Schedule

Breadcrumbs to Brilliance: Introducing Micro-Credentials 

Discover how micro-credentials can create clear, flexible pathways for learning. This session will provide an overview of micro-credentials, highlight use cases, and outline the steps to propose your own micro-credential. We'll wrap up with Q&A to answer your questions and spark ideas. Follow the breadcrumb trail to brilliance—one skill, one badge, one opportunity at a time!

Facilitator: Christina Goldsmith, TeLS Instructional Designer 

Quick Course Check: A Mini-Mapping Approach to Online Course Alignment 

Learn a streamlined method for ensuring your online course modules align with course learning objectives and assessments. In this interactive session, you'll be introduced to a one-page checklist used for evaluating alignment during course development, modification, and reviews. We’ll explore how to use it efficiently, spot common issues, and make quick improvements that can boost course quality and student outcomes. This tool is great for faculty, instructional leads, and reviewers and promotes clarity, quality, and instructional effectiveness for the best interest of our students.

Facilitator: Lauri L. Dreher, School of Business Associate Dean

Linkedin Learning 

It is awesome. It is free for YC faculty and staff. Come get some.

Facilitator: Richard Pierce, Relationship Manager, TSS

Mind and Body Wellness

Take a few moments to de-stress, reset and recharge in this body brain break. Give yourself permission to shake it off, dance a bit, stretch, and breathe. No experience or jazz shoes necessary ;) 

Facilitator: Jessica Hawk, Biology Instructor

Beyond the Rewind: Energize Your Review Sessions with Interactive Strategies

Get ready to bring the energy! In this interactive session, faculty will step into the student roll in a fast-paced mock review session using Yavapai College-themed trivia. Attendees will experience an “Engage, Recall, and Repeat” strategy, designed to increase participation, boost information retention, and make review sessions more impactful and fun. Whether you want to revamp your review sessions or gain fresh ideas, this session will have you ready to level up your classroom engagement.

Facilitator: Prof. Nichole Guzzo

From Support to Success: Leveraging Embedded Tutors and Student Micro-Credentials  

Be among the first to explore two new micro-credentials designed to strengthen academic support at Yavapai College. Learn how the Embedded Tutor micro-credential equips faculty to partner effectively with tutors and hear how the upcoming Academic Orientation micro-credential will help students build foundational college skills. This session offers practical strategies for faculty who want to enhance engagement, promote persistence, and connect students to meaningful support from day one

Facilitator: Ustadza White, Library and Tutoring Services Manager

Panel: Ask a Student about Ai, 8-week courses, or anything you are curious about!

This session will be a panel of Yavapai college students answering questions and giving input on a variety of Yavapai college and educational issues.

Facilitator: Prof. Mark Woolsey

Resources

• Recording

From Here to There: Your Course Roadmap

Discover how course mapping and backwards design can simplify your teaching, improve student learning, and make course conversion (16-week to 8-week) manageable. This interactive workshop introduces practical strategies to align outcomes, assessments, and activities, and features a custom-built GPT tool that will help you build your own course maps-no prior experience required. Leave with actionable tips, resources, and access to an AI-assistant designed for Yavapai College faculty.

Facilitator: An Pfister, TeLS Senior Instructional Designer

Resources:

• Slide Deck

• YC ID: Your Course Roadmap Presentation Buddy - Ask me about this workshop!

• YC ID: Course Map Coach - Ask me about course mapping!

Little "c" vs. Big "C" Curriculum Changes: What needs to be submitted to the Curriculum Committee (and how) 

Confused about what kinds of curriculum changes need to be submitted to the Curriculum Committee? Concerned about timelines and responsiveness? Come learn about the current curriculum processes at Yavapai College and explore options, resources and tools for curriculum development that can be used all year long.

Facilitator: Prof. Liz Peters

Introducing Grammarly Authorship 

Grammarly recently launched Authorship, a tool for faculty looking to embrace AI while maintaining academic integrity. With Authorship, faculty can start from a point of two-sided transparency in written work. Rather than relying on after-the-fact estimation of which text may or may not have been created or modified with AI, Authorship relies on Grammarly’s on-browser ubiquity to categorize text as it enters a Google or Word doc. At Grammarly, we believe the future of writing will be a context-dependent collaboration with AI. Authorship is an ideal tool for the dynamic, evolving, and context-rich nature of academic work in the age of AI.

