The Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) at Georgia College & State University is excited to bring to you Elevate to Celebrate, our bimonthly newsletter dedicated to recognizing and honoring the incredible instructors at GCSU.

In each issue, we’ll highlight faculty achievements, innovative teaching practices, and the impactful work happening across campus. We believe that celebrating excellence in teaching fosters a strong academic community and inspires continued growth.

Stay tuned for stories of dedication, creativity, and collaboration. We invite you to join us in uplifting and applauding the faculty who make GCSU a place of transformative learning!

We are delighted to share insights from our conversation with Dr. Jessica Wallace, Associate Professor of History at Georgia College & State University. Dr. Wallace, this year’s recipient of the Lilly Conference Fellowship, attended the 2025 Lilly Conference in Asheville, North Carolina, a teaching-focused gathering known for cultivating community, collaboration, and evidence-based approaches to learning. Supported by the Provost’s Office, the fellowship reflects GCSU’s continued commitment to strengthening teaching and learning across disciplines.

For Dr. Wallace, the Lilly Conference was a distinct professional experience. It was her first event centered entirely on teaching rather than disciplinary scholarship, and she was immediately struck by its unusually collegial atmosphere. The conference’s emphasis on humility and shared purpose, captured in sessions encouraging participants to “leave your ego at the door,” created one of the most inspiring environments she has encountered. Faculty at all career stages engaged as equals, exchanging ideas without hierarchy.

A major theme that resonated deeply with Dr. Wallace was student well-being and human-centered teaching. Many sessions highlighted ways faculty can design courses that acknowledge students as whole people navigating academic and personal demands. She reflected on how easy it can be, especially during intense points in the semester, to slip into punitive mindsets. The conference challenged her to rethink those moments and adopt practices that help students and faculty work together toward shared learning goals. This shift has already influenced how she communicates expectations, structures assignments, and supports students who struggle.

Another key takeaway involved clarity and transparency. Dr. Wallace was reminded of the “hidden curriculum” students often encounter, including assumptions that are especially unclear for first-generation or less experienced learners. Since returning, she has revised assignment instructions, added scaffolding, and made her reasoning clearer, so students can better see how individual tasks fit into the broader goals of the course.

A keynote on supporting quiet or anxious students further shaped her thinking. Dr. Wallace left with strategies for broadening participation, such as written prompts, think-time, and reflective activities, that help create more equitable discussions and reduce pressure on students who struggle to speak spontaneously.

The conference also addressed sustainable teaching. Presenters were candid about balancing student support with faculty workload. This prompted Dr. Wallace to refine her late-work policies by adding structured flexibility, including two no-questions-asked extensions, while maintaining boundaries that protect both learning and capacity.

She sees these themes as closely aligned with the liberal arts mission, particularly its emphasis on whole-person development, curiosity across disciplines, and supportive learning communities.

Upon returning to campus, Dr. Wallace shared her insights through a CTL workshop titled “We’re on the Same Side: Meeting Students as Fellow Humans.” The session invited colleagues to explore practical strategies for building humane, connected, and collaborative classrooms.

We are grateful that Dr. Wallace represented GCSU at the 2025 Lilly Conference and look forward to seeing how her insights continue to shape teaching and learning at Georgia College!

Georgia College & State University’s Center for Teaching and Learning is pleased to offer a two-part Brightspace training series that helps faculty build confidence and clarity in their online teaching. These certificated workshops, Brightspace Essentials and Brightspace Advanced, provide hands-on practice with the key tools and features that shape effective digital learning environments.

The Essentials course introduces the core functions needed to organize content, communicate with students, and create a welcoming course structure. The Advanced course builds on that foundation with more powerful tools like intelligent agents, special access, rubrics, and video quizzes.

Register here to participate in the Brightspace Essentials Course for Instructors, which takes place from 9 a.m. to 12 noon on January 7, in Library 376. Once you have completed the Brightspace Essentials course, you will be invited to participate in the Brightspace Advanced course.

In the articles that follow, GCSU instructors share how completing both trainings has strengthened their teaching and enhanced their students’ online learning experience.

A man a short hair, smiling, wearing glasses, and a blue collared shirt.

