OFDIT Newsletter October 2025

Dear Faculty,

Curious about making your course even more accessible? Considering incorporating AI or OpenLab into your instructional approach? Looking to get the hang of a feature in Brightspace you haven’t tried yet? Professional learning opportunities abound this fall for SPS Faculty! In this edition of the newsletter, you’ll find links to register for our Open UDL Workshop and an invitation to attend the next meeting of SPS’s UDL Collaborative on November 4th. We also hope you’ll join the Faculty Discussion on Generative AI on November 3rd, a virtual event to share practices, policies, and exchange ideas and solutions. We’d like to announce the newly expanded modality available in our Teaching Guides, provide you with key dates about the sunsetting of Blackboard at CUNY, share OpenLab and OFDIT office hour schedules, and highlight upcoming CUNY-wide conferences and workshops. We hope you have a wonderful fall, and we look forward to seeing you at one of our many OFDIT trainings or another event soon!

Open UDL Workshop:
Last chance to register!

Interested in making your courses more accessible and more engaging through Universal Design and Open Educational Practices? Registration for the Open UDL Workshop (Oct. 20 to Nov. 3) is extended through Thursday, October 16. Faculty who complete the workshop are compensated with 7 NTA hours. See all the details at bit.ly/OpenUDL!  

Faculty Discussion on Generative AI 

On Monday, November 3, 12:30-2:00 p.m. join your fellow SPS faculty for a dynamic, 90-minute discussion on the evolving role of generative AI in teaching and learning. This virtual, interactive session will explore three key areas: academic policies around AI, approaches to discussions with students, and how coursework is changing in response to AI. Whether you’re navigating challenges or experimenting with new tools, this is a space to share your experiences, ask questions, and exchange strategies. Please register today! 

UDL Collaborate: November Meeting

The UDL Collaborative is a community of practice for faculty and staff exploring accessibility and Universal Design for Learning. All are welcome, whether new to UDL or experienced.

Please join us for our second meeting of the semester:
Tuesday, November 4 at 3pm ET via Zoom. Register here. 

We’re excited to welcome guest speaker Stephen Ippolito, a PhD student at the University at Albany with an MA in Disability Studies from CUNY SPS, who will share insights on UDL and English as a Second Language learners. Following his short presentation, we’ll have time for discussion, Q&A, and updates on our accessibility projects.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Brian Le Lay, Antonia Levy, and Amarna Williams
Facilitators, UDL Collaborative

Blackboard Retirement 

As you’re aware, CUNY SPS successfully transitioned to the Brightspace LMS at the start of the Summer 2024 semester.

CUNY will officially retire the Blackboard LMS on December 18, 2025, after which the platform and its contents will no longer be accessible.

Key dates to remember

December 15, 2025:
Final day to retrieve any remaining course content or resolve outstanding issues in Blackboard (e.g., copies of course   materials, Collaborate recordings, etc.).

December 18, 2025:
Blackboard access will be permanently discontinued across all CUNY campuses.

Our Teaching Guides Site — Now with Video!

The OFDIT team is excited to announce a new addition to our Teaching Guides website: video guides! Starting with the most popular guides – the ones you’ve visited most – we’re making short, focused videos to provide a visual walkthrough that accompanies the written guide. Both our video and written tutorials provide step-by-step directions on various topics to support teaching online. Explore our growing collection of videos on the Video Guides Playlist page, or check out all the tutorial pages on the Teaching Guides site.  Whether you prefer reading or watching, you now can choose which mode you’d like to access the resources you need.

 

OpenLab Support Hours for Fall 2025

📣 Thinking about using OpenLab in your course or organization? Drop by our Virtual Support Hours and:

  • Get help customizing your project or portfolio site
  • Learn how to use OpenLab tools more effectively
  • Explore digital pedagogy strategies
  • Connect with other OpenLab users and share ideas

Whether you’re just getting started or looking to take your site to the next level, we’re here to support you. Drop in, ask questions, and get inspired!

For more information, visit the SPS OpenLab Support page or email us at openlab@sps.cuny.edu.

Register or Plan to Join

Tuesday 10/21/2025 6-7PM
Monday 10/27/2025 6-7PM
Monday 11/10/2025 6-7PM

Brightspace Office Hours Schedule

Finding you have questions or need help with an update in your course? OFDIT’s open Brightspace office hours continue Tuesday evenings (6-7pm) and Wednesday afternoons (1-2pm).

