Happy November! In this newsletter, we are excited to announce some important updates to CIDI's organization and services.

CIDI Has Moved to Academic Affairs!

As part of the recent restructure of the Academic Enterprise at USU, we are pleased to announce that the Center for Instructional Design and Innovation (CIDI) has joined the Academic Affairs office. This change puts CIDI in closer alignment with the Center for Empowering Teaching Excellence and other important aspects of USU’s teaching mission. 

New Teams and Services: Support; Design and Media

CIDI is also merging with the Classroom Facilitation Support team and the Academic Media Production team. We continue to be named CIDI, but offer expanded services. Our Support Team, directed by Elisa Taylor, continues to provide faculty support for Canvas and other educational technologies, as well as classroom facilitation support. Our Design and Media Team, directed by Neal Legler, provides new and expanded course, program, and media design services.

New Designer, New Departmental Assignments

We are also excited to introduce our new instructional designer, Josh Reid, who has joined our Support Team. Josh brings experience and insight to the team and is eager to assist you.

Please note that with these changes, many departments have been assigned new primary and secondary designers to assist with their needs. To find your assigned designer, please visit our departmental assignments page.  

Reach Out for Support and Consultations

Meanwhile, you can continue to reach out to CIDI for support in all previously available ways. For quick questions, you can continue to contact CIDI via phone (435.797.9506), chat, or email (cidi@usu.edu). Drop-ins are also welcome (3rd floor of the DE building).  

For bigger questions or needs, you can continue to schedule a consultation with a CIDI staff member. Consultation services include options to: 

• Meet with a designer from the Support Team (Elisa Taylor, Jennifer Paskett, or Josh Reid) for teaching and course materials enhancement. This is best for help with teaching strategies and ideas, course development support, advanced training and technology questions, and more. 
• Meet with a member of the design team (Neal Legler or Amy Carpenter) for collaborative assistance with course and program design and development. This is best for discussions about creating engaging content, integrating multimedia, enhancing student learning experiences, developing master course templates, and more.

You can also schedule time in CIDI’s recording studio and arrange for help with video projects from our Academic Media Production specialists. 

As always, we are excited to collaborate with you in the effort to create and maintain high quality learning environments for our students! Please don't hesitate to reach out for assistance and learn more about our new services.

CIDI Workshop Schedule

Fall workshops focus on AI in teaching, student engagement, using Canvas and other tools effectively, and more. Workshops are offered on Zoom at a variety of times. See the full workshop schedule for details and registration. We look forward to seeing you!