Support for Academics
Members of the Learning and Applied Innovation team collaborate with faculty, staff, and students to enhance the educational experience at Colgate. We provide access to digital tools, resources, and instructional design services to support teaching and learning. Set up an appointment with us to learn more.
Our team regularly writes about the teaching practices we support, the technologies we are exploring, and the ways we support the design of learning experiences for the Colgate community. You can read more on our team blog: The Learning and Applied Innovation Digital Garden.
Educational Technology Tools
Moodle is Colgate's enterprise learning management system (LMS), which supports teaching and learning activities across all courses. Faculty use Moodle to provide access to course materials, facilitate communication, distribute and collect assignments, conduct online assessments, and maintain Gradebook records.
Google Workspace for Education is Colgate’s centrally-supported productivity and collaboration platform. The following familiar set of Google apps are used by faculty, staff, and students to perform a range of tasks:
- Gmail
- Docs
- Drive
- Sheets
- Forms
- Calendar
- Sites
This section contains links to pages that offer resources and assistance in learning about generative AI, exploring commonly used tools, and considering possible uses of AI technology in teaching and learning.
Polling technologies employ the use of dedicated hardware or web-based software and mobile devices to collect real-time feedback from learners.
Colgate Domains provides faculty and students with hosted space on the web and digital tools for creating websites. Colgate Domains provides access to various platforms for web publishing (WordPress, Omeka, Scalar, etc.) in support of connected learning and innovative approaches to teaching, scholarship and creative work.
Panopto is a cloud based platform for recording and sharing video content and is freely available to all faculty, staff, and students. Panopto users can create video recordings and share them within courses, groups, or broadly amongst the Colgate community.
Web-based annotation is the digital version of adding highlights, comments, notes and other marginalia to print-based texts and documents. "Hypothes.is" is a free online tool that enables faculty and students to make their annotations visible to their peers.
Gradescope (www.gradescope.com) is a web-based tool designed to streamline and standardize the assessment of paper-based, digital, and code assignments. It supports problem sets and projects as well as worksheets, quizzes, exams, and papers.
SensusAccess is an online document conversion tool that allows Colgate students, faculty, staff, and alumni to convert documents into a range of alternative formats including audio, HTML, text, e-book, and braille. SensusAccess can also convert otherwise inaccessible documents such as image-only PDFs, JPGs, or MS PowerPoints into more accessible formats.
SensusAccess is also integrated with Moodle, allowing students and faculty to submit files for conversion from within a Moodle course.
Training and Instructional Design
Instructional designers within the Learning and Applied Innovation group have grounded knowledge in teaching and learning, and partner with faculty, staff, and students to assist in the design of learning experiences. Our practice areas focus on: evidence-based implementation of technology in education, understanding the affordances of digital technology for teaching and learning, design of course activities/projects using digital media, exploration of new & emerging technologies, and assessing the efficacy and learning impact of technology use. We offer 1:1 and small group consultations to identify needs and support the brainstorming and development of project ideas. Schedule a consultation with us.
ITS Training offers both instructor-led and self-paced workshops open to all members of the Colgate community. We provide office productivity training in the Google Suite and Microsoft Office Suite, as well as Adobe Creative Cloud and other technologies used at Colgate, such as Moodle, Qualtrics, WordPress, and more.
Please use the links below to browse and register for current workshop offerings:
Using universal design strategies to build a flexible learning environment for students can eliminate potential barriers to learning and result in a more equitable, inclusive learning experience.
Design Daze
Design Daze are 90-minute workshops aimed at helping you take a project from concept to prototype using digital tools that you have access to at Colgate. Each session is independent - come to one, all, or as many as you would like to.
Learn more about the Design Daze workshop session topics and schedule
Digital Portfolios with WordPress
Students can use WordPress to develop digital portfolios. Available through Colgate Domains, students can get a free hosted web domain to showcase their work. Interested in brainstorming ideas for your portfolio? Getting a basic introduction to WordPress? Set up an appointment with an instructional designer.
Let's Talk Data!
Data slides are not really about the data, they are about the meaning of the data. Are you interested in enhancing your skills to work with data to support your learning and apply it to your coursework?
We are available to get you started on how to read raw data, work with it and make sense of it, and communicate about the data in context to tell a story.
Description: Colgate has over 200 classrooms and mixed use and event spaces. Keeping these important learning environments up-to-date and working well, and ensuring your experience is smooth and consistent, is our top priority. Most spaces have a room computer and projection system, while many have sound systems. For more information see our learning space technology guide at colgate.edu/classrooms
Availability: Classroom spaces are available as scheduled through the Registrar. EMS can be used to schedule other spaces, pending the approval process through EMS.
Prerequisites:
Requesting a Training or a Modification to a Classroom: Contact the ITS Service Desk
The DLMC is a state of the art computing facility located in Case Library (5th) floor. It serves as an open learning space that can be used as a collaborative studio, a formal classroom, a computer lab, and a showcase for student work. The DLMC provides instruction and integrated support for course-based digital media projects (e.g. digital storytelling, podcasts). The DLMC also loans a range of equipment to support digital media projects.
The VisLab is a digital theater and planetarium for immersive learning and research experiences. This one of a kind space at Colgate displays stars and constellations as well as original content developed for full-dome display.
The Hub is a fledgling makerspace to house and facilitate many of our emerging technologies like 3D printing, 3D scanning, AR/VR, and other maker technologies. It’s a space where students and faculty can work with and explore these tools while being an open space that encourages creativity and trial and error development.
Additional Resources & Services
We offer a service to print course-related academic posters and are available to consult on layout and design.
The Teaching and Technology Micro Grant program provides funding for faculty members to explore and experiment with digital technologies to enhance teaching and learning. Faculty members may request up to $500 to support the purchase of software or hardware that will be used in one or more courses.
Accessible technology draws from principles of universal design, enabling users to interact with technology in ways that work best for them. Whether you want to ensure that the content you create is accessible or are looking for ways to make your computer work easier, there are many tools to help you.
Visit Tech for Enhanced Access to learn more about the technology available at Colgate to promote accessibility including:
- Captioning and transcription
- Creating accessible documents
- Assistive technology for reading, writing, magnification, etc.
We offer access to a variety of filament and resin printers. Public PLA printers are housed just outside the DLMC (5th floor Case Library) for open use by Colgate community. Other printers may be accessible by consultation, or through the DLMC's 3D printing service.
The lightboard is a glass writing surface (think chalkboard), combined with a video camera setup that allows for the creation of compelling instructional content.
Ask for Help
If you are unable to find the information you need in the documentation available online, the ITS Service Desk is available to assist.