What’s happening
Top Hat – Release note highlights
Top Hat is expecting to deliver several upgrades and improvements in coming weeks:
- Video Questions – This new assessment type enables students to record a video response to an instructor-created question or prompt.
- New page editor – A redesigned page editor provides a more intuitive and streamlined interface for building interactive and more accessible course materials.
- Retirement of legacy page editor
For guidance on how to best leverage Top Hat in your course, review this slate of on-demand and live training experiences.
Piazza – Several improvements
In recent months, Piazza has released several updates and enhancements. Below are some of the more impactful ones:
- Accessibility Improvements & Shortcuts
- Schedule Send Posts
- Wiki-Style Editing
- Add Resource Files and Links(including Private Resources)
- Email Notification Settings(including real-time emails for Instructor posts)
In addition, you can find training videos on Piazza’s YouTube channel.
Engage – Order periods for SU26 and FA26
Since UW–Madison launched Engage in 2018, it has saved students millions of dollars on course materials. Instructors can now order Engage materials for summer and fall classes. See the dates for ordering Engage materials.
Upcoming events
HelioCampus AC – Q&A
It is time for HelioCampus AC departmental administrators to start thinking about their course surveys. The following Q&A sessions are offered to help with questions and guidance for your department or school.
Learn@UW Demystifies AI
This hour-long, fully remote session provides an overview of artificial intelligence for employees of UW–Madison. All faculty and staff are invited to attend any of the following sessions. Registration is required, and enrollment for each session is capped at 100.
- Tuesday, March 24, 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. – Waitlist only
- Thursday, April 16, 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.
- Thursday, April 30, 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
DesignPLUS Webinar
Building Universal Design in Canvas: Learner-centered Action & Expression
On Thursday, March 26, 2026, at 12:00 p.m., Cidi Labs is hosting a one-hour webinar on how DesignPLUS can aid in the development of more effective and accessible course content. All instructors and instructional designers are welcome to join. Registration is required.