Event Registration App - Northern Illinois University

Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning

List View Calendar View

My Registrations

**ONLINE** Designing an Accessible Syllabus
Tuesday, August 12, 2025 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM
The course syllabus is an essential component of your course and should be precise, clear and accessible. A syllabus is often the first means of communication between you and all your students. A well-designed, accessible syllabus follows Universal Design Principles for Learning and benefits all students. In this workshop, you will be provided with tools to help you create a well-organized and accessible course syllabus. Advance registration required.
Register Now!

**ONLINE** What's New in Blackboard Ultra
Wednesday, August 13, 2025 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM
Blackboard releases monthly updates and improvements to Blackboard Learn Ultra. Many of these improvements can add value to your courses and improve your workflows. The What’s New in Blackboard workshop will explore newly released or improved features that can improve the user experience of students and instructors. It will consist of tutorials, discussion, and interactive exploration. Topics will vary. Advance registration required.
Register Now!

**ONLINE** LockDown Browser & Respondus Monitor: Protect the Integrity of Online Tests
Wednesday, August 13, 2025 from 12:00 PM to 1:00 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. This session is led by staff from Respondus. Register Now!

Fall 2025 Teaching Effectiveness Institute - Authenticity and Presence as Faculty Wellbeing
Thursday, August 14, 2025 from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM
We often hear about “student-centered teaching” and its benefits. Yet this approach can make faculty feel like their job is to become invisible, as though increasing learner autonomy equates to losing time to share our expertise. In truth, though, students rightfully depend on their faculty to remain present — present to the people and to the learning. In this half-day workshop, we’ll dig into some of the research that touches on instructor presence, learning, and relationship-rich education and rethink what it means to educate and be an educator today. Ultimately, our focus will be on how to be more authentically ourselves in our teaching — and why doing so matters.
Register Now!

Fall 2025 Teaching Effectiveness Institute - Sustaining Ourselves (and Work) in Uncertain Times
Thursday, August 14, 2025 from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Teaching in 2025 is not for the feint of heart. Uncertainty abounds, and how we maintain our commitment to transformational learning in the current environment can easily feel overwhelming. In this half-day workshop, we’ll talk about how to reclaim and sustain our joy and purpose in an environment filled with challenges. Participants will engage in discussion and reflection on questions like:

What does it look like to identify and maintain boundaries to ensure we remain present to our work?
How do we acknowledge the challenges in our environment without letting them dominate our thinking, teaching, and lives?
What role does academic freedom play in this moment?

**NEW - IN-PERSON** Creative Innovation in Teaching and Learning
Friday, August 15, 2025 from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Unlock the power of creativity in your teaching through innovative course materials and exciting approaches to student work. Create more engaging presentations, graphics, and videos for your students. Develop strategies to integrate your course outcomes with important career readiness skills like creativity and digital literacy.

This session will combine a showcase of inspiring projects created by the NIU academic community and short presentations on fostering creativity and building career-ready skills in the classroom. It will culminate with an interactive workshop, where you will explore Adobe Express, a powerful but easy-to-use creation platform that is available at no cost to you and your students through NIU’s partnership with Adobe.
Register Now!

**NEW - IN-PERSON** Roundtable on the Future of AI in Higher Education
Friday, August 15, 2025 from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Dive into the transformative potential of artificial intelligence in higher education through honest conversations about affordances, challenges, and the ethics of AI. This session will feature industry insights and hands-on experiences with Creative Generative AI, namely Adobe Firefly. You will build pedagogical frameworks to leverage these tools in the classroom with impact. You will also have chances to experiment with these tools to develop creative exercises for students that promote critical thinking skills and AI literacy.
Register Now!

