Salisbury University |  Instructional Design & Delivery Newsletter | May 5, 2026

Video Tip: End-of-Semester Gradebook Tips  

When preparing your gradebook for the end of the semester, please review the End-of-Semester Top 5 Gradebook Tips video for information about: 
  

Please contact your department's instructional designer if you have any questions or need any assistance preparing your gradebook for finalizing grades!  

Thank A Teacher Week - May 4-8!

Each May, the University System of Maryland Council for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning joins the Kirwan Center for Academic Innovation in planning faculty and instructor recognition activities as part of Thank A Teacher Week. This event coincides with the National Teacher Appreciation Week, which is May 4-8, 2026!

Students are invited to share their gratitude by writing a note on a physical postcard or by sending a note virtually. Stop by our table on the first floor of the Guerrieri Academic Commons Monday–Thursday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. or Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Last year, faculty and staff took advantage of this opportunity as well to share gratitude with colleagues.

Students will receive communication via email and a MyClasses announcement regarding this event. More information is available at: www.salisbury.edu/thanks.

New Canvas Portfolio Tool in MyClasses

ID&D is excited to share that a new Portfolio tool is available in MyClasses which will replace the existing portfolio tools. The new tool offers two types of portfolios to support both learner-driven and instructor-guided use cases: Showcase Portfolios and Evaluation Portfolios.

Showcase Portfolios enable learners to build personalized portfolios organized by theme, experience, or timeline by showcasing multiple types of artifacts. These artifacts, from MyClasses Canvas assignments to projects uploaded from outside of MyClasses. In these portfolios, users can add tags to artifacts to emphasize competencies and themes, aligning their work with personal or professional goals. When ready to share a portfolio, users can export to PDF or HTML, or publish directly to LinkedIn.

Evaluation Portfolios allow instructors to generate portfolios using one or more Canvas courses as their foundation, with links to key assignments and competencies. For these assignments, instructors can establish evidence requirements for learners to align to in order to demonstrate their competencies. Evaluation Portfolios allow instructors to monitor student progress with real-time visibility into submission status and portfolio completion, where instructors can mark requirements as Complete or Not Complete and leave comments on learner evidence to provide feedback to learners.

The previous portfolio tools in MyClasses, which show as ePortfolios (Legacy) and Folio (Legacy), will be retired on June 30, 2026 and will no longer be accessible from MyClasses. If you or your students have existing portfolios in these legacy tools, you can refer to the Exporting Existing ePortfolios article for how to save a copy of your existing portfolios.

Important Dates for Summer 2026 Sessions

ID&D wants to share some important dates to consider for summer regular and 5-Week 1 sessions. Individuals who want to combine sections in MyClasses should request this action two weeks prior to the start of the session.

Summer regular session:

Summer 5W1 session:

May Webinar: Avoid Summer Meltdowns: Keeping Students Engaged in Compressed Course Delivery

Short summer courses can quickly lead to student disengagement—but it doesn’t have to be that way. This 30-minute webinar offers practical Canvas-based strategies to replace traditional discussion boards and create low-effort, high-impact interactions that keep students engaged in fast-paced courses.

Date & Time: May 13, 1:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.

Location: Virtual in Teams

Facilitator: Dr. Janice Orcutt

Faculty Travel Grant - Call for Applications

Faculty Learning Community - Call for Proposals

Faculty Learning Community (FLC) proposals are now being accepted for the upcoming 2026-2027 academic year. FLCs are active, yearlong faculty development experiences that bring together multidisciplinary groups of 8-12 members for structured, collaborative learning and scholarship. 

Eligibility and Participation

Expected Outcomes 

Each FLC will produce a group outcome such as a conference presentation, journal article, or curriculum development, and submit a final report at the conclusion of the funding period. 

Proposal Submission

Deadline: Friday, May 15, 2026. For more information on FLCs and the application process, please visit the Faculty Learning Communities webpage.

SU is an Equal Opportunity/AA/Title IX university and provides reasonable accommodation given sufficient notice to the University office or staff sponsoring the event or program. For more information regarding SU's policies and procedures, please visit salisbury.edu/equity.

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