Instructional Technology & Research Support

Instructional Technology & Research Support (ITRS) is a service-oriented group committed to enriching the educational experience at Loyola University Chicago. Our mission is to support faculty in their efforts to integrate technology and innovation into teaching and research to create meaningful learning experiences for students. We are readily available for online and campus consultations at Health Sciences, Lake Shore and Water Tower. Please take a moment to explore our website for resources and professional development opportunities.

Sakai

Course Site Retention

Loyola has a regular practice in place of deleting Sakai course sites that are older than two years at the conclusion of each spring semester. This clean-up process helps to keep the Sakai system running at optimal performance and avoids incremental costs for content that is no longer used. A permanent record of final grades is maintained in LOCUS. The next course deletion cycle will occur early morning on Friday, July 26, 2024. It will include academic terms Spring 2021 [1212], Summer 2021 [1214], Fall 2021 [1216], Winter 2021-2022 [1218], and J-Term 2022 [1221]. Please take time to review your older courses and keep what may have future value. There are several methods you can use to download and save a local copy of course content.

ITRS Webinars

Start of School Webinars

If you are new or returning to teach this fall, please plan to participate in all or part of this live webinar series. Topics include Sakai, Zoom, VoiceThread, and Top Hat, as well as statistical, qualitative data analysis, and survey applications. These sessions are designed to help you integrate technology into teaching and learning quickly, while gaining insights into best practices for using each tool. A panel of moderators will be available to ask questions throughout each webinar.

ITRS Blog

Empowering learners to work in community: Designing for collaborative learning

Learning tools designed to facilitate feedback and collaboration can help instructors save time on designing technical logistics for student activities. Some tools also offer multiple modes of engaging dialogue and feedback between members. Though several learning tools may overlap in learning activity type, such as written discussions or conversations, few offer specifically collaborative engagement adaptable for a variety of activities as much as VoiceThread. Read the entire article to discover why!

Health Sciences Support

Request a Health Sciences Project

Health Sciences Instructional Innovation (HSII) reflects the diverse scope of instructional design, creative content development, and academic research fueled by technology-based learning. As a member of the Stritch School of Medicine, Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing, and the Parkinson School of Health Sciences and Public Health, you are invited to request and discuss collaborative projects and services within these areas.

Walk-In Support

Summer 2024

Health Sciences Campus: Support for educational technologies, course building, and instructional design is available in SSOM 180 on Wednesdays from 11am-2pm and Thursdays from 9am-12pm. Lake Shore Campus: Support for Sakai and statistical advising is available in IC 204. Sakai support is Mondays and Thursdays from 11am-1pm, and Statistical advising is Wednesdays from 1pm-6pm and Fridays from 1:00pm-5:30pm. Hours are subject to change based on staff availability.

Online Support

Schedule a Consultation

ITRS offers faculty online consultations for a variety of teaching and research technologies, as well as learning analytics support and instructional innovation services for Health Sciences. Hours are subject to change based on staff availability.