Facilitator: Henna Tayyeb, Grammarly

Best Practices for 8-Week Classes 

So you're going to teach 8-week classes -- what now? I will provide ideas for class design, student engagement, and classroom management. I have taught 8-week classes in asynchronous online, synchronous online (WebLive), and hybrid face-to-face formats. Whether you are brand new to 8-week courses or have been at it for some time, I will aim to provide a space for you to share your questions and get ideas.

Facilitator: Prof. Heather Leavitt 

AI in Action: Innovations at YC 

Discover how YC faculty and staff have harnessed AI tools this year to enhance teaching, learning, and day-to-day work. This session will highlight real examples of innovative AI use across the college, from academic support to operational efficiency, and share how these tools have improved outcomes and experiences for both students and employees. Come get inspired, see what’s possible, and spark ideas for how you might use AI in your own work at YC.

Facilitators: Ustadza White, Library and Tutoring Services Manager, and Robyn Bryce, Special Programs Manager

Panel: Faculty discuss how AI is affecting their teaching 

Hear from a panel of faculty members from across the college about how AI has impacted their departments and classes. Panelists will be asked about challenges as well as opportunities in the realm of AI. You may also bring your own questions for the panel! 

Facilitator: Prof. Heather Leavitt 

Leveraging Panopto AI Video Tools for Teaching and Learning 

In this session, participants will learn about the educational benefits of using the Panopto platform to create and share their recorded videos with their students. Additionally, participants will watch a demonstration of how the Panopto videos are housed in Canvas and how to embed the videos into a course shell.

Facilitator: Nicolas DiPaolo, TeLS Instructional Designer

Resources

• Slide Deck (PDF)

Leveraging Canvas Outcomes for SLOA Reporting 

Discover how to streamline your student learning outcomes assessment using Canvas Outcomes. This session will demonstrate how to attach outcomes to assignments and quizzes, view results through a customized Power BI dashboard, and explore how this integration supports more meaningful and efficient data collection. If time permits, we'll also review the simple process for submitting your outcomes to be added into Canvas for tracking.

Facilitator: Sarah Southwick, Manager, Curriculum & Assessment

Learning in 360º: An Immersive Theater Experience 

Experience the future of teaching with a first look at the new Immersive Theater at the Center for Learning and Innovation. This session explores the space’s blueprint, launch timeline, and the 360º technology behind it. Hear from educators already using immersive environments and engage in interactive Q&A moments designed to spark ideas for your own courses. Discover how this powerful tool can enhance engagement, creativity, and learning in your classroom.

Facilitators: Robyn Bryce, Special Programs Manager and Ryan Gray, Director, Technology Engagement & Strategy

Elev8-ing Student Success: Stategies for Designing Impactful 8-Week Hybrid Courses

Feeling uncertain about shifting to 8-week hybrid courses? You’re not alone — and you don’t have to navigate it solo. In this session, you’ll learn how to transition your 16-week in-person course into an engaging, student-centered hybrid format. Building on a foundation of backwards design and a solid course map, we’ll cover lesson planning, Canvas setup, and best practices for teaching hybrid courses. You’ll leave with practical tools, proven strategies, and renewed confidence to build impactful courses that support student success.

Facilitator: Prof. Karen Palmer

Understanding Veterans in Transition  

Ever wonder how best to help your student veterans? Understanding the transition from military to civilian life can help you better communicate with your student veterans, anticipating potential challenges and honoring the strengths they bring to our institution.

Facilitator: Scott Nardo, YC Veteran Services 

Designing with Purpose: 7 Habits and the Flip Book Mindset for 8-Week Courses

How do you turn a 16-week course into an 8-week experience without losing clarity or impact? This session offers a practical, story-driven approach to course design. Drawing on Covey’s 7 Habits and the metaphor of a flip book, participants will explore how to design with the end in mind, pace with purpose, and build student momentum. Attendees will leave with a visual planning tool and strategies to craft focused, engaging, and sustainable 8-week courses.

Facilitator: Megan Hanna, Business Faculty Program Director 

Turning Insight into Impact: Student Support with Canvas New Analytics

What if you could spot a struggling student before the first missed assignment? In this session, discover how to use Canvas New Analytics to identify at-risk students early, track engagement, and personalize outreach that supports student success. You’ll leave with practical strategies and examples to help you turn data into action—compassionately and effectively.

