Congratulations to ICCTA Award Winners and nominees from LLCC

LLCC President Charlotte Warren, Brice Huddleston and Samanta Enz pose for a photo at the ICCTA Awards Banquet.
Congratulations to LLCC alum Brice Huddleston, retired Colonel, U.S. Air Force, recipient of the Illinois Community College Trustee Association (ICCTA) statewide Distinguished Alumnus Award. Samantha Enz, secretary, LLCC Board of Trustees, was also honored at the banquet with a Trustee Education Award.

Matt Shaver, professor of integrated media design, was recognized as a nominee for the Outstanding Full-Time Faculty Member Award.
Dr. Charlotte Warren and Matthew Shaver in front of ICCTA backdrop

IRE Summer Drop-in hours, Tuesdays 8:30-9:30 a.m.

Want to create a report in ZogoTech but just don’t quite remember where to start? Need a refresher on stacking filters in Navigator to get the right group of students? Have questions on a PowerBI Dashboard?

LLCC Institutional Research and Effectiveness staff are available during dedicated drop-in hours on Tuesday, 8:30-9:30 a.m. Stop by MCTR 2215, and bring your questions or requests. We look forward to seeing you!

Those with a need to meet virtually should contact IRE for a Teams meeting link.

There’s still time for AI summer camp

As you plan your summer activities, LLCC Academic Innovation and eLearning invites you to participate in the Online AI Summer Camp designed for LLCC faculty and staff. The Online AI Summer Camp is a self-paced, asynchronous opportunity to enhance your AI skills and knowledge over the summer break.

Online AI summer Camp hosted by AIeL

Whether you’re new to AI, a seasoned AI explorer or just looking to learn “s’more” about AI this summer, this summer camp is for you. Your virtual camp counselors, John Freml and Becky Parton, have curated a collection of resources including webinars, readings and other material designed to support your professional growth and exploration in AI.

The AI Summer Camp will guide you through the emerging trends, best practices and ethical considerations surrounding the use of AI in learning environments. Designed for self-paced discovery, this collection includes short tutorials and programing from familiar providers such as Monday Morning Mentor and NISOD, as well as a collection of interviews and webinars featuring leading voices in the field of education and artificial intelligence. You will also find articles and whitepapers that explore the crossroads of AI and pedagogy.

For those seeking even more adventure, we are offering the course “Teaching With Artificial Intelligence” hosted by Auburn University. This self-paced course weaves expertise from a diverse range of faculty to provide a meaningful learning experience that is focused on supporting educators in thinking through the urgent questions that the AI disruption of higher education presents. The course also offers opportunities to learn from and with your LLCC colleagues and will be guided by your virtual camp counselors. Those who complete the course will receive their Auburn University AI Explorer Badge. Registration is required to participate in “Teaching With Artificial Intelligence.” Virtual tents are limited so please register for “Teaching With Artificial Intelligence” soon. Join us for this AI summer journey.

IRE Summer Drop-in hours, Tuesdays 8:30-9:30 a.m.

Want to create a report in ZogoTech but just don’t quite remember where to start? Need a refresher on stacking filters in Navigator to get the right group of students? Have questions on a PowerBI Dashboard?

LLCC Institutional Research and Effectiveness staff are available during dedicated drop-in hours on Tuesday, 8:30-9:30 a.m. Stop by MCTR 2215, and bring your questions or requests. We look forward to seeing you!

Those with a need to meet virtually should contact IRE for a Teams meeting link.

New Canvas Template

As you think about updating your fall courses, we encourage you to take a look at the new LLCC template, available now in the Canvas Commons. The new template provides several benefits and enhancement over the previous template, including:
• A choice of several new homepages, each thoughtfully designed to help your students get started in your course.
• A variety of new designs for pages and assignments that can be duplicated and customized for your own needs.
• A menu of new images and icons that can be used to make pages and assignments more visually appealing.
• Optional HTML code snippets that advanced users can utilize to add even more engaging features to their pages.
• Detailed instructions on how to customize and adapt the template

Canvas template example

To import the new template into a future course or a development shell, simply click on the “Commons” link in the Global Navigation Menu, and search for: “New LLCC Template.”