When Ryan Jones joined Georgia College & State University as a Lecturer of Theatre, he brought with him a passion for performance and storytelling, but like many new faculty, he faced an unexpected challenge: adjusting to a new learning management system. “After starting at GCSU, I initially felt overwhelmed by the [GeorgiaVIEW] system,” he recalled. Having worked in Canvas previously, he found some similarities but also key differences that took time to navigate. That’s when he completed Brightspace Essentials Training Course for Instructors and was invited to continue in the Brightspace Advanced Training Course for Instructors offered by the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL).

The Brightspace Advanced Training Course for Instructors, he says, was a turning point. “Attending this training gave me a clearer understanding of how our system functions, which has made teaching through Brightspace much more intuitive and efficient.” What began as a way to learn the platform became an opportunity to rethink how digital tools can enhance student engagement and streamline teaching.

Ryan’s improvements were most visible in his summer online courses, where Brightspace became the central hub for communication and collaboration. “Learning how to structure modules effectively and embed videos has helped keep students focused and connected,” he said. One of the most impactful tools he adopted was intelligent agents. These are automated messages that provide timely reminders and personalized feedback. These small interventions help students stay on track and feel supported throughout the course.

Looking ahead, Ryan is eager to experiment further with Brightspace’s multimedia capabilities, especially Kaltura. “I’m particularly interested in exploring Kaltura’s video-building tools...I hope to begin using video quizzes to create more interactive and engaging learning experiences,” he said.

When asked what advice he would give to colleagues considering the training, Ryan didn’t hesitate: “It’s absolutely worth it – even if you’ve used [GeorgiaVIEW] for a while. The training offers new insights into lesser-known features...you’ll almost certainly learn a few helpful tricks and shortcuts from your peers.”

Ryan’s story is a reminder that professional growth often begins with curiosity and that even small technical shifts can lead to big improvements in how we teach and connect with students. In other news, Ryan recently celebrated a campus milestone by directing his first fully produced GCSU show, MLM is for Murder, a production highlighted in The Baldwin Bulletin for its humor, energy, and thoughtful staging. Congratulations, Ryan!

When Kathryn Livingston, Limited-Term Lecturer of English at Georgia College & State University, enrolled in the Brightspace Advanced Training for Instructors, she wasn’t just looking to check a box; she was looking for new ways to make learning more inclusive and engaging.

“I love curriculum design...and I’m a huge advocate of multimodal learning,” Livingston explained. “Some students do well with lectures; others need reference materials, and some (like me!) need both.” She knew Brightspace offered tools that could make those different learning approaches come alive and wanted to learn how to use them effectively.

Since completing the training, Livingston’s classes have become more interactive and flexible. She now builds scaffolded lessons that include short quizzes, checklists, and embedded videos to keep students active and accountable. The shift has reduced barriers to learning: if a student misses a lecture, they can still participate and keep up. “They’re no longer excluded because of a dead car battery or a sleepless night,” she said.

One of her biggest takeaways? Rubrics. Before the training, Livingston graded every essay with detailed written feedback, a process that was time-consuming but important to her. Learning how to build and reuse rubrics has allowed her to provide the same level of feedback more efficiently while ensuring that expectations are transparent from the start.

The experience has also reshaped how she thinks about the classroom itself. “Why would I just talk students to death,” she reflected, “when I can give them a consistent online space to learn real-world technology skills? I aim to make that space ours.”

When asked what she’d tell a colleague considering the training, Livingston’s answer was immediate: “Definitely do it!” She shared that the course helped her streamline tasks she had been doing “the hardest possible way,” and encouraged others to let the CTL team save them time and frustration. She also appreciated the relaxed, friendly atmosphere of the sessions, as it was a chance to connect with colleagues while learning something genuinely useful.

Beyond her Brightspace innovations, Kathryn is collaborating with the Center for Teaching and Learning to develop a Community-based Engaged Learning Grant proposal that would bring GCSU students into local K-12 classrooms to support English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) teachers. This work is an opportunity to extend learning beyond campus and strengthen community partnerships.

For Associate Professor of Library Science Lamonica Sanford, the Brightspace Advanced Training offered through the Center for Teaching and Learning arrived at exactly the right moment. Although she has experience with other learning management systems, this training was a chance to deepen her understanding of how Brightspace can meaningfully support teaching, assessment, and student engagement. Her goal was straightforward yet ambitious: to become more effective and efficient in the digital dimension of her teaching so that her students could benefit from an intentional learning experience.

