January 2026 ARC

Introduction to Blackboard (Again!)

This session introduces faculty to the core features of Blackboard Ultra. Join Magi to learn how to create and organize course content, communicate with students, and manage your course. 

Want an empty development shell to work with while Magi shows you the ropes? Fill out a Development Shell Request. 

Magi Penner-Hiebert
Instructional Designer, Office of Instructional Resources

Get to Know AVA, Your AI Assistant

Meet AVA, Blackboard’s new AI assistant. In this session, you will see how AVA can support you with feedback (generating summaries, rewriting comments) and routine communication tasks (creating responses to common student questions). Also, learn how you can automate messages to students based on course performance.

Rachel Bastian
Instructional Design Lead,  Office of Instructional Resources

Course Video in Blackboard

In this session, you will learn how to create, edit, and share engaging video content for your Blackboard courses. This session introduces the features of Blackboard Video Studio, including trimming, captioning, and embedding videos into your course. See what's coming next, including in-video knowledge checks and more advanced analytics. 

Rachel Bastian
Instructional Design Lead,  Office of Instructional Resources

I Need Help Right Now! Open Blackboard Lab Time

Join this come-and-go lab session to get help from the experts. Bring your questions about Blackboard, Honorlock accessibility, or other tools. If we don't know the answer, we will help you find someone who does!

Mary Morriss
LMS Specialist, Office of Instructional Resources

Heather Merchant
Senior Accessibility Specialist, Office of Instructional Resources

Rethinking Student Transitions

Join national thought leaders Dr. Bryce Bunting and Dr. Dallin Young to consider new ways of building stronger connections and a deeper sense of belonging in every classroom.

Bryce Bunting
Assistant Dean, Undergraduate Education & Director, First-Year Experience,
Brigham Young University

Dallin Young
Assistant Professor of College Student Affairs Administration and Leadership, University of Georgia

Leveraging Honors- An Invitation to All Students

Chelsea Redger-Marquardt
Assistant Dean, Cohen Honors College and Assistant Professor

Authentic Assessments in the Age of AI

It’s no secret that all instructors have seen inappropriate AI use in the last year. This session will outline the scope of the problem and suggest ways to improve “authentic assessment” in ways that discourage students' inappropriate reliance on AI.

Carolyn Speer
Director, Office of Instructional Resources

Mutual Mentoring: Building Collaborative Networks for Faculty Success

This session introduces mutual mentoring—a collaborative, reciprocal approach to faculty development. Participants will learn strategies for building supportive networks, share best practices, and explore practical tools to foster professional growth and an inclusive academic culture.

Moriah Beck
Professor, Chemistry and Biochemistry

So Many New Preps! Efficient Courses for Busy Professors

This session will explore ways Blackboard use can make courses more efficient and easier to manage, regardless what modality the courses are offered in. In addition, Carolyn will share some “old fashioned” hacks for smoothing instructor workload across the full term.

Carolyn Speer
Director, Office of Instructional Resources

Honorlock: Your Proctoring Solution

Join this session to explore Honorlock, the proctoring tool adopted by our institution for online assessments. We’ll cover how to set up proctored exams, monitor student activity, and ensure academic integrity while maintaining student accessibility. The session will guide you through exam setup and clear communication with students. 

Rachel Bastian
Instructional Design Lead, Office of Instructional Resources

Results from the VOLARÉ Survey of Faculty Perceptions of Research at WSU

With the help of NSF funding and the VOLARÉ Institute, WSU faculty responded to a survey in Spring 2025 requesting their feedback on how well WSU supports faculty-led research.  This session will provide a broad summary of faculty perceptions.

Coleen Pugh
Dean, Graduate School; Professor

Rhonda Lewis
Professor, Psychology

Sara Mata
Executive Director, Hispanic Serving Initiatives; Assistant Teaching Professor

Coming Soon!

Engaging Undergraduates in Research

If you're interested in discovering the advantages of engaging undergraduates in research, this session is tailored for you. It will offer faculty members an overview of the mission and services provided by the Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Hub, a unit of the Cohen Honors College. Additionally, it will highlight current trends in undergraduate research. The session wraps up by highlighting the advantages of engaging students in undergraduate research and how it enhances their appeal to employers in business and industry.

Michael Birzer
Director, Undergraduate Research and Creativity Hub; Professor

Leveraging Peer Mentoring to Keep Students on Track

Are you struggling to keep students engaged and on track? This session introduces the Shocker Design Experience's successful peer mentoring strategy, a targeted intervention that addresses high attrition. Learn how structured peer guidance builds student confidence, strengthens academic resilience, and creates the vital sense of community necessary to significantly boost persistence and retention rates in your programs.

Sam Corcoran
Associate Educator, Applied Engineering

Accessibility Supports Student Success 
Designing accessible courses and learning environments enhances educational outcomes for all students. In this session, we will cover course design and effective strategies to eliminate barriers and promote increased student engagement.

