Wacky Wednesday: Pop in for Puzzles (Feb. 14, 3 – 4:30 p.m.)

Need a lift this Valentine’s Day? Need a break from the hectic start of the new semester? Join the CATL team for coffee, Valentine’s treats, puzzles, and games! Pop in for a competitive game of Werewolves or Timelines, bring some friends and play one of our other games, or quietly work on a puzzle that has a heart theme.

Faculty and staff are welcome to join this come-and-go activity time in the CATL office on the 4th floor of Cofrin Library between 3:00 and 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 14. Instructors, as an added bonus, you can see the kinds of games that can be incorporated into your classroom if you’ve ever considered adding games to your course. Join us! If you have questions, email CATL@uwgb.edu.

Note: Puzzle work will be saved. Anyone can come by and work on the puzzle and when it’s finished, we will start a new one.

Upcoming Wacky Wednesdays

Take a short break, enjoy snacks and good company, and try games you could use in classes! Join the CATL team for a little fun at these “Wacky Wednesday” events.

  • Mar. 20 | Times and activities TBD
  • Apr. 10 | Times and activities TBD
  • May 8 | Times and activities TBD

“Radical Hope” Book Group (Spring 2024)

Are you interested in diving deeper into the topics from the 2024 IDI Keynote address by Dr. Kevin Gannon? CATL will be leading a Spring 2024 book group on Dr. Gannon’s book, Radical Hope: A Teaching Manifesto! UWGB faculty and staff from all campuses and areas are welcome to join. Meetings will be virtual with days and times selected based on the availability of those interested. We won’t be providing physical copies of the book, but you can get free online access through the UWGB library. To express your interest, please fill out the sign-up form by Friday, Feb. 2.

coffee cup and notebook

Co-Writing Community (Fridays 8:15 – 9:15 a.m., Spring 2024)

Tara DaPra, one of CATL’s Instructional Development Consultants, will lead a “Co-Writing Community” this spring.  A Co-Writing Community is a zero-obligation, zero-preparation, zero-outside work activity. Use the time to work on creative or scholarly projects that might otherwise get pushed aside by the demands of teaching. All faculty and staff are welcome!

The Co-Writing Community will meet throughout the spring semester on Fridays from 8:15 – 9:15 a.m. Feel free to join early or late, weekly, or when your schedule allows! All meetings will be held virtually. Simply drop in with this Zoom link which will be reused for each session.

Please email daprat@uwgb.edu with any questions.

Workshop Wednesdays (Fall 2023)

New for Fall 2023, CATL will be hosting a “Workshop Wednesday” on the last Wednesday of each month from 3:30 – 4:30 p.m.

This Semester’s Workshop Wednesdays:

  • Sept. 27 | 3:30 – 4:30 p.m. | Engaging Students with Evidence-Based Activities
  • Oct. 25 | 3:30 – 4:30 p.m. | Cold Lunch & Hot Topics: Grading Practices and Efficiencies 
  • Nov. 29 | 3:30 – 4:30 p.m. | Career Infusion in Higher Education (Zoom link)

Engaging Students with Evidence-Based Activities (Sept. 27, 3:30 – 4:30 p.m.)

Congratulations on surviving your first week of the Fall 2023 semester. Your students are engaged and motivated to learn, eager to jot down every word, and participate in every activity you assign. Or maybe not. If you find that your students have started drifting off or pulling out their phones instead of doing their work, it might be time to consider some engagement strategies.

While we wish we could wave a magic wand and increase the engagement of all our students, we know that’s not realistic. There are some activities, however, that can increase participation and general motivation over time. Want to know more? Join CATL for our first virtual ‘Workshop Wednesday’ of the year on Wednesday, Sept. 27, at 3:30 p.m. where we will tackle this issue.

Cold Lunch & Hot Topics: Grading Practices and Efficiencies (Oct. 25, 3:30 – 4:30 p.m.)

Share Your Best Grading Tips with CATL & Other Instructors!

