Center for Teaching & Learning Innovation

Spring 2026 Panorama Playground Series: Panorama and Word, Powerpoint, Excel
2026-03-11 13:00 - 14:00 (America/New_York)
Dr. Sarah Chambers, Director of Learning Technologies for Shared Services is offering a workshop series to support faculty efforts toward digital accessibility. Panorama Playgrounds are interactive, hands-on workshops designed to help faculty improve the accessibility of their courses using YuJa Panorama. Each session focuses on a specific type of content—Canvas pages, Word documents, PDFs, and Math formulas. Practicing skills using your own course is recommended. Questions are encouraged. You are welcome to sign up for one topic or all of the topics; most sessions are duplicated to provide greater access for more people.
Wed 3/11 1:00 – 2:00 PM
Panorama and Word/PowerPoint/Excel
Remediating Microsoft Office 365 documents with Panorama
Presented By: Dr. Sarah Chambers, VSCS Shared Services, Director of Learning Technologies

Please register for this event and any others of interest in the series of spring 2026 Panorama Playground workshops. When you do, you will receive an automatic email from the CTLI confirming your registration. This email will include the Zoom link and the option to “add to calendar” using an embedded hyperlink – this will work for Outlook, Google Calendar, and Yahoo Calendar.

Guest Workshop: Dr Liz Norell - When and why do students read for class?
2026-03-09 12:00 - 13:00
Drawing from survey data and focus group findings from a spring 2025 pilot project, this workshop will share the biggest reasons students say they choose to skip the readings for their undergraduate courses. We’ll then share strategies on how to make the goals of course readings more transparent and meaningful for students, with plenty of time for Q&A. Attendees will leave with a clearer understanding of students’ perspectives on course readings and ideas for how to frame the importance of the readings so students can engage with course materials more effectively.
Bio:

Dr. Liz Norell serves as Associate Director of Instructional Support in the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) at the University of Mississippi. She has spent more than 20 years teaching in higher education, including stints in composition, journalism, new media, and political science–much of that as an adjunct faculty member teaching simultaneously at multiple institutions, including community colleges. She completed a PhD in political science at the University of Texas Dallas. Liz’s first book, The Present Professor: Authenticity and Transformational Teaching, is published in the University of Oklahoma Press’s brand-new series, Teaching, Engaging, and Thriving in Higher Ed, co-edited by James Lang and Michelle Miller. Liz is passionate about equitable, inclusive teaching, constructive conversations across differences, and fostering meaningful learning. She is also dedicated to boosting awareness of disability in higher education. You can find Liz on social media (@liznorell) and at her website, liznorell.com.
How to join the session:
VTSU faculty members received an email invitation to join this session, which is scheduled for Monday, March 9th at 12:00p. Please check your Outlook calendars to join.

Spring 2026 Panorama Playground Series: Panorama and Word, Powerpoint, Excel
2026-03-06 11:00 - 12:00
Dr. Sarah Chambers, Director of Learning Technologies for Shared Services is offering a workshop series to support faculty efforts toward digital accessibility. Panorama Playgrounds are interactive, hands-on workshops designed to help faculty improve the accessibility of their courses using YuJa Panorama. Each session focuses on a specific type of content—Canvas pages, Word documents, PDFs, and Math formulas. Practicing skills using your own course is recommended. Questions are encouraged. You are welcome to sign up for one topic or all of the topics; most sessions are duplicated to provide greater access for more people.
Fri 3/6 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Panorama and Word/PowerPoint/Excel
Remediating Microsoft Office 365 documents with Panorama
Presented By: Dr. Sarah Chambers, VSCS Shared Services, Director of Learning Technologies

Please register for this event and any others of interest in the series of spring 2026 Panorama Playground workshops. When you do, you will receive an automatic email from the CTLI confirming your registration. This email will include the Zoom link and the option to “add to calendar” using an embedded hyperlink – this will work for Outlook, Google Calendar, and Yahoo Calendar.