Facilitator: Christina Goldsmith, TeLS Instructional Designer 

Specifications Grading 

Learn to apply specifications (specs) grading to both technical and non-technical subjects to decrease student anxiety and increase student success.

Facilitator: Scott Ritchie, Aviation Faculty

ThingLink Immersive Learning 

This session will provide an introduction to the educational technology authoring software, ThingLink, currently used by 100s of US Colleges & Universities. You will be introduced to what ThingLink provides, how it's used in the classroom and online courses and how easy it is for faculty, staff and students to build ThingLink projects.

Facilitator: Andrew Beelitz, Managing Director, ThingLink N.A.

Resources

• Recording

New Accessibility Rule for Online Content (& How to Meet it in Canvas)

A new legal rule requires public universities to meet web content accessibility guidelines by April 2026. We must now ensure that principles of universal accessibility are integrated from the start, to prevent our students from encountering barriers. Discover how this rule impacts your work as faculty and learn effective strategies for developing accessible Canvas content for your students.

Facilitator: Cheryl Colan, TeLS Instructional Designer

Resources

• Slide Deck

• YC ID: Canvas Accessibility Workshop Buddy - Ask me about this workshop!

“I Want It Yesterday!” – How to be Responsive to Industry Needs Within the Confines of Academia 

Have you been asked to accommodate an industry request with a "right now!" deadline? Have your advisory board and/or external stakeholders complained about the pace of academia and its lack of responsiveness? Learn how to leverage existing processes and resources to address industry needs when you don’t have time to wait for the curriculum process. Explore resources and tools for tracking and managing ever-evolving curriculum.

Facilitator: Prof. Liz Peters

Proactive Outreach by Program Directors: Supporting Student Success Through Connection

Discover how a simple, scalable outreach model built by the Business program has evolved into a cross-departmental initiative to support student success. This session shares how targeted data, collaborative tools, and a unified message strategy are helping program directors foster meaningful connections with students—leading to improved enrollment and engagement. Learn how to access and use your own outreach list, personalize your message, and build on a model that’s already proving impactful.

Facilitator: Megan Hanna, Business Faculty Program Director , and Lauri L. Dreher, School of Business Associate Dean

Showcase, Share, Inspire: Open Pedagogy in Action

Explore how open pedagogy empowers students to contribute to a growing, publicly accessible repository. This session showcases the process of building a student writing collection for English Composition and offers strategies for applying similar models in any discipline. Join us to discuss possibilities, practical steps, and how open pedagogy can transform engagement in your classroom.

Facilitators: Christina Goldsmith, TeLS Instructional Designer, An Pfister, TeLS Senior Instructional Designer, and Carrie Meakins-Farnsworth, OER Librarian

Designing Progression Plans That Work for Students (in an 8-Week World)

As we transition to 8-week courses, our 16-week progression plans will need to be revised to serve our students effectively. In this hands-on session, faculty will explore how course sequencing, pre-reqs, and student workload shift in an 8-week format. Participants will begin revising their degree or certificate plans using provided tools and examples. Please bring a laptop to access your program’s curriculum and make real-time edits during the working session.

Progression Plans Folder

Facilitator: Sarah Southwick, Manager, Curriculum & Assessment

Digital Yoga

How about we sit with each other and wonder about our digital health?  Can we share ideas for a healthier relationship with technology? Can we improve our struggle with constant connectivity? How about we share some digital practices to regain our focus and presence. And we can end the session with a nice ten minute savasana. Really. 

Facilitator: Todd Conaway, Instructional Designer, University of Washington at Bothell

Leveraging AI for Creating Rubrics 

Join this hands-on exploration of AI-powered grading rubric generators and learn which tools blend best with your workflow. Discover how these tools can be your allies in crafting tailored rubrics that enhance student learning and streamline your grading process.

Facilitator: Cheryl Colan, TeLS Instructional Designer

Resources

• Slide Deck

• YC ID: AI Rubric Workshop Buddy - Ask me about this workshop!

Scholarship of Teaching & Learning with AI

This presentation includes 2 projects that integrate AI into teaching and learning.

Facilitator: Richard Pierce, Relationship Manager, TSS

Closing Remarks and Fancy Hors D'Oeuvres

Dean Stacey Hilton, Office of Instructional Support