Monday, November 3, 2:20pm - 3:10pm - Webinar

This session focuses on developing modules in Blackboard that are intuitive, accessible, well-organized and in alignment with learning outcomes. Participants will explore how to structure content, build consistency across course themes and select activities that promote active learning and retention. Register

Monday, November 3, 2:20pm - 3:10pm - Webinar

The first half of the Support Zone training focuses on providing context for the necessity of faculty and staff being well-versed in recognizing and responding to students experiencing mental health distress. The facilitator will review definitions, national and local statistics about mental health in college students and discuss how stigma affects help-seeking behaviors. The facilitator will also discuss how COVID-19 has exacerbated the aforementioned issues. This session will also cover crisis support protocol, how to recognize signs of distress, warning signs of suicide, non-suicidal self-injury, and how to respond and intervene to a student of concern.

This is a required session for a certificate of completion in Mental Health and Well-being Competency.  Register

Tuesday, November 4, 10:05am - 10:55am - Webinar

This session focuses on evidence-based practices that promote authentic engagement in asynchronous courses. Participants will explore strategies for increasing instructor presence, designing purposeful interactions and delivering feedback that builds trust and fosters learner motivation. Whether you are refining an existing course or preparing a new one, this session offers practical tools to enhance connection participation and student success in fully online settings. Register

Tuesday, November 4, 1:15pm - 2:30pm - In-Person

Good communication is a key element of any relationship, and the mentoring relationship is no exception. As mentors, it is insufficient to say we know good communication when we see it. Participants will learn how to identify the key characteristics of effective communication and practice these skills with other participants. At the end of workshop, participants will be better prepared to provide constructive feedback to mentees, engage in active listening, communicate across diverse dimensions (disciplines, ethnicities, positions of powers), and formulate strategies for improving their own communication style.

This is an elective session for the Entering Mentoring certificate of completion.  Register

Tuesday, November 4, 2:00pm - 3:00pm - Webinar

In this session you'll learn how to transform your Blackboard Learn Ultra course from ordinary to extraordinary! Discover how best to organize your content to make your course visually engaging and user-friendly and then take it a step further with customization to add some pizazz. Whether you're looking to streamline your course structure, add some creative touches, or both, this session will give you the tools to make your course stand out.  Register

Wednesday, November 5, 9:40am - 10:30am - Webinar

Do you have a desire to help your learners become more motivated to do well and persist through challenges? Join us to learn how to leverage motivation and emotion to create positive, engaging learning environments. You will analyze motivational theories and strategies to determine what might be able to best help your learners in your context. Register

Wednesday, November 5, 1:10pm - 2:00pm - Virtual

The Virtual Environments Community of Practice is planning ways to integrate virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed reality into teaching and learning environments at USC. Meetings are open to faculty, staff and students. Register

Wednesday, November 5, 2:30pm - 3:00pm - Webinar

Blackboard’s Ally tool simplifies the process of identifying and resolving accessibility issues across a variety of file types. In this session, learn how to use Ally’s features to check accessibility, fix issues, and improve your course materials. Register

Thursday, November 6, 10:05am - 11:20am - Webinar

Engaging in conflict is challenging whether you are an experienced instructor or new to your role. A common strategy is to ignore the behavior due to our own discomfort, concern over retaliation or fear that our intervention may cause more harm or disruption. We will identify what our fears are about classroom disruption and use case study examples to practice strategies to stretch participants' comfort zones. This workshop will also explore Gerald Amada's research from Coping with Misconduct in the College Classroom and provide participants with tangible strategies to prevent and respectfully address disruptive behavior.

This is a required session for a certificate of completion in Fostering Proactive Learning Environments.  Register

Thursday, November 6, 11:40am - 12:55pm - Webinar

Are your students sometimes mystified by their grades, or perhaps lacking motivation to take ownership of their learning? Have you ever wanted to help your students become more effective learners? Today’s students come to college with widely varying academic skills, unaware of the study skills needed to meet college-level expectations for learning.

Metacognition is the practice of “thinking about thinking”: the awareness and ability of learners to identify their cognitive processes and make changes to their learning behaviors (Lovett, 2008). Promoting metacognition can increase students' understanding of how learning works, teaching students how to understand what caused their successes or failures and direct their own learning (Brownlee, Purdie, & Boulton-Lewis, 2001).