Spring 2026 Panorama Playground Series: Panorama and the Canvas Rich Text Editor
2026-03-03 06:00 - 07:00
Dr. Sarah Chambers, Director of Learning Technologies for Shared Services is offering a workshop series to support faculty efforts toward digital accessibility. Panorama Playgrounds are interactive, hands-on workshops designed to help faculty improve the accessibility of their courses using YuJa Panorama. Each session focuses on a specific type of content—Canvas pages, Word documents, PDFs, and Math formulas. Practicing skills using your own course is recommended. Questions are encouraged. You are welcome to sign up for one topic or all of the topics; most sessions are duplicated to provide greater access for more people.
Tue 3/3 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Panorama and the Canvas Rich Text Editor
Remediating text inside of Canvas (assignments, pages, quizzes, etc)
Presented By: Dr. Sarah Chambers, VSCS Shared Services, Director of Learning Technologies

Please register for this event and any others of interest in the series of spring 2026 Panorama Playground workshops. When you do, you will receive an automatic email from the CTLI confirming your registration. This email will include the Zoom link and the option to “add to calendar” using an embedded hyperlink – this will work for Outlook, Google Calendar, and Yahoo Calendar.

Spring 2026 Digital Accessibility Series: Structuring Accessible Documents
2026-03-02 07:00 - 08:00
Audience: Beginner
This workshop series is geared toward faculty and staff members with a basic knowledge of sound digital accessibility practices. The workshops will include hands-on activities that align with accessibility learning modules developed by the CTLI over the past several months and participants are encouraged to review the applicable modules prior to each scheduled session.
Structuring Accessible Documents Workshop
This workshop, which is being held on March 2nd at 12:00p, focuses on best practices for structuring accessible documents. The online module that will guide our discussion is now available on the CTLI’s Digital Accessibility Resources page and a direct link to it is below.
Resource: Structuring Accessible Documents Module
Facilitated By: Jeff Tunney, Associate Director, Center for Teaching & Learning Innovation

Please register for this event and any others of interest in the series of Spring 2026 Digital Accessibility workshops. When you do, you will receive an automatic email from the CTLI confirming your registration. This email will include the Zoom link and the option to “add to calendar” using an embedded hyperlink – this will work for Outlook, Google Calendar, and Yahoo Calendar.

Spring 2026 Series on Writing & Generative AI: Supporting an AI-Mindful Writing Process for Students
2026-03-02 07:00 - 08:00
Audience: AI Experimenters
AI tools (think: grammar fixes, text prediction) have been a part of the writing process for years before generative AI. Now that tools and platforms can create new content, the role of AI in the writing process is even more important to understand. In this workshop, we will look at the potential roles—both helpful, harmful, and anything in between—that generative AI can play in the writing process. Using the journey from choosing a topic idea to final written product, you will get the chance to understand generative AI more thoroughly and consider ways to help both you and your students use AI more responsibly and productively.
Presented By: Jen Garrett-Ostermiller, CTLI Director and Elise Wallace, Castleton Writing Coordinator

Please register for this event and any others of interest in the series of spring 2026 Writing & Generative AI workshops. When you do, you will receive an automatic email from the CTLI confirming your registration. This email will include the Zoom link and the option to “add to calendar” using an embedded hyperlink – this will work for Outlook, Google Calendar, and Yahoo Calendar.

Spring 2026 Panorama Playground Series: Panorama and the Canvas Rich Text Editor
2026-02-25 08:00 - 09:00
Dr. Sarah Chambers, Director of Learning Technologies for Shared Services is offering a workshop series to support faculty efforts toward digital accessibility. Panorama Playgrounds are interactive, hands-on workshops designed to help faculty improve the accessibility of their courses using YuJa Panorama. Each session focuses on a specific type of content—Canvas pages, Word documents, PDFs, and Math formulas. Practicing skills using your own course is recommended. Questions are encouraged. You are welcome to sign up for one topic or all of the topics; most sessions are duplicated to provide greater access for more people.
Wed 2/25 1:00- 2:00 PM
Panorama and the Canvas Rich Text Editor
Remediating text inside of Canvas (assignments, pages, quizzes, etc)
Presented By: Dr. Sarah Chambers, VSCS Shared Services, Director of Learning Technologies

Please register for this event and any others of interest in the series of spring 2026 Panorama Playground workshops. When you do, you will receive an automatic email from the CTLI confirming your registration. This email will include the Zoom link and the option to “add to calendar” using an embedded hyperlink – this will work for Outlook, Google Calendar, and Yahoo Calendar.

