Volume 4, Issue 11--Published: Thursday, March 27th, 2025

The Center and You!

The Center is offering  a lot of wonderful professional development opportunities. Our goal is to provide you with timely, relevant, and intellectually stimulating offerings as well as supportive and encouraging resources to help you complete your professional development goals. Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions you may have.
 

MATC Professional Learning Opportunities:

MATC offers a wide-range of professional development courses in a variety of delivery modes and durations as part of our efforts to design meaningful professional development that provides just-in-time training opportunities for you to explore what you need when you need it. All of our offerings are free to MATC faculty and eligible for FQAS hours, so that you can plan and develop your own professional development goals and outcomes.  

Using Blackboard AI Tool-Exams
 
Blackboard Ultra AI Design Assistant uses artificial intelligence to streamline the course building process, giving instructors a head start on creating engaging, effective courses. In this workshop you will learn how to use BB Ultra AI Design Assistant to generate assessment prompts for Exams. Informed by Bloom’s taxonomy instructors can choose the desired cognitive level for the task, as well as provide keywords and instructions to tie the suggestions to their course content and desired outcomes.  You may attend in-person in M201 (CTE) or virtually. Either way, please register at the link below. Space is limited to 25 participants, so it is best to register ahead of time. 
 
Monday, 3/31/25, 12pm-1pm, Virtual or In-Person (M201, Downtown)

Ally Workshop

Ally is a tool integrated with Blackboard Ultra that helps improve the accessibility of documents, images, text, and tables for students. In this session, you will learn how Ally benefits students, practice using Ally to address common file accessibility barriers, and explore Alternative File Download formats, such as speech-to-text MP3 audio, and text translation to over 71 languages. Register through the Zoom link provided. Use that same link to attend virtually, or you can attend in-person at the Milwaukee campus in M201 (CTE).

Thursday, 4/3/25, 9am-10:30am, Virtual or In-Person (M201, Downtown)

HyFlex Workshop, Part A
 
Are you considering teaching in the HyFlex modality in the future? Attend the HyFlex training scheduled in two parts. Attend Part A on 4/3/25 from 4pm-6:30pm in M201A or virtually through Zoom. Then, you must attend Part B in-person at the Milwaukee campus on 4/10/25 from 4pm-6:30pm. Email  John Futterer at futterja@matc.edu to reserve a seat in this session.
 
Thursday, 4/3/25, 4pm-6:30pm, Virtual or In-Person (M201A-Downtown)

The Latino/Hispanic Student Population in Post-Secondary Education
 
This research-based presentation will examine some of the characteristics that surround Latino/Hispanic students in post-secondary education. We will focus on cultural identity and strategies to support academic success.

Friday, 4/4/25, 9am-10am, Virtual Only

Ally Workshop

Ally is a tool integrated with Blackboard Ultra that helps improve the accessibility of documents, images, text, and tables for students. In this session, you will learn how Ally benefits students, practice using Ally to address common file accessibility barriers, and explore Alternative File Download formats, such as speech-to-text MP3 audio, and text translation to over 71 languages. Register through the Zoom link provided. Use that same link to attend virtually, or you can attend in-person at the Milwaukee campus in M201 (CTE).

Tuesday, 4/7/25, 6:30pm-8pm, Virtual or In-Person (M201, Downtown)

Using Blackboard AI Tool for Assignments Workshop
Blackboard Ultra AI Design Assistant uses artificial intelligence to streamline the course building process, giving instructors a head start on creating engaging, effective courses. In this workshop you will learn how to use BB Ultra AI Design Assistant to generate assessment prompts for Assignments. Informed by Bloom’s taxonomy instructors can choose the desired cognitive level for the task, as well as provide keywords and instructions to tie the suggestions to their course content and desired outcomes. You may attend in-person in M201 (CTE) or virtually. Either way, please register at the link below. Space is limited to 25 participants, so it is best to register ahead of time.
 