This webinar will go beyond the basics of metacognition and explore how to use metacognitive techniques to help students monitor and regulate their own learning, providing you with concrete strategies and adaptive instructional materials for incorporating into your course. Register

Monday, November 10, 10:00am - 10:50am - Webinar

Zoom is no longer just for meetings! Join us to discover how Zoom can serve as an all-encompassing collaboration tool, offering a multitude of capabilities for both instructional purposes and daily productivity.  Register

Monday, November 10, 11:00am - 11:50am - Webinar

Discover practical tips and proven strategies to create professional-quality video lectures that captivate students and enhance online learning. This webinar covers essential techniques for video production—from effective recording methods and equipment selection to engaging presentation styles—helping educators confidently produce impactful instructional videos. Transform your online courses by learning to craft clear, compelling, and accessible video content that resonates with your audience. Register

Monday, November 10, 12:00pm - 1:00pm - Webinar

Blackboard Learn Ultra Course View (UCV) is the newest version of the Blackboard Learning Management System. With new improvements being made monthly to Ultra Course View there are exciting changes which instructors may not have seen. This is a short presentation about the most recent updates that have occurred in Blackboard Learn Ultra Course View and will include information on how to stay up to date on future improvements.  Register

Tuesday, November 11, 10:00am - 11:15am - Webinar

Discover how Zoom's AI Companion enhances every aspect of the Zoom platform and more. Learn how to tailor Companion's security and limitations to your needs, and see how it can simplify and boost your instructional and daily productivity. Register

Tuesday, November 11, 1:15pm - 2:05pm - Webinar

The second half of the Support Zone training focuses on participants learning how to refer students of concern experiencing varying levels of distress (mild, moderate and severe), what to do if a student refuses a referral, how to maintain the students' privacy, and how to follow-up with the student. This session includes role-plays and other interactive activities to help participants practice their recently acquired skills. The facilitator will also discuss the how responding to students of concern affects faculty/staff mental health and how to respond accordingly.

This session includes a review of resources specific to faculty/staff needs and tips on dealing with COVID-19 related stressors. Lastly, the facilitator will review campus and community resources to ensure participants have a thorough understanding of what is available to students and when to use each resource.

This is a required session for a certificate of completion in Mental Health and Well-being Competency.  Register

Tuesday, November 11, 3:00pm - 3:30pm - Webinar

All course materials hosted on USC platforms, including Blackboard, must be digitally accessible. This session focuses on Microsoft Word and covers how to use heading styles, the accessibility checker, and other tools to create accessible syllabi, assignments, and handouts. Register

Wednesday, November 12, 10:00am - 11:30am - In-Person

Join us for the 3rd module of Career Champions. In this session we'll learn about the career competencies employers are looking for within our students and how to incorporate those into our academic lessons, student employment, internships, etc. You'll also know how to help students see these competencies within themselves and how to advocate for themselves and articulate their talents, abilities, and experiences.

Learning outcomes for Level 3 are as follows:

• Explain the importance of career readiness competencies in preparing students for successful transitions into the workforce.
• Develop strategies to embed career competencies into everyday student interactions and advising conversations.
• Empower students to reflect on their experiences and confidently communicate how their skills align with employer expectations.

This workshop is an elective session for a certificate of completion in Integrative and Experiential Learning.  Register

Wednesday, November 12, 2:20pm - 3:10pm - Webinar

In the final of three webinars about Blackboard analytics, review your course for the spring based on data available in Blackboard. During this presentation, we will review where to access information in your Blackboard course that you can use while planning for your next offering and provide examples of holistic course revisions you could make. Participants will practice drawing conclusions regarding course changes based on sample data sets and set a plan for reviewing their own courses at the end of the semester. Register

Thursday, November 13, 11:45am - 1:00pm - In-Person

This Mutual Expectations discussion will focus on the benefits and practical steps that faculty/staff can take on developing meaningful professional relationships with one another. How students can approach faculty, why developing professional relationships matters, how this may be different than a mentor relationship and more. Join this fun discussion with fellow students and faculty over a free lunch!

Sponsored by the Carolina Experience and the Center for Teaching Excellence

This is an elective session for a certificate of completion in Understanding USC Student Populations.  Register

Thursday, November 13, 2:50pm - 4:05pm - In-Person

Are you unsure how to create a learning environment suitable for having challenging conversations? Do you want to encourage and support your students to be more comfortable with discomfort? In this session, we will discuss how your learning space can emphasize personal and academic growth through challenge and discomfort while maintaining respect. You will learn about the concept of brave spaces, reflect on your own biases, comfort levels, and practices around supportive discussion facilitation, and develop actionable strategies to create or maintain brave spaces.

