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Dear Faculty,<\/p>\n
We have come a long way from one year ago, when we were inviting everyone to introductory Brightspace demo sessions and using the community\u2019s feedback to create our brand new CUNY SPS navbar! With your ongoing input, we\u2019re continuing to refine our SPS learning spaces and expand our professional learning opportunities to support you as you use them. In this month\u2019s newsletter, you\u2019ll find information about registering for our Open for All<\/strong> workshop and discussion series, dropping into one of SPS\u2019s UDL Collaborative<\/strong> meetings, joining OpenLab Support Hour<\/strong> sessions, and signing up for one or more of OFDIT\u2019s Spring Trainings<\/strong> on a variety of technical and pedagogical topics. We also share information about the second annual CUNY Teaching & Learning Conference<\/strong> (you can attend either in-person or virtually!), and dates of other CUNY Innovative Teaching Academy Events scheduled in the coming weeks. Looking forward to a great spring semester with you!<\/p>\n Save as draft<\/b> is here! This oft-requested feature allows users to create a thread and then save it as a draft. Note that only threads, and not replies to threads, can be saved as drafts.<\/span><\/p>\n To get back to a saved Draft, users can choose Filter by: Drafts within the Discussion Topic:<\/span><\/p>\n Edit or complete the post, and then Publish. See our Teaching Guide on <\/span>Using the Save Drafts<\/a><\/strong> Feature<\/a>.<\/p>\n In response to your Brightspace Feedback Survey responses, we want to share several ways to personalize your \u201cview\u201d of Brightspace, either within a course or on your Brightspace homepage! Check out our <\/span>Personalizing Your Homepage in Brightspace <\/a><\/strong>teaching guide to see how you can <\/span>filter what displays in the My Courses<\/b> widget, <\/span>pin or unpin courses<\/b> as needed, and <\/span>collapse and expand widgets<\/b> to customize your user experience.<\/span><\/p>\n OFDIT\u2019s <\/span>open Brightspace office hours<\/a><\/strong> continue this semester! We look forward to seeing you in a drop-in session with your questions!<\/span><\/p>\n Mark your calendars! Thursday, May 15th<\/strong> is Brightspace Day!<\/strong> Has it been a year already?\u00a0Yes! And the OFDIT Team is busy preparing a day of activities to deepen our knowledge and sharpen our skills in our LMS. CUNY SPS faculty and staff will once again be invited to both in-person and virtual sessions on Brightspace Day. You can expect some hands-on workshops, interactive demonstrations, and a showcase of best practices and strategies. Save the date for this opportunity to explore, learn, and ask us anything Brightspace!<\/p>\n The CUNY SPS OER Initiative is pleased to once again offer the <\/span>Open for All Workshop & Discussion Series (Feb 28 – Mar 28)<\/b>. This hybrid online (sync\/async) workshop covers the intersection of Open Education and Inclusive Pedagogy. Participants review a course using the SPS course review rubric annotated with open and inclusive educational practices and create a proposal for incorporating inclusive pedagogical approaches. <\/span>Register<\/b><\/a> by Monday, February 24th.<\/b><\/p>\n The wider SPS community is also invited to our workshop discussions on Fridays to join the conversation and contribute their own insights into inclusive teaching and learning at SPS. See <\/span>Open for All Workshop & Discussion Series<\/a><\/strong> for all the details, including the workshop syllabus and registration information, and a community call for contributions to the workshop discussions.<\/span><\/p>\n Join the UDL Collaborative community of practice and explore best practices of Universal Design in Learning (UDL). Attend an upcoming meeting with your questions about accessibility and inclusion, where we\u2019ll be brainstorming solutions together. All faculty and staff are welcome!<\/span><\/p>\n OpenLab is open for business! Join the OpenLab team this semester to learn about available tools and features, including building your own site, using our awesome single sign-on plugin, and joining the growing groups and conversations happening with other CUNY SPS community projects! Please bring your OpenLab questions and ideas for one-on-one support and collaboration. We\u2019re looking forward to helping you bring your ideas to life!<\/span><\/p>\n AI Session 4: Exploring Generative AI Visual Literacy and Creativity in Pedagogical Environments Participants will learn about where the datasets used to train AI image generators come from, how those sources impact what kind of images they create, how to recognize the biases and limits of AI image and text generators, and how to help students choose when and how to use (or not to use) AI tools in research, writing, and visual media. Register Here<\/strong><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n Spark Discussions, Ignite Learning: Mastering Virtual Discussions A guide to cultivating dynamic virtual discussions that transform your online courses into vibrant learning communities. <\/span>See the calendar for more offerings in the <\/span>CUNY Faculty Webinar Series for Online<\/a><\/strong> Instruction<\/a>.