As has now been widely discussed, generative AI is a productivity tool that can be used in various ways in our classrooms with a wide range of success and failure. Generative AI programs can be quite effective at various repetitive tasks or work such as summarizing, but can also “hallucinate”—that is, provide incorrect or misleading… Read more »
Instructional Technology
Generative AI in the Classroom: A Primer (Part 1)
So you’ve heard some buzz about generative AI: maybe you’re worried about student academic misconduct in your course, or maybe you are wondering how you would ever get started learning a new technology with all the demands you already have on your time. Never fear! There are easy ways to get started if you have… Read more »
Canvas New Quizzes Overview and How Spaced Practice is Supported
New Quizzes is Canvas’ latest quiz engine that offers instructors four new question types and several features and improvements that instructors have requested for years. New question types and examples Categorization: Place the following organisms into five kingdoms based on their characteristics: Amoeba, Mushroom, Fern, E. coli, Dog The instructor would provide the category names… Read more »
Improving Student Reading Engagement (or How to Avoid Blank Stares)
Do you live in dread of blank stares from students when beginning a classroom discussion on a new topic? There are many reasons for this, one of which being that students can struggle completing pre-class reading assignments. A recent study by Jae-eun Russell et.al. (2023) found that if students are not supported through the process… Read more »
Quick Tip: Adding Students to Your Top Hat Course
This summer, IU moved to a new version of Top Hat, which offers new functionality such as automatic syncing and deep links. One of the changes required by this new version, however, is how you add students. Where formerly you might have just provided students with a join code, this version requires students to log… Read more »
Collaborative Learning Technologies for Graduate Instructors
Whether you are the instructor of record or facilitating small group labs or discussions as a teaching assistant, engaging students in inclusive, collaborative learning can be challenging. This blog post explores three collaborative learning tools available to Associate Instructors that help actively engage learners and build a community among students no matter how big or… Read more »