- Video Tip - What Role Should AI or Other Tech Tools Play in Supporting Learning?
- Announcements: Workshop proceedings, webinar, conference, submit an entry
- Top Tips - Trailblazing Trends for Faculty Development
- Gamification Engagement Challenge Winners
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From the Community - How the TOPkit Community is Using AI
- Content Contributions: Navigating the Fast Lane: Essential Strategies for Accelerated Course Design; It’s Not Just About Paper Straws: The Role of Higher Education in Teaching Sustainability Across Disciplines
- Top Community Topics
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What Role Should AI or Other Tech Tools Play in Supporting Learning? |
TOPkit Workshop 2025 Student Panel |
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This month’s video tip spotlights TOPkit Workshop 2025 insights from the Student Panel and moderator, Emilie Cook (Every Learner Everywhere), Camore Fordham, Isra Hussein, Noel Berhanu. Students candidly shared how they believe AI and other technology tools can best support their learning.
Every Learner Everywhere believes that through digital learning, faculty can adapt instruction to students’ needs and capabilities, promote active and collaborative learning. Digital tools also allow faculty to more easily support learners with timely feedback and improve academic outcomes. Intentionally bringing students into the conversation is how we catalyze institutional transformation through evidence-based teaching and learning practices. In this session, student panelists discuss their experiences with digital learning, and ways faculty can maximize the use of digital learning for student engagement and equitable student success.
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TOPkit Workshop Presenters: Ready to be published on TOPkit? Share your session proceedings to keep the ideas flowing long after the tents come down. Proceedings are due Friday, May 9, 2025.
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Next upcoming FL-IDN webinar "AI Usage and Your Data: Implications of AI Incorporation in Higher Education" with guest speakers Fatenah G. Issa, Matt Crosslin & Karen Nix, Instructional Designers, Orbis Education. Registration is free for this Tuesday, May 6, 2025 event. Sign up for other FL-IDN webinars.
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Register for the 3rd annual Teaching and Learning with AI conference before registration closes Tuesday, May 13, 2025. This is a sharing event between educational practitioners in the US and around the world. It is an in-person conference happening in Orlando, Florida, Wednesday-Friday, May 28-30, 2025.
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TOPR is a peer-reviewed, publicly accessible resource for instructional designers and faculty worldwide that highlights effective strategies for online and blended teaching. Instructional designers are invited to submit an entry on their best teaching strategy to the by Sunday, May 4, 2025. For questions, contact .
- We'd love to promote your events or call for submission or proposal opportunities with the TOPkit Community. Do you have opportunities to share? Email us.
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Trailblazing Trends for Faculty Development |
Key Takeaways from TOPkit Workshop 2025 |
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TOPkit Workshop 2025 felt like a virtual retreat into the wilds of faculty development. Attendees gathered around digital campfires to explore new terrain in AI, inclusive design, and student engagement. Here are four key takeaways to add to your backpack as you plan ahead.
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Lead with a Culture of Openness. Angela Gunder kicked off the journey with a keynote that reminded us of the three Cs of Open Culture --- list the Cs --- and the ideological position that in sharing our craft, “There's enough glitter for everyone.” Her message set the tone for a workshop rooted in community, creativity, and shared purpose.
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- Center Student Voices in your Design Strategy. The Every Learner Everywhere student panel brought real-world perspectives to the campfire. Their perspectives reminded us that students are guides for designing learning experiences that are inclusive, relevant, and grounded.
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Embrace AI as a Flexible Tool, not a Fixed Solution. AI was the buzz around every campsite this year. As Maikel Right joked, it’s the “sriracha and cauliflower” of education because it’s everywhere and in everything! From assignments to professional development, AI is becoming part of our standard gear, and now is the time to learn to use it wisely.
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Gamify to Boost Engagement. Congratulations to the winners of this year’s Gamification Challenge, mentioned below. Playfulness has a place on the trail. Gamification isn’t just fun, it's a powerful way to keep learners motivated, whether you’re designing for students or faculty.
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TOPkit Workshop Engagement Challenge | |
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The TOPkit Workshop 2025 event management platform, Whova, includes a Gamification engagement challenge. It is a points-based system where attendees are encouraged to participate on different interactions and activities.
This year's winners:
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How the TOPkit Community is Using AI |
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| TOPkit Workshop 2025 Whova community insights about how they are using AI in higher ed. Check out these quotable highlights.
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Can you share cool examples of learning activities using AI in Higher education?
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"One of my favorites is to use the AI as a tutor. I have seen elegantly worded prompts embedded into the syllabys so the student copies/pastes it into the AI for tutorials on a variety of subjects. The AI doesn’t care how many times you ask the same question! " - Susan Wegmann
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"I have had students do an ice breaker intro in which they ask an AI (of their choice) about their future career or hobby and then they have it assess for accuracy, find a primary source to verify what is true or shades of truth vs downright wrong!" - Amy Darty
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How are you engaging with AI in teaching and learning?
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"From a teaching standpoint, it has been used to help improve test questions and create test question banks for students" - Megan Verdoni
- “We have a wide series of workshops that focus on different aspects of teaching and learning with AI integrated into our Passport to Great Teaching workshop series. We also have a variety of Faculty Learning Communities that also cover different aspects of AI”. -Zaina DeLaney
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Recent Content from TOPkit Contributors |
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Generative AI may have been used to retrieve relevant research, generate suggested language, and enhance original content.
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Bren Bedford, MNM, SFC®, Web Project Analyst II, Center for Distributed Learning, University of Central Florida
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Florence Williams, Ph.D., Associate Instructional Designer, Center for Distributed Learning, University of Central Florida
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