Main content
Teaching, Learning, and Technology Center

FACT2 Campus Reps Spring 2023 Updates

This month’s SUNY FACT2 update includes information on how to prepare for our move from Moodle to Brightspace, the SUNY Digital Learning Environment (DLE) website and all of its many resources, upcoming SUNY events including the SUNY Online Summit, FACT2 Inclusive Teaching Webinar Series, the 2023 Student Success Summit, Universal Design for Learning (UDL) workshops, SUNY’s annual Conference on Instruction and Technology (CIT), and Technology Conference (STC).

Moodle to Brightspace Updates

As you know, Purchase College is implementing D2L Brightspace as part of a SUNY-led project to bring all of the system’s campuses onto a common learning platform. We will be moving from Moodle to Brightspace starting with the Fall 2023 semester. We will be using Moodle through Spring 2023 and Summer 2023.

Moving from Moodle to Brightspace: Options for Faculty

Faculty will be able to decide the best path forward for moving course content from Moodle to Brightspace. We have outlined some key considerations and workflows so that you can choose the option that works best for you and your course materials. In preparation for the switch to Brightspace, there are a few things you can do to get your materials ready: For more information about Purchase’s migration from Moodle to Brightspace, please visit the Moodle to Brightspace Migration page.

If you have questions, concerns, or comments, please contact the Moodle to Brightspace Migration Team at COM.d2l.brightspace.project@purchase.edu.

SUNY Digital Learning Environment (DLE) Website

The SUNY DLE website offers more information about the system-wide transition to D2L Brightspace as well as extensive Brightspace training materials. Developed by the SUNY Center for Professional Development (CPD), and geared towards faculty and students, these materials include the SUNY CPD Faculty Resource Guides (login with your campus credentials to view) and Brightspace tutorial guides and videos that you can share with your students to help them navigate the Brightspace environment once we go live in Fall 2023.

SUNY Online Summit (March 8-10)

The SUNY Online Summit, sponsored by the SUNY Online Teaching unit, is an annual SUNY-wide conference specifically for SUNY Fellows in the experienced, expert, exemplar, and innovator/researcher roles. Anyone, including Friends of SUNY, are welcome! Registration is required for both virtual and in-person participation.

FACT2 Inclusive Teaching Task Group 4-Part Webinar Series (Every Thursday in April)

The FACT2 Inclusive Teaching Teask Group has put together a 4-part Inclusive Teaching Webinar Series that takes place virtually each Thursday in April at 1pm-2pm. You can register for one or all of these free webinars. The incorporation of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the curriculum and pedagogical approaches has received considerable attention in higher education as a way to help break down systemic barriers. We must regularly ask ourselves: What biases am I carrying as an instructor, and how do I counteract their effects? How does my teaching approach affect learning outcomes? What can faculty do in the classroom to support an inclusive learning environment that fosters a sense of belonging, minimizes systemic barriers, and holds a point of access for all. The practice of embracing student diversity and designing courses to create inclusive learning environments that reach all students is not a new concept. The pandemic highlighted the urgent need to act now. This webinar series intends to address this critical need.

2023 SUNY Student Success Summit (Virtually, April 26-28) 

SUNY campuses increasingly recognize the importance of being student-ready and culturally responsive, thus meeting students where they are in order to facilitate the co-creation and attainment of personal, academic, and professional goals. The 2023 SUNY Student Success Summit will focus on evidence and results-based practices that prioritize a diversity of student voices and experiences to ensure relevant and sustainable sources of equitable and timely assistance focusing on the whole student. The Summit is free to SUNY and will be held virtually on April 26-28. Please check the conference website for more information regarding proposal submission, registration, and featured speakers.

SUNY Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Spring 2023 Workshops

The SUNY UDL for Student Empowerment Project and its instructors seek to provide support for SUNY to be a model of excellence of inclusive pedagogy in higher education by training SUNY faculty and instructional designers in the Universal Design for Learning framework. The following worskhops are available for free to all SUNY faculty and staff. 
  • Hybrid Workshops - An introduction to the Universal Design for Learning framework. These two-day workshops are delivered over Zoom and supplemented with additional activities and instructional materials (available on D2L Brightspace). Participants who successfully complete the requirements of this workshop (which includes designing a lesson plan based on the UDL framework) will earn a digital badge.
  • “Access for All” Scaled Webinar Series - The Access for all Webinar Series (also referred to as Scaled Webinars) for UDL are designed to allow for the opportunity to give a more in depth perspective about a given topic within the UDL Project. The Webinars will be recorded, and their recordings will be made available on this page as a resource. Each topic has its own page within this website, so be sure to check there for detailed information regarding each scaled webinar. 
  • In-Person Workshops - This one-day workshop provides an in-depth introduction to the Universal Design for Learning framework.Participants will learn why the Universal Design for Learning framework is important, how to apply its principles and guidelines to their own courses, and best practices for interacting with students with disabilities. Participants of this workshop will leave with the skills and resources to apply what they learn about Universal Design for Learning to design a new lesson or student experience, or to revise an existing lesson or experience.

SUNY CIT 2023: Rooted and Rising: Exploring the Shifting Landscape of Higher Ed (May 23-26) Virtually & In-Person, Oswego, NY

SUNY CIT 2023 will be a hybrid event with a separate schedule for our virtual and in-person presenters and attendees. CIT is SUNY’s largest and most prominent event on instruction and technology, providing a forum for faculty, instructional support professionals, and policymakers to present, discuss, and explore innovative avenues for integrating technology into the teaching and learning environment.  The CIT 2023 theme, Rooted and Rising: Exploring the Shifting Landscape of Higher Ed is supported by the following tracks:

  • The New Hybrid Campus
  • Building Relationships
  • Creating Inclusive Classes
  • Exploring Innovative Technologies
  • Evolving Pedagogies

SUNY Technology Conference 2023 - Miracle on Campus: Building Winning IT Teams (June 19-22), In-Person, Lake Placid, NY

This year’s SUNY Technology Conference (STC) will explore how to build great teams. The best ones include rookies and veterans, so how do we recruit and retain fresh talent as a generation of senior staffers are retiring? Recruitment and retention are especially difficult in the current environment where we compete with higher paying remote and hybrid work options. We also need to engage new talent in our communities of practice, in SUNY wide collaborations, and groom them to be the next generation of chairs, directors, and CIO’s. Mike Eruzione, captain of the 1980 USA Hockey Team, will be the STC keynote speaker! The call for presentations is now open! Submissions are due by April 9. If you have questions, comments, or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us. Thanks for your time and attention! - Marie Sciangula, Assistant Director of the Teaching, Learning, and Technology Center, SUNY FACT2 Campus Representative - Kim Detterbeck, Art Librarian, Coordinator of Library Instruction, Interim Assistant Library Manager, SUNY FACT2 Campus Representative