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| Happenings Highlights—Three Things You Need to Know This Week |
| This edition showcases three things you need to know, upcoming events, and campus information. |
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New in Canvas: AI-Powered Course Search
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IgniteAI Search for Courses is an AI-powered tool that helps instructors and students find Canvas course content based on the meaning of their search queries, not just exact keyword matches. Enable it in Course Settings > Feature Options.
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From Teaching Questions to Scholarly Impact—September 30 & October 28
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Turn questions about your teaching and students' learning into meaningful scholarly inquiry. This two-part Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) webinar series introduces practical approaches to engaging with the teaching and learning literature, developing research questions, selecting appropriate methods, and identifying opportunities to disseminate and share your work.
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Faculty Learning Community
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Amplifying Career Competencies in Your Courses—Applications Open Thursday, October 1
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Join colleagues in enhancing student success, retention, and career readiness. Faculty teaching high-enrollment and high-DFW courses are especially encouraged to apply.
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| CTL Workshops and Webinars |
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Friday, September 18 • 11 a.m.–12 noon • Online - Zoom
Organizer: DEPI and Presenter: Various |
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Discover how custom AI assistants can help streamline your teaching and learning workflows. In this interactive session, you'll explore Google Gems, learn practical faculty and student use cases, and build a Gem of your own.
We'll begin with a brief overview of generative AI tools available at IU, including important considerations for working with institutional data. Then we'll introduce Google Gems, demonstrate how they work, and showcase examples designed to support common teaching and learning tasks.
The majority of the session will be hands-on. Working in small breakout groups, participants will create or adapt a Google Gem to address a teaching, learning, or productivity challenge. We'll conclude by sharing ideas, discussing potential applications, and providing resources to help you continue experimenting after the workshop.
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Monday, September 21 • 12:30–1 p.m. • Online - Zoom
Organizer: Kelly Scholl and Presenter: Justin Hodgson |
| Move beyond traditional lecture by using AI to build active learning into your classroom. See how AI can help you generate activities, transform existing slide decks to include meaningful student engagement, or turn course readings and other materials into an interactive presentation designed to guide discussion and learning. |
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Monday, September 28 • 12:30–1 p.m. • Online - Zoom
Organizer: Kelly Scholl and Presenter: Justin Hodgson |
| Explore three practical ways AI can help make your course more accessible. See how to improve content in Canvas, identify and address barriers in course documents, and create alternative ways for students to engage with existing course materials. |
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Tuesday, September 29 • 11-11:30 a.m., 3-3:30 p.m., or 7-7:30 p.m. • Online - Microsoft Teams
Organizer: IU eTexts and Presenter: Katelin Carlton |
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Need to order digital course materials for winter or spring 2027 classes? Join this webinar to learn how to place your order in the IU eTexts Portal.
Choose one session: 11 – 11:30 a.m., 3 – 3:30 p.m., or 7 – 7:30 p.m.
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Wednesday, September 30 • 1–2 p.m. • Online - Zoom
Organizer: Lesli Amaya and Presenter: Boyun Kim |
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This is a webinar designed to help TAs conduct effective peer observations. We will cover the key stages of the observation process, what to look for during a class visit, and how to give feedback that is constructive and useful.
At the end of this webinar, you will be able to…
- Describe the key stages of a peer observation: pre-observation, the class visit, and post-observation discussion.
- Identify what to look for and document during a class visit.
- Apply strategies for giving feedback that is specific, evidence-based, and constructive.
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Thursday, October 1 • 1–1:30 p.m. • Online - Zoom
Organizer: Jeani Young and Presenter: Jeani Young |
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Do you have instructional materials in Canvas Pages? You can use Top Hat to add graded interactions to that content! Unlike other tools, you can add interactions anywhere and have multiple interactions on a page. Come learn how to add your content to Top Hat and integrate it with your Canvas course for anytime, anywhere interaction – no clickers or apps needed!
You can add the following question types to your own text, mix of text and videos, and simply formatted articles from PDFs. Top Hat also provides an AI tool to generate questions and create scenarios that you can edit.
- multiple choice,
- true/false,
- Likert scale,
- numeric answer,
- formulas,
- word/phrase answer,
- fill in the blank,
- matching,
- sorting,
- click on target,
- fill in tables,
- graph responses,
- long answer questions, and
- interactive discussions
This event aligns with the following IUSM Academy of Teaching Scholars program competencies: Instructional Technology (IT)
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2026 FALCON Conference—Friday, September 25
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The Faculty Academy on Excellence in Teaching conference will be a day focused on teaching excellence and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. Mays Imad will present her keynote, “The Science of Learning and the Humanity of Teaching.”
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Navigating Faculty Life: Lunch Conversations
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This is a three-part online series for faculty interested in candid, practical conversations about the less visible dimensions of academic life. Through faculty reflections and peer discussion, participants will explore professional visibility and reputation, planning the next stage of their careers, and responding to feedback, expectations, and key career decisions. Faculty across career stages are welcome to attend one session or join the full series.
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Scholarly Writing Program for Faculty Success
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The Scholarly Writing Program for Faculty Success provides structured support for faculty who want to make consistent progress on scholarly writing projects. The program offers opportunities for goal setting, accountability, focused writing time, and connection with colleagues. Participants may select the hybrid option that best fits their schedule.
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Aspiring Leaders
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Aspiring Leaders is a leadership development program for faculty interested in exploring future leadership opportunities and strengthening their capacity to lead from any role. The program is intended for faculty who have been at IU Indianapolis for at least two years and are interested in further developing their leadership capacity.
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