**ONLINE** For UNIV 101 Instructors: Navigate Success in UNIV 101: Engage, Support, Connect
Monday, August 18, 2025 from 9:15 AM to 10:00 AM

Want to learn how you can support your UNIV 101 students using NIU Navigate? In this session, participants will be able to:

Identify student needs early

Review student responses to the Intake Survey and Huskie First Survey
Spot concerns using MissionAI insights on self-reported issues and flags

Simplify appointment scheduling with PALs:

Create office hour availabilities so students can self-schedule appointments
Embed your Personal Availability Link (PAL) in your syllabus, Blackboard sites, and emails

Encourage peer connection through Study Buddies:

See how students use Study Buddies
Share ideas about how to encourage students to use it in your course

**ONLINE** Using VoiceThread for AI Resistant Assessments in Asynchronous Online Language Courses
Monday, August 18, 2025 from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM
In this session, Dr. Raelynne Hale from Kansas State University will examine ways that VoiceThread can serve as an AI-resistant tool for online courses. From low-stakes activities to audio-visual summative assessments, VoiceThread offers a platform that can humanize the online classroom and promote student learning and growth. In this session, participants will see example activities and assessments that they will be able to adapt and use in their own courses. This session is facilitated by VoiceThread. Register Now!

**ONLINE** Connect with Your Students Using Navigate Staff: A New Users Function-to-Practice Session
Tuesday, August 19, 2025 from 9:15 AM to 10:00 AM

Are you new to NIU's Navigate Staff system, or looking to understand how it can enhance your advising and support efforts? This virtual session is tailored for those who are not yet familiar with Navigate.

What to Expect: In this beginner session, you'll get hands-on practice with Navigate's features directly from your own screen. We'll cover the basics of system navigation, key functionalities, and practical tips to help you integrate Navigate into your daily workflow.

Why Attend? Navigate is a powerful tool designed to streamline your advising process, improve student outcomes, and foster a more connected campus community. By learning to use Navigate, you'll be able to:

Messaging (text and email)
Connect with students to instill a sense of care and belonging. Participants will have hands-on experience with sending a text and an email to the facilitator through Navigate.
Student Searches
Identify students for potential academic recruitment outreach, scholarship promotion, research fellows, etc. Participants will be able to:
1. Conduct a student search in Navigate to identify students assigned to them who meet specific criteria.
2. Create a saved search to be used as a template to build additional searches.
Set Up Your Calendar for Students to Self-Schedule with You
- Calendar Sync with Outlook: Learn how to seamlessly integrate your Outlook calendar with Navigate Staff.
- Create Navigate Availabilities: Set up availability slots based on your office hours.
- Personal Availability Links (PALs): Generate PALs to include in your email signatures, Blackboard sites, and syllabi. Students can click and self-manage their appointments, reducing back-and-forth emails.
Alerts & Referrals
Identify students in need of additional support and connect them with their care team. Participants will create a plan for when to issue ad hoc alerts for students and plan when to issue the alerts for their classes based on their syllabi.

**ONLINE** LockDown Browser & Respondus Monitor: Protect the Integrity of Online Tests
Tuesday, August 19, 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. This session is led by staff from Respondus. Register Now!

**HYBRID** Teaching with Classroom Technology - DuSable 206
Wednesday, August 20, 2025 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM
In this workshop, staff from the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning will demonstrate using classroom technology for presenting, streaming, and recording your class sessions. The workshop will be held in-person and livestreamed. Advance registration required.
Register Now!

**NEW - ONLINE** The Power of Week One: Engaging Students from the Start
Wednesday, August 20, 2025 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM
The first week of class is a powerful opportunity to shape student engagement, build community, and set the tone for a successful semester. This workshop explores practical, research-informed strategies faculty can use to foster curiosity, connection, and clarity from the very beginning. Leave with tips for helping students feel invested, inspired, and ready to learn. Advance registration required.
Register Now!

**ONLINE** Innovations in Online Proctoring: New Features for Respondus Monitor
Wednesday, August 20, 2025 from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM
Respondus is at the forefront of online proctoring innovation, with new features being released each quarter. Don’t miss this webinar where you’ll see the latest enhancements for Respondus Monitor and LockDown Browser. This session is led by staff from Respondus. Register Now!