Did you know?

Brightspace Rubrics include an Overall Score area that requires manual input during the Rubric set-up to mirror the points in your rubric and report a correct performance level. You can check your course’s rubrics to ensure students are receiving accurate feedback for this portion of the rubric assessment tool, and use the steps in the Overall Score section of our Creating Rubrics in Brightspace to update if needed!

 

CUNY Opportunities for SPS Faculty

Register Now for the 2025 CUNY IT Conference!

Join colleagues from across CUNY for the 24th Annual CUNY IT Conference, happening December 4–5 at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. This year’s theme, “Moving Forward: Reimagining CUNY in an AI-Enhanced World,” promises engaging sessions, innovative ideas, and practical strategies for teaching, learning, and working in the age of AI. Whether you’re exploring new tools, refining digital pedagogy, or curious about AI’s impact on higher education, this conference is your chance to learn, connect, and shape the future of CUNY. For details and the full schedule, visit the CUNY IT Conference website.

Register for the conference now

Credit for Prior Learning Workshop

The Office of Graduate and Undergraduate Programming, in partnership with the Office of Faculty Affairs/CUNY Innovative Teaching Academy (CITA), is offering a new professional development series on credit for prior learning (CPL).

Faculty Perspectives on CPL at CUNY
Friday, October 31, 2025, 11:00am – 12:00 pm

This session will feature a presentation by Myci Atkinson, a PhD student from the Teachers College Postsecondary Education Applied Research (PEAR) Fellowship program, who has been conducting quantitative and qualitative research over the past year about CUNY faculty awareness and perspectives related to CPL policy and practice.

Register for the Zoom session

CUNY Innovative Teaching Academy’s Adult Learning Series

CUNY Office of Faculty Affairs/CUNY Innovative Teaching Academy (CITA)’s second session of their new professional development series on adult learning will take place in November.

Session 2 – Designing Adult-Centered Curriculum
Presenters: Meghan Gilbert (Guttman Community College) and Carl Andrews (Bronx Community College)
Friday, November 14, 2025, 11:00 am – 12:00 pm

The session will focus on practical approaches for creating flexible, relevant, and career-connected courses. Participants will begin to redesign elements of their syllabus to align with adult learners’ needs and CAEL’s Teaching–Learning Process standards. The session will also highlight how to incorporate career-connected learning opportunities into the classroom.

Series session descriptions and Zoom registration links here!

Teaching Matters Workshop

The 2025-2026 Teaching Matters series on Innovations in STEM Pedagogy offers CUNY faculty implementable strategies to enhance student learning and engagement.

The Flipped STEM Classroom: From Theory to Practice

Presenter: Kevin Kolack (Queensborough Community College)
Friday, November 7, 2025, 11:00 am – 12:00 pm

This workshop will discuss the methods of the “flipped classroom” in chemistry courses, both online and in person, as well as the practical lessons learned in doing so. Topics covered will include the software utilized to generate (Camtasia) and deploy (Brightspace with VoiceThread and PlayPosIt) micro-lecture videos, as well as the student experience (successes and failures).

Register for the Zoom Workshop

Building Bridge of Knowledge BBK Projects and OER Materials

Looking for inspiration for how to incorporate student AI fluency into your teaching? BBK, a CUNY-wide faculty fellowship project, was formed to help students use generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools ethically, responsibly, and effectively. 25 Faculty Fellows in five disciplinary areas (Education, Health, Humanities, Social Sciences, and STEM) created Open Educational Resources (OERs) to promote students’ ethical and responsive use of generative AI. 

Check out the projects and related resources here!

Faculty Corner   

Posting Announcements to Only the Students Missing an Assignment
Submitted by Curtis Izen, CUNY SPS, Online Business Program

Faculty corner image

I’ve found several ways to inform students when they have yet to complete an assignment via email. I asked myself recently, “Could I post an announcement visible ONLY to the students who have not submitted yet to an assignment?” The answer was yes!

If you’d like to post an announcement targeting just those students missing an assignment submission, you can follow these steps. First, write the announcement for the intended audience. When ready to post, look under “Additional Release Conditions” and select the “Create and Attach” button. Select “No submission to folder” option in the Condition Type field, and choose the desired assignment in the Condition Details field. Click the “Create” button to finish the setup.  When you publish the announcement, it will be visible only to students who have not submitted. 

