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Complete catalog
Full course catalog
Every KSARN course, lesson, and topic in one place. All courses are free, open to read as standalone guides, and award a certificate when you take the full course signed in with Google. For the visual catalog with outcomes, see the course catalog.
9 courses
169 topics and guides
Free for all Kansas higher ed
Certificates on every course
Course building (learning management systems)
Building a Well-Designed, Accessible Course in Canvas
Design-first, accessible course building in Canvas, for any Kansas instructor.
- 1. Design before you buildStart with backward design, Write measurable learning objectives, Sketch your course map
- 2. Set up your {LMS} courseYour course shell and navigation, Course settings that matter, Home page and syllabus
- 3. Structure your contentOrganize for your modality, Build with Modules and Pages, Pace with requirements and prerequisites
- 4. Assessments that alignCreate assignments, Build quizzes and tests, Discussions and rubrics
- 5. Set up your gradebookChoose your grading scheme, Add gradebook items, including work done outside the LMS
- 6. Accessibility by constructionHeadings, structure, and link text, Images, color, and contrast, Captions and accessible documents, Check your work before you publish
- 7. Set up course communicationSet up announcements, Inbox and Calendar, Set up automated alerts and messages
- 8. Maintain across termsStudent View and publishing, Reuse a course and shift dates, End-of-term housekeeping
Building a Well-Designed, Accessible Course in Blackboard
The same design-first path for Blackboard, with the Blackboard-specific steps.
- 1. Design before you buildStart with backward design, Write measurable learning objectives, Sketch your course map
- 2. Set up your {LMS} courseYour course and its navigation, Course availability and key settings, Your entry point and syllabus
- 3. Structure your contentOrganize for your modality, Build with Learning Modules and Documents, Pace with release conditions
- 4. Assessments that alignCreate assignments, Build tests, Discussions and rubrics
- 5. Set up your gradebookChoose your grading scheme, Add gradebook items, including work done outside the LMS
- 6. Accessibility by constructionHeadings, structure, and link text, Images, color, and contrast, Captions and accessible documents, Check your work before you publish
- 7. Set up course communicationSet up announcements, Messages and Calendar, Set up automated alerts and messages
- 8. Maintain across termsStudent Preview and availability, Reuse a course and shift dates, End-of-term housekeeping
Teaching and learning
Teaching Well in Higher Ed: A Practical Foundation
A research-based foundation for college teaching.
- 1. Design your courseStart with backward design, Write measurable learning objectives, Build your course map
- 2. Plan a class sessionSet objectives for a single session, Structure a class session, Manage time and pacing
- 3. Engage students with active learningWhy active learning works, Active learning techniques that travel, Questioning and participation
- 4. Universal Design for LearningThe three UDL principles, Multiple ways to engage and represent, UDL and accessibility together
- 5. Classroom management for higher edSet norms and expectations, Decide your policies, and apply them fairly, Handle disruption and difficult moments
- 6. Assessment and feedbackFormative and summative assessment, Write fair, valid assessments, Rubrics and feedback that improve learning
- 7. Reaching every studentMake expectations clear and transparent, Build a supportive class climate, Reach a range of students
- 8. Academic integrity, by designDesign for academic integrity, Talk with students about integrity, Student privacy and FERPA basics
How Students Learn: Learning Theories for College Teaching
How students actually learn, and what each theory means for your teaching.
- 1. The science of memory and attentionHow memory works, Cognitive load theory, Retrieval and spaced practice
- 2. Behaviorist rootsBehaviorism, Feedback and practice
- 3. Constructing knowledgeConstructivism, Social constructivism and the ZPD, Experiential learning
- 4. Motivation and the adult learnerSelf-efficacy and social learning, Motivation: self-determination and value, Growth and fixed mindset, Adult learning and andragogy
- 5. Self-direction and evidence-based teachingMetacognition and self-regulated learning, A caution: the learning styles myth
Managing the In-Person Classroom
Running an in-person classroom well, including disruption, difficult conversations, and supporting a distressed student.