Even though her course is taught in person, Lamonica sees Brightspace as an important partner in helping students take ownership of their progress. This spring, she plans to structure her course so that students can easily navigate materials, track their work, and review rubrics before beginning major assignments. She hopes these elements will promote transparency and steady progress throughout the semester.

The training also opened the door to new instructional possibilities. Lamonica is especially excited to explore two features she had not previously used in Brightspace: the competency tool, which allows her to visually assess student learning against established outcomes, and the question library, which enables her to build a flexible bank of questions, scenarios, prompts, and other resources organized by unit or topic. Together, these tools will support more intentional assessment design.

Looking ahead, Lamonica is eager to continue expanding her toolkit. She is experimenting with Perusall, a collaborative annotation platform that could support flipped learning and deepen students’ engagement with course materials outside of class.

For colleagues considering the training, her advice is simple: take it. The experience prepared her not only to set up her spring course with confidence but also to imagine new possibilities for integrating Brightspace into her teaching in thoughtful, meaningful ways.

Lamonica’s commitment to student learning extends well beyond the LMS. As the library liaison to the College of Education, she supports graduate students and faculty by identifying curriculum-aligned resources, offering research guidance, and promoting meaningful use of library services. She recently deepened this work by completing the Teaching Information Literacy Certificate program, which equips her with new, evidence-based strategies for teaching information literacy grounded in the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education developed by the Association of College & Research Libraries.

In his ongoing effort to strengthen student learning and streamline his teaching workflow, Dr. Bryan Marshall, Professor of Management Information Systems, recently completed the Brightspace Advanced Training offered through the Center for Teaching and Learning. A longtime user of GeorgiaView, he enrolled with a goal familiar to many faculty: to unlock the potential of tools he suspected could do more for both him and his students.

One of the most transformative outcomes has been his shift to a mastery-based grading system. Students progress through a sequence of seven modules, each containing three assignments: one conceptual, one guided tutorial, and one applied challenge. Using conditional releases, students must demonstrate full mastery on each task before moving forward. Rather than creating pressure, Dr. Marshall reports that the structure helps students stay motivated and focused. Many even resubmit work proactively, treating the course as a space for experimentation and growth rather than risk.

The training also encouraged him to take fuller advantage of tools he had previously overlooked, especially the ability to attach rubrics to discussions. These improvements support his “zero inbox” approach to grading, a practice where he reviews and evaluates all submitted work daily, so nothing lingers in the queue. His “turn back in” policy, allowing students to resubmit any assignment for full credit until the last day of the semester, adds to the volume of grading, but the clarity and consistency of his rubrics make it manageable. With structured criteria doing much of the explanatory work, he can provide fast, meaningful feedback.

Looking ahead, Dr. Marshall plans to continue refining the mastery model and the custom grade calculations that support it: systems he implemented in close collaboration with CTL staff. For colleagues considering the training, his advice is simple: embrace the opportunity to pair new conceptual tools with hands-on support. As he puts it, that partnership “[made] all the difference.”

Recently, Dr. Marshall has been exploring ways to bring agentic AI into full-stack development coursework, outside of traditional lectures and tutorials. His students use Cursor, powered by Claude Code, to build applications with an AI partner that guides architecture planning, scaffolding, and debugging. It's a hands-on model that mirrors how modern software teams work today.

A man with short brown hair smiles at the camera, wearing a blue and green plaid button-down shirt against a softly lit gray background.

Dr. David Weese, Professor of Biology, approached the Brightspace Advanced Training with a clear goal: to move beyond the familiar tools he had relied on for years and explore features that could better support his students. After teaching multiple courses in Georgia College’s learning management system, he recognized that his workflow, and his students’ learning experience, could benefit from a more intentional and streamlined use of the platform. The Advanced Training offered the right structure to help him rethink how Brightspace could serve his classes more effectively.

One of the most immediate shifts appeared in his course organization. By integrating checklists, tighter module structure, and clearer communication pathways, Dr. Weese has noticed a meaningful reduction in student confusion about where to find materials or what to do next. These tools have not only supported students with varying learning needs but have also made the course flow more intuitive and predictable, something he sees as essential for fostering student confidence and autonomy.