Heather Merchant
Senior Accessibility Specialist, Office of Instructional Resources

I Need Help Right Now! Open Blackboard Lab Time

Join this come-and-go lab session to get help from the experts. Bring your questions about Blackboard, Honorlock accessibility, or other tools. If we don't know the answer, we will help you find someone who does!

Mary Morriss
LMS Specialist, Office of Instructional Resources

Magi Penner-Hiebert
Instructional Designer, Office of Instructional Resources

Join the Unicorn Revolution: What STABI Can Teach You About Feedback

Effective feedback can transform learning—but only when it’s timely, actionable, and student-centered. But what "time" is "timely?" What tone is best? This session explores research-based strategies for delivering feedback that motivates and guides learners. Bonus: In this session, you will get to meet (or revisit) STABI, the feedback Unicorn! 

Rachel Bastian
Instructional Design Lead, Office of Instructional Resources

Course Data Workshop*

Would you like a clearer picture of how Blackboard is being used in your course or the courses you oversee? This  session offers department and college leaders an opportunity to review data reports on course accessibility, instructor use of AI tools, login activity, and other key indicators. Participants who complete the linked form in advance will receive customized reports and a guided walkthrough of how to interpret them during the session.

*This session requires special registration. Please fill out the registration form at Course Data Workshop Registration.

Carolyn Speer
Director, Office of Instructional Resources

Rachel Bastian
Instructional Design Lead, Office of Instructional Resources

Don't Guess, Experiment: Improving Courses Through Action Research

Do you find yourself making changes in your classes on the basis of your “gut instincts” or comments from one or two students? If so, don’t guess, experiment! It’s easy to set up course-level interventions in a way that can give you data that is easy to understand and interpret. This session is designed for folks who aren’t accustomed to quantitative research but who want some ideas about how to get started.

Carolyn Speer
Director, Office of Instructional Resources

Coding for Non-Coders: Creating Activities for Blackboard and the Web

Carolyn Speer
Director, Office of Instructional Resources

I Need Help Right Now! Open Blackboard Lab Time

Join this come-and-go lab session to get help from the experts. Bring your questions about Blackboard, Honorlock accessibility, or other tools. If we don't know the answer, we will help you find someone who does!

Mary Morriss
LMS Specialist, Office of Instructional Resources

Heather Merchant
Senior Accessibility Specialist, Office of Instructional Resources

Magi Penner-Hiebert
Instructional Designer, Office of Instructional Resources

Designing Effective Surveys

This session is an introduction to the principles and practices of survey methodology. Topics include survey purpose, planning and design, construct development, effective question writing, and key ethical and technical considerations. Emphasis is placed on collecting high-quality data that will inform research, decision-making, and other institutional needs.

Whitney Crager
Senior Research Analyst, Qualtrics Administrator, Office of Planning and Analysis

No Textbook Required: OAT, OER, and You

Open Educational Resources (OER) decrease the financial burden on students, but have also been shown to increase student engagement, decrease withdrawal rates, and even improve end of course grades. This session will focus on Wichita State’s Open Accessible Textbook (OAT) initiative, while exploring different types of OERs, and how to begin the process of getting your course designated as OAT.

Heather Merchant
Senior Accessibility Specialist, Office of Instructional Resources

From Insights to Action: Addressing Why Some Students Leave

Explore the most common challenges our students report when dropping semester classes, as collected by Academic Affairs. We'll then highlight resources designed to support them and share practical ways faculty can connect students with the help they need before small issues become big ones.

Brett Peterson-Bruner
Associate Vice Provost for Student Success and Persistence

Faculty Fellows:

Daniel Bergman
College of Applied Studies

Melinda DeFrain
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Jacie Green
College of Health Professions

Cindi Mason
College of Engineering

Lindsey Ott
College of Engineering

Irma Puškarević
College of Fine Arts

Sarah Taylor
College of Health Professions, Retention Fellows Coordinator

Planning and Developing Curriculum Around Outcomes

This session focuses on designing curriculum beginning with learning outcomes. You’ll learn how to align assessments, assignments, and class activities with those outcomes, maintain consistency across sections, and build flexibility to meet diverse student needs. Whether rolling out a new course or revising an existing one, you’ll walk away with a clear, step-by-step framework to guide your curriculum design.

Magi Penner-Hiebert
Instructional Designer, Office of Instructional Resources

Annual Accessibility Training

Join us to meet WSU's new Director of ADA and Section 504 Compliance, Krystal Iseminger. This session, required for instructors once per year, covers everything from key expectations to service animals and the tools available to make accessible instruction possible. 

Krystal Iseminger
Director, ADA and Section 504 Compliance

John Jones
Executive Director, Media Reources Center