A daylong institute for instructors offers them the opportunity to get up to speed on what Andy Jones describes as "new and important 'teach-nologies' — tools and applications that we can use to help our students reach their learning objectives in our classes.”

Jones is a lecturer in the University Writing Program and the academic associate director of Academic Technology Services, which puts on the annual Summer Institute on Teaching With Technology. ATS is a unit of Information and Educational Technology.

This year's institute is scheduled from 8:30 a.m. to 4:20 p.m. Friday, Sept. 9. There is no fee, and ATS is buying lunch.

A flier notes this year's theme, “Innovation in a Time of Change," and states: "Presenters will focus on pedagogical strategies, UC Davis Canvas (the campus’s new learning management system), data-driven teaching, active learning and more.”

The program includes faculty and instructional technologist presentations, and Jones also noted a “lightning” round of talks that will be five minutes or less, on innovative teaching.

Breakout sessions in the afternoon will cover such topics as assessment strategies, personal response systems, the digital storytelling assignment and teaching with video, plus EdTech Commons, a new resource from Academic Technology Services and the Center for Educational Effectiveness.

UC Davis Canvas will be another afternoon topic, in breakout sessions on Canvas tools, and in one-on-one consultations on using Canvas.

The institute’s organizers are asking for advance registration, via this online form, for two reasons: so you can secure a seat, and so the organizers will know how many Dos Coyotes burritos to order for lunch.

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Those numbers are up about 50 percent from Summer Session 1, when UC Davis Canvas debuted as the eventual replacement for SmartSite. The campus is transitioning to UC Davis Canvas during 2016-17, and SmartSite will remain available for teaching through spring quarter 2017.

The initial version of UC Davis Canvas available this summer is best suited for instructors who are comfortable with technology, have learned about Canvas, and/or don’t require the use of third-party tools that will be available later in 2016-17.

Faculty or teaching assistants ready to learn more about UC Davis Canvas might wish to attend a “Getting Started” workshop or come in for a one-on-one consultation with a campus instructional technologist. More information is available online.

CANVAS LOG-IN — Starting Friday (Aug. 19), Canvas users will land on an intermediate page that asks if you’re signing in as an affiliate of UC Davis or as a guest. Choose your answer, enter your credentials and then you can proceed to use UC Davis Canvas.