The eLearning Team continues to assist faculty through the QM course development process for online courses. For an overview of the course development process, visit our Development Process of Distance Education Courses page.
QM Courses Certified
The following three courses have been QM certified since the last DEITC meeting in February of 2023.
Updates for GPT-4
ChatGPT started out as a free version. They have now implemented a paid subscription available as of March 14th for a monthly fee of $20. See the comparison of the free plan and ChatGPT Plus below:
Joining in with the AI trend, Google has created their own version. Bard is the Google version of ChatGPT. It is currently available free of cost. It is comparable with the free version of ChatGPT. You can join with a Google account. There is a 24 hour wait-list to gain access.
AI Detection Tools
Turnitin is introducing its upcoming preview of their AI writing detection tool on April 4, 2023. As stated by Turnitin's annoucement, this AI detection tool will "help educators uphold academic integrity while ensuring that students are treated fairly."
eLearning is hosting two Artificial Intelligence Detection Tools workshops for faculty in CWT 112. You may self-enroll at trainings.tamiu.edu
- April 11th at 10:00 am CST
- April 12th at 3:00 pm CST
Transition to Ultra Courses
With Blackboard Learn Original Courses support ending in August of 2024, we are getting ready to transition to Ultra Courses, a simplified and streamlined course view that is fully responsive (designed for PCs, tablets, and smartphones). There is a tentative transition plan in place for the move. See draft below:
Spring 2023
- Initial meeting with Blackboard Transition Team and eLearning
- eLearning Team begins training on Ultra Courses
Summer 2023
- Planning and preparing for the transition: eLearning Team
- Timeline for the transition is finalized
- Begin conversion of QM courses to Ultra: eLearning
Fall 2023
- eLearning continues conversion of all courses
- Faculty training sessions throughout the semester
- Faculty for pilot deployment are recruited
Spring 2024
- Pilot deployment begins
- Feedback from pilot is compiled and analyzed
Summer 2024
- Full deployment of Ultra Courses
- Faculty training sessions continue
- Blackboard Learn Original support ends – August 2024
For information on Ultra Courses View Interface, visit this website from the University of Northern Illinois: https://www.niu.edu/blackboard/ultra/new-features-in-ultra.shtml
Instructional Technology Excellence Award
The Distance Education and Instructional Technology Committee (DEITC) will begin accepting nominations for the 2023 Instructional Technology Excellence Award on April 3, 2023. DEITC is committed to recognizing faculty who have excelled in integrating technology within their courses. This first Excellence Award was presented in 2004. For a list of past recipients, go to: Distance Education Faculty Awards and Recognition website.
Self-nominations are also welcomed.
The Instructional Technology Excellence Award will be presented with a plaque during the Fall 2023. Reserved parking and a stipend ($500.00) will also be included in the award.
Instructional Technology Excellence Award Nomination Form
Please submit the nomination form as well as supporting documents to Dr. Pat Abrego, Director of Academic Technology, via email at pabrego@tamiu.edu or in person to the Office of Instructional Technology & Distance Education Services located in Killam Library, Room 259. Deadline for nominations is May 31, 2023.
To facilitate the nomination process, a copy of the rubric that will be used to score is linked below:
Instructional Technology Excellence Award Scoring Rubric
Registrar's Office Announcements
- Summer 2023 and Fall 2023 schedules are posted
- April 3rd - Registration opens for Maymester, Summer and Fall 2023
Next Meeting
In the next meeting, we will welcome special guests from the Student Technology Advisory Council.
Next DEITC meeting will be held on April 24, 2023.
Past DEITC Newsletters
You may view past DEITC newsletters here.
