D2L Connection: Colorado

Location: Lobby

• Opening Session | A Year of Return

  
  As we make our way back to the new normal of educational settings, we are greeted with a renewed sense of appreciation for doing great work as educators. With grace and an openness towards change, these trying times will be yet another opportunity to show just how prepared and determined we can be in tackling difficult challenges that come our way. Together let us face this season head on while showing resilience through empathy – it is what has gotten us here thus far!
  

Host: Cristi Ford, VP Academic Affairs, D2L

Location: RRCC Community Room – Room 1280

• Breakout Session | Integration of Library Services in D2L Courses: Lessons Learned

  As we make our way back to the new normal of educational settings, we are greeted with a renewed sense of appreciation for doing great work as educators. With grace and an openness towards change, these trying times will be yet another opportunity to show just how prepared and determined we can be in tackling difficult challenges that come our way. Together let us face this season head on while showing resilience through empathy – it is what has gotten us here thus far!

Host: Marcus Elmore, CCCS

Location: Room 2305

• Breakout Session | D2L Review of the Stuff You Desire2Know

  We understand that there is a lot going on in your day to day.  It’s hard to keep up with all the changes to the platform in a continuous delivery model. The goal of this session is to provide insight into the changing landscape and how to stay engaged. We’ll review the great features that have recently been released by D2L, what is being released this month, and what is coming soon. We’ll also show you how to engage with the Brightspace Community, the PIE (Product Idea Exchange) and the ability to directly engage in our Research and Pilot groups helping to steer product development from your input.

Host: Jane Mathers and Kristy Burrough; D2L

Location: Room 2303

• Breakout Session | Evaluating the Quality of Online Teaching

  This session addresses the development of a process that can be used to evaluate the quality of online teaching. The current evaluation processes at many colleges do not specifically address online instruction, and most academic administrators have limited personal experience with online course design and instruction. Two useful documents will be shared in this webinar. The first is a five-part Pre-Evaluation Worksheet. The second document is a five-category rubric for evaluating teaching performance of online instructors. The rubric could be used as a self-evaluation for faculty, as part of a peer review evaluation, or as part of an academic administrator’s evaluation of faculty. These documents are sharable and editable. Use these documents to start a faculty evaluation process or to build upon your existing processes.

Host: Barry Dahl, D2L

Location: Room 2301

• Breakout Session | Combating the Rise and Fear of ChatGPT with Video Assignments

  As the popularity of the new AI tool ChatGPT rises, higher education professors are scratching their heads about the impact this technology tool could have on student’s knowledge and application of the course content. Tools like this are likely to force higher education to embrace other methods for students to demonstrate knowledge. Join us for a session on Video Assignments by Bongo as we discuss a more modern and authentic way to demonstrate knowledge and skill development – cutting out the risks associated with AI-based essay assistance using ChatGPT.

Host: Josh Kamrath, Bongo

Location: Room 2306

• Breakout Session | Reducing Cognitive Load for Instructors

  We often discuss how to support students with differing abilities in online courses, but faculty need support, too. How can we support instructors with or without specific cognitive concerns? This session will review strategies we’ve implemented to assist instructors, and we’ll brainstorm ideas with participants.

Hosts: Liz Prickett, Todd McDaniel, and Sean Harwell; Colorado Mesa University

Location: Room 2305

• Breakout Session | Effective Practices for D2L Admins: A Roundtable Discussion

  Join administrators across your region for a conversation about topics relevant to D2L site administrators. Facilitated by D2L and/or local admins, you will have the opportunity to learn from peers as well as share experiences your organization has had using Brightspace.

Host: Jane Mathers and Kristy Burrough; D2L

Location: Room 2303

• Breakout Session | Intelligent Uses of Intelligent Agents

  Brightspace Intelligent Agents can assist instructors, administrators, and students by providing an automated email when defined activity occurs in a course (or doesn’t occur) or when there is a lack of system login or course entry. This session will focus on various use cases for Brightspace Intelligent Agents and pay special attention to the new features released in recent years. We’ll also look at effective practices to make sure that the uses of Intelligent Agents produce the desired results.

Host: Barry Dahl, D2L

Location: Room 2301

Come join our lunch session with Dr. Landon Pirius, who will share an informative and wide-ranging presentation about the consortium as a model.

Host: Landon Pirius, CCCS

Location: RRCC Community Room – Room 1280

• Breakout Session | Colorado Online @ Learning Design Academy Showcase

  The Colorado Online @ Learning Design Academy is a collaborative process wherein CCCS learning designers work with faculty across colleges to develop Ready to Teach course shells that are available for use across the system. The process has gone through two iterations (including an initial pilot) with both successes and lessons learned. This session will showcase the experiences of faculty and designers who have been a part of the Academy and identify improvements to the process based on feedback received.

Hosts: Amanda Hardman, Grace Whiteaker, and Jessica George; CCCS

Location: Room 2305

• Breakout Session | The Brightspace Awards Tool (Badges, Certificates, Transcripts, Oh My!)

  The Awards tool comes standard in the Brightspace Learning Environment and offers new opportunities for the recognition of student accomplishments. We’ll examine how the Awards Tool works, the philosophy behind badging and how to customize badges and certificates for your institution. See how Brightspace Awards can be used to recognize and motivate learners, identify skills and be shared on social networks.

Host: Jane Mathers, D2L

Location: Room 2303

• Breakout Session | Don't Freak Out About ChatGPT. Don't Ignore it Either

  This breakout session will explore the potential impacts of ChatGPT on higher education. The discussion will cover topics such as the use of ChatGPT in online learning and the potential for AI-powered tutoring. Participants will also examine the ethical considerations and potential challenges that must be addressed as ChatGPT becomes more widely used in academia. Join this session to learn about the future of AI-powered education and its potential to transform the way we teach and learn. (NOTE: this description was written by ChatGPT and may or may not match the actual presentation content.)

Host: Jon Johnson, RRCC; Jane Binns, CCD; and Barry Dahl, D2L

Location: Room 2301

Location: RRCC Community Room – Room 1280