This is an elective session for a certificate of completion in Teaching Towards Inclusive Excellence.  Register

Monday, November 17, 2:20pm - 2:50pm - Webinar

PowerPoint presentations can powerfully support student learning when designed accessibly. This session explores key accessibility practices such as reading order, alternative text, and slide structure to ensure every student can engage with your visual content. Register

Tuesday, November 18, 1:15pm - 2:30pm - In-Person

Through Recovery Ally workshops, Gamecock Recovery strives to empower students, faculty and staff to make campus more supportive of students in recovery from substance use disorder. Learn to: confront myths and stigma about substance use disorder; use and model acts of allyship in everyday interactions; and identify, access, and direct people to recovery resources at USC.

The Recovery Ally workshop is presented in a flipped-classroom model that includes a self-paced video module as prework (estimated 20 minutes) and an in-person session. Please review the recorded content prior to your workshop session.

This is a required session for a certificate of completion in Mental Health and Well-being Competency.  Register

Tuesday, November 18, 1:15pm - 2:30pm - Webinar

A teaching philosophy statement provides a concise description of an instructor's perspective on teaching, student learning, methodologies, and implementation, and institutions typically request a teaching philosophy statement from applicants for faculty positions and as part of the tenure and promotion process.

What, then, is your teaching philosophy? What aspects should you reflect upon, write, or include? And how has the writing of this document changed as a result of ChatGPT, both in the document construction as well as your perspective on this fundamental shift in higher education? This will be a working webinar, where we will discuss strategies for composing the statement, incorporating time for theme development, group discussion and feedback, and ChatGPT prompt exploration. Participants will leave with a thematic outline of their statement, a draft of the opening paragraph, and guidelines to continue crafting it.

NOTE: For you and other participants to benefit the most in the time available, this webinar requires that you do some reflective writing in advance of the session.

By the end of this webinar, participants will be able to:

• Reflect on and clarify their values about teaching and learning.
• Expound upon these values and craft a working thematic outline.
• Explore the ethical usage of ChatGPT in teaching statement construction.

This is a required session for the Teaching and Learning with Generative Artificial Intelligence digital badge.

Register

Wednesday, November 19, 10:00am - 10:50am - Webinar

Exams are critical assessments—but ensuring academic integrity doesn't have to be stressful! Join us for an engaging webinar designed specifically for USC faculty, where we'll explore multiple proctoring tools available to you, including Respondus LockDown Browser, Respondus Monitor, Instructor Live Proctoring, ProctorU, and CTE’s own in-person Testing Center. You'll leave this session equipped to choose the perfect solution that balances security, flexibility, and ease of use, ensuring exam integrity while supporting student success. Register

Wednesday, November 19, 2:20pm - 3:10pm - In-Person

The Universal Design for Learning (UDL) community of practice provides an intentional space for discussion regarding accessibility in teaching and learning at the university. Faculty, staff, and students are invited to join. Register

Thursday, November 20, 10:00am - 11:00am - Webinar

Unleash the full potential of assessments in Blackboard Ultra Course View with this virtual workshop designed for faculty members. Explore how to create engaging and effective assignments and tests that not only evaluate student learning but also enhance their experience. We’ll cover the essentials of setting up assignments and tests and incorporate engaging and creative elements to add that extra flair. By the end of this one-hour session, you will be better equipped to take the assessments in your course to the next level. Register

Thursday, November 20, 1:00pm - 2:30pm - Virtual

The Generative Artificial Intelligence Community of Practice (GenAI CoP) at the University of South Carolina is a collaborative initiative designed to explore and discuss the implications of GenAI in higher education. This community brings together faculty, staff, and graduate students to share insights, strategies, and experiences related to the integration of GenAI across administration, research, teaching, and learning.  Register

Tuesday, December 2, 1:15pm - 1:45pm - Webinar

Captioning and transcripts make video content more engaging, flexible, and accessible. Learn how to use USC’s supported video platform, Panopto, to easily add and manage captions for lectures and other recorded materials. Register

Thursday, December 4, 1:00pm - 2:30pm - In-Person

The Generative Artificial Intelligence Community of Practice (GenAI CoP) at the University of South Carolina is a collaborative initiative designed to explore and discuss the implications of GenAI in higher education. This community brings together faculty, staff, and graduate students to share insights, strategies, and experiences related to the integration of GenAI across administration, research, teaching, and learning.  Register

Wednesday, December 10, 12:00pm - 1:00pm - Webinar

Blackboard Learn Ultra Course View (UCV) is the newest version of the Blackboard Learning Management System. With new improvements being made monthly to Ultra Course View there are exciting changes which instructors may not have seen. This is a short presentation about the most recent updates that have occurred in Blackboard Learn Ultra Course View and will include information on how to stay up to date on future improvements.  Register