He’s also experimenting with new interactive elements, including Brightspace’s video quiz feature, which he plans to use to transform lecture content into a more engaging, responsive experience. This shift reflects a broader change in his teaching: a renewed focus on how students navigate learning tasks, both in online and face-to-face environments.

Two features, in particular, have made an impact. The first is a custom widget that allows students to schedule office hour appointments directly through the course homepage, an innovation that has improved accessibility and streamlined communication. The second is the consistent use of module-level checklists, which has helped students stay organized throughout the semester. Both changes reflect his commitment to building courses that anticipate student needs and remove small obstacles that can interrupt learning.

For colleagues considering the training, Dr. Weese encourages approaching it with a specific course in mind. Not every tool will be the right fit, he notes, but the training is most powerful when faculty can immediately test and refine what they learn. For him, the most meaningful outcome was the confidence and momentum to redesign an online course he had long hoped to update.

Beyond his efforts in Brightspace, Dr. David Weese is engaging undergraduates in innovative research on how aquatic species, from Georgia crayfish to Hawaiian shrimp, may respond to a warming climate. His team is investigating crayfish thermal tolerance, examining pollutant interactions affecting sea urchin larvae, and analyzing population genetics across multiple species. This work offers students a rare opportunity to contribute to impactful climate-focused biology research.

For Dr. Jacob McAlpin, Lecturer of Chemistry at Georgia College & State University, improving the way students experience his courses, especially outside the classroom, has always been a priority. Brightspace plays a central role in that experience, and the Advanced Training offered through the Center for Teaching and Learning gave him the momentum and clarity he needed to make meaningful updates to his online course design. He saw the training as a chance to learn “everything [he] could about the platform,” especially as his classes continue to grow.

In his teaching, the benefits have been immediate. Rubrics have streamlined grading in ways he didn’t expect, freeing time for deeper feedback and planning. A first-week checklist now helps students navigate the early-semester rush, and a simple homepage widget puts his student-hour schedule and contact information front and center, removing unnecessary friction for students who need support. Surveys throughout the semester, too, have become an important part of his practice, offering actionable insights while he still has time to adjust the course in real time.

Dr. McAlpin says one of his biggest breakthroughs came from exploring the Groups feature. Managing group assignments in large classes used to require significant effort; now, with self-enrollment and automatic grading connections, those assignments are far more manageable. This shift has encouraged him to incorporate more peer-based and discussion-centered work, something he once felt was unrealistic at this scale. He is also looking forward to implementing Intelligent Agents, which are automated check-ins and encouragements that help students stay engaged and feel seen throughout the semester.

Reflecting on the experience, Dr. McAlpin says the training made a meaningful difference in his teaching, making it more organized, more responsive, and more sustainable. He’s especially proud that colleagues now come to him for help when they want to try more advanced Brightspace features: evidence of how the training strengthened not only his courses, but also the collaborative teaching culture within his department and the wider campus community.

Dr. McAlpin is also collaborating with Dr. John Trombley on a hands-on project that gives students a creative entry point into materials chemistry. Students synthesize Prussian Blue and its analogues, evaluate each method through green chemistry principles, and then turn their pigments into paint to explore composition and drying processes in a tangible way. The project helps students see chemistry not just as theory, but as a curious, investigative practice, where even something as ordinary as paint drying becomes unexpectedly fascinating.

New Year, New Location:

Once we all return in January, the IT Service Desk will be situated in its new location. We are excited for this move and can’t wait for you to stop in and see us in Chappell Hall Suite 100.

In the meantime, here is how to find us if you need our assistance:

Submit a self-service ticket by going to https://askit.gcsu.edu
Use the “AskIT” tab at the top left of https://my.gcsu.edu
Call the IT Service Desk at (478) 445-7378
Email AskIT@gcsu.edu and include a description of your issue
Drop by the IT Service Desk located on the bottom floor of the library (move to Chappell Hall 100 planned for mid-December)

Wishing everyone a safe and happy holiday season from IT!

Give to the Center for Teaching and Learning

Gifts to the Center for Teaching and Learning Fund help elevate the quality of instruction at Georgia College & State University. Your support empowers faculty through innovative development opportunities, recognizes excellence in teaching, and fosters a culture of continuous improvement in the classroom.

By contributing to this fund, you are directly investing in the academic experience of every student at GCSU - supporting the educators who shape their journey.