Category: General

  • Welcome Jessica!

    Welcome Jessica!

    The Centre for Innovation and Excellence in Learning is excited to welcome Jessica Gemella to a two-year (August 1, 2023 – July 31, 2025) term as a Curriculum, Teaching and Learning Specialist. Jessica is a Vancouver Island University (VIU) faculty member in Trades and Applied Technology, where she has been an Instructor and Chair in…

  • “Everybody’s got a story worth sharing”: Uncle Randy and the power of story telling

    “Everybody’s got a story worth sharing”: Uncle Randy and the power of story telling

    In this podcast, recorded at the end of 2022, Kathleen and Anwen sit down with VIU Elder in Residence, Uncle Randy Fred and discover their shared respect and joy for story-telling. Uncle Randy tells parts of his story including his earliest days on the west coast of Vancouver Island and up until he successfully gets…

  • Increase Student Engagement and Persistence with Team-Based Course Design

    Increase Student Engagement and Persistence with Team-Based Course Design

    Welcome to the Vancouver Island Team-Based Learning Institute, August 15-16-17, 2023 at Vancouver Island University! Early registration is now closed. If you would like to be added to the waitlist in case a participant withdraws, please contact Tine Reimers at tine.reimers@viu.ca Student engagement and persistence depend on many factors, but a bonding experience with other students…

  • End of Year Cleanup

    End of Year Cleanup

    As we get to the end of the spring semester we want to remind you about the cleanup processes for VIULearn, VIUTube and VIUBlogs.

  • Gathering Together: VIU’s 2023 Teaching and Learning Conference

    Gathering Together: VIU’s 2023 Teaching and Learning Conference

    The 2023 Teaching and Learning Conference is open for registration and proposal submissions! Our conference theme “Gathering Together” invites you to explore ways that teaching, and learning can be done in relationship with others.  Join us May 11-12 as we take part in an ever-growing conversation about how we can foster relational bonds that create,…

  • Tips for Marking Less and Teaching More

    Tips for Marking Less and Teaching More

    Regularly checking students’ learning progress and providing specific feedback is crucial to successful learning. However, assessment can be a heavy burden for both staff and students. This blog introduces options for reducing marking time and enhancing effective feedback by leveraging formative assessment. We will suggest practical ideas that you can use in your classrooms and…

  • Don’t panic little bannock: A conversation with members of the ‘su’luqw’wa’ community cousins

    Don’t panic little bannock: A conversation with members of the ‘su’luqw’wa’ community cousins

    The Share Drive is back! And we’re kicking this season off with an inspiring episode about VIU’s su’luqw’wa Community Cousins program. Co-hosts Kathleen Bortolin and Anwen Burk sit down with Talēla Manson, Hayden Taylor and Sheldon Scow to discuss VIU’s Indigenous student mentorship program. This podcast highlights the experiences of these emerging leaders, how they…

  • The CIEL is piloting a mentorship program for 2022-2023

    The CIEL is piloting a mentorship program for 2022-2023

    Are you interested in connecting with other teaching faculty, and curriculum specialists from the CIEL? If so, the CIEL wants to hear from you. This year, we’re launching a light-touch mentorship program that connects new and emerging teaching faculty with established members of our community in order to have rich conversations about our practice. For…

  • VIUTube: Please Check Your Media

    VIUTube: Please Check Your Media

    VIUTube media has now been migrated from our previous provider (Kaltura) to the new platform (YuJa). All Employees should check their media as soon as possible and report any issues to CIEL so these can be resolved before the old platform is deleted in September 2022.

  • Do your recorded videos need a makeover? 4 Questions to help you decide

    Do your recorded videos need a makeover? 4 Questions to help you decide

    As video recordings become increasingly central to university teaching, it’s good practice to evaluate them on an ongoing basis. The videos you made a year ago might be OK for one or more iterations of your course, but they can quickly become outdated. And if students aren’t watching your videos, this might be a sign…

  • What’s New in Zoom? – Share Screen from Main Session to Breakout Rooms

    What’s New in Zoom? – Share Screen from Main Session to Breakout Rooms

    Zoom is frequently updating and adding new features and functionality to the platform. With version 5.10.0, the host or co-host of a meeting can share their screen from the main session directly into all open breakout rooms. This will allow instructors to share visual information (such as Word Documents, PowerPoint presentations, videos, and more) to…

  • Cloud Recording Is Now Available for VIU Zoom Accounts!

    Cloud Recording Is Now Available for VIU Zoom Accounts!

    VIU employees with VIU Zoom accounts can now choose to record meetings to the cloud rather than locally recording on their computers. Zoom cloud recordings are automatically transferred to your VIUTube media collection and then deleted from Zoom