January 2026

Spring ’26 Checklist

As a new semester begins, we wanted to highlight a few key areas to consider as you navigate the new term. This month’s newsletter includes reminders about the need to focus on accessibility, benefits to be gained by doing more with AI, and how taking a fresh look at trusted tools can help better support teaching and learning.

We hope this information helps set the stage for a successful Spring term!

Know What’s Changing

The U.S. Department of Justice has ruled that all higher education institutions must comply with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.2 at the AA level by April 24, 2026. This applies to:

• Canvas Content: pages, videos, files, images, assignments, discussions, quizzes
• Instructor Content: slides, readings, documents, posted online materials
• Publisher and Digital Content: e-books, case studies, test banks, interactive tools

Learn More About Accessibility @ Smeal →

Identify & Remediate Accessibility Issues

We’ve created a timeline outlining the steps that faculty members must take to meet this legal requirement, as well as video tutorials to support you in improving the accessibility of:

• PowerPoint Presentations
• Word Documents
• Canvas Pages, Announcements, and Discussions
• Contrast and Alt Text
• Unused Canvas Files and Pages
• …and more!

Accessibility Resources →

Attend Our Next Accessibility@Smeal Session

Previous Smeal Academy session recordings can be viewed on the eLDIG website.

NEW! Apply for an AI Exploration Grant

Smeal’s new AI Exploration Grants provide small, short-term awards ($250–$4,000) to support faculty and staff in exploring AI technologies for teaching, research, student support, and operations, with a focus on responsible use and increasing AI literacy. Goals of the AI Exploration Grants include:

• Supporting AI innovation not covered by existing University-licensed tools, Smeal Competitive Research Grants, or departmental budgets.
• Providing access to essential technologies such as software subscriptions, APIs, tokens, datasets, and testing environments.
• Enabling small pilots and cross-unit collaborations that enhance operations, teaching and learning, research, or student services.
• Generating scalable solutions that help inform Smeal’s AI strategy and future enterprise licensing decisions.

Apply Today →

Sign Up for BoodleBox

BoodleBox provides access to a wide range of AI models and tools within one secure, integrated environment. Over 200 Smeal faculty and staff have joined the Smeal workspace in BoodleBox so far, and several community training sessions have already taken place to support our collaborative learning. We’re planning new sessions for 2026, so stay tuned!

Explore BoodleBox →

SAVE THE DATE! Dan and Robyn Ives AI Innovation Day is Thursday, March 19.

On March 19, 2026, the Dan and Robyn Ives AI Innovation Day & Case Competition will bring together students, faculty, staff, and industry leaders to explore the transformative impact of Generative AI in business. The event features keynote addresses, interactive sessions, networking opportunities, and an undergraduate case competition showcasing AI-driven solutions to real-world business challenges.

Learn More About AI Innovation Day →

NEW! Canvas Enhanced Rubrics

Enhanced Rubrics is a new feature preview* available within Canvas, providing visual and functional enhancements to traditional rubrics, such as:

• Easily reordering rubric line items
• Importing rubrics using a CSV template
• Accessing horizontal and vertical views of your rubric when assessing students
• Archiving rubrics

Enhanced Rubrics must be enabled before they can be used in your course via Course Settings > Feature Options > Enhanced Rubrics > Enabled

* Opting into Canvas feature previews may involve adjusting to ongoing updates outside the regular release schedule.

Explore Enhanced Rubrics →

NEW! Top Hat Features

Guest Mode allows audiences to participate in polls without accounts or being registered for courses. This is ideal for conferences, symposia, training, public lectures, meetings, or non-registered courses where participants don’t have Top Hat student accounts. It allows instructors to:

• Present slides
• Present questions
• Export question results
• Host up to 500 concurrent users

Learn About Guest Mode →

Exit Ticket Templates are ready-made questions and examples that help instructors gauge student comprehension, uncover learning gaps, and plan their next steps.

Four free customizable exit ticket templates are available to import into your course designed to assess key concepts, summarize learning, and highlight areas needing clarification.

Explore Exit Ticket Templates →

Attend Our Next Smeal Academy Session

Previous Smeal Academy session recordings can be viewed on the eLDIG website.

Smeal Academy on LinkedIn

Don’t forget to connect with us via Smeal Academy’s LinkedIn page, your hub for staying engaged with our mission to empower Smeal instructors with the tools, strategies, and best practices they need to excel in teaching.

Follow us for updates, resources, and opportunities to engage. We can’t wait to connect with you!

Connect With Us →