Center for Creative Instruction

Come by each week and check out our Featured section.  We’ll post on important CCI news and highlight new functionality available on your favorite program or app. (Week 4 – 2/09/26)

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Copilot Saves You Time 
Using AI tools can help you streamline lesson planning, communication, and content creation—skills that you can easily put into practice using Copilot within our M365 portal. By implementing these techniques, faculty not only enhance their own efficiency but also gain the insight needed to guide students in using AI tools thoughtfully and effectively. Watch ChatGPT for Teachers: 7 Time-Saving Hacks You Need to Know – 10:20 to discover how these practical strategies can translate seamlessly into Copilot-supported teaching workflows. 

Flip for AI 
As students increasingly rely on AI tools to gather information and complete basic tasks, the “flipped learning” teaching model offers a powerful way to refocus class time on deeper analysis, collaboration, and problem‑solving that AI cannot replace. The following videos clearly define the flipped learning model and provide a practical framework educators can use to design more interactive, student‑centered experiences. Faculty willing to explore this pedagogical approach will discover how effectively it strengthens meaningful learning and supports high‑quality teaching in the AI era. 

• Introduction to Flipped Learning – 04:38 
• What is Flipped Learning? – 05:39 

Critical Thinking
Advait Sarkar’s TED Talk, How to Stop AI from Killing Your Critical Thinking (14:54), explores the subtle ways AI tools can undermine our ability to reason—and how we can flip that dynamic to make ourselves smarter rather than more dependent. Instead of becoming “middle managers for our own thoughts,” Sarkar demonstrates how alternative AI design can deepen intellectual engagement while still supporting efficient work. His message encourages educators to rethink their approach to AI, highlighting how thoughtfully designed tools can strengthen—rather than replace—critical thinking. 

Posted on Week 3

New Teams Experience  
Whether you use Teams every day or only occasionally, exploring the new Teams experience is well worth your time. Microsoft has introduced a more streamlined way to manage your Chats, Meetings, and Teams conversations, bringing everything together in one clean, convenient location. By adjusting your Chat and Channel settings, you can try out this updated interface and customize it to organize your communications in a way that best supports your personal workflow. Watch The New Chat & Channels Experience – 11:50 for a complete introduction. 

When to use Teams Chat vs Channels 
Explore how Chats and Channels serve different purposes in Microsoft Teams and discover when each one can help you communicate more effectively. With clear explanations and real-world scenarios, the video highlights practical ways to streamline collaboration and avoid common communication pitfalls. Watch Microsoft Teams Chat vs Channels – 15:32 for an easy-to-follow resource that can immediately enhance how you and your team organize discussions. 

Post vs. Thread: Time to Rethink Communication  
Although the Threads feature may take time to reach our M365 environment, now is a great opportunity for your team or committee to reflect on how you communicate in Teams. Should you continue with traditional posts or prepare to shift toward threaded conversations? To explore the potential impact, check out Teams Update You NEED to Know About – 15:12 and start the conversation. 

Teams Calendar 
You might not use the calendar in Teams often, but that's about to change! The new upgrades will offer a near-Outlook experience, making it more powerful and user-friendly. Check out The NEW Teams Calendar – 02:43 or Microsoft Teams Calendar Gets Major Update – 10:47 for a complete walkthrough. If you're a regular Teams user, you'll love the fantastic features and flexibility the new calendar brings. 

Posted on Week 2

Use Group MS Forms 
If you're working within a department, office, or committee, creating a group form—one associated with a Microsoft Team—is the best practice. Group forms ensure shared access to collected data, even if the original creator leaves the university. This keeps your team’s data secure and accessible. Watch MS Forms - Group Forms – 00:45. 

MS Forms Notifications 
By using the “Get email notification of each response” feature in Microsoft Forms, you and your team can receive automatic alerts whenever a form is submitted. Watch Get instant notifications for Microsoft Forms – 3:30. While the video mentions adding Microsoft Teams for notifications, this option may conflict with our campus environment. As an alternative, you can manually add the email addresses of each team member who needs to receive submission notifications.

MS Forms Notifications in Teams 
Power Automate allows you to send notifications directly to Teams channels, making it easy to keep your team informed. Since all Team members are notified, this option may be better that the MS Form notification feature as it eliminates the need to manually update the email lists.

• Notify a User when a Team (Group) Form is Submitted – 04:02
• How to create a Group MS Form – 00:45
• How to use tags in Microsoft Teams – 01:07
• How to create an MS Form for Power Automate Flows – 02:21 

Form Response Restrictions 
Microsoft Forms has long supported basic response restrictions (e.g., required fields, long answers, numbers). Now, new validation options like Email and URL formats are available—making your data collection even more precise. Watch New validation/restrictions in Microsoft Forms – 06:31 to learn more. 

Posted on Week 1

Bookings in Outlook
Need students to sign up for office hours, advising, coaching, or project meetings? With Outlook, you can offer appointment slots that are easy to book. Simply share your personal Bookings page, and students or colleagues can schedule in-person or virtual meetings. You control your availability, and once a meeting is booked, it’s automatically added to both calendars! Watch Create A Personal Bookings Page – 09:21 for a full overview. 

Scheduling Poll 
Outlook makes scheduling your next meeting a breeze! Use the “Scheduling Poll” feature to propose meeting times to attendees, whether they’re on or off campus (watch How to use Scheduling Poll – 03:18). This feature even shows you when campus participants are busy, helping you choose times that are more likely to work. Say goodbye to the back-and-forth of scheduling by email and take advantage of this fantastic M365 tool. 

Brightspace- Find How-to guides and resources on Brightspace (used to deliver course content and instruction).

Record in M365- Find a complete guide to recording in Teams, Stream, and PowerPoint and sharing with OneDrive.

CCI Flow Designer- Design a custom workflow and receive detailed instructions along with templates.

Course Evaluations- Find complete details, including policies and procedures, on the Provost website.

Base Camp- Find step-by-step guidance on what to learn first if you’re just starting to use technology.

Accessibility- Find resources and tools to help you create accessible content and courses.

Department PD Form- Select a PD session (from a list of offerings) for your department’s next meet.