December 2024 Newsletter

Spring Instructor Bootcamp

Sign up for the spring Academic Technology Bootcamp, Monday, Jan. 6 – Friday, Jan. 10. 

Join any one of our 23 Zoom training sessions to learn how to get started with Canvas, learn about AI, engage your students with communication tools and more.

Featured sessions:

Proctoring

• Honorlock overview (replaced SmarterProctoring in June 2024).

Zoom

• Zoom Overview
• Advanced Zoom
• Zoom AI Companion

If you’re short on time and need a firmer grasp of classroom technology before the beginning of the spring semester, our Canvas Super Sessions (Jan. 14 – 15) offer a chance to receive a Canvas overview that includes essential information about Canvas assignments, quizzes and grading.

We’ve Earned the OLC’s Exemplary Endorsement!

We’re proud to announce that our redesigned Online Teaching Certification Seminar (OTCS) has earned the Exemplary Endorsement from the Online Learning Consortium (OLC), a leading organization in online education. This endorsement is an industry-recognized credential that reflects our commitment to providing high-quality, engaging professional development for faculty. The redesigned OTCS was piloted with 30 University of Missouri System instructors across the University of Missouri-Columbia, University of Missouri-Kansas City and University of Missouri-St. Louis during the Fall of 2024. Stay tuned as we work toward similar endorsements for other programs!

Ready to take OTCS? Register for a six-week OTCS session or a new semester-based (16-week) version of the seminar. With soft deadlines every two weeks, the semester-based version is flexible — perfect for instructors balancing busy schedules.

Semester-Based Course Development Begins Spring 2025

Starting in Spring 2025, Design Services will shift to a semester-based timeline for course development projects. We invite you to request project support for online courses that will launch in the Summer or Fall of 2025.

In this process, you will work with an instructional and experience designer to create new or redesign existing courses. Please note that during Spring 2025, we will proactively engage in course development projects for classes launching in Summer or Fall 2025. We encourage all faculty to request development support during this period. We look forward to partnering with you on this exciting initiative.

End of the Semester Checklist

The end of the semester is coming! We’re all excited for a break, but be sure you have everything checked off your list before spring. Download your gradebook and get organized with our End of Semester Checklist.

Tools Coming Soon to Canvas

In response to faculty feedback, Missouri Online is currently running several software pilots. Pilot participants are surveyed for feedback at various points throughout the process.

TidyUP

We are excited to introduce a new pilot, TidyUP, beginning Jan. 6, 2025. TidyUP makes it easy to identify unpublished pages, delete outdated content and remove empty folders in Canvas. By cleaning up your Canvas courses, you can help to ensure we are being good stewards of our resources, and more importantly, it takes you one step closer to ensuring your course will meet accessibility standards for the April 2026 regulations. We encourage you to try TidyUP in your Spring 2025 courses. Look for more information in our January newsletter and on our new support portal!

Lucid Spark & Lucid Chart

Canvas users will have access to two new tools as a result of a partnership between Instructure (Canvas) and Lucid on Dec. 9. 

Lucidspark is a virtual whiteboard designed to maximize team connection, collaboration and creativity. Lucidchart is a diagramming tool intended to create next-generation diagrams with AI, data and automation.

Three ways to use Lucid in your course are adding a new submission type, embedding a document or enabling the whiteboard. Learn more about using these tools.

New Website for Teaching Tools Technology Help Articles

Missouri Online has transitioned our current Teaching Tools knowledge base to a new website. We will continue to have the same great content but with many new features including a comprehensive and more robust repository of articles.

A new homepage is available with the ability to:

• Search the knowledge base and service catalog for articles to assist with your use of technology and pedagogy 
• View Notices & Alerts (the latest news and updates)
• Log in using UM System SSO and place service requests from individual knowledge base articles or services
• “Favorite” your frequently viewed articles or services to make them easy to access 
• View popular knowledge base articles and services
• Provide feedback on knowledge base articles

“Get the Most Out of Canvas Analytics and Impact Course Reports” Session

All UM System employees may register to attend online or in person (at the MU Teaching for Learning Center) for “Get the Most Out of Canvas Analytics and Impact Course Reports” on Dec. 18 from noon to 12:45 p.m. Learn how Canvas data tools can support instructors' review and improvement of teaching. These features can be leveraged as one measure to inform course design and redesign. Instructors can apply data to address feedback from learners and enhance the learning environment. 

Winter Break Academic Technology Support

The Academic Technologies team will have limited support available during the winter break. A team member will be available on Dec. 26, 27, 30 and 31 to respond to your emails sent to teachingtools@umsystem.edu. However, your phone calls to 855-675-0755 and chats will be forwarded to our third-party service provider, BlackBelt Help, during this time. As a reminder, you can always access our support portal to find answers to common questions.

Meet & Greet Prize Winners

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our Fall 2024 Meet & Greets. We enjoyed the great conversations with all of you. Below is a list of our prize winners. Watch for spring dates to be announced in February.

About Us

Missouri Online supports the UM System universities with digital education services, this includes student recruitment for online programs, instructional and experience design, program coordination and academic technology. Our dedicated teams of expert professionals are here to assist you.