Tech Snacks are short, focused professional development sessions covering instructional technology, pedagogical techniques, online learning, and more—delivered in 30-minute chunks. You can download PDF handouts from this year's Tech Snacks sessions below.

You can view an archive of our weekly Tech Snacks handouts on the Tech Snacks Archive Page!

Fall 2024

Round Table with Faculty on Student Engagement

Dec. 6, 2024 — Throughout the Fall 2024 semester, OTLE has consistently heard from faculty across all three colleges that they are struggling with student engagement in their classrooms. This week, OTLE hosted a faculty round table discussion, where faculty were asked the following questions: What were some struggles and successes you've had in the classroom this semester with student engagement? What are some new ideas you want to try moving forward in the classroom? The handout for this week was compiled from the notes taken during the discussion.

Click here for a PDF of this handout.

Canvas Gradebook

Nov. 22, 2024 — One of the most important tools inside of a learning management system is the gradebook. With the upcoming switch to Canvas, it's important to discuss the similarities and differences between the Brightspace Gradebook and the Canvas Gradebook, in order to help faculty utilize the tool in the most effective way possible. What are the key differences between the two? What are some new settings/features faculty can use in the Canvas Gradebook?

Click here for a PDF of this handout.

Accessibility Guidelines & YuJa Panorama with Johnna Antonich

Nov. 15, 2024 — The Department of Education has released a new set of accessibility guidelines that will affect any form of web content being used at our institution, including Canvas, Northern's website, library resources, mobile apps, and plenty more. The deadline for compliance is April 2027. This week, OTLE was joined by MSUN's Accessibility Services Coordinator, Johnna Antonich, to take a look at the process of these changes, examples of making web content more accessible, and how to use YuJa Panorama as a supplemental tool for the upcoming accessibility shifts in your Canvas courses. 

Click here for a PDF of this handout.

Canvas Updates

Nov. 8, 2024 — With the transition to Canvas coming soon, OTLE has some general updates on where we are in the process, what faculty can expect over the next month or so, things to consider as we make this transition, and some new and exciting integrations that will be available in Canvas.

Click here for a PDF of this handout.

Microsoft Teams, OneDrive, & Lucid Whiteboard in Canvas

Nov. 1, 2024 — How do Microsoft Teams, OneDrive, and Lucid Whiteboard work in Canvas? How can they collaborate with each other? What do each of them do independently? And, finally, what does each product do to supplement communications with students and other campus departments? This week, we discussed these tools that can be helpful in the classroom and on campus as a whole.

Click here for a PDF of this handout.

Perkins, Dual Enrollment, and Grants

Oct. 24, 2024 — This week, OTLE was joined by Dr. Lindsey Brandt-Bennet (Dean of Learning Excellence and Sponsored Programs and Perkins Coordinator), Roger Antisdel (Dual Enrollment Coordinator), and Robin Parks (Grants Coordinator) to discuss the following questions: What is Perkins Grant funding and how can faculty request it? How does Perkins funding relate to Dual Enrollment? How can you work with Dual Enrollment and use it as a recruiting tool? And, finally, what processes should you follow if you want to apply for grant funding in general?

Click here for a PDF of this handout.

Utilizing AI in the Classroom with Dr. Amy Smith

Oct. 11, 2024 — With the increasing interest in AI in education, it is crucial for educators to learn how to effectively utilize AI tools to enhance the learner experience in the classroom. By understanding AI, educators can equip themselves and their students with the skills needed to thrive in an increasingly digital world, while acknowledging the appropriate and ethical uses of AI tools in education. This week, OTLE was joined by Dr. Amy Smith as she presented on strategies that faculty can use to enhance learning with GenAI tools in their courses.

Click here for a PDF of this handout.

Quality Matters (QM)

Oct. 3, 2024 — The demand for online education has been growing for several years. With that demand comes a greater responsibility to ensure quality online courses that are accessible to all types of students across all disciplines and modalities. OTLE recently signed MSUN up for an institutional membership for Quality Matters, which will benefit all instructors as QM offers a wide variety of workshops, courses, and webinars for professional development opportunities.

Click here for a PDF of this handout.

Teaching Writing in the Age of ChatGPT with Dr. Isaac K. Wang

Sep. 27, 2024 — ChatGPT and other Generative AI platforms are transforming the face of higher education, with numerous surveys estimating between 30-40% of students use GenAI to complete homework. As these technologies grow in popularity, it is essential that educators are equipped with strategies to address GenAI in the classroom. Through discussing writing-to-learn approaches, crafting meaningful writing assignments, and creating accountability strategies, this hands-on virtual workshop provided instructors across the curriculum tools to teach writing to MSUN students in the age of ChatGPT.

There was no handout this week. 

Program Assessment Workshops

Sep. 13, 2024 — In lieu of traditional Tech Snacks, OTLE hosted Program Assessment workshops to provide faculty an opportunity to work on their Assessment Reports and Assessment Plans for the Fall 2024 deadline. 

There was no handout this week.

Meet Josh Engle, Vice Chancellor of Student Success

Sep. 6, 2024 — This week, we were joined by the new Vice Chancellor of Student Success, Joshua Engle, as he discussed Academic Alerts, CARE Reports, and other topics in the area of Enrollment Management and Student Success.

Click here for a PDF of this handout.

Start of Semester Check-in & OTLE Updates

Aug. 30, 2024 — To kick off the Fall semester, OTLE used Tech Snacks to check-in with faculty about the upcoming semester and provided some general updates from OTLE. We discussed the Brightspace to Canvas course migration process, logging into Canvas with the SSO, and asked faculty to fill out a short survey to help us plan for the remainder of the semester.

There was no handout this week.