In April 2025, Academic Technology Support Services (ATSS), in collaboration with academic technology professionals across the University of Minnesota system, conducted a series of focus groups to understand instructor sentiments and address the complexities of integrating generative AI into higher education. Focus group participants included instructors from multiple University of Minnesota campuses. The goals were to gauge instructors' feelings about the value and applicability of these tools in and beyond the classroom, and to identify where common assumptions about generative AI break down across different disciplines. 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 partnered with Usability Services to establish the session goals, determine participant recruiting criteria, craft the interview protoco...

When creating instructional videos for your courses, accessibility should be a central consideration. This includes ensuring that videos meet visual contrast standards, that captions are accurate and properly synchronized, and — critically — that key visual content is accessible to learners with low vision through audio description. What is Audio Description? Audio description is the practice of narrating key visual elements to ensure that learners who are blind or have low vision can fully engage with educational content. However, its value extends far beyond accessibility for students with disabilities . Consider, for example, a student listening to a video lecture while commuting—without visual access to the screen, they miss important contextual cues. Similarly, a student watching a lecture on a small phone screen may struggle to discern critical visual details. In both cases, audio description can bridge the gap, providing access to integral information that might otherwise be ...

Designing a Canvas course requires careful consideration of how to make video content engaging, accessible, and sustainable over time. One highly effective strategy is content chunking , which not only enhances student learning but also streamlines the process of creating, editing, and reusing instructional materials. What Is Content Chunking? Content chunking involves dividing instructional material into shorter, more manageable segments that are easier for students to process and retain. This method has proven particularly effective in online and hybrid learning environments when it comes to video. Research shows that student engagement is highest when videos range between 6 and 15 minutes. In contrast, a 45‑minute video lecture can feel overwhelming and discourage active participation. While most lessons require more than six minutes to cover essential concepts, chunking allows instructors to distribute content across multiple concise videos. These can either be built sequentiall...

If you have not logged into Canvas since May 2025, let's catch you up so you can hit the ground running this fall. This post is excerpted from a group presentation (Video 47:24) at the August 13th Canvas Investigations . Timestamps next to headings will link you directly to that topic in the recording.  Enhanced SpeedGrader 3:33 Instructors can enable "Performance and Usability Upgrades for SpeedGrader" . It's great for large enrollment courses because it loads fast and offers better section and student navigation.  CAUTION: The font looks retrograde and the mini RCE lacks buttons for Image upload, Math editor, the option 'course link' under the link button. If those issues are critical, deselect "Performance and Usability Upgrades for Speedgrader" in the course (provided it is not forced on at the sub-account level) to roll back to the legacy SpeedGrader. Discussion Checkpoints 5:29 Discussion Checkpoints are now available. If you wish to use...

  Overview The University has recently added three new FeedbackFruits tools to its academic technology ecosystem: Interactive Document , Interactive Video , and Interactive Audio . This blog post shares how three instructors used these tools to actively engage their students with course materials and with their peers. In today's diverse educational landscape, traditional lectures and static readings often fall short. Many instructors continue to look for innovative ways to deliver content and facilitate meaningful student interaction with that content. If this sounds familiar, read on to see how FeedbackFruits interactive tools can be used to create dynamic, highly engaging learning activities. Interactive Documents: Transform Readings into Dynamic Conversations If you would like your students to move beyond passively reading assigned texts, the Interactive Document tool can help you turn reading assignments into collaborative workspaces, fostering accountability and deeper com...

In this blog post, Katy Guthrie , Teaching Assistant Professor in the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Sciences (CFANS), shares her insights on using FeedbackFruits Peer Review to enhance student engagement and learning. Her experience provides valuable perspectives for other educators looking to enrich their teaching practices with technology-driven solutions. FeedbackFruits (FbF) offers a suite of academic technology tools that supports a variety of peer learning activities. The University is currently licensing four FbF tools , integrated in Canvas, that support self-assessment, peer review, and group member evaluation. Peer Learning Strategies: Efficient and effective Professor Guthrie is a strong advocate for teaching students how to provide constructive feedback on their peers' writing. FbF makes it seamless for her to integrate peer feedback activities into her classes. She particularly values the FbF Peer Review tool in her writing-intensive courses, where stude...