{"id":5751,"date":"2023-09-18T08:21:14","date_gmt":"2023-09-18T13:21:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/spsfaculty.commons.gc.cuny.edu\/?p=5751"},"modified":"2026-03-03T16:20:29","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T16:20:29","slug":"ofdit-newsletter-september-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/openlab.sps.cuny.edu\/sps-faculty-community-hub\/2023\/09\/18\/ofdit-newsletter-september-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"OFDIT Newsletter September 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Dear Faculty,<\/p>\n

In this month\u2019s newsletter we are introducing SPS\u2019s new Faculty Advisory Board cohort, providing the latest updates about the LMS Transition, and inviting you to a compensated OER workshop opportunity. We\u2019re also sharing our schedule of faculty trainings for Fall 2023 and a call for submissions from the Journal of Interactive Technology and Pedagogy. Please fill out our survey link to let us know what you\u2019d like to learn about AI in the classroom, and consider checking out the upcoming series about AI hosted by CUNY Innovative Teaching Academy.<\/p>\n

We hope your semester is off to a great start and look forward to supporting your work in the classroom!<\/p>\n

\n

New 2023-2024
\nFaculty Advisory Board<\/span>\"\"<\/a><\/h2>\n

Welcome to new OFDIT Faculty Advisory Board<\/a> (FAB) members Elizabeth Alsop (Communication and Media), Lilly Matthew (Nursing), and Faime Moussavi (Business) and to returning members Bradley Gardner (IS\/DS), Jeanneth Sangurima Quiles (General Education), Richard Schumaker (General Education) and Chris Kchao (Office of Accessibility, ex officio).<\/p>\n

The new FAB kicked off last week and is looking forward to working on projects including the LMS transition, faculty development offerings, and the Teaching Excellence Awards.<\/p>\n

\n

LMS Transition News<\/span>\"\"<\/a><\/h2>\n

OFDIT has been planning major milestones for the school to smoothly accomplish the transition from Blackboard to Brightspace. This Fall 2023 semester is earmarked for planning, awareness, and training of key staff. In the Spring of 2024, training will be available to all faculty and students and we will start to migrate course sites into the new platform. Our courses will be offered in Brightspace for the first time in Summer 2024.<\/p>\n

Your input is important to help ensure a successful transition! We have created four implementation committees to guide and inform decisions, and we invite you to join one or more of these committees. Visit the CUNY SPS Brightspace Transition site<\/a> to learn more and sign up.\u00a0All CUNY SPS faculty, staff and students are welcome to join!<\/p>\n

\n

Open UDL Workshop:
\n<\/span>Making Your Courses Accessible to All<\/small>
\n\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/h2>\n

OFDIT and the SPS OER Initiative are pleased to invite all faculty to participate in the Open UDL Workshop (October 23 to November 6, 2023)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

This fifteen-day, asynchronous online workshop provides an in-depth introduction to Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and to the intersection of UDL and Open Educational Practices (OEP), which include OER and Open Pedagogy. Participants will review the principles of UDL and explore how OEP can help reduce accessibility barriers for all learners, including those with disabilities. Participants will also learn about best accessibility practices in online courses, including identifying and fixing common accessibility issues. For their workshop project, participants will complete an inventory of one of their courses from a UDL perspective and create a plan for implementing UDL principles and open practices.<\/p>\n

Eligible faculty participants will be compensated with 7 NTA hours upon successful completion of the workshop. Registration<\/a> is open through Friday, October 13. For more details, please see our Advanced Workshops<\/a> page on the SPS Faculty Community Site.<\/p>\n

\n

Generative AI<\/span><\/h2>\n

OFDIT would like to hear from you!<\/strong> Please take a few minutes to give us your input<\/a> on how we can support shared knowledge and practices around AI in the SPS classroom.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

All CUNY faculty are invited to a special series on generative AI hosted by the CUNY Innovative Teaching Academy. SPS\u2019 Ruru Rusmin will be co-facilitating the first session with colleagues from Hostos and Hunter:<\/p>\n

Friday, September 29, 2023, 11AM – 12PM
\nWhat is AI and What Can it Do?<\/a>
\nLed by: Andrea Fabrizio (Hostos), Jack Kenigsberg (Hunter), Ruru Rusmin (SPS)<\/p>\n