Center for the Advancement of Learning (CAL)

A proud moment for University of the District of Columbia. The Middle States team’s report recognized the strength of our faculty and the innovation that drives our academic community. Thank you to our faculty—you are the backbone of UDC. The Center looks forward to partnering with you to bring that innovative spirit to life. #oneudc

Congratulations to Dr. Tiffany Gurley~Nettles, Ph.D.,CCC-SLP, Dr. Lamont Simmons, and Dr. Botao Chen for successfully completing the Applying the QM Quality Matters Rubric (APPQMR) workshop! The University of the District of Columbia''s Distance Learning is thriving, driven by the unwavering commitment of our faculty to excellence in online education.     Want to teach online and master course development? Connect with us at calhelpdesk@udc.edu. 

𝐔𝐧𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐄𝐧𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐛𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐝! Join Elmira Asongwed, DNP, Rebecca D. Graham, PhD, and Grace Kent for an insightful webinar on Enhanced Assessment Capabilities (EAC) in Blackboard! Learn how to leverage advanced grading analytics, assessment customization, and performance tracking tools to enhance student feedback and drive meaningful learning outcomes.  𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞: Friday, March 21st from 2:00 PM-2:30 PM                                                                     𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: https://lnkd.in/eR4ATF7P Don’t miss this opportunity to explore best practices in assessment and discover how EAC can streamline your evaluation process. Register now and take your assessment strategies to the next level! #HigherEd #Assessment #Blackboard #EdTech #FacultyDevelopment #StudentSuccess #TurningPotentialIntoPower #UDC

Christian Aguiar, Associate Professor of English at the University of the District of Columbia’s Community College, presented alongside Kayla Kelly, M.S. Ed., Instructional Consultant, and William Finn Trotman, Instructional Technologist, from The Center for the Advancement of Learning (CAL) at the 67th Annual College English Association-Mid-Atlantic Group (CEAMAG) Conference. Their session explored how virtual reality (VR) can transform humanities courses, enhancing student engagement, deepening historical consciousness, and improving learning outcomes. They focused on using VR to immerse students in two pivotal moments in history: 1) 𝐃𝐫. 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧 𝐋𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐉𝐫.'𝐬  𝘓𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘉𝘪𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘩𝘢𝘮 𝘑𝘢𝘪𝘭 2) 𝐀. 𝐏𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐩 𝐑𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐥𝐩𝐡'𝐬 speech from the March on Washington At UDC, we are committed to Turning Potential into Power by integrating innovative technologies like VR to create immersive, impactful learning experiences. CAL continues to push the boundaries of digital education, making content more tangible and meaningful for our students. #HigherEd #VirtualReality #ImmersiveLearning #Humanities #EducationInnovation #UDC #CAL #TurningPotentialIntoPower  

Congratulations to Dr. Ricardo Brown and Professor Mohammed A. Essack! Both have successfully completed the Applying the QM Quality Matters Rubric (APPQMR) workshop! Dr. Brown described the course as “helpful, specific, and concise,” while Professor Essack called it “an enriching experience” that deepened his understanding of course design principles. The University of the District of Columbia continues to strengthen faculty capacity to enhance distance learning and elevate course quality. Want to teach online and master course development? Connect with us at calhelpdesk@udc.edu. #QM #QualityMatters #DistanceLearning #QualityAssurance #TurningPoteIntoPower #UDC #ONEUDC #HBCUs

Kayla Kelly, M.S. Ed., Instructional Consultant and Professional Development Coordinator for the Center for the Advancement of Learning (CAL) at the University of the District of Columbia, along with Patrick Gusman, Deputy Chief of Staff and Director of Corporate Relations, and LeKisha M. Jordan, Associate Vice President for Educational Outreach and Partnerships, had the incredible opportunity to attend the 2025 Apple Community Education Initiative (CEI) Leadership and Learning Academy. We’re excited to see how they will apply new insights and strategies to expand the Apple Grant Program at UDC, further empowering our students and educators. Their participation in this academy reinforces our commitment to innovation and excellence in education. Looking forward to the impact ahead as we continue to "Turn Potential into Power!" #AppleCEI #EducationInnovation #UDC #EdTech #Leadership #HigherEd #TurningPotentialIntoPower

𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐂𝐥𝐮𝐛 𝐊𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐬 𝐎𝐟𝐟 𝐒𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐈 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 Our Spring semester began with the Center for the Advancement of Learning (CAL) Book Club exploring Brave New Words by Sal Khan. In a dynamic discussion, participants examined the benefits and challenges of AI in higher education. Facilitated by Anthony Mazza, Assistant Professor in the Crime, Justice, and Security Studies Program and a CAL Faculty Fellow for 2024-2025, the group explored AI’s potential to 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐞𝐧𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲, while addressing concerns around 𝐚𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠. The conversation underscored the importance of thoughtful implementation to ensure AI supports—rather than undermines—University of the District of Columbia’s core educational values. We look forward to our second meeting to continue discussing the rest of the book!   📩 For more info, email calhelpdesk@udc.edu #UDC #HBCUs #OneUDC #FacultyDevelopment #TurningPotentialIntoPower #BraveNewWords #AIinEducation #TeachingWithAI #HigherEdAI #EdTech #UDCFaculty #LifelongLearning #EthicalAI #FutureOfEducation

Congratulations to Dr. Yolandra Plummer, Dr. Annette Miles, Elmira Asongwed, Dr. Wynn Yarbrough, and Professor Gita Pippin for achieving QM Quality Matters certification for their courses! Distance Learning at the University of the District of Columbia continues to grow, driven by our faculty's dedication to excellence in online education.  Want to teach online and master course development? Connect with us at calhelpdesk@udc.edu.    #QM #QualityMatters #DistanceLearning #QualityAssurance #TurningPoteIntoPower  

𝐄𝐧𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫 ReadSpeaker is a powerful text-to-speech tool that makes course content more accessible! By enabling students to listen to course materials, it supports flexible learning while improving comprehension and retention. Join Ginger Dewey, Educational Development Manager at ReadSpeaker, for an insightful session on how to maximize ReadSpeaker’s benefits. Learn how to structure your course content to enhance student learning and accessibility. 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐤𝐞𝐫 (𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝟏): 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝟔 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝟐-𝟐:𝟑𝟎 𝐩.𝐦. 🔗 Click below to access Google Meet            https://lnkd.in/etVfpxR4                                                                  𝐌𝐚𝐱𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐤𝐞𝐫 (𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝟐): 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝟐𝟎 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝟐-𝟐:𝟑𝟎 𝐩.𝐦. 🔗 Click below to access Google Meet  https://lnkd.in/eQfFW8tw  #UDC #HBCUs #oneudc #facultydevelopment #TurningPotentialIntoPower

A big thank you to UDC MakerSpace and Davide Prete for leading this hands-on workshop on 3D modeling and printing! It was an engaging and insightful experience, reinforcing the power of making and learning through experimentation. Whether you’re in education, art, engineering, or any other field, 3D printing opens up endless possibilities for creativity and innovation. I’m excited to integrate these tools into future projects! 📅 Join us for another session on March 7! 📩 To register, email: calhelpdesk@udc.edu #UDC #ImmersiveLearning #InnovationInEducation #HBCU #TurningPotentialIntoPower #OneUDC #3DPrinting #Makerspace #Innovation #STEM