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Dear Faculty,<\/span><\/p>\n Although winter seems determined to linger, with more than a little bluster, this cold February still offers a welcome chance to reset, regroup, and prepare for the brighter season ahead. Read on for fresh opportunities to deepen accessibility, experiment with new approaches to online engagement, and connect with colleagues across CUNY. Whether you\u2019re exploring updates in Brightspace, rethinking multimedia strategies, or joining one of our upcoming workshops, we hope these resources inspire you to refresh your courses with clarity, creativity, and care. OFDIT is here to support your work, and we look forward to helping you cultivate meaningful, student\u2011centered learning throughout the season.<\/span><\/p>\n Let\u2019s level up!<\/b> With new ADA Title II requirements coming into effect, SPS\u2014along with the rest of CUNY\u2014is ramping up efforts to strengthen accessibility in online courses. During the Spring semester, OFDIT will offer resources to help you understand expectations and meet accessibility standards, including workshops, trainings, an Accessibility Challenge and more. Look for an email next week with more details and ways to participate!<\/span><\/p>\n You asked, and D2L listened! Brightspace now allows instructors to set a due date for students\u2019 first discussion post directly within a Discussion topic. This update brings Discussions in line with Assignments and Quizzes, creating a more consistent experience across course activities. The due date applies only to the initial contribution, whether a new thread or a reply, and automatically syncs with any linked content modules. This enhancement offers a clearer structure for learners and simplifies course management for faculty.\u00a0 The OFDIT team just published an updated teaching guide with <\/span>step by step instructions to add due dates to your discussions<\/a><\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n The SPS OER Initiative is pleased to once again offer the <\/span>Open for All Workshop & Discussion Series (Mar 6-31)<\/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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The wider SPS community is invited to our workshop discussions on Fridays to contribute their own insights into inclusive teaching and learning at SPS.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n See <\/span>Open for All Workshop & Discussion Series<\/a><\/strong> for all the details, including workshop syllabus and registration information, and the community call for contributions to the workshop discussions. Registration is open through Monday, March 2.<\/span><\/p>\n We will have an info session on the DEIA annotations to the SPS Course Review Rubric that participants use in the workshop. All are welcome!<\/span><\/p>\n Join us for our first UDL Collaborative meeting of Spring 2026!\u00a0 We’ll explore what kindness means in academic contexts and how it intersects with our teaching and working practices. How does kindness relate to UDL principles? How might we navigate kindness alongside learning outcomes, disciplinary standards, academic rigor, deadlines, and accommodations? When and how do we assert boundaries, and what are the responsibilities of instructors and students?<\/span>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n Optional Reading:<\/b> We recommend the introductory chapter from <\/span>A Pedagogy of Kindness<\/span><\/i> (2024) by C.J. Denial as a conversation starter. Find the PDF on our <\/span>OpenLab webpage<\/b><\/a>. All are welcome!<\/span><\/p>\n Brian Le Lay, Antonia Levy, and Amarna Williams, Facilitators, UDL Collaborative<\/span><\/p>\n The ADA Title II updates are going into effect in April 2026, and now is the perfect time to strengthen your accessibility skills and empower your work with inclusive design! This series includes 7 webinars focused on accessibility best practices, tools, and techniques to make your content usable for everyone.<\/span><\/p>\n View full descriptions and <\/span>register here<\/a><\/strong> (Login required using your @<\/strong><\/span>login.cuny.edu<\/strong> account)<\/span><\/p>\n Ready to harness the power of AI? The CUNY CIS team will offer several topic-specific trainings to make sure we keep on top of the latest in AI technology. Join to explore practical AI applications, prompting strategies, and productivity hacks:<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span>View full descriptions and <\/span>register here<\/a><\/strong> (Login required using your @<\/strong><\/span>login.cuny.edu<\/strong> account)<\/span><\/p>\n Join our colleagues from Queensborough Community College for a virtual session that provides educators with strategies to help mitigate and understand student behavior, thus creating a more compassionate, flexible, and consistent learning space.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Dr. Melissa Haswell will present. Co-Hosted with Wilma Fletcher-Anthony in the QCC Counseling Center.<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n Join our colleagues from Hunter College ACERT as they discuss how to prepare students not only for their first job, but for a lifetime of meaningful work. In this lunchtime seminar, they\u2019ll consider how learning experiences across disciplines can cultivate agency and long-term career success. Participants will leave with practical strategies and renewed clarity about how teaching can empower students to thrive beyond the classroom.<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n Also from Hunter\u2019s ACERT team: creating visually engaging presentations is essential for teaching, but ensuring those visuals are accessible to all learners is what is truly essential. This lunchtime seminar explores how tools like Canva, Gamma AI, and other emerging platforms can help instructors design presentations that are not only beautiful and memorable, but also usable by students with diverse access needs. Whether you are brand new to visual design or already a Canva expert, you\u2019ll leave with practical techniques and templates that make your presentations more inclusive, engaging, and impactful for every student.