In building an atmosphere of trust between instructors and students, it is vital to set clear expectations. Research bears this out: a 2025 survey of students carried out by Inside Higher Ed found that 34% of respondents considered “clear, consistent expectations” to be a priority in building classroom trust. But how to achieve this goal? It begins, as with so much else in the classroom experience, with the syllabus.| Academic Technology Solutions
If you’re looking for a seamless way to track class attendance while enhancing student engagement, Poll Everywhere offers robust features specifically designed for higher education environments. We have outlined several strategies you can use with Poll Everywhere to streamline attendance tracking. Poll Everywhere allows you to take attendance during live sessions by recording student responses. […]| Academic Technology Solutions
“A computing system that permits the asking of only certain kinds of questions, that accepts only certain kinds of ‘data,’ and that cannot even in principle be understood by those who rely on it, such a computing system has effectively closed many doors that were open before it was installed:’ – Joseph Weizenbaum, creator of […]| Academic Technology Solutions
Canvas has recently debuted a new interface in the Files section of course sites. This interface is more intuitive and makes it easier for you to carry out commonly used functions when managing your course files. When you click on the Files tab, you will no longer see a folder tree. Instead, you will be […]| Academic Technology Solutions
If you’re looking for a way to make grading easier for you and help students better understand where they can improve their work, Canvas Rubrics can help you deliver more impactful feedback with a minimum amount of setup time. (You’ll also be able to repurpose these in later instances of your course or duplicate and modify your best rubrics, so this quarter’s setup is an investment for your future teaching!)| Academic Technology Solutions
Introduction to This Blog Series Few aspects of teaching are as vital to your course’s success as classroom trust. For your students to remain engaged with your subject matter, they need to know that you see them as people and that you’re genuinely invested in their success. This connection between you and your students doesn’t […]| Academic Technology Solutions
Linda Nilson argues that our current grading system is fundamentally broken—it fails to reflect what students actually learn, burdens faculty with time-consuming and subjective decisions, and fuels stress and grade disputes. In Specifications Grading (2014), she proposes a compelling alternative: Specifications (specs) grading, a system built on clear, pass/fail criteria tied directly to learning outcomes. […]| Academic Technology Solutions
Faculty Interviewer: “How attractive, as a student, is it if all of these readings you get in a class you could, yourself, just put them into a podcast and listen to a five or ten minute podcast rather than reading the papers?” Undergraduate Student: “Oh, it’s very attractive. But the thing is, this brings up […]| Academic Technology Solutions
You may be familiar with LinkedIn Learning through the technical courses it offers – everything from Excel to R to prompt engineering. But there’s more to LinkedIn Learning than just technical know-how. It also offers hundreds of courses on personal development – courses that can be useful to your students as they face the challenges […]| Academic Technology Solutions
Making your Canvas course site accessible may seem like a formidable task, but it doesn’t have to be. In this post, we lay out the steps you can take as you’re building your course site to maximize the accessibility of your digital materials. By following these steps, not only will you increase the usability of […]| Academic Technology Solutions
“If we are going to responsibly and responsively change the course of the Intelligence Revolution, which ethical system or systems are best suited to understanding or evaluating its dynamics…in environments shaped by systems of domination not through coercion but through craving satisfaction and through optimally presented options for choice?”| Academic Technology Solutions
Summer Quarter 2025 ofice hours will be virtual only. Please note that if you would like in-person help, you’re always welcome to book a consultation with an instructional designer.| Academic Technology Solutions
The Academic Technology Solutions (ATS) newsletter is your one-stop shop for information on technology and pedagogy. Whether you’d like to know the latest news in digital pedagogy, tips for using digital tools effectively in your class, updates to classroom AV, or strategies for making your course materials accessible, our newsletter will point you in the right direction.| Academic Technology Solutions
This post is the first in a projected three-part series exploring innovative use of podcasting in the classroom by UChicago faculty and instructors. Parts two and three are forthcoming.| Academic Technology Solutions
Do you have a topic that is so interesting you wished you could do an entire class on it? Or maybe wonder what students really thought about an issue? Maybe you wished you could debate a student in a comfortable low-pressure environment? Podcasting is the answer you have been looking for! Whether it’s discussing new concepts or debating opinions, integrating podcasts as educational tools can bring new types of engagement into your classroom. | Academic Technology Solutions
