies. Participants will examine how AI can both relieve and intensify stress, and how unhealthy reliance on AI may have unintended consequences. In this workshop, participants will also consider how AI can serve as both a coping strategy and a potential stress amplifier; brainstorm classroom and support strategies that promote motivation, resilience, and productive AI use to prevent burnout; add simple tools to their own self-care toolkit; and commit to one actionable step they can implement to reduce burnout in their professional context and/or teaching and learning spaces. Workshop is offered by and facilitated by University of Delaware. Register Now!
**ONLINE** Illinois Online Higher Education Symposium
Friday, November 7, 2025 from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Join colleagues from across the state of Illinois for the inaugural Illinois Online Higher Education Symposium! This free, one-day virtual conference brings together thought leaders and practitioners with expertise in online teaching and learning to discuss the latest trends in online learning--from pedagogy to technology. All who learn, teach, develop, support, or administer online education are welcome! Learn More and Register Now!
**ONLINE** Enriching the Design of General Education - November 2025
Friday, November 7, 2025 from 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM
The Enriching the Design of General Education (EDGE) initiative supports excellence in general education teaching by fostering a thriving and supportive community of practice among faculty and emphasizing the unique philosophy and practices that define general education courses. This online brown-bag event will be informal - feel free to bring your lunch!
AI is already shaping how students learn, work, and interact with the world—so how can we help them build the skills to use it thoughtfully? In this conversation, we’ll explore ways to bring AI literacy into general education courses, helping students think critically, ask good questions, and prepare for a future where AI is part of nearly every career path.
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**ONLINE** Enhancing Career Readiness with Quinncia: A Faculty Workshop for NIU
Thursday, November 20, 2025 from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM
Join us for an interactive session to explore Quinncia, an AI-powered career readiness platform based on Applicant Tracking Systems. Quinncia is designed to help students build stronger resumes, practice interviews, and improve their confidence when entering the job market. This session will provide an overview of Quinncia’s features, including its AI-driven resume feedback, virtual interview tool, and LinkedIn review, as well as best practices for integrating Quinncia into your courses or career development curriculum. Advance registration required.
Register Now!
**IN-PERSON** Enriching the Design of General Education - February 2026
Friday, February 6, 2026 from 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM
The Enriching the Design of General Education (EDGE) initiative supports excellence in general education teaching by fostering a thriving and supportive community of practice among faculty and emphasizing the unique philosophy and practices that define general education courses. This in-person brown-bag event will be informal - feel free to bring your lunch!
In this session, we will focus on teaching in each of the three knowledge domains. Join us to engage in a lively discussion with faculty who are teaching in the same knowledge domain and to compare success, challenges, and strategies for addressing the same general education outcomes from different disciplines.
Register Now!
**NEW - ONLINE** Community Engagement Brownbag: How to Create a Community Engaged Course
Thursday, February 19, 2026 from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM
If you're curious about how to get started teaching community engaged courses, join us on February 19, 2026 at noon, when Dr. Alicia Schatteman shares her experiences with community engaged teaching and learning at NIU. Learn about the new NIU community-engaged course designation and find out best practices to build and teach a successful community-engaged course. Register Now!
**IN-PERSON** Enriching the Design of General Education - March 2026
Friday, March 6, 2026 from 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM
The Enriching the Design of General Education (EDGE) initiative supports excellence in general education teaching by fostering a thriving and supportive community of practice among faculty and emphasizing the unique philosophy and practices that define general education courses. This in-person brown-bag event will be informal - feel free to bring your lunch!
General education courses provide opportunities for innovation at every turn including exciting topics, bold approaches to teaching, and unexpected perspectives on learning. This session will feature a panel of faculty who have taken new and fascinating approaches to teaching general education courses.
Register Now!
**IN-PERSON** Enriching the Design of General Education - April 2026
Friday, April 3, 2026 from 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM
The Enriching the Design of General Education (EDGE) initiative supports excellence in general education teaching by fostering a thriving and supportive community of practice among faculty and emphasizing the unique philosophy and practices that define general education courses. This in-person brown-bag event will be informal - feel free to bring your lunch!
Don't miss this exciting session!
Register Now!
**NEW - ONLINE** Community Engagement Brownbag: Engaged Classrooms, Stronger Research: Expanding Faculty Capacity Through Teaching
Tuesday, April 14, 2026 from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM
Discover how Professor Melani Duffrin integrates research and teaching — two pillars often viewed separately in academia. Over the lunch hour, we’ll explore how experiential learning can transform your research capacity while providing invaluable experiences for students. This approach not only enhances student learning but also expands your research capabilities, diversifies funding sources and brings fresh perspectives to your work. Register Now!