Do you have any grading advice to offer to fellow instructors? CATL is soliciting recommendations for using the Canvas Gradebook, staying on top of grading, implementing alternative grading approaches, or making the most out of Canvas Rubrics and SpeedGrader. Send us your best tips by completing this survey.

Then join CATL, along with other UWGB instructors, for our next “Cold Lunch & Hot Topics” on Wednesday, Oct. 25, from 3:30 – 4:30 p.m. in which we’ll share the tips you’ve submitted and host an informal discussion about grading practices and efficiencies. This hybrid event will be hosted on Zoom for those who want to join virtually and in person in the CATL conference room (Cofrin Library 405C).

Career Infusion in Higher Education (Nov. 29, 3:30 – 4:30 p.m.)

CATL’s Workshop Wednesdays continue this month with a session on career infusion! Join CATL Director Kris Vespia for a brief presentation and open discussion about concrete ways instructors can infuse marketable skills and career information into their courses, including liberal arts and STEM fields. This virtual event will be hosted via Zoom on Wednesday, Nov. 29, from 3:30 – 4:30 p.m. You can register to receive an Outlook calendar reminder or simply drop in using the Zoom link.

Events on AI, Machine-Generated Content, and ChatGPT (Feb. 10, Feb. 17, Mar. 24 & Apr. 7, 2023)

Have you heard the term “ChatGPT” and wondered what everyone was talking about? Are you thinking about how artificial intelligence and machine-generated content could help you as a teacher or complicate your ability to assess true student learning? Experts from across UW-Green Bay are coming together to help you! Please read on to learn more about the sessions being offered in Spring 2023.

ChatGPT Workshop (Feb. 10 & 17, 8 – 9:30 a.m.)

We are excited to announce that the Cofrin School of Business, with support from CATL, is hosting a workshop on ChatGPT! Come learn about ChatGPT by Open AI. Join CSB faculty in this interactive workshop to experience the most advanced chatbot and discuss implications for teaching and learning.

The workshop is moderated by Oliver Buechse, Executive in Residence, Cofrin School of Business. It will be offered on two different Fridays, Feb. 10 and 17, from 8 – 9:30 a.m. in the Willie D. Davis Finance and Investment Lab on the first floor of Wood Hall. The workshops are free and open to all UWGB employees.

If you need an accommodation for any of the sessions that are a part of the “ChaptGPT Workshop” please contact Kathryn Marten (martenk@uwgb.edu).

AI, Teaching, & Learning Series (Feb. 17, Mar. 24, & Apr. 7, 11:40 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.)

UW-Green Libraries, CATL, The Learning Center, and UWGB faculty are all coming together to offer a series of three workshops on machine-generated content applications and artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT and their potential impacts on teaching and learning. Participants will have the option to attend this series in-person or via Zoom. 

Teaching and Learning in the Time of ChatGPT | Friday, Feb. 17, 11:40 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

UW-Green Bay instructors with expertise in artificial intelligence and machine learning will introduce us to AI-content generating tools, like ChatGPT, and their potential uses and pitfalls. Join other instructors for an engaging discussion about the impact on teaching and learning and a brief opportunity to test the tools themselves. 

Writing Assignments and Artificial Intelligence | Friday, Mar. 24, 11:40 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

ChatGPT and other text-generating tools have raised concerns among instructors whose curriculum relies upon writing assignments from creative writing to lab reports and research papers. In this session, we’ll focus on the implications of these tools on writing and pedagogy, assessment, and curriculum design.  

Designing and Managing Authentic Assessments | Friday, Apr. 7, 11:40 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Students may inevitably use artificial intelligence and text-generating tools, but there are strategies instructors can explore and use to alleviate instructional stress around student learning. In this session, we will explore strategies for planning and developing authentic assessments to help students actively engage in their learning. This session will also offer instructors resources to help navigate the issues surrounding artificial intelligence and discuss ways to create assessments that embrace or acknowledge the use of AI and text-generating tools.

If you need an accommodation for any of the sessions that are a part of the “AI, Teaching & Learning Series,” please contact Kate Farley (farleyk@uwgb.edu).