The goal of the Smeal Academy is to equip instructors with best practices and strategies for teaching, learning, and technology to ensure the Smeal community is prepared to respond to today’s unique challenges. We do so by sending weekly emails with practical tips and information, providing live sessions, and holding virtual consultations.

Smeal Academy Sessions

Practical Approaches for Reaching Gen Z Students

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   Who among us has not had moments of frustration staring out at a sea of young faces beaming looks of boredom or, worse, staring glassy-eyed into their phones?…

Communication Skills for Teaching and Presenting

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 Skilled staff and professors must possess technical expertise AND communication skills that generate interest in their areas of expertise. This could mean the difference between success (or failure) in…

The Blue Folder: Breaking Down Smeal’s Academic Integrity Violation Process

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 Join Michelle Darnell, Smeal's Director of Honor and Integrity, and Lisa Posey, Smeal College Academic Integrity Officer, for this "must-see" session. Whether you have been teaching for years or…

Smeal Academy GenAI Series – Beginning of Semester Update and Resources

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Come for a discussion about University guidance and learn about resources and strategies that the eLDIG team created to support your course needs and Generative Artificial Intelligence policies. We will:…

Fall Kickoff: Start the Semester Strong

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  Join us for a Smeal Academy session designed to provide tips and strategies to put the finishing touches on your Canvas courses for the upcoming semester. We'll cover some…

Affordances of AI for Assignments

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PowerPoint Slides for this Session can be downloaded here. Resources Penn State AI Hub Penn State AI and Pedagogy Website ACUE 10 Best Practices for AI Assignments in Higher Ed…

Anthology Ally: What’s Your Score?

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  PowerPoint Slides for this Session can be downloaded here.   The University has enabled a Canvas feature called Ally which helps support our goals of equity and inclusion, improving…

Responsible use of Artificial Intelligence in Business Education and Research Reading and Discussion Group – John Liechty, Facilitator

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 Join us for the fifth session of a Smeal series on the role of artificial intelligence in our teaching and research, which will focus on our shared commitment to…

Discussions & Announcements Redesign: Worth the chatter?

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 On May 7, 2024, Canvas’ Discussions and Announcements Redesign will be forced on for all Penn State courses. There is no migration or transition needed from the old discussion…

Transitioning to Canvas New Quizzes: An ID Perspective

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 Penn State now supports the creation of quizzes using Canvas’s New Quizzes​ ​tool. Are you ready to jump in? Join the eLearning Design & Innovation Group (eLDIG)in the Smeal…

Responsible use of Artificial Intelligence in Business Education and Research Reading and Discussion Group (Session 3)

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 The third session of a Smeal series on the role of artificial intelligence in our teaching and research focused on our shared commitment to preparing leaders to responsibly leverage…

Responsible Use of Artificial Intelligence in Business Education and Research Reading and Discussion Group (Session 2)

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 Join us for the second session of a Smeal series on the role of artificial intelligence in our teaching and research, which focused on our shared commitment to preparing…

Student Disability Resources

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 Join us for a special Smeal Academy session with disability specialists, Krista Biesinger and Fran Zola. We discuss the basics of who SDR is and SDR's role on campus…

Supporting Student Wellness Through Course Design

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 A recent survey conducted by Inside Higher Ed and College Pulse revealed that college students want their professors and advisers to be very involved in promoting their mental health…

Policy 42-27, Election Day, and Contingency Planning

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 Did you know there's a new Faculty Senate guideline in Policy 42-27 stating that "Instructors should provide, within reason, pedagogical and curricular necessity, the opportunity for a day consisting…

Bring Business to Life with SAGE Business Cases

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 Are you on the lookout for new case studies for your course or interesting content to support curriculum and independent research? Would you like to help students better understand…

Anthology Ally

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 The University has enabled a Canvas feature called Ally in all Fall courses. The tool helps support our goals of equity and inclusion, improving course accessibility and usability. With…

Everything I Know About Instructional Design I Learned from the Far Side

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 With a career at Penn State dating back to 1984, Dr. Brett Bixler brings almost four decades of instructional design experience to his role as an instructional designer on…

Artificial Intelligence and The Future of Learning

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 In this session we discuss the brave, new world of Artificial Intelligence and Academic Integrity. If ChatGPT passed a Wharton MBA exam, could ChatGPT pass Smeal classes? ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence tools make it…

Leveraging Media for Student Engagement

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 In this session we explore strategies and tools to increase student engagement and take your content creation to the next level. We discuss faculty- and student-created content as well…

