Online Teaching Professional Learning Community
The Office of Online Learning (OOL) invites you to join your online teaching colleagues at Loyola in the Online Teaching Professional Learning Community (PLC). Led by instructors and hosted by OOL, the Online Teaching PLC provides all Loyola educators with a dedicated space to share their experiences with online teaching, connect with colleagues about best practices and teaching strategies, and learn new methods for strengthening their online courses. Please note that all Loyola instructors who teach online are welcome to join, including faculty instructors (tenure-track, NTT, and adjunct), graduate students (TAs and instructors) and staff educators.
You can engage with the Online Teaching PLC in two ways: through an always-on, asynchronous community in Microsoft Teams or by way of bi-monthly synchronous meetings. Of course, we’d love to see you in both, too!
Microsoft Teams PLC space
To join the community, request access to the Microsoft Teams Online Teaching PLC. Once we receive your request, we'll add you to the team and provide some guidance for using the space.
Synchronous meetings via Zoom
To join us in our synchronous meetings, use the following links to register for the date you would like to attend; you will be sent the link to the meeting automatically. We accept registrations up to 24 hours before the meeting start time.
| Date & Time | Description | Registration Link |
|---|---|---|
| Sakai 23 Best Practices
Wednesday, Feb 5, 11:30-12:30 Online via Zoom |
In February’s meeting, we'll have an open discussion about how to best use Sakai in online courses, especially in light of the new updates for Sakai. We recommend watching this short video that explains some of the new features in Sakai 23 (from the Learning Technologies & Innovation Team, formerly ITRS) before this session. Come to share your tips and strategies, hear from other instructors, and ask questions of the OOL Team about teaching in Sakai. | Register for the February meeting of the Online Teaching PLC |
| Preparing Students for Change in Work and Education
Wednesday, March 12, 11:30-12:30 Online via Zoom |
For March, we’ll discuss how to best prepare students for change, both in education and in their future careers. With AI, remote working technologies, and other social-technological changes poised to significantly alter learning and working environments, how can we help students be more adaptable and resilient in the face of these changes? What skills and mindsets should we help students develop to cope with change, and these changes in particular? Come share your thoughts, learn from other instructors, and hear about some useful teaching strategies. | Register for the March meeting of the Online Teaching PLC |
| AI-Powered Personalized Learning
Wednesday, April 2, 11:30-12:30 Online via Zoom |
In April’s PLC meeting, we’ll discuss the exciting topic of AI-powered personalized learning. Personalizing learning for each student is an ideal that’s difficult to realize because of the time involved, but AI is making this more and more possible. In this session, we’ll cover some of the practices and strategies that instructors and students can start using to personalize learning. We will also demonstrate some practices with Microsoft Copilot. | Register for the April meeting of the Online Teaching PLC |
The Office of Online Learning (OOL) invites you to join your online teaching colleagues at Loyola in the Online Teaching Professional Learning Community (PLC). Led by instructors and hosted by OOL, the Online Teaching PLC provides all Loyola educators with a dedicated space to share their experiences with online teaching, connect with colleagues about best practices and teaching strategies, and learn new methods for strengthening their online courses. Please note that all Loyola instructors who teach online are welcome to join, including faculty instructors (tenure-track, NTT, and adjunct), graduate students (TAs and instructors) and staff educators.
You can engage with the Online Teaching PLC in two ways: through an always-on, asynchronous community in Microsoft Teams or by way of bi-monthly synchronous meetings. Of course, we’d love to see you in both, too!
Microsoft Teams PLC space
To join the community, request access to the Microsoft Teams Online Teaching PLC. Once we receive your request, we'll add you to the team and provide some guidance for using the space.
Synchronous meetings via Zoom
To join us in our synchronous meetings, use the following links to register for the date you would like to attend; you will be sent the link to the meeting automatically. We accept registrations up to 24 hours before the meeting start time.
| Date & Time | Description | Registration Link |
|---|---|---|
| Sakai 23 Best Practices
Wednesday, Feb 5, 11:30-12:30 Online via Zoom |
In February’s meeting, we'll have an open discussion about how to best use Sakai in online courses, especially in light of the new updates for Sakai. We recommend watching this short video that explains some of the new features in Sakai 23 (from the Learning Technologies & Innovation Team, formerly ITRS) before this session. Come to share your tips and strategies, hear from other instructors, and ask questions of the OOL Team about teaching in Sakai. | Register for the February meeting of the Online Teaching PLC |
| Preparing Students for Change in Work and Education
Wednesday, March 12, 11:30-12:30 Online via Zoom |
For March, we’ll discuss how to best prepare students for change, both in education and in their future careers. With AI, remote working technologies, and other social-technological changes poised to significantly alter learning and working environments, how can we help students be more adaptable and resilient in the face of these changes? What skills and mindsets should we help students develop to cope with change, and these changes in particular? Come share your thoughts, learn from other instructors, and hear about some useful teaching strategies. | Register for the March meeting of the Online Teaching PLC |
| AI-Powered Personalized Learning
Wednesday, April 2, 11:30-12:30 Online via Zoom |
In April’s PLC meeting, we’ll discuss the exciting topic of AI-powered personalized learning. Personalizing learning for each student is an ideal that’s difficult to realize because of the time involved, but AI is making this more and more possible. In this session, we’ll cover some of the practices and strategies that instructors and students can start using to personalize learning. We will also demonstrate some practices with Microsoft Copilot. | Register for the April meeting of the Online Teaching PLC |