LLCC Canvas new template example.

 

 

AIeL’s New Lightboard

Faculty — if you have plans to work on your instructional videos this summer, please take a look at the AIeL Lightboard system, a transparent whiteboard made for video creation. Becky Miller and Matt Vespa have put together a demonstration video of the Lightboard. If you are interested in learning more about the Lightboard or would like to reserve time this summer to use it, please contact Andy Mitkos at 217-786-2763.

Get ready for AI summer camp

As you plan your summer activities, LLCC Academic Innovation and eLearning invites you to participate in the Online AI Summer Camp designed for LLCC faculty and staff. The Online AI Summer Camp is a self-paced, asynchronous opportunity to enhance your AI skills and knowledge over the summer break.

Online AI summer Camp hosted by AIeL

Whether you’re new to AI, a seasoned AI explorer or just looking to learn “s’more” about AI this summer, this summer camp is for you. Your virtual camp counselors, John Freml and Becky Parton, have curated a collection of resources including webinars, readings and other material designed to support your professional growth and exploration in AI.

The AI Summer Camp will guide you through the emerging trends, best practices and ethical considerations surrounding the use of AI in learning environments. Designed for self-paced discovery, this collection includes short tutorials and programing from familiar providers such as Monday Morning Mentor and NISOD, as well as a collection of interviews and webinars featuring leading voices in the field of education and artificial intelligence. You will also find articles and whitepapers that explore the crossroads of AI and pedagogy.

For those seeking even more adventure, we are offering the course “Teaching With Artificial Intelligence” hosted by Auburn University. This self-paced course weaves expertise from a diverse range of faculty to provide a meaningful learning experience that is focused on supporting educators in thinking through the urgent questions that the AI disruption of higher education presents. The course also offers opportunities to learn from and with your LLCC colleagues and will be guided by your virtual camp counselors. Those who complete the course will receive their Auburn University AI Explorer Badge. Registration is required to participate in “Teaching With Artificial Intelligence.” Virtual tents are limited so please register for “Teaching With Artificial Intelligence” soon. Join us for this AI summer journey.

Commencement Instructions for Faculty & Administrators

On Friday, May 17, 2024, the Commencement ceremony will be held at the Bank of Springfield Center,
1 Convention Center Plaza (Eighth Street between Adams and Washington Streets), Springfield, and will begin promptly at 7:30 p.m. with the processional. If you are not planning to be at Commencement, please be reminded that you need to email President Warren for approval.

PLEASE BE AWARE: The Springfield PRIDEFEST is scheduled for May 18, and they will begin setting up the afternoon and evening of May 17. There will be street closures so please allow sufficient time to find alternative routes and parking if necessary. Also please note that 4th Street and Adams is now two-way traffic.

Faculty should arrive no later than 7 p.m. so that you can assemble in line. Faculty and Administrators will line up on the South Ramp. The seating in The Center will be graduates seated in two sections in front and the faculty will be seated behind the graduates in two sections. The Line of March will be posted in the LincIn on Wednesday, May 15.

When you arrive, you will see the Line of March posted in several places. The Line of March will look like this:

Table describing the line of march at Commencement. Participants are categorized by last name, first name, line, row and place. In this example Ruth Acerman is line B, Row 1, Place 7 and Cathy Allan is in line A, row 3, place 10.

1. Find your last name and determine whether you are in Line A or Line B.
2. Then locate your row and your specific place within that row.
If you are Ruth Acermanr, you would be in line B (house right), row# 2 and the 7th person in that row.
If you were Cathy Allan, you would be in line A (house left) , row# 3 and the 10th person in that row.

