Center for Innovation in Teaching and Research

Magna Digital Library at WIU

Note: This is a legacy page from the now-dissolved Center for Innovation in Teaching and Research (CITR). Going forward, WIU Libraries will coordinate the transition for all aspects of professional development opportunities to faculty, staff, and administrators, including facilitating workshops. This transition is a work in progress; please get in touch with the WIU Libraries administration with questions regarding the future of professional development.

The Center for Innovation in Teaching and Research (CITR) is excited to announce that we have secured a subscription to the Magna Digital Library, which provides faculty, staff, and leadership 24/7/365 professional development resources consisting of online seminars, webinars, and documents. Offerings consist of scheduled release and on-demand streaming options presented by some of the best and brightest educators covering practically every teaching and leadership topic you will ever need.

The Magna Digital Library Includes:

  • Access to more than 500 professional development programs for all levels of faculty and staff experience (additional programs added frequently)
  • 24/7 access from any device
  • Content by top educational experts selected by a rigorous vetting process
  • Supporting materials
  • Transcript for each program
  • Featured Program of the Month
  • Certificate of completion for each program

Please feel free to reach out to this office at any time!

Office of Distance Education and Support ODES@wiu.edu|309.298.2434
Malpass Library 184 | Monday - Friday 8:00am - 4:30pm

Getting Started with Magna

  • How will this resource benefit me?
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    These resources will assist you in learning and implementing immediate strategies into your teaching and leadership repertoires!

    Using the resources found in Magna can specifically help you in the following ways:

    • Learning actionable ideas and proven strategies on the most current topics affecting higher education from today’s most brilliant colleagues
    • Meeting the new challenges of higher education to do your best work
    • Staying ahead of the latest trends and developments in teaching, learning, and leadership practices
    • Easily, quickly, and effectively tailoring your professional development to your exact specific needs
    • Customizing your professional development with the topics you want to learn about in a convenient, on-demand streaming service
    • Receiving professional development whenever and wherever you want
    • Saving time, being inspired, and becoming empowered to make a meaningful difference in your position.
  • Creating an Account and Joining the WIU Group Subscription
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    As an eligible member of WIU's faculty and staff, you have the ability to create an account and register as a member of Magna's Digital Library. Once you have successfully completed registration, you will have unlimited access to the Magna Digital Library from any computer, whether you are on, or off-campus. Creating an account and registering as a member is done only once. It is essential that we keep the login information private. Therefore, you need to access the registration instructions provided below while logged into your WIU Google Account.

    Account Creation and Joining the WIU Group Instructions

    After you have created your account and joined the WIU group, you will be able to continually access your account by navigating to magnapubs.com

  • Navigating and Using Magna Digital Library
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    For step-by-step instructions on, navigating the Magna Library interface, searching for content of interest, or watching sessions, visit our Magna Publications Tip Sheet

  • Handling Magna Emails
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    As you subscribe for Magna resources you will begin to receive a high volume of email from Magna. We recommend setting a filter in your Gmail account that will send all emails to a folder named Magna so that you can review them at your convenience.

    Follow the steps below to set a filter for Magna Email:

    1. Login to your WIU Gmail account.
    2. In the search box at the top, click Show search options.
    3. Enter your search criteria,(e.g. in the From field enter magnapubs.com) If you want to check that your search worked correctly, see what emails show up by pressing your Enter/Return key on your keyboard to initiate your search and see what is returned.
    4. At the bottom of the search window, click Create filter.
    5. Choose what you’d like the filter to do. In your case, you may want to select: Skip the Inbox (Archive it), and select Apply the label, select the Choose label drop-down and click New label, then enter Magna in the Please enter a new label name: field, and finally click Create filter.
    6. If you already have a lot of emails from Magna sitting in your inbox, click the See All Settings icon in the upper right corner of your gmail window, then select Filters and Blocked Addresses. Find the filter for Magna, then click the edit link. Click Continue. At the bottom of the list of options, select Also apply filter to matching messages. Click Update filter.

Subscribed Resources

  • Monday Morning Mentor (WIU Subscribed)
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    The Monday Morning Mentor sessions are 20-minute sessions presented each Monday for 16 weeks in the fall and 16 weeks in the spring! High amounts of practical information is packed into a fast focused format covering both traditional and online teaching as well as administrative topics. While sessions are short, they still provide actionable content. Each session will introduce a critical topic that affects higher education and provide actionable insights and informational takeaways.

    You will receive announcements from CITR regarding upcoming sessions, and will have additional in-house professional development opportunities to reflect with colleages at WIU on the content of these sessions.

    Check out the Fall 2023 Schedule!

    These sessions are free if accessed based on the attached schedule. If you view them earlier, you will need to pay the fee. The scheduled programs become part of the Magna Library one week after their scheduled release date and are included in the Universities paid subscription.

  • Magna Seminars (WIU Subscribed)
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    Magna's on-demand seminars provide actionable information on a variety of topics. Seminars include a downloadable copy of the presentation, supplemental materials, and transcripts. Seminars are longer sessions than the Monday Morning Mentors, and include additional materials. Magna Seminars are accessed through your Magna Digital Library account.

Free Resources

  • Magna's Free Resource Library
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    Magna Pubs provides a free resource library filled with special reports, free newsletters, programs, and conference higlights.

    Visit the Magna Publications Free resource page to learn more and subscribe to free offerings.

  • Handling Magna Emails
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    As you subscribe for Magna resources you will begin to receive a high volume of email from Magna. We recommend setting a filter in your Gmail account that will send all emails to a folder named Magna so that you can review them at your convenience.

    Follow the steps below to set a filter for Magna Email:

    1. Login to your WIU Gmail account.
    2. In the search box at the top, click Show search options.
    3. Enter your search criteria,(e.g. in the From field enter magnapubs.com) If you want to check that your search worked correctly, see what emails show up by pressing your Enter/Return key on your keyboard to initiate your search and see what is returned.
    4. At the bottom of the search window, click Create filter.
    5. Choose what you’d like the filter to do. In your case, you may want to select: Skip the Inbox (Archive it), and select Apply the label, select the Choose label drop-down and click New label, then enter Magna in the Please enter a new label name: field, and finally click Create filter.
    6. If you already have a lot of emails from Magna sitting in your inbox, click the See All Settings icon in the upper right corner of your gmail window, then select Filters and Blocked Addresses. Find the filter for Magna, then click the edit link. Click Continue. At the bottom of the list of options, select Also apply filter to matching messages. Click Update filter.