by April Tallant | Nov 4, 2025 | AI, Blog, Classroom, Educational Technology, Faculty Development Workshop, Help Your Students, Learn, Pedagogy, Student Engagement, Teaching and Learning
AI in the WCU Classroom
Join colleagues for an open discussion on using AI in teaching and learning on Tuesday, Nov 18, 3:30-5:00 pm. This two-part program will include sharing strategies for integrating generative AI into instruction and course management, as well as approaches for setting clear expectations around ethical student use. We’ll also consider how to design learning goals that emphasize key human skills. For more information and to register, read the blog post.
UNC System Pilot: Student AI Literacy
The UNC System Office is piloting a new AI Foundational Skills program, developed collaboratively by faculty, librarians, and instructional designers across the System, in Spring 2026 to strengthen student AI literacy and workforce readiness. This collaborative initiative gives students practical AI experience and critical evaluation skills while connecting them with industry perspectives. We’re seeking faculty to integrate the training into their courses and provide feedback, which will help refine the program. Faculty will receive a stipend. Interested? Complete this interest form to receive more information. Questions? Contact Dr. Heather McCullough, Director, Learning Technology and Open Education, hamccullough@northcarolina.edu
by Aaron Ratcliffe | Oct 29, 2025 | AI, Blog, Classroom, Educational Technology, Faculty Development Workshop
Tuesday, November 18 | 3:30 – 5:00 pm in Hunter Library 156 (CFC)
You’re invited to an open forum for faculty across disciplines to share ideas, challenges, and best practices focused on uses of AI in the classroom. The forum will be structured into two parts. Part 1: Faculty will share ideas regarding how they are using generative AI for teaching innovation and to ease course administration burdens. Part 2: Faculty will share ideas for setting and maintaining clear expectations regarding ethical and responsible student use of AI and the impacts of AI on student learning processes. We will also reflect on how faculty and students can set competency-based learning goals that emphasize distinctive human skills. Come ready to share your ideas and to learn from and be inspired by others.
by April Tallant | Sep 30, 2025 | Blog, CFC Insider, Educational Technology, Online Learning, Pedagogy, Student Engagement, Teaching and Learning
Microlearning is a pedagogy that works well in both in-person and online courses. While definitions of microlearning vary, there is at least some consensus on the benefits and how to approach it. At its core, microlearning delivers content in short, small chunks that can be accessed on demand. Other benefits include reduced cognitive load for students, better knowledge retention, improved learning outcomes, and student engagement.
Here are some tips for incorporating microlearning into your classes:
- Focus on one objective or concept. Determine the goal so you can structure the lesson and select the best medium given your objective.
- Use one medium (videos are the most common) with multiple learning elements. Examples of learning elements include visuals, audio, quizzes, slideshows, PDFs, and links. PowerPoint is a nice medium because you can include video, visuals, and link out to PDFs and quizzes.
- Keep it short and focused. Research indicates 30 seconds to up to 15 minutes, and if you are using video, bear in mind that videos longer than 9 minutes results in a drop in viewer attention.
- Make it interactive. Enhance videos by embedding 1–2 quiz questions directly into them (for example, you can do this directly in Panopto), or by using slides that prompt students to guess an answer, then click to reveal the correct response on the following slide.
It’s fun to explore ways to integrate microlearning into courses. For in-person classes, one effective approach is to assign a microlearning module as homework before class. This helps students prepare for an active learning experience when the class meets. In online courses, microlearning can be used as either standalone modules or be embedded within larger units.
If you’d like to explore microlearning further, consider stopping by the CFC to chat or schedule a consultation with one of our educational developers.
References
Balasundaram, S., Mathew, J., & Nair. S. (2024). Microlearning and learning performance in higher education: A post-test control group study. Journal of Learning for Development 11(1), 1-14.
Denojean-Mairet, M., López-Pernas, S., Agbo, F. J., & Tedre, M. (2024). A literature review on the integration of microlearning and social media. Smart Learning Environments, 11(1), 46.
Kohnke, L. (2021). Optimizing microlearning for mobile learning. In Corbeil, J.R., B.H. Khan, & M.E. Corbeil (Eds.), Microlearning in the digital age [pre-print]. Routledge.
NC State Teaching Resources (n.d.). Micro-learning with digital tools. Available at: https://teaching-resources.delta.ncsu.edu/micro-learning-with-digital-tools/
Thillainadesan, J., Le Couteur, D. G., Haq, I., & Wilkinson, T. J. (2022). When I say… microlearning. Medical education, 56(8), 791–792.
by April Tallant | Mar 31, 2025 | AI, Blog, Educational Technology, Pedagogy, Professional Development
Apply to become an E-Learning Faculty Fellow
Coulter Faculty Commons is seeking applications and nominations for an E-Learning Faculty Fellow for the 2025-2026 academic year. The selected fellow will promote pedagogically driven uses of Canvas and champion innovative teaching and learning tools, including artificial intelligence (AI), for both online and in-person courses.
- Faculty Fellows work an average of 2-4 hours per week during fall and spring semesters.
- The faculty selected for this position will receive a $1,000 stipend each academic semester.
Key responsibilities:
- Collaborate with educational developers and campus partners to promote tech-forward teaching practices.
- Provide workshops and create resources to support faculty in leveraging Canvas and other educational technology to enhance course design, student engagement, and pedagogy.
- Explore cutting-edge tools to enhance teaching and learning, including AI.
- Support the assessment of e-learning programming within the CFC.
Ideal candidates will have:
- Strong collaboration and communication skills.
- A passion for supporting faculty in using technology to enrich student learning.
- Expertise in Canvas and instructional technology from a pedagogical perspective.
- Experience with assessment and data-informed decision-making.