Let’s Talk: Online Discussion Tools

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 In this session we discuss tools, best practices, and strategies for online course discussions. We will give an overview of Canvas, Packback, Piazza, and Yellowdig discussion tools. Come with…

Canvas New Quizzes: Importing and Quiz-Building Basics

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 This session will help you get started with new quizzes and includes a basic overview of how to enable, import, and create new quizzes in Canvas. We also discuss…

Inclusive Tricks & Treats

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 In this session we give out an array of inclusive classroom treats that can be shared with your students to help everyone feel a greater sense of belonging. You will leave the…

New Quizzes Benefits

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   Canvas is transitioning to a new quiz platform and all of our courses will be migrating to New Quizzes in the next year. This session provided a very…

Accessibility Tips for Everyday Instructors

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In this session especially designed for instructors and staff who support courses, the eLDIG team shared some strategies to improve the accessibility of your course(s). Link to Session Slides Accessible…

Final Touches for Fall

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 This session was designed to help faculty and staff who support faculty to put the finishing touches on Canvas for the upcoming semester. We cover some Canvas basics, a…

New Quizzes Overview

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Penn State will be moving to "New Quizzes" that can be used in your live courses beginning in 2023, with a plan to sunset the Class Quiz Engine in 2024. Come…

Engaging Students via Microlearning

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Link to Session Slides Engaging Students via Microlearning Are your students mentally stuffed to the gills from your course content? There are things you can do to help them!In this…

Microsoft Bookings Tips & Tricks

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Join us for a Microsoft Bookings Lunch & Learn facilitated by Jessie Sorensen and Carrie Marcinkevage. Several members of the Smeal College of Business utilize MS Bookings for admissions, coaching/advising, and individual appointments. Participants are invited to…

Inclusive Course Design

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Join Jamie Campbell and Olivia Lewis from Smeal's Office of Diversity Enhancement Programs as they share tips and strategies to make our classes more inclusive for Smeal's diverse student body.…

Motivating Students Through Micro-engagements

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Are your students stifling yawns over your course content? Want to add some easy-to-use motivational tools to turn those yawns into gasps? In this session, we’ll look at over a…

Spring BREAK Isn’t Just for Students: Relax, Reconnect, and Reset

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Our busy lives pull us in so many directions. Taking time to relax, reconnect with ourselves, and reset is critical for being able to show up for others. In this…

Starfish

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Contingency Planning for an Uncertain World

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Learning Analytics Tricks and Treats

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Link to Session Slides Interactive Trick-or-Treat Map Learning Analytics Tricks and Treats Come trick or treating with the eLDIG team and collect some creative basic learning analytics treats to inform…

Videos, Pedagogy, and Kaltura (oh my!)

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Link to Session Slides How to Enhance Pedagogy Through Video and Integrate Video into Penn State’s Learning Systems In this Smeal Academy session, we discussed numerous ways to enhance pedagogy…

Supporting Distressed Students

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  Supporting Distressed Students Penn State Counseling and Psychological Center (CAPS) led a session about Supporting Distressed Students and Red Folder Resources. The Red Folder initiative is a guide to…

Clickers Be Gone: What Now?

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 Clickers Be Gone: Now What? With iClicker support at Penn State ending in Spring 2022, this session explores alternative technologies and strategies for interactive polling in your courses and…

Scaling Courses for Growing and Changing Enrollments

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 Session Slides Student enrollments are beginning to shift to reflect the long-term desire of some students for flexible learning with the option of accessing the robust remote learning designs…

Accessibility in Word and Canvas

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Remove barriers, meet diverse audience needs, and make your course materials better! Learn some quick time-saving tips to help you make your Word docs and Canvas courses accessible. Session Slides…

Yes, You Can Keep Doing It! Lessons Learned from the Pandemic

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As we prepare for the new normal in teaching and learning, let’s pause to reflect on the lessons we’ve learned over the past year. We will be joined by a…

Inclusive Design for Mixed Audiences

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 Not all students will be able to return to campus this Fall. Will you be teaching students both in the classroom and online? This session, which was held on…

Teaching Strategies to Support Student Well-Being

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We are moving rapidly through the semester, and many students are in the process of returning to some version of on-campus instruction. Amid the pressures and transition, there are many…

Remote Instruction Lessons Learned

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 Smeal Academy - Key Lessons Learned from Remote Teaching Well, it's Groundhog Day - and here we are teaching remotely again this semester! What have we learned from our…

Grading and Assessment Strategies

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  This January 29, 2021 session reviewed Canvas gradebook setup and essentials for remote instruction and also explored some basics tools (such as Top Hat) and approaches to help evaluate…

