Instructional Materials
Developing Instructional Materials
Creating instructional materials can feel overwhelming, but you don’t have to do it alone. TLED offers a range of services and resources to help you design engaging, effective courses.
- Teaching Consultations & Support – Schedule a one‑on‑one consultation for personalized guidance.
- Learning Depot – Explore a repository of instructional media projects created by ACC faculty and staff.
- Ask a Librarian – Connect via chat, email, or phone with faculty librarians for assistance with course materials.
- Faculty Librarian at Your Campus – Find support from a librarian located at your teaching campus.
- Faculty Librarians by Area of Study and by Subject Expertise – Get specialized assistance from librarians who focus on your discipline.
Use these resources to streamline your development process and create materials that support student success.
TLED Guide to Generative AI
The TLED Academic Technology Advisory Committee created an online guide to help faculty and staff understand generative AI tools like ChatGPT and integrate them into teaching and learning.
- Practical guidelines for using AI responsibly in the classroom.
- Resources and tutorials to help you get started with AI tools.
- Ideas for integrating AI into assignments and student support.
Open Educational Resources
Open Educational Resources (OER) are low cost or free materials for teaching, learning and research. These resources come in a variety of formats and are available under Creative Commons or other open use licenses.
What’s Available
- Textbooks and course readers
- Simulations and interactive tools
- Quizzes, assessments and practice activities
Using OER helps reduce costs for students and allows you to customize materials to fit your course. Contact the ACC Library for help finding and adopting OER.
OER are an option for faculty to teach their courses. OER offers reduced or zero cost to students when it comes to course books and other materials.
First Day
First Day Program
First Day is a textbook inclusive program that bundles the cost of digital course materials with your class fees. Students gain immediate access to digital versions of required textbooks and associated resources at the start of the term.
Benefits
- Upfront access to digital textbooks and workbooks
- Additional learning tools such as tutorials, videos and simulations
- Often lower total cost compared with purchasing materials separately
Look for courses designated as “First Day” when registering. If you have questions about how the program works, contact your instructor or the Office of Academic Technology.
First Day Digital Materials
First Day digital materials provide an enhanced learning experience with tools that let you highlight, search, and interact with your textbooks.
- Highlighting and annotation tools.
- Search functions for quickly locating key terms.
- Embedded multimedia links and interactive elements.
All First Day materials are easy to access through Blackboard.
Resources
- Submit First Day Courses – Faculty portal to request First Day courses.
- Information about ACC First Day Classes.
- Opt Out / Refund – Manage your First Day materials.
Textbooks
Adoption & Insight Portal
Barnes & Noble’s Adoption & Insight Portal (AIP) streamlines the textbook selection process and connects seamlessly with ACC’s course scheduling system. Using AIP ensures your required materials are ordered correctly and available on the first day of class.
- Submit textbook adoptions and manage course materials in one place.
- Automatically share textbook links in ACC’s online course schedule.
- Ensure Barnes & Noble has the correct books and materials for your students.
Ready to get started? Access the Adoption & Insight Portal using your ACC credentials.
Need help? Contact the Office of Academic Technology by submitting a request form.
Ordering Textbooks
All staffed sections must have required materials or textbooks ordered by the first day of registration.
Resources
- Order textbooks through Barnes & Noble – Read how to select and order textbooks using the Adoption & Insight Portal.
- Barnes & Noble Adoption Knowledge Base – Explore step-by-step instructions and support.
- ACC Bookstore – Find course materials and place orders.
ACC Library Services for Faculty
Library Support for Instructional Materials
ACC Library offers a range of services to help you develop and deliver high-quality instructional materials.
- Collaborate with a faculty librarian to align assignments and syllabi with your learning outcomes.
- Request an information literacy session for your class to build research skills.
- Consult a subject expert librarian for specialized support.
- Explore the A–Z Databases to find research databases alphabetically or by subject.
- Search the ACC Library to discover books, articles, and media.
Library Resources
ACC Library Services offer a variety of tools and services to support your teaching:
- Faculty & Library Toolbox – Explore guides, tutorials and services curated for faculty.
- Place materials on reserve – Set aside textbooks or other materials for your classes.
- Add library materials for your class – Request new materials to enhance your course.
- Library Instruction – Schedule class sessions or workshops on focused topics and Blackboard integration.
- Information Literacy Options for Faculty – Find subject guides and online tutorials for your courses.
- Assignment Collaboration – Partner with a faculty librarian to design an assignment.
- Library Resources for Your Course – Request a class guide, link to library items, or find multilingual resources.
Copyright & Fair Use
Copyright & Fair Use
Understanding copyright and fair use is essential when developing or using instructional materials.
- Review the Copyright & Fair Use guidelines to ensure compliance.
- Contact ACC’s Copyright Officer for questions and resources.
Contact
For copyright questions or assistance, please reach out to:
- Name: Courtney Mlinar, ACC Copyright Officer
- Phone: (512) 223‑9433
- Email: courtney.mlinar@austincc.edu
- Location: Elgin Campus Library
Instructional Video
Lecture Capture
Panopto allows you to record lectures or welcome videos and make them available online for your students.
- Explore Panopto – Learn how to record and share course materials.
- Learn More – Access tutorials and resources for lecture capture.
Training & Support
If you need assistance with lecture capture tools, submit a request and our team will help you.
Streaming Video and Audio
If you have a video or audio clip you’d like to share with students but need to stream it online or secure permission, our Instructional Media Production team can help.
- Request Streaming for Video and Audio – Submit this form to get assistance with streaming and permissions.
- View examples in the Learning Depot – Explore instructional media projects produced by the TLED Academic Technology Team.
Captioning Services
All instructional media should include captions to ensure accessibility for all students.
Faculty and staff can request captioning services through ACC.
Development Tools
Use these tools to share course information and support student learning:
- Blackboard – Add content to online, hybrid, and face-to-face courses. Engage students with discussion forums, wikis, quizzes, journals, and an online gradebook so they can track their progress.
- Respondus 4.0 – Develop and manage exams from any device. Upload tests directly to Blackboard and secure them using the Blackboard Respondus LockDown Browser.
Enhance your online presence and course engagement with these tools:
- Google Sites – Build a personal or course webpage to share your biography, syllabi and other resources.
- Panopto – A lecture capture tool to record and share course videos.
Need help? Visit the Teaching Consultations & Support page for assistance using these tools.
Micro-Credentials at ACC
Did you know that Austin Community College offers faculty, staff, and students the opportunity to earn a micro-credential? Short, flexible micro-credentials from ACC can add relevant skills to your students’ accomplishments. Micro-credentials are a student-facing units of learning validated through an instructional program (credit and continuing education alike). Digital badges are digital/graphic representation of skills, achievements, or micro-credentials earned by an individual.
As a faculty member, you can develop a micro-credential or badge for your students. Student facing badges fall into one of three different categories: micro-credentials or participation and achievement badges. All departments can offer badges, though different types of badges require different approval levels.
Visit the Micro-Credential Process page.
Request a Discovery Meeting
Are you interested in learning more? Or are you ready to develop a badge? Please request a Discovery meeting!
Discovery meetings can support faculty and staff who would like to determine what kind of micro-credential or badge meets the needs of their program to learn more about the approval processes for micro-credentials or badges at ACC, and to discuss the process for publishing a micro-credential in Suitable, ACC’s badging host, once your micro-credential is approved.