Wednesday, 4/9/25, 12pm-1pm, Virtual or In-Person (M201, Downtown)

Foundational Yuja Workshop
 
 
Yuja is MATC's video creation and editing tool. In the Yuja workshop, participants will learn how to import, create, caption, and edit video content. They will apply what they learn by creating, captioning, and editing video during the workshop. This workshop is offered in M201 (Center for Teaching Excellence), and is limited to 12 participants. To attend this session, email John Futterer at futterja@matc.edu.
 
Tuesday, 4/8/25, 10:30am-12pm, In-Person Only (M201, Downtown)

Online Instructional Quality

If you’ve completed Introduction to Blackboard Ultra (ZERD-190) or are currently enrolled in it, we welcome you to join us in Online Instructional Quality (ZERD-219) in Spring 2025.

In this research-based 1-credit course developed by Online Learning's faculty liaison team, you will learn the 'why' and 'how' of delivering high-quality online instruction to excel in demonstrating 21st Century Classroom Level 2. 

Key topics include: Learning theory and cultural relevance, online course design and alignment strategies, fostering regular and substantive interaction, and effective strategies to motivate and engage students.


 Prerequisite: Successful completion or current enrollment to Introduction to Blackboard Ultra (ZERD-190). Attendance: A minimum of 80% online synchronous session attendance is mandatory. Additional 2 hours weekly online outside of the live sessions will vary by skill level. Register through Self-Service and watch this video to ensure your registration is complete.

Friendly Reminders:

MATC Teams Day Survey

Thank you to those who were able to participate in MATC Teams Day. Please take a few minutes to complete this survey. Your input will help to identify any changes to future MATC Teams Days.

Textbook Adoption:

Faculty Textbook Adoptions for summer and fall courses are to be submitted starting Monday, March 3rd through Monday March 31st, 2025.  Adoptions must be completed for ALL courses including "No Text" sections. There is not an automatic roll-over of course materials.

 Online adoptions are made through signing in to the bookstore website. 

Sum Total Reminder:

Sum Total compliance requirements as assigned by Human Resources for all faculty and non-faculty are due on March 31, 2025. You can log into SumTotal using your MATC email address and network password.

Keeping You Posted:

Our goal with Center Connections is to keep you informed, not only about Center’s work, but to help you navigate other college-wide initiatives that directly impact faculty.

Downtown Campus Early Voting

Early voting will take place in the S Building, Room S114, on Monday, March 24-Saturday, March 29. 

Monday-Tuesday: 12:30-7:30 p.m.Wednesday-Friday: 10:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.Saturday: 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

Voters use the entrance on State Street; 15-minute voter parking is available along West State Street.

Save the Date–Graduation!

The college will celebrate graduates from associate degree, technical diploma, apprenticeship and Adult High School programs at the 2025 Spring Commencement on Saturday, May 17, noon at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena.

Additional Professional Learning Opportunities:

In the past, only students who could afford tutors had a major advantage. Now, new AI tools are democratizing study help and more for applicants from disadvantaged backgrounds, such as first-generation and lower-income students.oin us on  Wednesday, April 16, at 1:00 p.m. CST
Higher-education institutions have an opportunity and (as some argue) a responsibility to improve social and economic outcomes for students. Join us on Tuesday, April 15 at 1 p.m. CST
Focus on aligning learning objectives to the assessments you use as you create or review courses.

Inspiration, Research, and Best Practices

Part of The Center’s mission is to keep you informed about current best practices and pedagogical approaches. Each issue of Center Connections includes links that are meant to be engaging, thought-provoking, and applicable to various classroom environments. For information on MATC's free access to Magna Commons publications, please see The Center's website.   Enjoy the rabbit hole!

When we can show students that the extraordinary has a place in their online academic journey, educators can ignite a sense of awe, thus leading to elevated learning, collaboration, critical thinking, and ideas exchange.
Around 22 percent of all students in higher education are parenting while pursuing an education, and a majority are single parents.
Many math teachers are testing out AI tools in their classrooms, but skepticism remains about the technology's instructional value.

created in Publicate