
Fall 2021 TLT Weinberg Focus
"[W]hat we have learned over the past difficult year could propel us forward as teachers, as scholars, and as administrators. It would not just be a wasted opportunity to return to business as usual; it would be an injustice."
- President Morton Schapiro, "Let’s Not Return to Normal When the ‘New Normal’ Finally Arrives," The Chronicle of Higher Education, July 29,2021
technology and student engagement in post-remote teaching
Now that we are coming out the other side of our great shift to remote learning, we want to help you think about how to bring the technology innovations from your remote teaching back into your in-person classrooms. We are Teaching & Learning Technologies (TLT) and we're here to help you with your teaching-related tech and course design questions. A division of Northwestern IT, TLT supports faculty and instructors of all kinds at the university in the utilization of learning technologies and pedagogical practice. We continue to look for ways to strengthen our partnership with Weinberg College and are excited to collaborate on these new pages with Weinberg College IT Solutions (WITS) and the Media and Design Studio (MADS).
In an effort to ensure that Weinberg instructors feel supported and ready for the upcoming year of teaching, we are presenting topical information designed specifically for Weinberg College faculty each quarter this year. To start our new Weinberg College-focused series, we'll be looking at questions of technology and student engagement in post-remote teaching.
Perhaps you found a new teaching technology tool that you want to keep using. Maybe you appreciated the Zoom chat and want to recreate that digital communication channel in your analog classroom. You might be rethinking your syllabus guidance around student tech in the classroom or trying to decide what to do about class recordings. The right answer won't be the same for all instructors, so we plan to present food for thought on these topics and our team stands ready to help you make decisions and implement them.
Additionally, we offer the following resources for instructors:
- Next Normal - monthly article series in Fall 2021 and Winter 2022, check out the August article about Remote Office Hours
- Canvas Minute - newsletter published by TLT every two to four weeks with Canvas and teaching-related updates, tips, how-to's, and more
- Canvas Learning Center and Zoom Learning Center - TLT-produced Canvas sites with how-to information to get you started in our primary programs
- Self-paced workshops on Canvas, Zoom, Panopto, and Grading, Assignments & Quizzes in Canvas - move beyond the basics at your own pace to maximize the potential of these tools
- Live workshops on Canvas, Zoom, Panopto, and more
- Summary of TLT resources in preparation for Fall quarter
Later in the academic year, we'll discuss student feedback about their use of Canvas to help you utilize it in the ways that students find most beneficial.
Request Help
If you have specific questions as you get ready for your Fall quarter course(s), please feel free to contact TLT to request a consultation or ask a question.
LINKS FOR FURTHER READING:
If you are eager to read more about the topic of student engagement in a post-pandemic classroom, the following articles provide thoughtful insights:
- Improved Student Engagement in Higher Education’s Next Normal - Educause
- What We've Learned, What We'll Keep - Dartmouth Center for the Advancement of Learning
- A College Leader Takes His First Virtual Class - Inside Higher Ed


