Volume 4, Issue 13--Published: Friday, April 25th, 2025

The Center and You!

It’s the final turn of the semester, and many of our students may just need a small boost of confidence to complete. Your colleagues at the Center also understand that you may also need a boost this time of year, so please know that your efforts at this time of year are appreciated and really pay off for our students.  As always, just let us know how we can support you as you support our students.

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 for AI Conversations 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 AI Conversations. 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.
 
4/28/25, 12pm-1pm, Virtual or In-Person (M201, Downtown)

PTSD and College Students
Join us for a presentation about how Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) can affect college students. This is a virtual presentation through Zoom. Please register through the link below.
 
5/2/25, 9am-10am, Virtual Only

End of semester Blackboard Grade book tips and & Syllabus Language
Join us for a one-hour workshop on mastering the art of grading structure. As the Center of Teaching Excellence coach, Natasha Librizzi brings experience and expertise to guide you through the intricacies of percentage and point-based grading structures. You can learn how to implement these grading structures in your class and optimize your grading process for student success. With a particular focus on setting up grades in Ulta under both methods, you'll gain practical, hands-on skills to enhance your teaching effectiveness. Don't miss this opportunity to revolutionize your approach to education and create a more equitable learning experience for your students. Tools from the Student-Centered Syllabus Toolkit will also be utilized to help you include what you learn directly in your syllabi.
 
5/2/25, 11:30am-12:30pm, Virtual Only

Using Blackboard AI Tool-Modules & Images
 
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 Module content and add images. 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. 
 
5/8/25, 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).

5/9/25, 10:30am-12pm, Virtual or In-Person (M201, Downtown)

Collaboration Connection

Looking to become 21st Century Classroom Level 2 verified?

All faculty, but especially those who had 21st Century Classroom Course reviews this spring and have not yet demonstrated Level 2 through coaching can take another route to become eligible for teaching online/partially online in Summer/Fall 2025. Upon passing Introduction to Blackboard Ultra  (ZERD-190) and Online Instructional Quality (ZERD-219)  in June, faculty will be eligible to teach online or partially online in Summer/Fall 2025 with the expectation that they participate in follow-up course review to ensure application of the Level 2 standards. We encourage all faculty who teach online/partially online to take Online Instructional Quality (ZERD-219) to review adult learning theory, cultural relevance, learner roles, online course design and more. Register through Self-Service; you can watch this video to ensure your registration is complete.

AI Literacy Essentials For Students: A Micro-Credential For Maximum Impact is a comprehensive six-part micro-credential series designed to equip college students with a fundamental understanding and practical knowledge of Artificial Intelligence (AI). This program covers everything from basic concepts and ethical considerations to the application of AI tools in academic and professional settings. Each 15-minute session is tailored to enhance students' AI literacy, preparing them for both academic success and future career challenges. The series is available through the Online Orientation's Student Success Workshops page. Please let your students know if AI tool use is permitted.

Faculty, staff and admin are welcome to take the series as well—you will become aware of the material being covered and may also learn a few new tricks!

Friendly Reminders:

Mental Health First Aid Training

MATC Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) invites you to register for Mental Health First Aid training, facilitated by the Wisconsin Chapter of the American Federation for Suicide Prevention.

Mental Health First Aid is a course that teaches you how to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental illnesses and substance use disorders. The training gives you the skills you need to reach out and provide initial help and support to someone who may be developing a mental health or substance use problem or experiencing a crisis.

This will be a blended course. You will complete a 2-hour self-paced course prior to the instructor-led portion, scheduled for May 9 at the MATC Downtown Campus, room M616 from 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM. You will receive an invitation to Mental Health First Aid Connect within 2 business days of registering for the course. This is the platform from where you will complete your 2-hour self-paced course and post course evaluation.

Faculty participation in this program will apply towards FQAS hours.

Technology Requests for Students
 
Applications for technology for the Spring semester closes on Friday, April 25. Students who still want to request technology for the current semester must do so by this date. The summer technology applications will open on June 2.

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.

MATC’s Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) is now available!

Student responses to this survey are very important in helping MATC understand their experiences so we can improve MATC for future students. The survey takes about 20 minutes to complete. Please encourage students to take the survey as their voices are needed!

Grants & MATC Foundation's Lunch and Learn

Friday, May 9 · 10:30am – 12:00pm

The MATC Foundation and Grants and Resource Development Department will be hosting a Lunch and Learn to provide an overview of our departments, including our processes, team structures, and collaborative efforts. Together, leaders from both departments coordinate funding applications referred to the Grants Council for development. To further promote awareness and engagement, we will host a Lunch and Learn for faculty and staff on May 9th, 2025, focused on introducing our teams and sharing more about the Grants Council.

Hybrid: In-person downtown in M204or virtual via Google Meet:

Video call link: https://meet.google.com/ogo-thej-pni

Or dial: ‪(US) +1 475-222-5396‬ PIN: ‪120 277 336‬#

Additional Professional Learning Opportunities:

Developing intercultural communications skills enables learners to approach cultural differences with thoughtfulness and skill, enhancing their ability to communicate effectively across diverse contexts. This webinar explores strategies for helping
Call for Proposals Teaching Professor Online Conference: Ready, Set, Teach Live Online: July 22-24, 2025On-Demand Access: July 25-October 27, 2025 The Call for Proposals is open! Deadline to Submit a Proposal is April 28, 2025 Magna Publications invites proposals for 60-minute concurrent sessions...
Are you passionate about empowering learners and enabling their potential through quality assurance? Do you have innovative research, best practices, or insights to share on how quality assurance can enhance teaching and learning practice and outcomes? If so, we want to hear from you! Submit a proposal for QM Connect 2025,

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!

A first-year seminar instructor describes how she involved her students in adjusting her plans for the course.
Teachers focus on developing students' conscious learning and understanding of concepts, but there is a whole other dimension of mental life that teachers also influence: implicit thought and memory. Psychologists distinguish between explicit and implicit mental processes.[1] We are consciously...
After all, nearly every large language model (LLM) is good at summarizing readings, synthesizing large amounts of data and information across sources and culling it down to key points, and "remembering" foundational knowledge. So why memorize facts? Why practice applying concepts? Why learn to...

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