As a bonus, it sends an email to those students as well.

 

As always, OFDIT is here to help! We are available for one-on-one support and are also happy to schedule a Zoom call to discuss any questions you may have. Don’t hesitate to reach out to us at facultysupport@sps.cuny.edu 

All the Best,
Your OFDIT Team

Upcoming OFDIT Fall 2025 Trainings 

Brightspace: Advanced Gradebook Topics

Setting Up the Gradebook: In this training, we will discuss setting up your gradebook for the semester, how to add items for extra credit, using a grade schema for items requiring special circumstances, and more! (60 mins)

Brightspace: Navigating the Gradebook and Grading

In this training we will discuss how to navigate the gradebook and the options for grading in Brightspace. (60 mins)

Anthology Ally: An Introduction

Learn how Anthology Ally can increase access and improve the overall learning experience in your course by providing choice and flexibility for how students consume content and access media. We will cover both alternative file formats and the accessibility gauge features that are now available to all in your courses and the support Ally provides in addressing any areas where accessibility can be improved, often very quickly! (60 mins)

Brightspace: Finalizing your Gradebook

Review all the grading options that apply at the end of the semester when you are preparing final grades, and learn the steps for automatically transferring final grades from Brightspace to CUNYfirst. (30 mins)

Using ePortfolio in your Course

In this session, you will explore the structure of ePortfolio and learn how to use the platform from the instructor view. You will learn how to navigate the Digication in Brightspace, review your students’ signature assignment submissions, and share the various support resources available for both students and instructors. There will also be time to answer any questions you might have about ePortfolios at CUNY SPS. (45 mins.)

Using Video in Brightspace (Panopto/Video Notes)

Creating video content for your course can be a little overwhelming with the number of options available.  Join this session to learn which tools work best for creating a reusable welcome message or lecture, a weekly update or one-time recordings, like giving feedback to students. In this session participants will be introduced to Panopto, the SPS video platform integrated into Brightspace, which streamlines video production.  Participants will learn how to access Panopto and its features through Brightspace, focusing on a workflow to create, organize, and publish video content.  The Brightspace platform itself has video tools too.  We’ll highlight when it’s beneficial to use one over the other. (60 mins)

Advanced Panopto for SPS Faculty

As many of us have learned, Panopto is a handy tool to create video in Brightspace. But many of us have yet to unlock the powerful features inside it.  In this session, participants will learn how to access the robust analytics showing us who watched a video and for how long.  They will see how faculty can leverage the power of a low-stakes quiz with the in-video quiz tool.  A video quiz can be automatically graded and mapped to your grade book. Finally, we’ll demonstrate how a regular assignment can be turned into a video assignment with students as the media creators.  It’s all part of the Panopto platform built into Brightspace. (60 mins)

VoiceThread for SPS Faculty

This training will introduce VoiceThread, an asynchronous video discussion board.  VoiceThread allows faculty and students to create multimedia presentations that creates a classroom community through threaded audio and video discussions. You and your students can add commentary to a presentation by means of microphone, webcam, keyboard, or phone. The ensuing conversation feels like a live classroom, but in an online environment. In this session, SPS faculty will learn how to create a VoiceThread and integrate it into their course. (60 mins)

Introducing CUNY Pressbooks

Have you been meaning to adopt, adapt, or create OER for your courses? Do you wish that an OER you use were more inclusive, accessible, or customized for your students? Do you dream of having self-check questions or social annotation built into course readings? CUNY’s Pressbooks Network might be the right tool for you.

The CUNY Pressbooks Network is an elegant publishing platform that offers the opportunity to find, adapt, or create openly licensed course materials. With pedagogical features ranging from glossaries and built-in social annotations to interactive questions and LMS grading functionality, CUNY Pressbooks is a great option for presenting customized course readings. In this hands-on, one-hour training, we’ll preview some of these features, see them in action in resources just waiting to be adopted, and then dive in to get familiar with the platform and its robust tools. (60 mins)

The Pedagogy of Social Annotations

Social annotations can radically change the way your students engage with your course materials, each other, and you, combining the benefits of annotation, dialogue, accessibility, and digital accountability. In this one-hour workshop, we’ll look at social annotations across a range of disciplines, platforms, and assignment types, and discuss how this practice can build students’ skills, foster community, and promote intellectual growth. (60 mins)