**NEW - ONLINE** NIU Yellowdig Fall Workshop
Wednesday, August 20, 2025 from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM
When students are part of a community, their education becomes so much more than classes, textbooks, projects and grades. NIU has Yellowdig, which sparks real interactions that result in real communities. In this workshop, you will learn about the benefits of social cognition and how to incorporate Yellowdig into your courses. Advance registration is required.
Register Now!

**HYBRID** Teaching with Classroom Technology - LaTourette Hall 200
Thursday, August 21, 2025 from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM
In this workshop, staff from the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning will demonstrate using classroom technology for presenting, streaming, and recording your class sessions. The workshop will be held in-person and livestreamed. Advance registration required.
Register Now!

**ONLINE** Getting Started with Blackboard Ultra
Thursday, August 21, 2025 from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Blackboard Ultra Course View is modern and intuitive with streamlined workflows to improve your efficiency. If you are new to Ultra Course View, there are several ways to get started, including using CITL pre-built templates. In this online workshop, we will discuss practical strategies for building your course in Ultra Course View. Advance registration required.
Register Now!

**ONLINE** NAVIGATE + Mission AI: Enhancing Student Support Through Mission AI and Navigate
Tuesday, August 26, 2025 from 9:15 AM to 10:00 AM

Want to make a bigger impact in helping your students stay on track? Learn how Mission AI, NIU’s new AI text chatbot, integrates with Navigate to assist with actionable insights to support students in your classes or advising caseloads.

Capture the Student Voice: Discover how Mission AI’s chatbot responses uncover students’ needs and connect them with the right services, helping them succeed term by term.
Themes from Student Responses: Use Navigate’s tags and alert reasons to find students with various needs of additional support to inform your outreach and campaigns.
Function to Practice: Brainstorm ways you can see using the student responses in your teaching or advising practice.

**ONLINE** LockDown Browser & Respondus Monitor: Protect the Integrity of Online Tests
Tuesday, August 26, 2025 from 12:00 PM to 1:00 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. This session is led by staff from Respondus. Register Now!

**ONLINE** Teaching Digital Literacy with Adobe Express
Tuesday, August 26, 2025 from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Explore Adobe Express, a versatile digital design tool now available to all NIU faculty, staff, and students. This all-in-one solution covers image generation, photo and video editing, web design, posters, presentations, animations, and more, enhanced by generative AI. With hundreds of templates to inspire creativity, Adobe Express addresses the need for accessible digital tools in education. In this hands-on workshop, participants will create a self-portrait for course use, learning to generate customized content. Discover how to easily supplement your instructional materials with suitable images. Advance registration required.
Register Now!

**ONLINE** The Secret to Classroom Engagement: Everyone Has a Voice
Wednesday, August 27, 2025 from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Active learning enhances student engagement, thinking skills, motivation, and retention. However, active learning can be counterproductive if it lacks structures to promote equitable participation and engagement. Equitable and inclusive engagement structures are crucial for the overall effectiveness of the learning experience. In this workshop, participants will explore strategies to make active learning inclusive and equitable to benefit all students. Advance registration required.
Register Now!

**ONLINE** LockDown Browser & Respondus Monitor: Protect the Integrity of Online Tests
Wednesday, August 27, 2025 from 12:00 PM to 1:00 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. This session is led by staff from Respondus. Register Now!

**ONLINE** Elevate Your Course: Mastering Enhanced Blackboard Ultra Documents
Thursday, August 28, 2025 from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Blackboard’s Ultra Document feature is a powerful tool for crafting and delivering diverse visual and text-based content. Recently revamped, Ultra Documents now offer enhanced capabilities in layout, content design, and overall user experience. Notable upgrades include the ability to construct documents with movable blocks, enabling greater flexibility in design and arrangement. Additionally, users can seamlessly upload and convert various file formats, enhancing course accessibility through integration with Ally. During this workshop, participants will receive an overview and hands-on demonstration of the updated features. Practical tips and strategies will be shared on leveraging Ultra Documents to improve student learning outcomes. Advance registration required.
Register Now!