Application Deadline:
Applications will be accepted from all full-time tenured, tenure-track, and full-time fixed-term faculty members. The application deadline is Tuesday, May 13.
Contact Scott Seagle at seaglej@wcu.edu for questions.
by Eli Collins-Brown | Apr 20, 2022 | Active Learning, Blog, Canvas, Classroom, Educational Development, Educational Technology, Faculty Development Workshop, Summer Institute for Teaching & Learning (SITL)
It’s BACK!!
The Summer Institute of Teaching & Learning is back after a two year COVID hiatus. We will gather together in person on May 10 & 11th in HHS 204 for sharing and conversation.
We are keeping it low key this year. Come to relax, learn something new, and enjoy good food and conversation with your peers.
The keynote speaker will be Dr. Sudhir Kaul, Professor, School of Engineering and Technology, and the 2022 UNC Board of Governor’s Teaching Award winner from WCU.
Lunch is provided on both days – registration is required.
Agenda:
Tuesday May 10:
9:00-9:15 am – Welcome
9:15-10:00 – Student Engagement in the Times of a Pandemic Keynote: Dr. Sudhir Kaul, Professor, School of Engineering and Technology, BOG Teaching Award Winner, 2022
10:15 am-Noon – Workshop 1 – How to Engage with Students in any Modality
Noon-1:00pm – Lunch
1:00-3:00pm – Workshop 2 – The First Steps: Instructional Design or Redesign
Do you want to design or redesign an assignment, assessment, content, part of a course, or an entire course? This interactive session will get you started with brainstorming and an action plan to get you through the summer
3 – 3:15 – Summer Beach Read
3:15 – 3:30 – Sharing and Next Steps
Wednesday May 11:
9:00-11:30am – Workshop 3 – Student Engagement through Assessment and Grading in Canvas
11:30am-12:30pm – Lunch
12:30-3:00 pm – Workshop 4 – Undergraduate Students as Research Partners
3:00 – 3:30 pm – Sharing, Next Steps, and Closing
Registration
Use the QR code to access the registration form or https://wcu.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1FX4RGQqj1AjF54
Looking forward to seeing you!
by John Hawes | Oct 25, 2021 | Active Learning, Blog, Discussions, Educational Technology, Student Engagement, Teaching with Technology
Looking for some new ideas for classroom discussion?
Seeking an idea for an online discussion?
What about a guide for setting norms/expectations related to discussion practices?
We have identified some resources to help you think through these questions.
Tips for the new teacher
Are you unsure of the role that discussion should play in your class? This guide by the University of Michigan’s Center for Research on Teaching and Learning, Guidelines for Classroom Interactions, frames the discussion, first and foremost, as an exercise in knowing how your course goals align to the discussion as a lens for knowing and learning.
Classroom teachers looking for a quick, digital resource, the IDEA paper Effective Classroom Discussions covers expectation-setting, teacher roles, and student roles, in an attractive and chunked layout. Useful when planning for a future course.
Tips for the online teacher
If you teach online and are looking for ideas on how to maximize engagement in online discussions, Kreiger, Lee, and Zolkover, instructional designers at Penn State, recently presented on this topic at the 2021 CanvasCon conference. In their presentation Change the Prompt, Not the Tool: Developing Effective Discussions, they share information for new online teachers. They suggest that faculty write out their responses to these 5 steps, prior to posting them to the LMS:
- What is the context? Why are you asking them to respond?
- How does it fit? Write an explanation for how the assignment fits into the course.
- How should they proceed? Write out, 1-2-3, what they are to do. Since online students typically have to wait longer for a response, they advise that you “build in” the help. See the course from their eyes.
- Clarify grading. Provide some clarity on how they are graded, and remember that in Canvas, discussions can be high-stakes (with a point value or rubric) or low-stakes (with a complete/incomplete checkmark).
- Scaffold the responses. Let them know how the response “flow” should work. Are you wanting them to respond to others? (remember that this can require students to log in frequently, just to see if a response has been posted). Or do you want a rotating moderator to collect all responses, and summarize and present those to the class?
All of this information, now typed and on-screen, is tidy and structured for copy-paste into the Canvas LMS discussion rich content editor – so students will then know the big picture, and all the details, associated with the discussion.
Another helpful resource is the book Engaging the Online Learner by Rita-Marie Conrad and J. Ana Donaldson. The book frames the discussion as a small component of online engagement. Faculty will enjoy the foundational frame and theory the authors provide (constructivist and problem-based). You will not only see online classes in a new light but you will also be provided dozens of discussion-based activities and icebreakers that stem from the theory. Grab and use! One of our favorite texts!. The library has a copy; you can search for the call numbers here.
Tips for facilitating challenging classroom conversations
Many university teaching and learning centers provide guidance for handling challenging or controversial subjects. One of our favorites is the tips provided by Vanderbilt’s Center for Teaching, Difficult Dialogues, as they don’t just discuss procedures for handling the challenging topic (helpful as that is). Rather, following a discussion they integrate activities for gauging student understanding that is writing- and reflection-based.
In summary, there are a lot of resources to help inspire new and innovative ideas and thinking for both the new and experienced instructor, whether teaching face-to-face or online.
Further Reading/Viewing:
Conrad, R. M., & Donaldson, J. A. (2011). Engaging the online learner: Activities and resources for creative instruction (Vol. 38). John Wiley & Sons.
Lee, L., Krieger, J. M., and Adam D. Zolkover. (2021). L. Change the Prompt, Not the Tool: Developing Effective Discussions. [Video]. InstructureCon. https://www.instructure.com/canvas/resources/instructurecon-2021/change-the-prompt-not-the-tool-developing-effective-discussions#main-content