Program Assessment: Drop-In Office Hours
2026-02-20 14:00 - 15:00, 2026-01-30 14:00 - 15:00
Drop in with the CTLI staff and members of the Program Assessment Committee of the Faculty Assembly to ask questions about program assessment. Come any time during the hour for any of these monthly sessions
*Friday, January 30 from 2-3pm
*Friday, February 20 from 2-3pm
*Friday, March 27 from 2-3pm
*Friday, April 24 from 2-3pm
*Friday, May 22 from 2-3pm

No question is too big or too small.
Use this link to drop-in; no registration is required: https://vsc.zoom.us/j/99244345712

Building Anti-Racist Educators: Reading & Inquiry Series - February Meeting
2026-02-19 15:00 - 16:30 | Use URL below to register:
As educators, we want to do our jobs well. We want to be fair, we want to promote safe communities, and we want to support all our students in every aspect of their lives. Tools help us realize these goals that we already have.

Educators, even those with experience and compassion, may unconsciously negatively impact students in their classrooms. We believe that through consistent study and reflection, we can slowly address our own unconscious biases and make changes so we can better support the academic, social and emotional well-being of our students.

We want YOU to be part of a decentralized inquiry series to support educators to better explore their own biases and improve their own teaching practices.

This Reading and Inquiry Series provides a monthly set of tools for learning, introspection and having conversations about issues of racism in our university, classrooms and communities. We hope that through regular reflection and conversation, you can get better at recognizing and resisting your biases and the impact they have on your students and colleagues.

To receive a calendar invitation, Zoom link, and access to the Canvas space, please fill out the Vermont State Colleges Building Anti-Racist Educators Sign-Up Form. Note – you only need to complete the form once for the year!

Sponsored and facilitated by the VTSU Office of Culture & Institutional Excellence and the VTSU CTLI.

Spring 2026 Panorama Playground Series: What is Panorama?
2026-02-18 09:00 - 10:00
Dr. Sarah Chambers, Director of Learning Technologies for Shared Services is offering a workshop series to support faculty efforts toward digital accessibility. Panorama Playgrounds are interactive, hands-on workshops designed to help faculty improve the accessibility of their courses using YuJa Panorama. Each session focuses on a specific type of content—Canvas pages, Word documents, PDFs, and Math formulas. Practicing skills using your own course is recommended. Questions are encouraged. You are welcome to sign up for one topic or all of the topics; most sessions are duplicated to provide greater access for more people.
Wed 2/18 2:00-3:00 PM
What is Panorama?
Understanding your Panorama accessibility score
Presented By: Dr. Sarah Chambers, VSCS Shared Services, Director of Learning Technologies

Please register for this event and any others of interest in the series of spring 2026 Panorama Playground workshops. When you do, you will receive an automatic email from the CTLI confirming your registration. This email will include the Zoom link and the option to “add to calendar” using an embedded hyperlink – this will work for Outlook, Google Calendar, and Yahoo Calendar.

Spring 2026 Digital Accessibility Series: Selecting Accessible Color Combinations
2026-02-16 07:00 - 08:00
Audience: Beginner
This workshop series is geared toward faculty and staff members with a basic knowledge of sound digital accessibility practices. The workshops will include hands-on activities that align with accessibility learning modules developed by the CTLI over the past several months and participants are encouraged to review the applicable modules prior to each scheduled session.
Selecting Accessible Color Combinations Workshop
This workshop, which is being held on February 16th at 12:00p, focuses on best practices for selecting accessible color combinations. The online module that will guide our discussion is now available on the CTLI’s Digital Accessibility Resources page and a direct link to it is below.
Resource: Selecting Accessible Color Combinations Module
Facilitated By: Jeff Tunney, Associate Director, Center for Teaching & Learning Innovation

Please register for this event and any others of interest in the series of Spring 2026 Digital Accessibility workshops. When you do, you will receive an automatic email from the CTLI confirming your registration. This email will include the Zoom link and the option to “add to calendar” using an embedded hyperlink – this will work for Outlook, Google Calendar, and Yahoo Calendar.

Program Assessment: Collecting and Evaluating Direct Evidence
2026-02-06 07:00 - 08:00
Reliable data and evidence is critical for confidence in program changes intended to improve student outcomes.
Come learn more about how to collect direct evidence of student learning as part of your annual program assessment efforts.
Presented By: Jen Garrett-Ostermiller, CTLI Director

**Note – this is a live version of the self-service workshop available on the Program Assessment Sharepoint Site.

Please register for this event. When you do, you will receive an automatic email from the CTLI confirming your registration. This email will include the Zoom link and the option to “add to calendar” using an embedded hyperlink – this will work for Outlook, Google Calendar, and Yahoo Calendar.

