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Instructional Technology and Design

Florida Polytechnic University’s Instructional Technology and Design (ITD) office operates under Academic Affairs to support faculty, staff, and students. This team collaborates with different departments to build engaging, accessibility, and effective online/ hybrid courses, manages the Learning Management System (LMS). The ITD team integrates emerging tools to elevate the student learning experience. ITD oversees instructional media, learning platforms, and innovative digital education strategies.

The Instructional Technology and Design team focuses on several core areas to enhance learning experiences on campus:

  • Learning Management System (LMS): Manages and supports the Canvas LMS, which serves as the hub for course materials, assignments, and grades.
  • Faculty Training and Support: Empowers instructors through workshops and guidance, sharing research-based best practices for building interactive course materials.
  • Course Design and Development: Instructional designers’ partner with faculty and staff to structure canvas course content, mapping learning objectives, and designing multimedia, and/or interactive content. The instructional designers ensure that class content aligns with Florida Polytechnic University preference for in-person, hybrid, or online courses and complies with quality standards.
  • Simulation, Instruction, and Multimedia (SIM) Lab Support: Oversees the SIM Lab and facilitating cutting-edge, hands-on-learning experiences and educational outreach.
  • Educational Technology Research and Implementation: This team consistently evaluate and test new software and educational theories to improve the quality of instruction.

instructionaltechnology@floridapoly.edu

4700 Research Way
Lakeland, FL 33805

Services

The Instructional Technology and Design office encourages innovation and quality in education. Members of our team facilitate numerous professional development programs on a variety of teaching, course design, and technology tools.

  • FAQs
  • Instructor Guides
  • Student Guides
  • Policies and Procedures

Faculty who teach online or hybrid courses are required to complete professional development and certification training focused on effective online instruction, course design, and student engagement. The training prepares instructors to design high-quality learning experiences that align with best practices in online pedagogy, accessibility, assessment, and instructional technology. Faculty learn strategies for creating engaging online and hybrid courses through the university’s learning management system while incorporating active learning, communication tools, and multimedia resources to support student success.

Florida Poly Online

Offering workshops, webinars, certifications, and one-on-one consultations on learning technologies, accessibility, and course engagement

  • Individual (On-Demand / 1-on-1) Workshops
    • Hands-on, personalized consultations focused on individual course design, troubleshooting specific instructional tools, or addressing unique accessibility and learning needs.
  • In-Person Group Workshops
    • Interactive presentations, live demonstrations, and hands-on activities that foster networking, immediate feedback, and peer-to-peer discussions.
  • Virtual Group Workshops
    • Instructor-led training that brings participants together in a digital learning environment.

Partnering with faculty to create engaging, student-centered learning experiences that support academic excellence across all course modalities. Through a collaborative service course design process, the team provides guidance on course structure, alignment of learning outcomes, instructional strategies, accessibility, assessment design, and effective use of educational technology. Whether developing new courses or enhancing existing ones, our Office offers personalized support, training, and innovative solutions to ensure courses meet institutional standards and reflect best practices in teaching and learning.

Elevate your content with our comprehensive video and audio production services. Whether you are filming dynamic online courses content, presentations, or demonstration videos, we provide recording, editing, and post-production. We also have a built-in lightboard, allowing you to illustrate complex concepts while maintaining perfect eye contact with your audience.

Educational Technology Tools

The Instructional Technology and Design office encourages innovation and quality in education. Members of our team facilitate numerous professional development programs on a variety of teaching, course design, and technology tools.

A+ Plus Attendance promotes student engagement, improving academic performance, and supporting retention efforts. By tracking and encouraging regular attendance, the system helps identify at-risk students early, enabling timely interventions. Consistent attendance often correlates with higher student success rates, which can enhance the university’s reputation and contribute to institutional goals such as graduation rates and accreditation standards.

Canvas LMS offers universities a centralized, user-friendly platform that enhances teaching, learning, and administrative efficiency. It supports consistent course design, multimedia content delivery, and a variety of assessment tools, improving both instructor workflow and student engagement.

This interactive media platform enables instructors and students to upload, create, and manage audio and video files directly within the LMS. Users can enhance video learning by embedding quiz questions directly on the timeline, recording their screens, and fostering active collaboration through timestamped, inline discussions.

A scientifically intelligent drawing suite used by chemistry and life science professionals to create publication-ready chemical structures and biological pathways. It features predictive tools that calculate chemical properties, generate IUPAC names, and handle substructural queries for database searching.