<\/p>\n CPL Showcase: Multi-Campus CPL Evaluation In this session, faculty will share their experiences working on multi-campus evaluation committees to make recommendations about CPL for industry credentials and other learning experiences. Learn about the evaluation process for determining curricular alignment and the benefits of engaging with faculty colleagues to explore the potential of CPL within a common discipline.\u00a0Register Here<\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Registration to attend the 2025 <\/span>CUNY Teaching and Learning Conference<\/b> to be held April 3rd (virtual) and April 4th (in person at the Graduate Center) is now open! Join the conversation about innovative pedagogical practices, with a keynote address by Christina Katopodis, author of <\/span>The New College Classroom<\/a><\/strong>.\u00a0 <\/span>Register<\/a><\/strong> Here<\/a>.<\/p>\n OFDIT\u2019s spring trainings can help you learn more about how you can use Brightspace tools and features to support efficient, accessible course delivery and foster student engagement. We look forward to seeing you at some of our upcoming sessions! Refer to our trainings page on the<\/span> SPS Faculty Community Hub site<\/a><\/strong> or use links below to register.<\/span><\/p>\n 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.<\/span><\/p>\n 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, 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!<\/span><\/p>\n In this training we will discuss how to navigate the gradebook and the options for grading in Brightspace.<\/span><\/p>\n There are many options in Brightspace for giving students feedback on their work. In this short brown-bag training, we\u2019ll go over how to give feedback on discussions, assignments, quizzes, and group assignments and show you how students access your feedback so you can guide them through making the most of it.<\/span><\/p>\n Creating engaging online courses is not easy. In many text discussion-board based courses, students feel isolated and disconnected from their instructors and classmates. VoiceThread bridges the gaps in social presence typically found in online courses. In this workshop, educators will learn how to establish a social presence and connect with their students using VoiceThread to improve course satisfaction and student learning. We will cover all of the basic VoiceThread features, demonstrate how everything works in D2L Brightspace, showcase a variety of examples from actual courses, and have an open Q&A throughout the training.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nBrightspace Updates and Notes<\/span><\/big><\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nBrightspace Highlight: Personalizing your Homepage<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
Brightspace Office Hours<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
Brightspace Day<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
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\nSPS Trainings and Events<\/strong><\/span><\/big><\/h2>\n
Open for All Workshop – Registration Extended!<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
UDL Collaborative at CUNY SPS<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
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OpenLab Support Hours<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
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\nCUNY Opportunities for SPS Faculty
\n<\/strong><\/span><\/big><\/h2>\nCUNY Innovative Teaching Academy workshops<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
\n<\/strong>Friday, February 21, 11 am-12 pm\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nCUNY Online Webinars<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
\n<\/strong><\/a>Thursday, March 6 , 3 – 4 pm<\/p>\nCredit for Prior Learning Showcase<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
\n<\/b>Friday, March 14, 10 am\u201311 am<\/p>\n\u00a0CUNY SPS
\nTransformative Learning & Development Conference<\/span><\/h2>\n
\nOFDIT Spring 2025 Trainings\u00a0<\/big><\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n
Using ePortfolio in your Course<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n
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Anthology Ally: An Introduction<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n
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Brightspace: Navigating the Gradebook and Grading\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n
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Brightspace: Feedback (30 mins)<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n
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Humanize Your Online Course with VoiceThread\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n