Here's a sampling of some of the recent feedback we've received and what others are saying about the programs, resources and services we offer.
"Anytime I have needed support it has been fast and easily available."
"I would just like to thank CITL for all they have done to support us as a campus since the pandemic started. Their Online Course Design Academy saved me when we shifted from in person to online last year. Having now taught every semester since then, I can say that what I learned was invaluable. In fact, the parts of course planning I was most resistant to are those that I use and rely on the most heavily. Although I’ve taught for nearly 20 years, CITL’s teaching has made me a better teacher. Thank you so much! (NIU Today Applaud a Colleague, May 7, 2021)
"You all have certainly been grinding over these last two years. Thank you for continuing to find ways to keep us inspired and informed on how to be our best selves inside and out of the classroom" (Matt Wilson, Associate Professor, School of Allied Health and Communicative Disorders, Teaching Effectiveness Institute, January 2022)
The following comments about our staff have been shared through NIU Today Applaud a Colleague:
"Having recently developed a course with Diane, I wanted to reach out to note how fabulous it was to work with her. She is considerate, innovative and, most of all, has shown great patience!! It has been a pleasure to work with someone so competent at what they do." (October 25, 2021)
"Diane went above and beyond to bring an online learning module back to life (after Flash was discontinued). Her work on the project was not required but she knew how helpful the outcome would be to faculty, students and to many NIU K-12 educators in our region. Thanks, Diane!" (January 21, 2021)
"Oh my gosh! Megan is the most amazing ambassador! She was so supportive and so informative as I worked through the BB Ultra Academy. I’m so glad to know that she’ll continue to be “in the wings” (she likes birds) to support when I get stuck. Thank you, Megan! Your department is incredible." (June 22, 2022)
"Megan was truly an excellent “ambassador” for the Center for Innovative Teaching and Leaning’s recent Blackboard Ultra Transition Academy. She was very patient with my many questions and provided precise, well organized suggestions for building my summer course in Blackboard Ultra. She was also wonderful to work with in a virtual context. (June 9, 2022)
"Thank you Megan, for your valuable advice and coaching as we pivoted to a Zoom all-college meeting. Your willingness to share your time and talents is appreciated by all. You exemplify collaboration and the Huskie spirit!" (January 18, 2022)
"Megan's kind voice, support and willingness to be 'at the ready' when I’m in need is so authentic and amazing. As an adjunct, there are plenty of Blackboard nuances that I continue to learn and Megan's efforts are so appreciated. Thank you, Megan! Talk soon!" (September 22, 2021)
"Megan has been an incredible resource to me, always swift to reply and steps in to help in any way she could. She provided Blackboard training to our UNIV educators, shared a general CITL-built template with me to help build our UNIV courses, and helped manage copying my course shell into each section. She is wonderful and also fun to work with!" (June 25, 2021)
"If you ever have a question about teaching with Blackboard, send an online ticket request to CITL. Megan has replied to my multiple queries incredibly quickly in a very helpful and friendly manner. Thank you Megan!" (June 25, 2021)
"Jennifer served as my ambassador during the Ultra Transition Academy. She was incredibly professional and helpful in facilitating a space where I could create the best Blackboard space possible for my students. So glad she’s on our team!!" NEW (March 20, 2023)
"I do not know what I would have done without your help, patience, availability and, of course, your expertise in Blackboard Collaborate and Blackboard video posting. You were there for consults, answering emails, and even phone calls. You were always prompt and polite. Thanks for being there. You are an asset to our university!" (April 1, 2020)
"Tracy was flexible and provided exceptional support of the School of Nursing’s recent accreditation visit. She provide a solution to Blackboard access for the accreditors and then worked tirelessly with the IT team in the closing hours to get everything ready. We appreciate all of her efforts! On behalf of the entire School of Nursing, please accept our heartfelt thanks. (October 25, 2021)
"Tracy has gone above and beyond to assist me as I developed and taught my first online course this past summer. She has been a pleasure to work with and is an outstanding asset to the university. It is employees like her that guarantee that our students receive a quality education." (January 22, 2016)
"This team developed, coordinated and launched the TA Institute fully online! Your efforts provided access to this critical training opportunity for so many NIU graduate students–thank you!" (August 24, 2020)
"Thank you Tina for going out of your way to help course schedulers to enter summer and fall courses using the correct campus codes. Your help is appreciated and we know you put in a lot of hours on making sure everything was accurate and ready for the students." (February 22, 2021)
"Ms. Ong-McCarthy always goes above-and-beyond to assist me and my colleagues with our Quality Matters course development, as well as any technical issues we have in delivering our courses. She never hesitates to provide quality and professional help in response to each inquiry. She also has been a big help in our e-training programs for research purposes. Thank you for being a continued invaluable support to our work, Christiane!" (March 1, 2021)
"Cynthia is consistently going above and beyond and helping others in improving not only the technical experience for students but also the course experience as well! For the online class I teach, Cynthia helped me revamp it into a more interactive and engaging experience that students will remember for years to come. Without her guidance, I could not have dreamed of achieving the experiences my students are now having in my course. Thank you Cynthia for all that you do for us!" (June 20, 2021)
"Cynthia has been 100% instrumental in my success as an online instructor at the College of Business. While I am a part time instructor teaching in the Masters in Digital Marketing program, Cynthia has dedicated so many hours to ensuring that my content presented to students is of a high quality and helping me navigate the nuances of teaching online courses. I do not know what I would have done without her. In addition, this is not a one-off thing. She has consistently helped me again and again each time I have another crazy idea to change my course, she jumps in immediately and starts helping to solve problems with me. I truly believe she has gone well above and beyond my expectations and I’m so thankful she is a member of the CITL team!" (April 24, 2020)
