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Enhance teaching and learning with Microsoft Copilot: Course review

University of Minnesota faculty, staff, and students currently have access to Microsoft Copilot . It describes itself as “your everyday AI companion” that provides better answers, greater efficiency, and new ways to be creative. When prompted, Copilot suggests that higher education professionals might use it for: Code assistance and learning Research and writing Collaboration Course material creation Accessibility and inclusivity  ATSS staff members completed the Enhance teaching and learning with Microsoft Copilot course to help us understand how to use the platform and to evaluate the course to determine if it would be helpful for the UMN community. This post provides an overview of the course, our exploration process, and key takeaways. Course overview This course delves into Microsoft Copilot for education by familiarizing yourself with its modes and features for designing effective prompts and analyzing results (source: AI x Education newsletter). It is one of three courses in Mi
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Canvas Gradebook Set up: August 2024 session recap

This post summarizes the August 2024 Canvas Gradebook Set-up session facilitated by Academic Technology Support Services (ATSS). During the session, ATSS consultants presented an overview of getting started with the Canvas Gradebook and its settings, discussed streamlining grading throughout the semester, and shared resources for advanced tips and tricks. Key Takeaways The role of the Canvas Gradebook in addressing access and inclusion Challenges facing students: academic stress, student mental health, transparency, anxiety about grades and class performance Challenges facing instructors: burnout, grading and time commitments, transparency in grading practices and assessments, ungrading We do not intend to imply that simply using the Canvas Gradebook will single-handedly eliminate the previously mentioned issues. However, we bring them to think about a small change that could be taken to set yourself and your students up for a semester with more ease.  Canvas Gradebook settings Assig

UMN instructors' perspectives on generative AI: April 2024 focus groups results

In April 2024, Academic Technology Support Services (ATSS) conducted focus group sessions with UMN instructors. The sessions’ goals were to: understand instructors’ level of awareness about generative AI.  understand how instructors perceive acceptable use of generative AI for their academic courses. learn how instructors would like to be involved with shaping how generative AI is used in education and what support, if any, instructors desired around the use of generative AI. Note: throughout this post, ‘generative AI’ and ‘AI’ are both used to refer to the broad category of artificial intelligence that can produce content such as text, images, video, audio, and/or code. Focus group process ATSS partners with Usability Services to establish the session goals, determine participant recruiting criteria, craft the interview protocol, and set the ground rules for the focus group sessions. During the sessions, the project team takes notes and documents their observations, including direct

What's New in Learning Technologies for Fall 2024

If you have not logged into Canvas since May 2024, you will notice much has changed. Let's catch you up: some things are gone (Flip), some things are improved (Discussions), and others moved to a different location (Turnitin). This post is excerpted from  a group presentation  (Video 1:06:57) at the August 7th Canvas Investigations . Timestamps next to headings will link you directly to that topic in the recording. The most important take-aways are highlighted in yellow . DoJ Ruling on Accessibility 2:29 In April, the clock started to count down two years for us to ensure all web content is accessible. The newly formed  Office of Digital Accessibility  (ODA) will guide us. Watch for messaging on the  3 Rs—Remove, Revise, Right First . The easiest and most impactful thing instructors can do now aligns with Remove — be selective when importing content from old courses . Discussions/Announcements Redesign 4:09 Canvas Discussions  have changed in appearance and functionality. N

GenAI Explorations: Conversation with Cody Hennesy

This fall Extra Points will feature a series of conversations focused on how faculty and staff around the University of Minnesota are using Generative AI to do University work.  Lauren Marsh and Sara Schoen are kicking off our new series interviewing Cody Hennesy. Hennesy is a computational research librarian for the Twin Cities campus and a facilitator for the system-wide  Emerging Technologies Faculty Fellows Program . In these roles he explores and supports work in Generative AI (GenAI). He is also a lover of nerdy board games.  As a librarian at the University of Minnesota, how do you use Generative AI?  Cody Hennesy: I use Generative AI in some specific ways. I use it to help with computer programming  - it’s really helpful for suggesting Python code snippets, for troubleshooting code that doesn’t work, and suggesting more efficient ways to solve specific problems. Code either works or it doesn’t, so it can be easy to notice when ChatGPT is wrong in this case, and it’s also poss

Flip: Alternative Tools

On July 1, Flip (formerly Flipgrid) will no longer be available for use in the app or in Canvas courses. You will no longer be able to create new groups, topics, or videos after this date. Flip, owned by Microsoft, is limiting the use of this application to Microsoft Teams. The Flip.com website will go into view-only mode. You will be able to download previously recorded Flip videos through September 30, 2024. Refer to the complete announcement from Flip .  Flip is used for: Class introductions Small group discussions Video assignments If you use Flip in your courses, there are alternative tools to consider that can support similar activities. Below is an at-a-glance comparison of options available for your consideration. Activity selection criteria   Discussions with media recording in Kaltura Kaltura Video Assignment VoiceThread Google Assignment Integrated with Canvas Yes Yes Yes Yes Grading in SpeedGrader Yes Yes

Exploring Bongo: An AI-Enhanced Video Assessment Tool

In this post, Academic Technology Support Services (ATSS) staff members continue our exploration of generative AI tools that could support our work as instructional designers and academic technologists. Previously, we  investigated the NOLEJ platform . This time, we looked at Bongo to investigate how it might be used in instructional design work to support teaching and learning.   Note: ATSS does not endorse the use of Bongo or any other tool that is not supported by the central Office of Information Technology. This blog post is part of an ongoing investigation of generative AI tools and their uses in teaching and learning.  Tool Overview Bongo is a video-assignment platform that offers an AI Coach with features for instructors and students. Used in education and industry, Bongo allows students to practice and receive feedback on video assignments (e.g., video presentations or practice interviews). Additionally, Bongo’s AI Coach provides options to generate assignment learning objec