Center for Innovation in Teaching and Research

CITR Events

Faculty Summer Institute

WIU Faculty are encouraged to attend and present at the Faculty Summer Institute (FSI: At the Intersection of Teaching, Learning, and Technology, an annual conference that brings educators and instructional-technology professionals together each May at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Attendees come from across Illinois and as far away as Canada. The conference features keynote presentations, networking, and hands-on training on the use of modern communication and information technologies in education.

Back to the Future:  25 Years of FSI will take place May 17-May 18, 2022.  Visit the FSI:  At the Intersection of Teaching, Learning, and Technology Conference website  for more information.

Faculty Research and Creative Activities Awards

In the Spring semester CITR hosts the Faculty Research and Creative Activities Awards. This event attempts to highlight the innovations in research and creative activities from across campus and disseminate/share the same across disciplines. Additionally, faculty present peer reviewed submissions to the university community at large.

2018 Winners

CITR Summer Academy

Every May the Center for Innovation in Teaching and Research holds a two day summer academy training session. Each year we focus on a different technology to help faculty enhance their teaching and engage their students.

Handouts are available within the Summer Academy Google Drive Archives .

2018 - Engaging Learners with Video

This summer academy provided participants with instruction on designing, developing and integrating video to enhance learning materials and course activities. The purpose is to increase student interaction with, and comprehension of course materials and assignments individually outside of class while elevating their ability and motivation to apply their knowledge and collaborate during class activities.

2017 - Google-ize

This one day Summer Academy explored the use of Google tools for creating, sharing, and collaborating which enhance teaching skills and can be beneficial to you, your students, and collaborators.

2016 - HitFilm

This summer academy provided in-depth instruction on how to use HitFilm Express and Filmstro Pro for editing & compositing and adding a soundtrack to instructional videos.

2015 - GoPro

This Summer Academy provided ten (10) selected faculty members with in-depth instruction on how to use a GoPro camera and GoPro Studio software to create instructional videos. Faculty selected for participation received a GoPro Hero3+ camera with accessories.

2014 - Adobe Design Suite

In this academy faculty were provided with in-depth instruction on how to use Adobe Creative Suite 6 - Design & Web Premium. The academy focused on five of the applications in the suite including Photoshop, Dreamweaver, InDesign, Illustrator, and Acrobat X Pro.

2013 - iBooks

In this academy faculty learned how to incorporate iBooks in their instruction. Using software for the Mac and the iPad participants learned how to create their own iBooks and add dimension to student learning, allowing for more interactivity and customized learning materials.

2012 - iPad

In this academy faculty learned how to incorporate the iPad in their instruction by learning a variety of helpful tips to manage teaching and learning on the go including downloading apps, creating and consuming content, classroom management, and managing research. Ideas were presented to help enhance student learning through the use of the iPad and apps.

2011 - Images and Screencasts

At CITR we get a lot of questions on how to record what is on a computer screen. In this academy faculty learned how to use Camtasia software to record and edit everything they are doing on their computer screen as well as their spoken voice via noise cancelling microphones. In addition they learned to incorporate images captured using Snag It and edited in Adobe PhotoShop.

2010 - SoftChalk

Incorporating interactivity into online instruction is great for engaging students and improving retention. In this academy faculty learned how to build interactive lessons that include activities, quizzes, video clips and more all with SoftChalk Lesson Builder.

2009 - Grassroots Video

Instructional video is a great way to provide instruction. It allows students to visualize the concepts being taught. In this academy faculty learned how to storyboard an instructional video, and use that storyboard to record and edit a video using the Flip camera and FlipShare software.

2008 - Podcasting

Western Illinois University has partnered with Apple, Inc. to bring iTunes U to the University. In this academy faculty learned how to create audio podcasts, enhanced audio podcasts, and video podcasts for learning. they also learned how to upload their podcasts to iTunes U for delivery to their students.