Spring 2026 Digital Accessibility Series: Creating Accessible Hyperlinks
2026-02-02 07:00 - 08:00
Audience: Beginner
This workshop series is geared toward faculty and staff members with a basic knowledge of sound digital accessibility practices. The workshops will include hands-on activities that align with accessibility learning modules developed by the CTLI over the past several months and participants are encouraged to review the applicable modules prior to each scheduled session.
Creating Accessible Hyperlinks Workshop
This workshop, which is being held on February 2nd at 12:00p, focuses on best practices for creating accessible hyperlinks. The online module that will guide our discussion is now available on the CTLI’s Digital Accessibility Resources page and a direct link to it is below.
Resource: Creating Accessible Hyperlinks Module
Facilitated By: Jeff Tunney, Associate Director, Center for Teaching & Learning Innovation

Please register for this event and any others of interest in the series of Spring 2026 Digital Accessibility workshops. When you do, you will receive an automatic email from the CTLI confirming your registration. This email will include the Zoom link and the option to “add to calendar” using an embedded hyperlink – this will work for Outlook, Google Calendar, and Yahoo Calendar.

Spring 2026 Series on Writing & Generative AI: An Introduction to Generative AI
2026-01-26 07:00 - 08:00
Audience: AI Explorers
Whether you have been secretly ignoring generative AI, hoping it would go away or intimidated to get started, this first workshop is for you! Generative AI tools have become embedded in education. When it comes to writing assignments, our students are using these tools, whether or not faculty integrate generative AI into syllabi and curriculum. Teachers can serve as co-learners, experimenters, and guides. During this hands-on session, you’ll have the opportunity to try out some of these tools and begin to consider how generative AI can be used for writing assignments.
Presented By: Jen Garrett-Ostermiller, CTLI Director and Elise Wallace, Castleton Writing Coordinator

Please register for this event and any others of interest in the series of spring 2026 Writing & Generative AI workshops. When you do, you will receive an automatic email from the CTLI confirming your registration. This email will include the Zoom link and the option to “add to calendar” using an embedded hyperlink – this will work for Outlook, Google Calendar, and Yahoo Calendar.

Spring Semester Goal Setting Using the Teaching Effectiveness Framework
2026-01-23 10:00 - 11:00, 2026-01-20 07:00 - 08:00, 2026-01-14 05:00 - 06:00
You want to become a “better” instructor, but what does that mean? What does good teaching look like? And how do you get started? This workshop will walk you through a goal-setting process using the Teaching Effectiveness Framework. You will leave this session with a goal, action steps to carry out that goal, and tools to assess (and write about) your level of achievement.
Presented By: Jen Garrett-Ostermiller, CTLI Director

Please register for this event. When you do, you will receive an automatic email from the CTLI confirming your registration. This email will include the Zoom link and the option to “add to calendar” using an embedded hyperlink – this will work for Outlook, Google Calendar, and Yahoo Calendar.

Quick, Ask the Library! Making the Most of the VSCS Libraries' Services
2026-01-23 07:00 - 08:00, 2026-01-22 10:30 - 11:30
This one-hour Zoom gathering is designed for Vermont State University faculty.
Are you making the most of the VSCS Libraries resources and services? Are your students getting the most out of what the library offers and succeeding in your class? Learn practical (and helpful!) ways to bring information literacy lessons into your courses and help your students become ace researchers. All for free!
Presented By: Alejandra Nann, Director of the VSCS Libraries along with librarian colleagues.

Please register for this event. When you do, you will receive an automatic email from the CTLI confirming your registration. This email will include the Zoom link and the option to “add to calendar” using an embedded hyperlink – this will work for Outlook, Google Calendar, and Yahoo Calendar.

Building Anti-Racist Educators: Reading & Inquiry Series - January Meeting
2026-01-22 15:00 - 16:30 | Use URL below to register:

For New VTSU Faculty: Spring Semester Kick-Off
2026-01-16 11:00 - 12:00
The CTLI is here to support all new faculty at VTSU in their teaching endeavors and in learning about key student support services.
As a follow-up to our fall sessions, this is an opportunity to set a teaching goal for the spring semester and answer any questions you may have as you get ready to begin a new semester.

New Faculty – Check your calendar for an invitation and Zoom link for these sessions.