<\/span><\/p>\n Empower students, faculty, and staff as producers of public knowledge through meaningful Wikipedia contributions. This seminar from Hunter ACERT explores strategies for integrating Wikipedia editing into your courses or writing to enhance research, writing, and digital literacy.<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n At UPCEA\u2019s 2026 Digital Teaching and Learning Conference, OFDIT\u2019s own Matt Lewis and Fallon Saratovsky presented <\/span>Deconstructing Multimedia<\/i><\/a><\/strong>, a video poster on designing effective instructional videos. Drawing on Mayer\u2019s multimedia principles, they showed how clear visuals, focused narration, and reduced cognitive load strengthen multimedia learning. They also examined generative\u2011AI video tools, noting common issues such as unedited artifacts and mismatched tone, which underscores the need for human oversight to avoid \u201cAI slop.\u201d The video offers practical guidance for creating multimedia that supports engagement and active learning.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Video submission assignments\u2014ranging from simple recordings to more advanced projects\u2014foster engagement and allow students to demonstrate communication, creativity, and subject knowledge. With Panopto\u2019s student\u2011submission feature in Brightspace, faculty can create video or audio assignments that let students record or upload presentations, demonstrations, and other multimedia work. These activities support graded assignments, group projects, and discussions, offering flexibility across teaching styles while encouraging active, creative participation in online courses. To receive support in setting up a video assignment, please email us at <\/span>FacultySupport@sps.cuny.edu<\/a><\/strong> to get started!<\/span><\/p>\n Submitted by Curtis Izen, CUNY SPS, Online Business Program<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Brightspace uses one profile image system\u2011wide and recommends a 150 \u00d7 150 pixel photo to avoid cropping, so choose a centered, recognizable image. To upload it, select your name in the Brightspace minibar, open your Profile, choose Change Picture, upload your photo, and finally Save and Close.<\/span><\/p>\n Looking to move beyond traditional text\u2011based discussions? SPS offers several tools that support richer, more authentic student interaction while reducing reliance on copy\u2011and\u2011paste responses. See below!\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This training will introduce VoiceThread, an asynchronous video discussion board. VoiceThread allows faculty and students to create multimedia presentations that engage 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.<\/span><\/p>\n 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\u2019ll look at the pedagogical benefits of social annotation across a range of disciplines and discuss how this practice can build students\u2019 skills, foster community, and promote intellectual growth. In addition, we\u2019ll look at how to use the Perusall LTI in Brightspace to build social annotation assignments in your courses.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nLevel Up Accessibility in your
\nOnline Course<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
\nBrightspace Update:
\nDiscussion Due Dates<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
\nOpen for All Workshop<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
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\nUDL Collaborative:
\nExploring the Pedagogy of Kindness<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n
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\nCUNY-Wide Opportunities for SPS Faculty<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n
CUNY CIS Accessibility Training Series<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n
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CUNY CIS Gen AI Training Series<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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Trauma Informed Pedagogy Presentation<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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Teaching for Career Readiness and Success<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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AI & Accessible Visual Presentations that Inspire Student Engagement and Innovation: Using Canva, Claude, Gamma AI, and More\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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Wikipedia as Pedagogy: Contribute to Open Knowledge and Public Scholarship<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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UPCEA Video Poster: Deconstructing Multimedia<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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Did you know?
\n<\/strong><\/span>Video Assignments with Panopto<\/strong><\/span><\/small><\/h2>\n
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Faculty Corner:
\n<\/span><\/strong>Add a Profile Picture to Humanize Your Course<\/span><\/strong><\/small><\/h2>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/openlab.sps.cuny.edu\/sps-faculty-community-hub\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/17\/2026\/02\/OFDIT_BrSp-profile-pic-in-brSp-Izen.png?resize=179%2C237&ssl=1\")
Humanized learning makes an online course feel more \u201creal,\u201d which can boost student motivation to log in and stay engaged week after week. Small touches like adding a profile picture in Brightspace can go a long way toward creating a welcoming, approachable course space..\u00a0 Without a picture, a generic avatar is used. A clear headshot (or simple professional photo)helps students connect your name to a person, and carries through the system in places like discussions, class lists, and messages.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nOFDIT Trainings Spring 2026<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
VoiceThread for SPS Faculty<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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The Pedagogy of Social Annotations\/Using Perusall in Brightspace<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n
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