TLOS Tune-Up: Enhancing Courses with Instructional Technology–Jan 14, 2026

Need some help getting your courses ready for spring semester?

• Want to explore ways to use Virginia Tech’s technology resources to engage students and contribute to their success?
• Have questions about Canvas tools?
• Concerned about accessibility requirements?
• Curious about using generative AI to support learning?
• Looking for online teaching tips?

TLOS is here to help!

Bring your questions and curiosity, and join your TLOS colleagues for a day of workshops, one-on-one consultations, and informal conversations to help make this semester a great experience for you and your students.

• Date: January 14, 2026
• Time: 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (Refreshments and light lunch provided.)
• Where: University Mall, Suite 21, Room 2104 (Directions)

Schedule

All-Day Consultations

• ADA Title II Readiness - Room 2102
• Artificial Intelligence - 2126 & Hall Table
• Canvas - 2126 & Hall Table
• Digital Media - Outside the Production on Demand (POD) Studio
• Instructional Design - Room 2116
• Professional Development Network - Room 2138
• Technology-Enhanced Learning Grants - Room 2140
• Zoom - Room 2126 & Hall Table 

9:00 a.m. - Practical Media Skills for Your Course

Room 2104
Facilitated by Ian Griffin

Join us for this session focused on integrating effective instructional media into your courses. We’ll discuss accessible tools and techniques for creating short instructional videos, interactive presentations, audio recordings, and visual aids that enhance student engagement and learning. You’ll gain insight into selecting appropriate media formats for different learning objectives and explore time-efficient approaches to media creation that fit within busy academic schedules. The session emphasizes practical, immediately applicable strategies without requiring technical expertise. By the end, you’ll leave with a toolkit of media ideas and the confidence to begin incorporating them into your teaching practice. No prior media production experience is required.

10:00 a.m. - Learning Tools Speed Round

Room 2104
Facilitated by Danielle Thacker

Come get introduced to three current tools that are available to everyone for free. We will introduce Hypothesis, Gradescope, and Panopto, and will share how current faculty are using them.

11:00 a.m. - Teaching with AI: How Faculty are Using AI
in Their Classrooms

Room 2104
Facilitated by Kim Loeffert, Jen Mooney, Scott Mutchler, David Hicks, and Sehrish Basir Nizamani

This faculty panel highlights real-world examples of how instructors across disciplines are integrating artificial intelligence into teaching and learning. Panelists will share strategies, challenges, and lessons learned from using AI to support student engagement, streamline course design, and enhance learning outcomes. Participants will leave with practical ideas they can adapt for their own courses.

Noon - Lunch

Lobby

1:00 p.m. - Teaching in Online and Flexible Environments

Room 2104
Facilitated by Jodie Brinkman, Ashley Beleny, Barbara Lockee, and Rodney Gaines

This faculty panel explores effective strategies for teaching in online, hybrid, and other flexible learning formats. Panelists will share approaches that support student engagement, build community, and foster meaningful learning across modalities. Participants will leave with concrete practices and adaptable techniques to strengthen their own online and flexible courses.

2:15 p.m. - Leveraging the Digital Accessibility Playbook (DAP) and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Strategies for Inclusive Teaching & Learning

Room 2104
Facilitated by De Harman, Pearl Xie, and Mark Nichols

This session will first focus on helping faculty quickly assess their course materials and identify high-impact improvements by exploring strategies, tools and practical next steps that support digital accessibility.  The second segment introduces an “Access by Design” approach that blends UDL principles, digital accessibility, and AI supported tools to help streamline teaching while supporting diverse learners.

3:15 p.m. - Productivity Through Prompting: Basic GenAI Use to Help You Thrive

Room 2104
Facilitated by Daron Williams

This session introduces faculty to the essentials of generative AI, including key points about Virginia Tech’s supported tools and guidelines. Participants will learn practical strategies for crafting effective prompts and integrating AI into everyday tasks — academic and otherwise. The session concludes with guided, hands-on practice to build confidence and spark ideas for using AI to streamline teaching and professional work.