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**NEW - ONLINE** Using Positionality Statements to Embrace Classroom Diversity
Friday, March 29, 2024 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM
The diverse experiences, backgrounds, and identities that educators and learners bring to courses enrich discussions, writing, and critical thinking. While objectivity is often a goal in research and analysis, positionality—the way that we understand the world because of our identities and experiences—influences the way that we see the world and our place in it. Positionality statements give us a way to claim these influences, demonstrating that diverse identities bring important perspectives and recognizing the value of lived experience. In this workshop, we will discuss how to create and use positionality statements in our classes. Together, we'll explore how acknowledging identities and using positionality statements empower diverse learners. Advance registration required.
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Presidential Teaching Professor Seminar: Dr. Jeanette Rossetti, School of Nursing
Tuesday, April 2, 2024 from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM | Location: Holmes Student Center, Capitol Room

Factors That Make Outstanding Professors Successful: Lessons Learned from DeKalb to the Emerald Isle

Many of us strive to be the best professors we can be, giving students the most rewarding academic experience during their time at NIU. But what are the factors that make outstanding professors successful? In this presentation, Dr. Rossetti, Distinguished Teaching Professor in the School of Nursing, will reflect on what she has learned over her teaching career, starting with the results of her dissertation on this very topic and the lessons that have driven her own academic journey from Assistant Professor to Presidential Teaching Professor. She will also highlight what she has learned from time spent with students studying abroad and exploring Ireland's healthcare services. Learn more >> 


Walk-In, No Registration Required

**IN PERSON** Create Engaging Content in the Digital Media Studio
Wednesday, April 3, 2024 from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM
The Digital Media Studio in CITL features two innovative technologies designed to help you create engaging and effective video presentations and require minimum training or help. The One Button Video Studio allows you to create high quality videos with studio lighting, custom backgrounds, and presentation overlays. The Lightboard can be used to create recorded videos featuring handwritten presentation content, and unlike a classroom whiteboard, the lightboard allows users to face their audience. The lightboard can also host live sessions, using Collaborate, Microsoft Teams, or Zoom. In this face-to-face workshop, you will be introduced to tools and techniques that will engage your students with dynamic video content. Advance registration is required.
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**ONLINE** Student Presentations Online: Tools and Strategies
Thursday, April 4, 2024 from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Presentations are a great way for students to demonstrate their understanding of the concepts covered in your course. For online courses, there are a number of tools that will help you facilitate student presentations. In this workshop, you will learn about some tips and strategies to allow your students to present online. Advance registration is required.
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**NEW - ONLINE** Disability Justice Initiative: Accessibility and Universal Design
Friday, April 5, 2024 from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM
In this Accessibility and Universal Design session, participants will explore key principles and strategies for creating inclusive environments in various contexts, emphasizing the importance of accessibility for all individuals, including those with disabilities. Through practical examples and case studies, participants gain insights into universal design through improved usability, increased engagement, and broader reach. By incorporating accessibility in planning and design processes, participants learn how to promote equity, diversity, and inclusion in their respective fields, ultimately nurturing environments where everyone can fully participate and thrive. This session will be presented by Dr. Jennifer Salmon, Acting Director of the Disability Resource Center, and Linda Kocjan, Assistant Director of ADA Accommodations and Program Services.
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**ONLINE** Calculating Overall Grades with Blackboard Ultra Gradebook
Tuesday, April 9, 2024 from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM
In the Blackboard Ultra course view the Gradebook is a useful tool for tracking student grades and helping students understand their progress throughout the semester on individual assessments, but it can also efficiently calculate an overall grade on an ongoing basis as well as a final grade. The overall grade is visible to students on the Grades page in the base navigation and provides students with a sense of their current performance. At the end of the semester, NIU faculty can then use the Grade Submission tool to publish grades from the Gradebook directly to MyNIU, saving even more time. In this online workshop, we will discuss how to calculate overall grades, including how to use the weighted total feature, share best practices, and answer questions about specific grading systems. Advance registration is required.
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**ONLINE** Using the Blackboard Ultra Gradebook
Wednesday, April 10, 2024 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM
Using the new Gradebook in your Blackboard Ultra Course will save you time and make grading easier. The Gradebook in the Ultra Course View can help you more efficiently track student's performance in your course with exciting features like student profile photos, name and assignment search, and automatic zeros for past due work. In this hands-on workshop, you will learn how to effectively set up the Gradebook, grade assignments, record and calculate grades, and provide feedback to your students. Prerequisites: attendance at Making the Move to Blackboard Ultra Course View. Advance registration is required.
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**ONLINE** Book Chat: How Humans Learn: The Science and Stories Behind Effective College Learning by Joshua R. Eyler
Thursday, April 11, 2024 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM
In book chats, we read the book so that you don’t have to! During this book chat, we will discuss How Humans Learn: The Science and Stories Behind Effective College Learning by Joshua R. Eyler. Eyler identifies curiosity, sociality, emotion, authenticity, and failure as five features of a course that have a huge impact on student learning. Together, we will look at the examples Eyler provides of these features, and we will consider how they impact our classes. This book provides evidence-based insights from multiple disciplines to analyze the science behind learning. There will be opportunities to share experiences, ask questions, and connect with colleagues. Advance registration is required. 
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**ONLINE** Empowering Students: Fostering Equity Through Basic Needs and Financial Support Structures
Friday, April 12, 2024 from 8:45 AM to 3:00 PM
The theme for the 4th annual Equity Institute centers on how our ILEA community of practice can intentionally empower students by fostering equity through basic needs and financial support structures while cultivating a culture of care and support in college campuses where students can thrive and complete their college education.