Active Learning Strategies

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 Active Learning Session - January 13, 2021 Think about the last time you learned something. What was the topic? How did you learn it? What motivated you to engage…

Top Hat Tricks and Treats

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 Top Hat Tricks and Treats: In September 2020, Penn State adopted Top Hat, a tool that tracks attendance while creating engaged learning environments for students. In this session, the…

Group Work Faculty Panel Discussion

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 Faculty Panel - Group Projects in Online, Remote, and Hybrid Courses: Are you trying to figure out strategies for group work in your online/remote and hybrid classes? This session…

Engaging Students Synchronously

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 Link to Session Slides Engaging Students Synchronously (A session designed as a collaboration between TLT and eLDIG): Are you interested in improving student engagement in your synchronous online classes?…

Engaging Students Through Assessment

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 Link to Session Slides Engaging Students Through Assessment (A session designed as a collaboration between Teaching and Learning with Technology and eLDIG): How can you engage your students through…

Assessment Strategies for Remote Learning

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Link to Session Recording Link to Session Slides Assessment Strategies for Remote Learning This August 5, 2020 session explored strategies and best practices for assessment when some or all students…

You Got This: Prepping Your Course for the New Normal

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Link to Session Slides You Got This - Prepping Your Course for the New Normal This August 12, 2020 session reviewed strategies for the first week of class, orientation tips…

Student Engagement and Connection Strategies

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Session PowerPoint Slides Session Resources This July 29, 2020 session reviewed active learning strategies for remote and asynchronous teaching contexts.

Virtual Whiteboarding with iPads

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 Session PowerPoint Slides Using iPads as Whiteboards in Remote Learning: This July 22, 2020 session, led by Mark DeLuca, explored strategies and best practices for using iPads as whiteboards…

O365 Features

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 Link to Session PowerPoint Office 365 isn’t just Office Suite This session, led by Jessie Sorensen on July 8, 2020, discussed how participants can get the most out of…

Strategies and Tools for Live​ and Pre-Recorded Videos

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 Session PowerPoint Slides Strategies and Tools for Live and Pre-recorded Course Videos Are you pre-recording your lectures for Fall, but aren’t sure where to begin? Do you have questions…

Canvas Basics

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This session was held on June 24, 2020 for individuals who are new to Canvas or wanted a Canvas refresher.

Hybrid Models for Learning at Smeal

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Part 1 Session Recording Link to Session PowerPoint Part 2 Session Recording Link to Updated Part 2 PowerPoint

Keeping It Real: Strategies and Challenges of Working Remotely

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This page shares some takeaways from our April 30, 2020 session concerning strategies and challenges of working remotely. Challenges Shared It's hard not having the informal opportunity for chatting that…

Copyright Questions Answered

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PowerPoint File This session was held on April 15, 2020. It was led by Ana Enriquez, Scholarly Communications Outreach Librarian, and Lauren Reiter, Business Librarian. The presentation explored copyright concerns…

Remote Exams and Assessments

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PowerPoint File Questions and Answers from the Zoom Chat This session was held on April 9, 2020, led by the eLDIG team and Megan Marshall from the Business Core office…

Strategies for Remote Engagement

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Part 1  This session was held on March 25, 2020. We explored strategies to increase student engagement in remote learning contexts with a heavy focus on leveraging advanced features…

Remote Learning Strategies

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 This session was held on March 17, 2020, to share tips, tricks, and strategies for remote instruction using Zoom, Canvas, Kaltura, and other tools in response to the University's…

Shining a Light on Student Assessment

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Canvas is Not So Scary

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In this session, we discuss and demonstrate some Canvas strategies and best practices with an eye toward easier course management and improved student and instructor experiences. Now that Canvas has…

Planning Ahead: Better Canvas Layouts to Support the Unexpected

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Are you a frenzied faculty member? Do your conference engagements conflict with your teaching responsibilities? Check out this session to learn strategies for effectively meeting the needs of your students…

Ethics Simulation

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Do you think it's important to teach your students ethical decision-making? Listen to this presentation on Smeal's new initiative to engage students in a practical, challenging ethics simulation that draws…

The New Canvas Gradebook

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 Are you interested in learning about the new features in the Canvas gradebook? In this session, presenters from Penn State's IT Learning & Development discuss and demonstrate the new…

Zoom Strategies for Effective Online Teaching

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 Resources and Next Steps Please visit the Zoom Learning Paths for just in time resources for using Zoom or to explore additional learning resources. For Hosts For Participants If…