• Teaching in Teams: Key Features for Instruction and Collaboration

    Teaching in Teams: Key Features for Instruction and Collaboration

    In the first post in this series we looked at what you needed to know to schedule and run a meeting in Teams. In this post we will look at some of the key meeting features that are often used when teaching online: breakout rooms, screen sharing, and chat. The IT department is currently working…

  • Teaching in Teams: Meeting Basics

    Teaching in Teams: Meeting Basics

    This post is the first in a series designed to help transition successful teaching practices that you were doing in Zoom into the Teams meetings software. In this post we will look at the basic things everyone needs to know when using Teams including how to set up a meeting and invite students, what controls…

  • Recharging Assessment with Generative Artificial Intelligence   

    Recharging Assessment with Generative Artificial Intelligence   

    The 2022 surge in generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), marked by the launch of ChatGPT, continues to bring critical considerations to how educators assess learning. This blog proposes alternative assessment methods and offers ways that educators can make the most of GenAI. 

  • Upcoming Zooms to Teams Training Sessions

    Upcoming Zooms to Teams Training Sessions

    CIEL is offering a training series through April and May for instructors who will be moving their online synchronous teaching from Zoom to Teams for Fall 2024. Due to the popularity of our Teams 101 session we have added an additional date for that webinar. If you don’t have any experience hosting meetings in Teams,…

  • Using Teams to Build Connection 

    Using Teams to Build Connection 

    The importance of building connection into teaching and learning is not unique to online learning environments, but it can be more challenging when you are not in the same physical space as your students. To build connection into an online learning environment, there are three types of interaction to consider.  These interactions can be built into…

  • OLI! An Online Learning Institute

    OLI! An Online Learning Institute

    What is OLI? OLI is a 14 week institute that will guide you in designing a digital learning environment that is human centered, accessible, inclusive and mindful of your wellbeing and that of your students. Based on a proven history of successful online teaching and learning and the BC Post Secondary Digital Learning Strategy, we will help…

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

    Increase Student Engagement and Persistence with Team-Based Course Design

    Student engagement and persistence depend on many factors, but a bonding experience with other students in the classroom can make the difference between staying or leaving and between excelling or merely drifting. We therefore invite you to reserve your seat now in the August 2024 Course Re-Design Project, Increase Student Engagement and Persistence with Team-Based Course…

  • The Share Drive (Episode 25): Caring for children, Mother Earth, and each other.

    The Share Drive (Episode 25): Caring for children, Mother Earth, and each other.

    In celebration of Sustainable Development Week at VIU, the Share Drive podcast is grateful to share with you a wonderful conversation with Danielle Alphonse and Sheila Grieve, faculty members in the Early Childhood Education and Care program at Vancouver Island University. Sheila and Danielle share the ways that Indigenous teachings are reflected in the Sustainable…

  • Teacher Education and the Sustainable Development Goals

    Teacher Education and the Sustainable Development Goals

    This week, March 4th to 8th, is Sustainable Development Week at VIU and the Share Drive podcast is grateful to feature Dr. Wendy Simms, from the Faculty of Education. Dr. Simms joins us to share how she is incorporating Sustainable Development education into training for pre-service teachers, how awareness is a key foundational aspect of…

  • Zoom to Teams Training for Instructors

    Zoom to Teams Training for Instructors

    Starting in the fall semester of 2024, all video conferencing and online meetings at VIU will move to Microsoft Teams. CIEL will be offering a range of options to help instructors with this transition in the spring preparation time…

  • Navigating Digital Technology in Teaching and Learning

    Navigating Digital Technology in Teaching and Learning

    With the rise of digital technology, such as GenAI, there is a growing need for heightened ethical considerations and the protection of student privacy. This blog offers recommendations and resources to support instructors in making informed decisions when integrating digital technology into their teaching. Whether teaching online, in-person, hybrid, or blended environments, it’s important to…

  • Transitioning from Zoom to Microsoft Teams

    Transitioning from Zoom to Microsoft Teams

    As you may have heard, VIU non-instructional employees will begin using Microsoft Teams for virtual meetings on January 31, 2024. Here at CIEL, we will be providing support which will include information sessions, instructional material, and 1-on-1 meetings to make the transition as seamless as possible. This blog post is intended to be a starting…