The Equity Institute will highlight leaders and experts, practitioners, diverse student panelists and equity-minded champions that are at the forefront of changing basic needs security and providing intentional financial support structures for diverse students by transforming college campuses to communities of care. This session is sponsored by the Partnership for College Completion and ILEA. Register Now!

**NEW - ONLINE** Disability Justice Initiative: Oppression Response: Beyond Disability Related Legislations to Empowerment in the Context of the Family
Friday, April 12, 2024 from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM
In this session, participants will explore an approach to responding to oppression among the disability population by facilitating empowerment in the context of the family. This session will be presented by Dr. Abdoulaye Diallo, Associate Professor in the School of Interdisciplinary Health Professions, and two Rehabilitation Counseling Graduate Students: Omobolanle Wunuken and Rachel Obenewaa Anti.
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**NEW - ONLINE** Inclusive STEM Teaching: A Guide to Feminist Pedagogy in STEM
Tuesday, April 16, 2024 from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM
The National Science Board reports lower degree completion rates in science and engineering for women and students from underrepresented groups (NSB, 2021). Instructional practices informed by feminist pedagogies can be used to address these disparities. Feminist pedagogies refer to teaching approaches that empower students and challenge traditional power dynamics in the classroom. In this workshop, we will discuss feminist pedagogies that value diverse perspectives, experiences, and ways of knowing. You will leave the workshop with strategies to create inclusive communities and promote equitable outcomes. Advance registration required.
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**NEW - ONLINE** Making the Move to Blackboard Ultra Organizations
Thursday, April 18, 2024 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM
Blackboard Ultra for Organizations is modern and intuitive with streamlined workflows to improve your efficiency. If you are ready to move to the Ultra View for your Organization, there are several ways to do so, including using CITL pre-built templates to get you started. You can even preview the changes before converting to Ultra to make the best decision for your organization. In this online workshop, we will discuss some of the key differences from the Original View and discuss practical strategies for moving or building your organization in Ultra View. Advance registration is required.
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**NEW - ONLINE** Beyond Basic Essays and Exams: Creating Equitable Methods of Assessments
Wednesday, April 24, 2024 from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Although essays and exams are frequently used, they do not inherently ensure fairness or represent the most effective means of evaluating understanding. While these assessments may be convenient for graders, they are often designed with assumptions about students' skills, capabilities, and needs. Also, essays and exams may not necessarily foster long-term learning. In this workshop, we will explore methods to develop assessment forms that align with the learning objectives of our classes while ensuring a fair evaluation of learning and maintaining equity.. Advance registration required.
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**ONLINE** Using the Blackboard Ultra Gradebook
Thursday, April 25, 2024 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM
Using the new Gradebook in your Blackboard Ultra Course will save you time and make grading easier. The Gradebook in the Ultra Course View can help you more efficiently track student's performance in your course with exciting features like student profile photos, name and assignment search, and automatic zeros for past due work. In this hands-on workshop, you will learn how to effectively set up the Gradebook, grade assignments, record and calculate grades, and provide feedback to your students. Prerequisites: attendance at Making the Move to Blackboard Ultra Course View. Advance registration is required.
Register Now!

**ONLINE** Student Showcase: Resume-Worthy Generative AI Projects
Thursday, April 25, 2024 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM
Four student exemplars from across the curriculum showcase their inspiring work as they reflect on the “essential skills” and “student learning outcomes” that they developed as a result. This session is facilitated by Adobe. Register Now!

**ONLINE** Exploring the 2024 EDUCAUSE Horizon Report: Teaching and Learning Edition
Wednesday, May 15, 2024 from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM
A panel of global experts will explore the trends, challenges, and key technology developments identified in the 2024 EDUCAUSE Horizon Report | Teaching and Learning Edition. Members of the Horizon Report team and panel will highlight contextual trends and challenges and discuss how key technologies can assist higher education teaching and learning professionals in meeting upcoming challenges and capitalizing on opportunities. Implications of trends and key technologies will be considered from different institutional perspectives. This session is led by EDUCAUSE; NIU faculty, staff, and students can create an EDUCAUSE account using their NIU email address to attend at no cost. Register Now!