- 1. Set up a well-run roomSet the climate and expectations, Routines and the physical room, Presence and authority without harshness
- 2. Prevent problems before they startEngagement as prevention, Fair policies, consistently applied, Reading the room and acting early
- 3. Handle disruptionResponding to minor disruptions, Persistent or defiant behavior, Devices and attention
- 4. Heated topics and difficult conversationsFacilitating sensitive or contested topics, De-escalating in the moment
- 5. Supporting distressed students, and safetySupporting a student in distress, Safety, your limits, and looking after yourself
Starting Strong: The First Day of Class
The first day shapes the whole term: prepare, set the tone, build rapport, and start with momentum.
- 1. Before the first dayWhat the first day is really for, Prepare the essentials, Design a first day worth showing up for
- 2. Setting the tone and building rapportSetting the tone, Building rapport and belonging, Learning and using names
- 3. Clarity: syllabus, expectations, logisticsMake the syllabus useful, not a recitation, Establish expectations and norms, Handle the logistics and questions
- 4. Engage and end wellA first-day activity that sets the pattern, Surface what students bring, End the first class, and first week, with momentum
Evaluating Your Course for Quality
Review your own course for quality across alignment, clarity, assessment, accessibility, and engagement, with an online deep-dive.
- 1. What course quality means, and how to reviewWhat course quality means, The major quality frameworks, How a course review works
- 2. Alignment: the heart of qualityAlignment is the heart of quality, Check your objectives, Check that assessments measure your objectives
- 3. Clarity, organization, and usabilityA clear overview and starting point, Organization and findability, Clear instructions and expectations
- 4. Assessment, feedback, and integrityAssessment quality, Feedback quality, Integrity by design
- 5. Accessibility, engagement, and improvementAccessibility as a quality standard, Engagement and interaction, From review to improvement
- 6. Online deep-diveWhy online courses need their own review, Online structure, navigation, and getting started, Presence, interaction, and online accessibility
AI in teaching
AI Literacy for Instructors: Teaching and Assessing in the Age of AI
Teaching and assessing when students have AI, with redesign over detection.
- 1. What generative AI isHow generative AI works, and does not, What it does well, and where it fails, Bias, privacy, and what not to share
- 2. Why detection is the wrong foundationWhy AI detectors are unreliable, The cost of a detection-first approach, Redesign over detection
- 3. Designing assignments AI cannot easily doMake the task authentic, Make thinking visible, Localize and personalize
- 4. Redesigning assessmentFrom product to process, Scaffold, draft, reflect, Alternative and authentic assessments, The resistant-to-integrated spectrum
- 5. Teaching with AI openlyWhen and how to allow AI, Designing AI-integrated assignments, Teaching students to evaluate AI output, Disclosure and citation
- 6. Writing your course AI policyWrite a clear, tiered policy, Communicate and model expectations, Align with institution and state guidance
- 7. Using AI to support your teachingDraft course materials with a human check, Use AI for accessibility groundwork, The privacy rule for your own use
- 8. Access and keeping humans centralAccess and cost disparities, Bias and over-reliance, Keep human judgment central
Taking care of you
Fill Your Cup: Caring for Yourself as an Educator
A warm, gentle course about pouring some care back into yourself.
- 1. Permission to care for yourselfYou cannot pour from an empty cup, Noticing when you are running low, Letting go of the guilt
- 2. Protecting your energyBoundaries that hold, The myth of doing it all, Guarding your time
- 3. Restoring yourselfReal rest, Move, eat, breathe, Small daily refills
- 4. Heart and mindBe kind to yourself, Tending your emotions, Reconnecting with your why
- 5. You are not aloneLeaning on your people, Knowing when to reach for more
Tools and resources
- AI Course Policy Generator: Build a clear, institution-neutral course AI policy and export it.
- Kansas AI Policy Directory: Find the State of Kansas and your institution's public AI policy.
- All guides library: Search every standalone guide across all courses in one place.