Training & Events

This asynchronous online course introduces instructors to the best practices of online instruction. Successful completion leads to the online teaching certification as well as the Online 101 Digital Badge. Delivered 100% online in Canvas, there will be no live meetings. Please ignore start/end times as the system requires these to be entered.

Open To
faculty, instructors, teaching staff/GA

Location
Online - https://canvas.msstate.edu/

Ready to calculate progress grades? Let Canvas do it for you. Topics include grading schemes, weighted grades, posting policies, assignment groups, extra columns, and grade transfer into Banner.

Open To
MSU Teaching Faculty

Location
Online only

This training is brought to you by the Center for Distance Education. Join us for a focused training designed for online advisors. This session will provide an in-depth overview of our pre-advising and advising practices, along with the key resources available to support online students. Learn how to apply tools and best practices that streamline advising, improve consistency, and strengthen the online student experience.

Open To
Faculty and Staff

Location
WebEx Online (link to be sent)

Unlock the power of data-driven teaching by leveraging Canvas New Analytics to identify at-risk students and optimize your instructional strategies. Discover how to access and interpret meaningful student engagement data, and learn practical ways to use these insights to intervene early and boost student success rates.

Open To
Instructors, Faculty, Grad. Assistants

Location
WebEx Online (link to be sent)

Enhance student engagement and deepen learning by incorporating dynamic interactive tools that transform passive content consumption into active participation. Explore interactive options suitable for your course, and discover how these tools can reinvigorate your teaching while improving student outcomes.

Open To
Instructors, Faculty, Grad. Assistants

Location
WebEx Online (link to be sent)

This training is brought to you by the Center for Distance Education. DegreeWorks is your online degree-planning tool, designed to help you stay on track from your first course to graduation. In this webinar, we’ll walk through the purpose and features of DegreeWorks, show you how to interpret your degree plan, and explore useful features.

Open To
Students, Faculty, and Staff

Location
WebEx Online (link to be sent)

This session is brought to you by the Center for Distance Education. Dr. Zayd Abukar from EAB will guide attendees through an exploration of who today’s adult learners are—their motivations, their constraints, and how their pathways through higher education, especially at the graduate and professional levels, differ from those of traditional undergraduates. He will begin by examining the evolving adult learner market, highlighting key trends in degree conferrals and competition shaping this space. From there, he will unpack the mindset and expectations of modern adult students—what drives their decisions, the challenges they face, and how generational shifts from Millennials to Gen Z are redefining expectations around flexibility, affordability, and authenticity in higher education.

Open To
Faculty and Staff

Location
Zoom (link to be sent)

Elevate your course's visual appeal and functionality using a Canvas page template created specifically for MSU faculty. Learn how to import and customize this powerful resource, explore our specialized Canvas page resources, and see examples of how your course can be transformed.

Open To
Instructors, Faculty, Grad. Assistants

Location
WebEx Online (link to be sent)

Southern winters can be unpredictable—and when cold weather hits Mississippi, even a light freeze can cause major disruptions. Winter is Coming: Prep Tips for the South is a seasonal preparedness course designed to help Mississippi State University students, faculty, and staff get ready for winter weather with practical, Southern-specific tips. Participants will learn: How to prepare your home, dorm, or office for freezing temperatures What to include in a cold-weather emergency kit Staying safe during power outages, icy roads, and campus closures How MSU communicates winter weather updates and where to find reliable information Tips for winterizing your vehicle and planning ahead for travel Whether it’s your first Southern winter or your fifteenth, this course will help you stay safe, warm, and ready—no snow shovel required.

Open To
MSU Faculty, Staff and Students

Location
Union Fowlkes Auditorium

Open To
Teachers with 0-2 years experience

Location
Online in Canvas

Our university is committed to delivering the highest quality instruction, and we believe that a classroom observation can significantly contribute to your growth as an effective teacher while showcasing your dedication to continuous improvement. Participating in a classroom observation offers numerous benefits, including enhancing your teaching effectiveness, fostering greater student engagement, and providing a focused pathway for professional development. By signing up for a classroom observation, we will visit one of your class sessions and offer valuable feedback on your lesson planning and delivery. The CTLs Classroom Observation process includes a pre-observation meeting, an in-class observation, a student survey, and a post-observation discussion. Through this comprehensive approach, we ensure that the observation experience is thorough and constructive. Upon completion of the observation process, you will receive a detailed Observation Report presented in a standardized format. The report will encompass insights from the observation, valuable student feedback, and practical suggestions for future improvements, ultimately assisting you in refining your teaching techniques. If you have any further questions, please visit our webpage: https://www.ctl.msstate.edu/services/teaching-feedback-person-courses.

Open To

Location
Your Classroom