Events
Online Teaching Insights Series (OTIS)
The Online Teaching Insights Series (OTIS) is designed to provide ongoing, structured support to faculty who have completed an initial orientation to online teaching and are teaching their first online course. These OTIS workshops and webinars are designed to addresses the unique challenges of teaching online by offering training, resources, and community for instructors to enhance their effectiveness in online instruction and to improve student outcomes.
In the Fall 2024, we are introducing OTIS as a pilot. Even if you have been teaching online for a while, you are welcome to participate if you would find this series beneficial.
The workshops and webinars below are a subset of the OTIS resources delivered to online faculty face throughout their first semester. If you would like to receive just-in-time OTIS resources, email us at oeet@butler.edu.
Thursday, August 15, 2024 | noon – 12:30 pm EST | View recording
Tuesday, October 1, 2024 | 12:30 – 1:00 pm EST | Zoom
Join us for an essential pre-semester webinar designed to help you kickstart your online course preparation. In this session, you’ll learn how to navigate available support resources, gain confidence in the Term Prep process, and discover what aspects of your course can be customized to enhance the student experience. Whether you’re new to online teaching or looking to refine your approach, this webinar will equip you with the tools and knowledge you need for a successful semester.
Thursday, August 22, 2024 | 12:30 – 1:30 pm EST | Zoom
Thursday, October 10, 2024 | 12:30 – 1:30 pm EST | Zoom
Elevate your online teaching skills in our dynamic, 60-minute virtual workshop: “Establishing Expectations in Your Online Course.” Designed for faculty who have already created their course content, this interactive session will equip you with practical strategies to clearly and consistently communicate expectations throughout your online course. Through collaborative activities, peer discussions, and real-world problem-solving, you’ll discover innovative ways to keep your students engaged and on track. Join us to enhance your online teaching toolkit and create a more impactful learning experience for your students!
Friday, August 23, 2024 | 10:00 – 10:30 am EST | Zoom
Tuesday, October 8, 2024 | 12:15 – 12:45 pm EST | Zoom
This 30-minute webinar is designed for new online faculty hires. For faculty who have experience with Canvas from other institutions, this webinar will cover what makes Butler’s instance of Canvas unique. For all faculty, we’ll cover several best practice strategies to ensure you are set up for success.
After this workshop/webinar, you will be able to…
- Differentiate what makes Butler’s Canvas unique.
- Set up your notifications for optimal information.
- Use Canvas Announcements to communicate with students.
Friday, August 23, 2024 | 10:30 – 11:00 am EST | Zoom
Wednesday, October 9, 11:30am-12:00pm EST
This webinar will provide faculty with basic knowledge of the Zoom video conferencing tool to enhance virtual meetings and learning experiences.
Thursday, August 29, 2024 | 12:30 – 1:30 pm EST | View Recording
Are you striving to create a more connected and engaging online learning environment? Join us for this virtual workshop designed to help you overcome the unique challenges of building relationships in virtual classrooms and implement effective strategies to foster a supportive and interactive learning experience for your students.
Tuesday, August 27, 2024 | 12:30 – 1:00 pm EST | View Recording
Thursday, October 24, 2024 | 12:15 – 12:45 pm EST | Zoom
Panopto is Butler’s official video recording tool. It offers many advanced tools but sometimes it is just needed for simple recordings. This 30 minute webinar will focus on using it to do those simple recordings in order to send videos to students via Canvas announcements. We will also cover a few best practices for these types of quick videos.
Tuesday, September 3, 2024 | 12:15 – 12:45 pm EST | View Recording
Wednesday, October 30, 2024 | 11:30 am – noon EST | Zoom
The gradebook is a very powerful element of Canvas that provides lots of information to both students and the instructor. Understanding how the gradebook functions is essential to the success of all parties. This 30 minute webinar will cover all elements of using the gradebook as well as some helpful tricks.
Wednesday, September 4, 2024 | 11:30am – 12pm EST | View Recording
Friday, November 1, 2024 | 12:15 – 12:45 pm EST | Zoom
Are you utilizing the Canvas SpeedGrader to its fullest? Would you like to learn how to grade even quicker? In this training session, faculty will learn techniques of this popular tool, such as the ability to leave audio or video commentary, using filters for grading, and messaging students without leaving the gradebook.
Friday, September 20, 2024 | 12:30 – 1:30 pm EST | Zoom
In the dynamic world of online education, keeping students engaged throughout the entirety of a course can be a significant challenge. Join us for this virtual workshop designed to equip online instructors with practical strategies to maintain student momentum from the first day of class to the final assignment!
Thursday, September 19, 2024 | 12:15 – 12:45 pm EST | Zoom
Thursday, November 14, 2024 | 12:15 – 12:45 pm EST | Zoom
Canvas collects lots of data on students’ usage of the tool that is available to instructors if you know where to look. This 30 minute webinar will cover how to use Canvas data to ensure students are successful in your course.
Friday, October 25, 2024 | 12:30 – 1:30 pm EST | Zoom
Are you looking to create a more vibrant, interactive online learning community? Join us for this workshop titled “Building Relationships: Fostering Peer to Peer Connections” designed to help you break down barriers and build strong peer-to-peer relationships in your virtual classroom!
Tuesday, November 12, 2024 | 12:30 – 1:30 pm EST | Zoom
Are you new to teaching online and looking for ways to keep your students engaged during live sessions? Join us for a practical, one-hour workshop designed specifically for faculty transitioning to online instruction.
In “Zoom Zoom: Accelerating Student Engagement in Virtual Classrooms,” you will learn how to:
- Design structured and engaging live sessions that maintain student interest.
- Implement active learning techniques tailored for the virtual classroom.
- Provide clear instructions and expectations to facilitate student participation.
- Gather and utilize student feedback to continuously improve your sessions.
This workshop will offer actionable insights and hands-on activities to help you create a more interactive and effective online learning environment. Register now to enhance your online teaching skills and foster a more engaging virtual classroom experience.
AI Ready: All Campus Essentials
This year, Butler University is participating in a program hosted by the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) designed to foster learning, share resources, and increase effective adoption related to artificial intelligence (AI).
The first sessions begin weekly in September 2024 and will continue through July 2025, excluding December and May. This will provide a total of 36 hours of content organized into nine essential topics and tailored to different areas and roles on campus.
Program Goal
This program equips faculty, staff, and administrators with a foundational understanding of generative A.I. as it relates to rotating topics relevant to our campuses.
How the Network Runs
Each month will feature a set of four hour-long sessions (usually including an overview of generative AI, current practices in the field, insights from vendor partners, and taking next steps). The topic each month will change, but the format of these sessions will be very similar. We are excited to announce our topics for the Fall:
- September 5-26: Admissions and Enrollment;
- October 3-24: Advancement & Alumni;
- October 31-November 21: Faculty – Tools for Personalized Learning.
CIC will have the weekly meetings on Thursdays at 2:00 pm EST. These meetings will be held in a virtual, synchronous format. Please note that CIC does not plan to post recordings of the sessions.
Who Should Attend
We do not anticipate anyone attending every month, and few people attending multiple months. We anticipate most staff would attend one month/one topic/one block of four meetings, with faculty persons attending a few different months.
Register
Additional Training
Navigate to the Training page to watch prior training recordings, enroll in a self-paced course, register for upcoming live vendor trainings, and more.
Virtual Event / Tue October 8, 2024 at 12:15pm
Virtual Event / Wed October 9, 2024 at 11:30am
Virtual Event / Thu October 10, 2024 at 12:30pm
Virtual Event / Thu October 10, 2024 at 2:00pm