Dear Colleagues, 

As we approach Thanksgiving, your CITAL Team would like to thank you for your support and engagement throughout the semester. Whether it is participating in pilots, attending meetings or convenings, or engaging with any of us one-on-one, we truly enjoy accompanying you on your teaching journey. In this latest edition, we draw your attention to the various professional development opportunities available, many of which are free and/or virtual. Next, we continue our series of Canvas tips and tricks, this time focusing on the gradebook, specifically weighting grades. Don’t forget that you can take advantage of the Canvas Orientation Course for details on all of the tools available. We end with a celebration of four additional faculty who attended the recent Applying the Quality Matters Rubric (APPQMR) workshop. We wish the best to you and yours as you celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday next week. Please reach out with any questions, concerns, or suggestions.

Sincerely, 

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

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

Below are upcoming in-person and free online conferences. These conferences cover a wide range of topics from AI to trends in higher education.

As we near the end of the fall semester, you might be thinking about assigning weighted grades. In Canvas, you can weight the final grades based on assignment groups. To do so, navigate to the "Assignments" tab in the course navigation. Once you are in "Assignments," click on the three dots next to "+Assignments" button. Next, click on the option "Assignment Groups Weight" and select "Weight final grade based on assignment groups." Now, you can set the weights to each assignment group.  

Want to learn more about Canvas or practice weighting grades? Check out the Canvas orientation course to learn more at your own pace.

Tune in next time for another Canvas tip!

Appearing from left to right: Teri Koch (CONHP), Abbie Thompson (PSYC), Natalie Krivas (ENGL), and Benjamin Boche (ED)  

Please join us in congratulating four more individuals who completed the APPQMR Workshop this November. They earned this outstanding QM certification for applying the Higher Education Quality Matters Rubric 7th edition in order to evaluate and improve the design of online and hybrid courses. The QM Rubric is a set of 8 General Standards and 44 Specific Review Standards designed to assess the quality of course design.

General Standards include:
1. Course Overview and Introduction
2. Learning Objectives (Competencies)
3. Assessment and Measurement
4. Instructional Materials
5. Learning Activities and Learner Interaction
6. Course Technology
7. Learner Support
8. Accessibility and Usability

1700 Chapel Drive, Valparaiso, IN 46383

valpo.edu/cital