Lines and rows will be clearly marked in the designated area for assembly. Please refrain from congregating at the front of the line, as this obstructs the path for other faculty and administrators trying to find their place and reduces the space for the personnel that will be on the platform to assemble. Remember, Faculty Emeriti are always positioned at the front of the line.
We do our best to ensure that the LOM is correct. The Line of March may each year and up to the night of Commencement due to retirements, resignations, illnesses, and other circumstances. Consider the Line of March as a flexible guide rather than a strict rule. If you believe you should be positioned elsewhere in the line, feel free to stand where you think is appropriate. Amy Williams and Vickie Ward will be there to assist you with getting your regalia on and/or helping you find your position in the LOM.

There are 10 chairs in each row. Stand in front of one chair only. Your faculty marshals this year are Kirk Yenerall and Matt Shaver. They will lead you in.

Please note: Due to liability issues, there will NOT be a place to check your personal belongings. Please leave anything you do not wish to carry in your vehicle.

Processional

• FIRST: The Board of Trustees and platform members will proceed into The Center’s main hall; graduating students, faculty and administrators will remain at their designated locations until the platform members are at their seats.

• SECOND: When members of the platform party are at their seats, there will be a pause in the music followed by a fanfare, and then faculty and administrators will proceed to their row of seats, led by the two faculty marshals. A program will already be in your chairs—it will not be necessary to pick one up from the ushers.

• THIRD: There will be a pause in the music, followed by a fanfare, and the graduating students, led by the marshals, will proceed to their rows of seats.

Recessional

• FIRST: The Board of Trustees and platform members will recess to the lobby area.

• SECOND: The graduating class who will recess between the two sections where faculty and administrators are seated.

• THIRD: After the graduates have recessed the faculty and administrators will recess. Again, the two faculty marshals will lead the faculty and administrators out.

• We kindly ask faculty members to be considerate of the staff and employees at the BOS Center. Please remember that there are individuals responsible for cleaning up after commencement. Before leaving, we request that you pick up your program, water bottle, or any other trash near your chair and properly dispose of it in the designated trash receptacles. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated.

Regalia

If you have not yet picked up your regalia from the bookstore, please do so asap! Also, please do not forget to return your regalia at the BOS Center at the completion of Commencement. Please be attentive when returning your regalia and place your regalia IN the box, not beside under the box or just thrown on the floor.

Parking

There is free on street parking as well as several locations around the Bank of Springfield Center.

Looking for faculty mentors

AIeL is looking for full time faculty who are interested in becoming mentors to next year’s new faculty hires. Faculty mentors help new hires feel like they belong.

  • First to welcome.
  • First to check in.
  • First to take to lunch.
  • First to sit with.
  • First to hear issues.
  • First outside department contact.

Being a faculty mentor is not about doing the other person’s job, teaching them how to teach, acting as a boss or walking them through every step. It’s about helping them learn.

  • Giving them “the scoop.”
  • Giving advice.
  • Giving tutorials.
  • Giving LLCC knowledge.

For more information on becoming a faculty mentor, reach out to Becky Miller or stop by her office.

Canvas updates

Canvas. LLCC Lincoln Land Community College.Canvas Studio: Canvas Studio has been updated with a new feature related to video captions. Canvas has introduced automatically-generated captions for all media uploaded. This update eliminates the need to request captions for newly uploaded media files.

Canvas is Integrating Lucid Software Tools: Coming in June 2024, Canvas will be integrating Lucid Software tools into Canvas. This will allow for the creation of collaborative whiteboards, flowcharts, and diagrams. If you would like to know more about the tools, and what you can do with them in your courses, feel free to read the press release from Instructure (Canvas).

Canvas is adding a “Find and Replace” tool to the Rich Content Editor: On May 18, 2024, Canvas will be adding a “Find and Replace” tool to the rich content editor. This will allow users to search within their course content to find a word or phrase and replace it with another one.