Category: General
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VIULearn Student Orientation & other learning tools – Fall 2026
The Centre for Innovation and Excellence in Learning supports students and faculty with the learning technologies available at VIU, especially our online course platform VIULearn. You can review this orientation information whenever is convenient, and contact us for further support! Note for Instructors: Resources to share Please direct your students to this blog post and…
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Developing an AI statement for your course
As you prepare for the semester, consider how you will guide students in the appropriate use of AI. This blog introduces the Stoplight Model and AI Assessment Scale (AIAS) as frameworks for communicating course expectations, along with example AI-use statements that align with specific teaching and learning goals.
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Important changes: VIULearn and time zones
British Columbia adopted permanent Daylight Savings time in March 2026. This means no more setting the clocks back each fall. While this is great news for our sleep, not all systems have been updated to reflect this change. That includes the VIULearn time zone labelled for Vancouver. What do you need to do? When you…
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Guidelines for faculty: protecting student personal information
Protecting student information is everyone’s responsibility at VIU. By minimizing data collection, using secure communication, and choosing VIU-approved technologies, faculty help protect student privacy and safety.
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Zero Textbook Cost at VIU
The VIU Students’ Union (VIUSU), the Office of the Registrar, the Library, the CIEL and institutional stakeholders are partnering on a collaborative effort known as the Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) project. Share your feedback and thoughts in a survey!
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Changes to VIULearn student email communication
Starting August 1, 2026, Vancouver Island University (VIU) is streamlining how we communicate with students. Email sent to currently VIU students will now be sent exclusively to their MyVIU email address.
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Transform Your Classroom Curiosity into Research: Announcing the 2027 CIEL SoTL Fellowship
Have you ever tried a new teaching strategy in your classroom and wondered exactly how it impacted your students’ learning? Do you have a burning pedagogical question you’ve been dying to investigate, if only you had the time? The Center for Innovation and Excellence in Learning (CIEL) is thrilled to announce a unique, time-limited opportunity…
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Adding links in the New Content Experience
The New Content Experience (NCE) in VIULearn makes it easier to see places where content may not be well contextualized or accessible. One of the content types where this is most obvious are direct links to external resources. In this blog post I am going to look at best practices to make your links clear…
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New content experience is now available
Courses for the next academic year are now available to instructors in VIULearn. These courses will use the new content experience.
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Reminder: VIULearn, VIUBlogs and VIUTube Cleanup July 2026
As we wrap up the spring semester we want to remind you about the cleanup processes for VIULearn, VIUTube and VIUBlogs. In order to minimize the amount of student data kept in any of our systems, and to ensure that these platforms continue to be places for current and active course materials, we have implemented…
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BCcampus Roadshow Comes to VIU June 1st
The Centre for Innovation and Excellence in Learning (CIEL) is excited to welcome faculty and staff to an important professional learning opportunity this June: the BCcampus Regional Roadshow. On June 1, 2026, the Nanaimo campus will be the opening stop for the BCcampus Roadshow, a province-wide initiative that brings educators, instructional leaders, and learning designers…
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GenAI@VIU: In Conversation with Jerome Lesemann
In this podcast, we discuss the evolving role of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in higher education with Dr. Jerome Lesemann, a professor in VIU’s Earth Science Department. Jerome reflects on his experience with AI in the classroom and how it can allow students to bypass the intellectual labour central to foundational learning. This shift may…