"Cynthia’s expertise in converting my exams into online tests in Blackboard has been a life-saver for me. She has been extremely prompt in handling my requests and answering my questions. We are so fortunate to have such competent and caring employees who go above and beyond to support us during these difficult times." (April 24, 2020)
"Rob has gone above and beyond in helping me create the best possible online offerings for my students! He is always timely and professional in answering my many questions. Thanks, Rob!" (November 10, 2020)
"You are the best, Rob. My 22-year-old son was in the room while we worked together. Afterwards he said he liked how you helped me without making me feel foolish. You have a gift!" (June 10, 2020)
"Stephanie is so knowledgeable and dedicated; she makes a great leader!" (June 9, 2022)
"Stephanie has extended significant support to the LEPF Superintendent Preparation Program time and time again. Her willingness to provide expertise and templates for our admissions and internship portfolio processes are indicative of the backbone behind the program. She has been extremely responsive, supportive and dependable. What a team member! Thanks for all your help. We value you, Stephanie!" (March 23, 2022)
"Stephanie excels in one on one mentoring in addition to working with the programs her office provides. Recently she helped me recover my inadvertent deletion of a robust Bb-Content Folder. I also want her to be acknowledged here for the 2020 SPS Presidential Award for Excellence that was not well-publicized at the time but perennially deserved." (February 1, 2021)
"I had an unexpectedly large number of “special requests” I had to make regarding multiple Blackboard courses and I had to reach out to Amanda for assistance. With every new email, I shared that I hoped that the request would be the “last one,” but it was not true until after a few more requests. Amanda is so knowledgeable, so helpful and so very patient with people – she deserves a huge round of applause for all of the assistance she gave me. Thank you, Amanda, for providing assistance in such a responsive and supportive manner!" (September 20, 2022)
"Amanda has always been a great help with assisting me with Blackboard questions. She is kind, incredibly responsive (often within minutes of a message being sent), and very patient when I am asking the same question I asked months earlier, but did not retain the answer. Last summer and fall many College of Law faculty who may not have used Blackboard in the past were using it. Because our schedule is a bit different than the rest of the university and because of the newness of Blackboard for some faculty, we had several issues around course availability. Amanda worked with me to make sure all the classes were made available early enough to avoid any issues with access and we were able to make the access to fall classes go smoothly. Also, just last Friday she was quick to help resolve an issue I was having, making my own start to the semester better. I really appreciate her patience and pleasant attitude and all the assistance she provides." (January 25, 2021)
"Amanda has been incredibly helpful to us in the transition to remote teaching, all while keeping other learning communities she runs active and awesome. She is patient and kind, while being brilliant and helpful." (June 1, 2020)
"Hours before class was scheduled, there were problems with Zoom. Mike responded immediately and, with the help of DOIT, resolved the issue within an hour. Mike was both prompt, professional and able to resolve the issue seemingly as soon as I sent my email... Thank you for caring about faculty and students, and making me feel okay with the difficulties encountered." (September 12, 2022)
"Whenever I have a Blackboard question, Mike is the person at CITL that I contact. He get backs to me quickly and his answers are always thoughtful and thorough. If there is not an immediate answer to my problem, he does the research and testing needed to figure it out. Thank you, Mike, for all you do!" (April 23, 2021)
"Thank you for being who you are, a person who is dedicated, enthusiastic, helpful and caring. We can’t thank you enough for teaching and helping us when we needed it. I want to take a moment to applaud you for your dedication." (October 19, 2018)
"Mike answered all of the questions I had about the new Ultra Blackboard learning platform. He listened intently and then covered lengthy explanations with knowledge, courtesy and professionalism. He allowed me to work hands on, ensuring I understood and could duplicate the results in the future. He’s an amazing teacher, and I was so very lucky to be able to work with him!" (June 9, 2022)
"On a Friday night at 4:30 p.m., I needed to add a student to my course after 4 weeks so that over the weekend, they could get started on the first four weeks of work. Michael helped make that possible and even offered to watch his email over the weekend in case problems developed. I have had questions in the past and Michael has always been very receptive but in this case, I really needed to help this student and he happily made that possible even though it was very late in the day. Thanks, Michael, I appreciated the support!" (February 17, 2021)
"Mike is always friendly and willing to assist me with any technical issues that I may be having." (January 21, 2021)
"Michael Taylor assisted me with submitting student exams online when the system would not allow them to be submitted. This was an evening exam after office hours so no one was available, yet it was his vacation day! The questions were Blackboard-related or Examity-related, and he has helped me with Blackboard Ultra a lot this semester. While this was a troubling experience for the students, they appreciated that he and I were working to assist them. I was especially appreciative since I had the entire class, who were very concerned, emailing me after they completed between 5 to 9 p.m. I was very grateful for his willingness to assist me, especially since this was not planned!" (October 16, 2020)
"Michael Taylor has been my “hero” as he saved me a few times when I was dealing with some urgent, technical issues. No matter it was lunch time or 6 pm on a Friday, he always responded to my requests promptly, and walked through all the details until the problems got resolved. A huge shout out to Mike and his colleagues who are working around the clock to support us during this difficult time." (April 1, 2020)
Phone: 815-753-0595
Email: citl@niu.edu
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