As we progress through the semester, we’re excited to share the latest Digital Learning resources and opportunities with you. In this newsletter, you’ll find useful technology tips, upcoming workshop opportunities, and exciting news about the inaugural AI Summit.
Please don’t hesitate to contact the Digital Learning team with any questions or for support. You can reach us using the options below:
Book a meeting with an instructional designer or technologist on the ILCI website for assistance with instructional design, instructional technology, YuJa, and more.
We are excited to announce UNO’s first-ever AI Summit event, which will be held on Wednesday, March 12thfrom 9 a.m. – 1:30 pm in UNO’s Barbara Weitz Community Engagement Center (CEC). The AI Summit will be open to all faculty, staff, and students, in addition to community members and business partners.
As we see the rapid adoption of generative artificial intelligence (AI), this event is designed to showcase a wide range of pilots and success stories about how generative AI is being used in a variety of ways at UNO and throughout the Omaha community.
New Section Modality Available for Fall 2025: Hybrid Remote (870)
In response to the needs of online programs across campus, a new Hybrid Remote section modality has been created. These new 870 sections are identical to our current Hybrid In-Person (860) sections, except that the synchronous class sessions are held remotely (usually over Zoom) instead of in the classroom or physically at another learning site. This allows faculty to use up to 25% of the scheduled course time as virtual sessions for “real time” assessment, discussion, lab work, etc. The full definition of this new modality is:
Mostly asynchronous online instruction mixed with reduced synchronous virtual class meetings at regularly scheduled times using academic technologies (e.g., Zoom). Asynchronous online instruction accounts for 75% or more of total instruction time. Synchronous virtual class meetings will not exceed 25% of what is usually scheduled in Fully Remote sections. Students could be located anywhere but must be available for a reduced number (usually 6-8) of virtual class meetings and should have a reliable learning space and Internet access to attend during the semester.
The virtual sessions will be held at regular meeting times and available in the Registrar’s schedule for students to view as they enroll. Any classes that were previously scheduled as asynchronous Fully Online (850) asynchronous synchronous sections but asked that students be available for synchronous virtual meetings or testing should now be scheduled as 870 sections.
For updated definitions of all UNO’s distance education modalities, please see the Online at UNO website. For questions about scheduling a Hybrid Remote (870) section in CLSS for the Fall 2025 semester, please contact Dan Hawkins, Director of Online Development (dhawkins@unomaha.edu).
AI-Powered Grants
Looking to integrate AI into your classes, learn about and apply for an AI-Powered Grant! More information located on our AI Support page.
How’s Grading Going?
As we approach the middle of the spring semester, gradebooks in Canvas are probably coming to the forefront of people’s minds. Instructors are likely having more grades to enter, and students are keeping an eye to gauge how they are doing so for in their courses. Is your Gradebook adequately and correctly relaying that information? If you are not sure, considering setting up a meeting with a member of our team to do over your current gradebook set up. We can help you understand what your students see and provide tips on how to ensure it’s working how you want it to.
Respondus Lockdown Browser Users
For those of you who use Lockdown Browser to deliver exams there is something that you must do each semester. You need to visit the Lockdown Browser Dashboard at least once before your first exam by clicking on the Lockdown Browser course navigation. This sets up your course to be ready to use the Lockdown Browser for any exams it is enabled for. Often we see issues when a course or exam is copied from a previous semester where it was set up to use Lockdown Browser. The exam is set to use Lockdown Browser, but if the course has not been initiated yet, students will have issues accessing it. So make a habit each semester when setting up your course to click that Lockdown Browser navigation at least once if you plan to use it during the course!
CBE @ UNO: Building Momentum for the Future
The Champion project is gaining speed! The Operations and Academic workgroups have presented key proposals to the Steering Committee for review, marking a significant step forward. Meanwhile, the Marketing/Communications, Finance/HR, and Student Affairs/Services workgroups are making steady progress as they tackle their first-quarter milestones. These teams are putting in the groundwork to ensure that Competency-Based Education (CBE) at UNO has a strong, sustainable foundation for the future. Stay tuned for more updates as this exciting initiative moves forward!
Skills Lab @ UNO
UNO is embracing digital badging as a way to showcase student skill attainment both inside and outside the classroom. Digital badges provide students with verifiable, employer-recognized credentials that highlight the skills they develop through coursework, research, internships, and extracurricular activities. We are currently working on integrating Digital Badges into Canvas so that students can easily see and access their skills-related digital badges. Additionally, the Skills Lab is actively working to identify the most relevant skills through faculty and staff input, as well as market research, ensuring that UNO students graduate with the in-demand skills needed for career success.
