SIDLIT 2026

Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) avatars—digital representations of human instructors driven by synthesized speech, natural language processing, and advanced kinematic video generation—represent a structural shift in how asynchronous educational content is designed, delivered, and consumed. This session will provide introductory material for the design, implementation and sources for generating these technologies in higher ed.

This session explores how NotebookLM can transform both studying and content delivery in higher education. Participants will see a demonstration of how NotebookLM can be used to create and manage Open Educational Resources (OER). The session will also highlight its value as a student learning tool, including features such as interactive chat, AI-generated podcasts, quizzes, slides, flashcards, infographics, study guides, and mind maps. Because NotebookLM is grounded in user-provided materials, it offers a reliable and focused AI experience for both instructors and students.

Canvas is packed with powerful features that can save instructors time, improve course quality, and enhance the student experience, yet many of these tools remain underutilized. In this session, participants will explore practical Canvas tips and hidden gems, including targeted messaging in the Gradebook, content recovery tools, accessibility features, page design enhancements, and AI-supported workflows. Attendees will leave with actionable strategies to streamline course management, create more accessible and engaging content, and make better use of Canvas’s built-in capabilities.
Participants are recommended to attend with a laptop and try these tips during the presentation. 

Have you ever suddenly found yourself in charge after your supervisor moved on to a better opportunity? That happened to me in October 2024, and I was left to keep our tech systems running smoothly.
Over the past year-and-a-half, I’ve tackled everything from failing server drives to submitting board and credit card reports. It’s been a steep learning curve, but also an incredibly rewarding one.
I’d love to share some of the lessons I’ve learned—and hear about your experiences too. What challenges have you faced when stepping into a leadership role unexpectedly?

Current work in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) emphasizes partnership with students as a high impact practice that can reshape curriculum design and review, especially in online and hybrid environments. Instead of treating students primarily as sources of survey data, partnership models invite them to co-formulate questions about learning, interpret evidence, and redesign assignments, policies, and syllabus language. This session introduces SoTL as systematic, context sensitive inquiry into student learning that is informed by prior scholarship and made public, then focuses on what changes when students and colleagues are invited into that inquiry as partners rather than recipients in distance learning contexts.
 
To make this concrete, the session highlights two simple online activities that instructors can adapt in their own courses. A feedback partnership map helps faculty move beyond sole reliance on end of course surveys by identifying alternative, dialogic ways to invite students into ongoing conversations about assignments, criteria, and learning experiences in virtual spaces. A mini-partnership studio shows how students can act as co-designers of an assignment or rubric in a shared digital space, suggesting revisions, surfacing bottlenecks, and helping articulate SoTL questions about the impact of the redesign on learning at a distance. Generative tools may appear as optional aids for organizing feedback or exploring alternative wording, but they are not the center of the work. The emphasis is on collaborative SoTL practices that deepen learning, enhance belonging, and build sustainable cultures of shared inquiry about teaching online.

SIGs are a networking opportunity to allow professionals to collaborate on relevant topics. These are held over the lunch hour. Hosts prepare questions and facilitate a discussion on the topic of their choice.

By the end of the session, attendees will: 


Understand the core principles of micro lecture design. 


Learn how to integrate micro lectures into their own teaching or training programs. 

High engagement doesn’t come from expensive tools; it comes from intentional design. In this session, we’ll share how our nonprofit team builds highly engaging Canvas professional development for adult learners ages 14–70+ by thoughtfully selecting and layering the right tools for the right purpose. 
You’ll see real examples of how we use Canvas with interactive slides, flip cards, embedded activities, and structured discussions; alongside aligned objectives, reflection, and knowledge checks; to create meaningful learning experiences. More importantly, we’ll unpack the “why” behind each choice: how we match tools to learning goals, cognitive load, application, and desired levels of interaction. 
Leave with practical engagement strategies and tools that are purposeful, scalable, and budget-conscious; no premium integrations required.