**ONLINE** Supporting Underprepared Students in Your Courses
Friday, August 29, 2025 from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM
It’s not uncommon to find students in our classes that are underprepared. Regardless of why students are underprepared, we can still help them be successful. This workshop is designed for educators to discover ways to support students through providing equitable assessments, materials, and opportunities in our classes. Together, we will discuss ways to determine students’ knowledge base and readiness level for the course. We will also discuss how to support students through collecting supplemental resources, modeling expectations, grading revisions, and creating opportunities for additional support. Advance registration required.
Register Now!

**ONLINE** Using VoiceThread in Blackboard
Tuesday, September 2, 2025 from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM
In this workshop, you will learn how to create VoiceThreads and then add them to your Blackboard course as lessons, discussions, or assessments. This will be a hand-on workshop where you can follow along with the activities and add VoiceThreads into your course modules. This session is facilitated by VoiceThread. Register Now!

**NEW - IN-PERSON** Decolonizing Data: Power, Autonomy, and Research Sovereignty
Wednesday, September 3, 2025 from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM

Zoë Harris is a citizen of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe and is a Jamaican citizen with roots in Selma, Alabama. She strives to bring an intersectional lens to all of her work. Join us for two events where Zoë will discuss research sovereignty and Afro-Indigeneity.

In this presentation, Zoë will discuss how much of the data available regarding Native populations is outdated and, at times, incorrect. She will provide decolonizing methods for researchers who will encounter Native peoples in their research to conduct research that benefits and centers the communities. Visit go.niu.edu/sovereignty to register.

**NEW - IN-PERSON** Woven Identities: Living at the Intersection of Afro-Indigenous Heritage
Wednesday, September 3, 2025 from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM

In this presentation, Zoë will discuss her lived experiences as an Afro-Indigenous woman and how her intersectional identities have influenced her life. Visit go.niu.edu/wovenidentities to register.

**ONLINE** NAVIGATE: Fostering Student-to-Student Connections Beyond the Classroom: Study Buddies in Navigate Student
Thursday, September 4, 2025 from 9:15 AM to 10:00 AM

Interested in opportunities to foster student connections beyond the classroom? Find out how Study Buddies, in Navigate Student, can empower students to collaborate effectively and create study groups.

Facilitate Peer Connections: Encourage students to connect with their peers from the same class sections. Study Buddies allows them to find like-minded students who are interested in forming study groups outside of regular class hours.
Support Academic Success: By incorporating Study Buddies into your classes, practice, or services, you can help students discover and connect with potential study partners. They can arrange meetings, share resources, and collaborate on challenging coursework.
Promote Active Learning: Study Buddies fosters a sense of community and encourages active learning. When students collaborate, they gain deeper insights, reinforce their understanding, and build lasting academic relationships.

**IN-PERSON** Enriching the Design of General Education - September 2025
Friday, September 5, 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 in-person brown-bag event will be informal - feel free to bring your lunch!

To kick-off the second year of EDGE, Alicia Schatteman (Vice Provost for Academic Affairs) will provide an overview of the principles and structure of NIU's General Education program. Amy Buhrow (Associate Vice Provost for Assessment and Accreditation) will share the results from the first year of general education assessment in foundational studies courses.
Register Now!

**IN-PERSON** Enriching the Design of General Education - October 2025
Friday, October 3, 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 in-person brown-bag event will be informal - feel free to bring your lunch!

Don't miss this exciting session!
Register Now!

**IN-PERSON** 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 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!

**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!

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 - 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!

Don't miss this exciting session!
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!