Monday, November 24, 2025

This month marks the 20th anniversary of the Thank-a-Teacher program, a Center initiative that allows students to send notes to faculty, staff, and teaching assistants who have made an impact on their lives. The notes express gratitude for everything from cracking jokes during 8 a.m. classes to showing kindness and flexibility during personal struggles. "Thank you for investing so much in your students,” wrote Azan Khan to Scheller professor Karthik Ramachandran. "Without your support and insights, I genuinely don’t think I would have made it into CREATE-X or gotten CareSync off the ground." Read more of the notes here, or take a few moments to thank someone yourself.

CTL EVENTS

Grading can feel overwhelming and isolating at the end of the semester. To combat those feelings, we're hosting a grading circle: a time to build community with other instructors, grade together, and celebrate the end of the semester. TAs are welcome to participate with their supervising instructor.

Join us for an epic journey as we navigate course design and delivery in Canvas during this two-day, gamified workshop. With the Canvas Course Template as your guide, you’ll begin building a course site that utilizes Canvas to its maximum potential, easing your teaching burdens and better supporting student learning.

Join us for a guided conversation about teaching in the age of Generative AI this past semester. We’ll reflect on what worked best, what surprised you, and what challenged you. Together, we’ll discuss experiences, compare notes with colleagues, and leave with fresh ideas and strategies for the spring semester.

Kickstart your semester with a workshop designed to help faculty create accessible course materials that support all learners. We'll explore key accessibility practices aligned with Title II standards, using tools like Ally and the Canvas template. With dedicated work time built in, you'll leave with real progress made on your own course content—whether it's documents, images, videos, or audio.

Our classrooms are key spaces where students have the opportunity to practice effective, respectful discussion -- even when they disagree. In this workshop, faculty will review a variety of resources, including ones from the Difficult Dialogues National Resource Center, and identify opportunities to integrate them into their courses. These resources are especially useful for instructors who may need to manage hot-button discussions that can pop up in response to current events. 

When students are having trouble engaging with their peers, aren't keeping up with deadlines, or stop attending class, their success in the class is in jeopardy. This workshop will help faculty set course policies and structures that support students' recovery and reengagement when they have trouble effectively participating. We'll draw from multiple teaching strategies and reflect on past behaviors we've experienced.

ACCESSIBILITY IN TEACHING AND LEARNING

Ameya Sawadkar, CTL Learning and Technology specialist, created the Accessibility in Canvas Courses Checklist to help Georgia Tech instructors tackle course accessibility one step at a time. The checklist, which is available through Service Now, walks instructors through common accessibility issues in Canvas and Tech-approved tools to fix each issue. 

INNOVATIVE TEACHING

CTL's Rebecca Watts Hull, assistant director of Faculty Development for Sustainability Education Initiatives, was recently highlighted by the Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems. The story explores Watts Hull's passion for using transformative teaching and learning to build a more sustainable future. 

Questions?
Contact Bethany Harris, Communications Program Manager.
bethany.harris@gatech.edu | 404.894.4474