For New VTSU Faculty: Fall Friday Sessions
2025-12-05 11:00 - 12:00, 2025-11-14 11:00 - 12:00, 2025-10-24 11:00 - 12:00
The CTLI is here to support all new faculty at VTSU in their teaching endeavors and in learning about key student support services.
We’ll be meeting every 3 weeks throughout the fall semester.

New Faculty – Check your calendar for an invitation and Zoom link for these sessions.

Adult Learning in Online Classes at VTSU
2025-12-04 07:15 - 08:15, 2025-11-05 07:15 - 08:15
This one-hour Zoom gathering is designed for Vermont State University instructors who are seeking a broad understanding of adult learning theory and an ability to apply it effectively in their online course development and instruction. The session will begin with a brief overview of demographic data related to our adult learners at VTSU. Afterwards, we will explore the main points of adult learning theory, focusing on practical strategies you can use to support and engage adult students in your online classes.
What You’ll Gain:
*An understanding of the demographic profile and unique needs of adult learners at VTSU and in online higher education.
*An understanding of the core principles of adult learning theory and how they differ from traditional approaches.
*An ability to identify specific instructional strategies that align with adult learning theory for use in online courses.
*An ability to effectively adapt existing assignments to incorporate principles of adult learning.
By attending this session, you will develop baseline proficiency in adult learning theory, which is a criterion for teaching online at VTSU.
Presented By: Lisa Hayward, AVP for Online Program Administration; Jen Garrett-Ostermiller, Director of the CTLI, Jeff Tunney, VTSU Associate Director of the CTLI, and John Ryan Instructional Designer.

Please register for this event. When you do, you will receive an automatic email from the CTLI confirming your registration. This email will include the Zoom link and the option to “add to calendar” using an embedded hyperlink – this will work for Outlook, Google Calendar, and Yahoo Calendar.

Program Assessment: The PReCIP Report for Non-Externally Accredited Programs
2025-11-14 09:00 - 10:00
Programs in Year 5 of the Program Review cycle should submit their PReCIP Report by June 2026, per the VSC Policy 101. Externally accredited programs submit their most recent accreditation report and any updates in lieu of the PReCIP report on a 5-year cycle as well.
This comprehensive document shares the evidence, changes, and future plans for your program, based on the efforts of the full 5-year cycle. All program outcomes should be evaluated and reported on in a full 5-year cycle; programs in an abbreviated cycle (due to the break in program assessment during transformation) should report on 1 program outcome per year starting in 2024-25, including the PReCIP year.
Presented By: Jeff Tunney, CTLI Associate Director

**Note – this is a live version of the self-service workshop available on the Program Assessment Sharepoint Site.

Please register for this event and any others of interest in the series of fall 2025 Program Assessment workshops. When you do, you will receive an automatic email from the CTLI confirming your registration. This email will include the Zoom link and the option to “add to calendar” using an embedded hyperlink – this will work for Outlook, Google Calendar, and Yahoo Calendar.

Program Assessment: Collecting and Evaluating Indirect Evidence
2025-11-07 09:00 - 10:00
Reliable data and evidence is critical for confidence in program changes intended to improve student outcomes.
Come learn more about how to collect indirect evidence related to your program and impressions of student learning, to supplement and provide context to the direct evidence you collect.
Presented By: Jen Garrett-Ostermiller, CTLI Director

**Note – this is a live version of the self-service workshop available on the Program Assessment Sharepoint Site.

Please register for this event and any others of interest in the series of fall 2025 Program Assessment workshops. When you do, you will receive an automatic email from the CTLI confirming your registration. This email will include the Zoom link and the option to “add to calendar” using an embedded hyperlink – this will work for Outlook, Google Calendar, and Yahoo Calendar.

Program Assessment: Collecting and Evaluating Direct Evidence
2025-10-31 10:00 - 11:00
Reliable data and evidence is critical for confidence in program changes intended to improve student outcomes.
Come learn more about how to collect direct evidence of student learning as part of your annual program assessment efforts.
Presented By: Jen Garrett-Ostermiller, CTLI Director

**Note – this is a live version of the self-service workshop available on the Program Assessment Sharepoint Site.

Please register for this event and any others of interest in the series of fall 2025 Program Assessment workshops. When you do, you will receive an automatic email from the CTLI confirming your registration. This email will include the Zoom link and the option to “add to calendar” using an embedded hyperlink – this will work for Outlook, Google Calendar, and Yahoo Calendar.
