Dear Colleagues, 

Welcome to the end of October. Fall foliage is on full display; nights are getting cooler and days are getting shorter. This weekend Valpo welcomes our alumni back to our colorful campus for Homecoming. Meanwhile, CITAL continues to create programming that we hope can help you with your teaching for the rest of the semester and beyond. 

First is our blog article which focuses on our nursing faculty who are using cutting edge virtual reality (VR). This provides our students with hands-on experience with patients in virtual scenarios. Next, we continue to showcase free online webinars and podcasts on current research in teaching. For example, Dr. James Lang's webinar "Teaching Distracted Minds: Old Challenges, New Context."

This issue's Canvas tip is all about creating group discussion boards to break down a large class into smaller groups for focused discussions. 

Finally, we are announcing a November 14th Quality Matters workshop that will focus on best practices for online and hybrid teaching. Join the 50+ Valpo faculty who have earned this special distinction and can move on to the next step of having their courses Quality Matters certified.

As always, our CITAL team is here to support you. Please reach out to us to schedule a teaching-related consultation via cital@valpo.edu. 

Sincerely, 

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

By Cynthia Rutz, Director of Faculty Development, CITAL

A nursing student wearing a virtual reality (VR) headset as they take the vitals of a virtual patient? This scenario is not science fiction but science fact at our College of Nursing and Health Professions (CONHP). To find out more, I interviewed three Valpo faculty who are piloting VR in our nursing classes: Karen Hernes, Bailey Regier, and Grace Gass.

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

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

Today's Canvas tip is all about creating graded group discussion boards. You can use this feature to break down a large class into smaller groups for focused discussions on specific topics. Or you can create a dedicated discussion space for peer evaluation groups.  

Before creating the discussion, you need to create groups. To do so, you will go to the "People" tab in your course navigation and click "+Group Set." From there, you will enter a name for your group set, select how you want the groups to be structured, and determine the group size. Then, you are ready to create your groups. 

Now you are ready to create a group discussion board. First, you will create a new discussion board by clicking on the "Discussions" tab and clicking "+Discussion." After you add the discussion board details, scroll down to the options and select "Graded" and "This is a Group Discussion." You will then be prompted to select a group set, which you already created. Once you have selected the correct group set and entered the grading details, you will assign the discussion board to everyone. Next, you need to add assign the discussion board to each group within your group set and click save.

Tune in next time for another Canvas tip!

Next month, CITAL will be offering a professional development opportunity for Quality Matters (QM).

Are you interested in learning more about the Quality Matters rubric? Then this Applying the Quality Matters Rubric (APPQMR) certification workshop is for you. 

The workshop will focus on best practices for online and hybrid teaching. 

Reserve your seat now for this full-day FREE session:

Date: Friday, November 14th

Time: 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. (breakfast and lunch will be provided)

Location: Harre Union, Multipurpose Suite 200

Important Details:

  • Faculty must attend the entire day to earn the certificate

  • A laptop with internet access is required

The deadline to register is Tuesday, November 11th.

For detailed information & registration, please click the button below.

1700 Chapel Drive, Valparaiso, IN 46383

valpo.edu/cital