Dear Colleagues, 

Welcome to this edition of the CITAL newsletter in which we highlight Valpo faculty who are working to improve their courses and who share their teaching insights with others. We also highlight opportunities--some free and some even paid--for you to do the same!

First up is Tiffany Kolba’s account of how she got her summer course Quality Matters certified. If you are inspired by Tiffany’s example, look below to see how CITAL can help you get your own course QM-certified.  Next we put the spotlight on Valpo faculty who attended and presented at last week’s Midwest SoTL Conference. 

After that we highlight some upcoming opportunities for you, starting with our two-day AI Summer Institute. Faculty who attend both days will receive a $150 stipend and a badge. You can sign up below. We also list upcoming webinars and conferences, some of which are free for you to attend. We end with a tip on how you can use IgniteAI to create online quiz questions. 

We  hope you find something in today’s newsletter that either inspires you or helps make your teaching easier!

Sincerely, 

The CITAL Team (Ed, Cindy, Gina, and Raina)

By Tiffany Kolba, Mathematics & Statistics

When I first heard that Valpo planned to require online summer courses to achieve Quality Matters (QM) certification (as part of an HLC initiative), I was immediately wary and skeptical. I was concerned that the QM certification process would be very time consuming with little added value, and I worried that it might infringe upon faculty members’ academic freedom to design and teach their courses as they best see fit. However, the Department of Mathematics and Statistics was able to designate some of our restricted funds to compensate faculty for achieving QM certification, so I decided to go forward with the QM process.

Each year CITAL sponsors several Valpo faculty and staff to attend the annual  Midwest Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) conference at Indiana University, South Bend. On Friday, April 10, a record seventeen faculty and staff attended this year’s conference. The theme was “The Human Element of Education” and the keynote speaker was Anne-Marie Womack, co-author of Inclusive College Classrooms: Teaching Methods for Diverse Learners.

There were three Valpo presentations at the conference. Margarita Rayzberg and members of her FLC put together a panel on “Doing SoTL Together: Cultivating a Community of Practice.” Chloe Kiser did a presentation about her VUE class entitled “Identifying Fieldwork by Implementing the Sequential Fieldwork Student-Owned Selection Process.” Finally, Kristi Bugjaski and Jane Kenney-Hunt co-presented on “First-Year Department-Specific Seminar: Successes Earned and Lessons Learned.” Below are some photos from the event.

☀️ AI SUMMER INSTITUTE

📆 Wednesday, July 29th, 2026

📆 Thursday, July 30th, 2026

⏰ Reserve Your Seat

As part of the Lilly Endowment AI in Higher Education planning grant, CITAL will be hosting a two-day Summer Faculty Institute on AI.

Our keynote speaker will be nationally recognized author C. Edward Watson (AAC&U, and co-author of Teaching with AI). Caleb J. Keith (AAC&U) will be our AI scholar in residence for both days. Additionally, we plan to have Valpo faculty presentations and conversations to build on existing institutional knowledge.

All faculty who attend will receive a daily stipend of $75 ($150 total) and will enjoy meals and fellowship. More information, including the full agenda, will be provided as we get closer to the event.

🌟 Elevate Your Online or Hybrid Course

🚀 Take Your Course to the Next Level

✔️ You’ve Done the Workshop—Now Level Up

🚨CITAL will guide your next steps

Below are upcoming and on-demand webinars and podcasts from leading experts in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). 

Below are upcoming free online conferences. These conferences cover a wide range of topics including AI, online pedagogy, and leadership in online programs.

Creating quiz questions that are aligned with the content and learning objectives can be time-consuming. One way to reduce time spent on creating quiz questions is to utilize IgniteAI Question Authoring for Quizzes.

When building a quiz in Canvas, you will see the Generate with AI option in the quiz builder when you click the Add button. After selecting this option, you will be prompted to either choose existing course content, enter a text prompt, or upload a file. In addition, you can also indicate a topic focus and select relevant learning outcomes, depth of knowledge, or language before you select the question type. After you enter the necessary information, you can preview the generated question and either cancel, regenerate, or edit the question. 

Tune in next time for another Canvas tip!

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