Future of Work Symposium Series
The next Future of Work Symposium will be held in Fall 2025, with the official date coming soon. Future of Work promises to be an engaging, thought-provoking event for the UNO and Omaha communities. This annual symposium convenes faculty, students, and industry leaders to discuss emerging workforce trends, evolving skill demands, and innovative education strategies. Stay tuned for the official date and details—this is an event you won’t want to miss!
Spring Digital Accessibility Workshop Series
This semester, the Digital Learning team is excited to present our Digital Accessibility Workshop Series—an engaging opportunity to build practical skills and deepen your understanding of accessibility best practices. Designed to empower instructors, this series offers a blend of tutorial-based workshops and interactive practice to help you create more inclusive and accessible digital course content.
All workshops will take place on Wednesdays from 2:00-3:00pm on Zoom. Participants who attend at least 5 of the 7 workshops will earn a Digital Accessibility Workshop Badge, acknowledging your commitment to fostering an accessible learning environment.
Why join us? Whether you’re new to digital accessibility or looking to refine your existing skills, this series will equip you with actionable strategies to make a meaningful impact in your courses. By participating, you’ll gain the confidence and tools needed to advocate for accessibility and support all learners.
Let’s work together to create an inclusive digital learning experience for all students. Join us to learn, practice, and lead in the effort to champion digital accessibility!
Digital Accessibility Workshop Series Schedule:
Canvas Accessibility: Wednesday, March 5th 2:00-3:00 pm
PowerPoint Accessibility: Wednesday, March 26th 2:00-3:00 pm
Accessible Audio and Video: Wednesday, April 9th 2:00-3:00 pm
PDF Accessibility: Wednesday, April 23rd 2:00-3:00 pm
Universal Design for Learning: Wednesday, May 7th 2:00-3:00 pm
Next-Level Assessments: Exploring the Features in Canvas New Quizzes
Thursday, March 6, 10–11:00 a.m.
Join us for a hands-on introduction to creating a quiz using Canvas New Quizzes. In this interactive session, we’ll explore the features and benefits of using New Quizzes to enhance your assessments. You’ll learn how to embed images, videos, and other content into your quizzes, utilize new question types like hot spots and stimulus questions, save time creating accommodations, and streamline grading with automatic grading for multiple question types. By the end of this session, you’ll be equipped with the knowledge to create more engaging, efficient, and insightful assessments that cater to diverse learning needs.
Human-Centered Assessment Design: Empathy, Relevance, and Real-World Application
Thursday, March 27, 11–12:00 p.m.
This workshop explores innovative assessment practices centered on empathy and real-world relevance, equipping educators to design assessments that prioritize student engagement and skill mastery. Using design-thinking principles, the Innovator’s Compass, and hallmark practices for effective assessment, this workshop will guide participants through creating student-centered evaluations that are transparent, meaningful, and aligned with essential workforce competencies. Join us to develop assessments that not only measure learning but also inspire students and enhance practical, applicable knowledge for future career success.
This faculty professional development course helps instructors learn how to improve the accessibility of their Canvas site for many types of content and tools. This course helps participants understand the most important criteria for creating an accessible Canvas course, why each step matters, and how to test your efforts. Why is creating accessible Canvas sites critical? What areas should I consider when it comes to Canvas accessibility? What steps should I take to make my Canvas course accessible? How do I test if my Canvas site is accessible? In this course, you learn answers to all these questions—and more.
This six-week asynchronous course is offered online using the Canvas LMS. The course has a rolling start date but is not self-paced, and you should plan to spend about 3–5 hours per week on it. Participants receive a $300 stipend for successfully completing all discussions and assignments.
ILCI offers resources and faculty development courses to help you incorporate Regular and Substantive Interaction (RSI) into your teaching. This support is designed to create highly engaging and well-connected online and hybrid courses.
ILCI offers marketing and communications support for your online degrees and programs! This service will offer support in strategizing and designing your marketing and communications needs. You can receive this support by submitting the Marketing and Communications Project Request Form.
ILCI's Digital Learning team offers a non-credit Advancing Excellence in Online Teaching Program that is designed to prepare you for online instruction or advance your skills if you are a seasoned instructor.
Choose from a series of offerings designed to strengthen your digital learning skills as you learn effective pedagogical practices. Earning the program badge requires the completion of one core course and three electives led by the UNO Digital Learning team. Electives can be selected by participants based on their interests and needs. Get started today and join the 48 people who have already earned this impressive badge!
Course Development Grant Opportunity
The Office of Digital Learning awards grants for faculty to develop or improve the online delivery of one of their courses; these due dates are now rolling, meaning you can apply for a course development grant at any point during the year. Learn more and apply for a grant on our ILCI Course Development Webpage.
Know someone who might be interested in this content? Feel free to forward this newsletter and encourage them to subscribe. Missed out on our previous newsletters, you can check them out on our ILCI website page.
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University of Nebraska Omaha, 6001 Dodge Street, Omaha, NE 68182, United States, 402.554.2800
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