CIDI Labs DesignPlus offers universities a powerful way to enhance the quality, consistency, and accessibility of online and hybrid courses. By streamlining course design within the Learning Management System (LMS), DesignPlus empowers instructors to create visually engaging, well-organized, and student-centered learning experiences—without needing advanced technical skills.

An AI-assisted assessment and grading tool designed to streamline the evaluation of paper-based, digital, and coding assignments. Instructors can use dynamic rubrics that update in real-time, allowing for highly consistent grading and detailed analytics on student performance across various subjects.

H5P, short for HTML5 Package, is a dynamic content creation tool designed to revolutionize online engagement. Ideal for educators, H5P empowers users to craft interactive and immersive learning experiences directly from their web browsers. This open-source platform boasts a wide array of content types, including quizzes, presentations, games, and simulations, making it adaptable to diverse educational needs.

Serving as a collaborative virtual whiteboard, this tool features an infinite canvas for real-time brainstorming, diagrams, and group activities. It integrates seamlessly into learning environments, allowing users to brainstorm with sticky notes, templates, breakout boards, and private or facilitated modes.

A browser-based authoring tool by MathWorks that allows instructors to create, share, and automatically grade MATLAB coding assignments. It provides students with immediate feedback on their code and integrates directly with learning management systems to log grades.

Foundational mathematical computing software is used extensively in engineering and science education. MATLAB provides a powerful, interactive programming environment for data analysis and algorithm development, while Simulink offers a visual, block-diagram interface for modeling, simulating, and analyzing dynamic multi-domain systems.

Peerceptiv is an online peer assessment platform that facilitates rigorous, research-based peer review among students in any discipline. It allows students to submit work, review peers’ submissions, and receive feedback from multiple classmates. Peerceptiv is used to enhance learning by giving students more opportunities to reflect, revise, and think critically.

Poll Everywhere offers several benefits to universities by enhancing student engagement, promoting active learning, and providing immediate feedback during lectures. This real-time polling tool allows instructors to gauge student understanding, adapt instruction on the spot, and foster participation from all students—including those less likely to speak up.

Respondus LockDown Browser and Monitor help maintain academic integrity by preventing students from accessing unauthorized resources, copying, or communicating with others during online exams. This fosters a fair testing environment, which upholds the value of the university’s credentials.

A centralized, template-driven syllabus management platform that allows instructors to easily personalize, publish, and track interactive class syllabi. It streamlines compliance by pulling institutional policies and learning objectives while automatically archiving course documents for accreditation.

Turnitin promotes academic integrity and enhances the quality of student work. It helps detect potential plagiarism, allowing instructors to address issues early and foster a culture of originality and ethical scholarship. Turnitin not only safeguards institutional reputation but also supports accreditation efforts and ensures consistent academic standards across departments.

UDOIT Advantage is an enhanced version of the Universal Design Online Content Inspection Tool (UDOIT), developed to assist instructors in creating accessible courses within the Canvas Learning Management System (LMS).

Meet the Team

Brennen Cannon, Ed.D.

Instructional Technology Program Director

Geoff Sheridan

Instructional Technology Manager

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Session Details

This session will demonstrate that practical risk management is for everyone, regardless of a formal program. Attendees will learn actionable and simple strategies that are easy to implement, enabling them to start immediately by focusing on their top risks to build greater operational resilience and ensure the sustained success of their auxiliary enterprises.

Presenter Profile

Michelle Powell serves as the pioneering Risk Manager at Florida Polytechnic University, the state’s sole 100% STEM-dedicated institution. Having been with the university for nearly 11 years, Michelle transitioned from a leadership role in Admissions in October 2023 to establish and evolve the risk management function from the ground up. In this solo capacity, Michelle builds robust frameworks for our dynamic, young university, overseeing our insurance portfolio, consulting on third-party and event risks, and developing critical campus-wide training programs. Michelle has obtained the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations (COSO) Enterprise Risk Management certificate and the Associate in Risk Management (ARM) and Construction Risk and Insurance Specialist (CRIS) designations. Her distinct background in mathematics and engineering, combined with extensive higher education leadership, brings an analytical and strategic approach enhancing the institution’s resilience.

Dr. Lily Li is a Professor of Physics at Florida Polytechnic University, where she specializes in materials science, analytical imaging, advanced manufacturing, and biomedical devices. Prior to joining Florida Poly in 2025, she spent 11 years at SUNY Potsdam, where she advanced to Full Professor and developed a 3-2 Engineering dual-degree program with Clarkson University. Her work emphasizes experiential learning and research-driven education to prepare students for careers in STEM fields.