This August, the Centre for Innovation and Excellence in Learning is offering a newly designed teaching and learning orien-tation.

This event will take place on Tuesday, August 26th from 8:30 am-3:00 pm in Library Boardroom (507) and has been designed specifically for teaching faculty members, including sessional faculty, who have less than two years’ experience teaching at VIU.

This is a comprehensive orientation for VIU faculty focused on teaching and learning. Participants will be offered a new Faculty Teaching and Learning Handbook, a light breakfast and lunch. A student panel and an experienced faculty round table session will provide participants with opportunities for discussion and new learning.

If you would like to attend, please contact Charity Gillett at 740.6179 or email her at Charity.Gillett@viu.ca (Admin Assistant to Director, Centre).

VIU ANNUAL TEACHING AND LEARNING SYMPOSIUM The Centre for Innovation and Excellence in Learning hosted the first teaching and learning symposium on Friday May 9th at Cowichan Campus, with 15 workshops.

The day started with a welcome from Steve Lane, Associate Vice-President: Academic Planning and Aboriginal Initiatives and Warren Weir, Cowichan Campus Academic Administrator, along with an opening session on self-regulated student learning and metacognition by Liesel Knaack, Director for the Centre. Presenters were from VIU Nanaimo and Cowichan Campuses as well as the Centre.

Next May, the Symposium will held at the

Nanaimo Campus. All VIU employees are welcome to attend.

Some of the workshops offered were:

The Soul of Education

Blended Learning—Why Blended Works

Self-Directed Learning Projects

Mobile Learning Applications

The symposium was well received by all participants.

Stay tuned in the coming months for information about the 2015 Teaching and Learning Symposium to be held at the Nanaimo Campus on Friday, May 8!

A Publication from The Centre for Innovation and Excellence in Learning

TEACHING & LEARNING MATTERS AUGUST 2014

NEW FACULTY ORIENTAT ION

AUGUST 26 8:30 - 3:00

BC Symposium on Scholarly Inquiry into Teaching and Learning Practice!

Save the date! On Friday, November 14th there will be a one day symposium focusing on scholarly inquiry geared primarily for teaching faculty from any of BC’s 25 post-secondary institutions. It will be held in downtown Vancouver (SFU Harbour Centre) and for a low registration fee of $40 for a light breakfast, lunch, keynote speakers and learning sessions. Time 8:45—3:30 p.m. For those who can’t attend, live streaming (and saved captures) of many of the sessions will be recorded by BCcampus to be posted on their website. More information will be emailed to VIU faculty in late August or early September regarding sub-mission of proposals and regis-tration info.

Teaching + Learning Sessions and Workshops for Faculty

Check out the calendar at http://inviu.viu.ca for a variety of learning sessions for new and returning faculty. The Centre will be offering sessions on VIULearn (D2L), making screencasts, writing good lesson plans, using metacognitive teaching strate-gies and using our online synchronous platform for conducting virtual classes.

The Provost has established a VIU Council for Learning and Teaching Excellence as a way for faculty to advance teaching practices and learning through collaboration with colleagues across Faculties.

The Council’s goals include supporting interdisciplinary projects across Faculties and sharing advances in teaching excellence throughout the University. The Council met at a 2 day retreat on May 12 and 13th.

Most of the Council’s work will take place throughout the year in small Action Groups on faculty-chosen collaborative projects.

One group, Technology for Deeper Learning, is exploring best practices and engagement opportunities for faculty around learning technologies. Another group, Leveraging Diversity as a Strength for Learning, is conducting activities and explorations in their own classrooms to find ways that enhance the educational experience of the diversity of learners in our classrooms.

The last group, Engaging, Honouring and Supporting all Teaching Faculty are looking at ways of connecting faculty to enhance a culture of support around teaching and learning. This group has set up a “Breakfast Club” to bring together faculty to discuss topics

relevant to teaching and learning. The first breakfast is being held Friday, August 29 (8:30—9:30 Royal Arbutus Room) . If you would like to attend, contact Charity Gillett at 740.6179.

2014-2015 Council of Learning and Teaching Excellence Members are:

Cowichan Campus: Sally Carpentier

Powell River Campus: Alison Taplay

Faculty of International Education: Les Barclay

Faculty of Education: Rachel Moll + Louis Mattar

Faculty of Science and Technology: Stefanie Duff + Jessie Key

Faculty of Academic and Career Preparation: Lisa Lewis

Faculty of Management: Carleigh Randall + Bryan Webber

Faculty of Arts and Humanities: John Lepage + Toni Smith (Alanna Williams for John Lepage at retreat below)

Faculty of Health and Human Services: Piera Jung + Rosemary Holley

Faculty of Trades and Applied Technologies: Rita Gower + Archna Acharya

Faculty of Social Sciences: Laura Suski + Pam Shaw

VIU’S NEW COUNCIL FOR

LEARNING AND TEACHING EXCELLENCE

There are several factors to consider when purchasing a tablet.

Size and Expected Use The smaller the tablet, the more portable it is; the larger the tablet, the easier it is to read from the screen. Small tablets are useful for making notes, taking pictures, and searching content while out of the office. Larger tablets are useful for sharing information with others, writing on the screen, taking notes, pictures, and search-ing content. Tablets are generally more about consuming information rather than creating content.

Support Requirements Tablets are not as well supported as com-puters in many organizations so you should choose a tablet that you are comfortable setting up and maintaining yourself.

Other Devices If you are not comfortable with technology, matching brands between phones, tablets, and computers can ease the transmission of data and settings across devices.

Connectivity Every brand has a model that will accept both a cellular data card and Wi-Fi so that you can use the tablet everywhere. If you don’t need a constant Internet connection, a model with Wi-Fi only is a more cost effective option.

Applications and Operating Systems Applications (programs) vary amongst de-vices. Look for applications that support the activities you want to do with the tablet and ensure that the tablet you purchase has these applications. Also, each of the major operating systems (Apple, Android, Windows) supports different activities. Take the time to review the capabilities of the device to ensure it can accomplish your intended goals.

If you have any questions about tablets or would like to try one of the models avail-able in the Cen-tre, please call Stephanie Didsbury at 740.6167.

CHOOSING A TABLET

VIU’s first Teaching Design and Practice Awards were given out this to formally recognize excellence in achievements in all facets of teaching and student learning at Vancouver Island University. The awards focus on teaching practice and design of learning experiences for students which refers to how a faculty member designs, develops and offers learning opportunities for students around discipline specific learning outcomes. There are ten awards yearly to celebrate and recognize more than one teaching faculty member each year. The Provost received nominations in four of the categories in this inaugural year.

Congratulations to this year’s winners!

Alison Taplay, Teaching Design and Practice that Uses Technology to Enhance Student Learning (School and Community Support Worker program, Faculty of Health and Human Services)

Dr. Nicole Vaugeois, Teaching Design and Practice for Community-Based Learning in Regional Communities (Recreation and Tourism Management, Faculty of Management)

Dr. Pam Shaw, Teaching Design and Practice that Employs Experiential Learning (Geography, Faculty of Social Sciences)

Dr. Erik Krogh, Teaching Design and Practice that Enhances Deep Learning (Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology)

AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING

DESIGN AND PRACTICE

On Friday, May 21, the first Science and Technology Teaching and Learning Symposium was held. This event was well attended by 26 VIU faculty. The day started with a breakfast and welcome from the Science and Technology Faculty Planning Committee : Wendy Simms, Tim Stokes, Christine Tong and Greg Klimes. Sharing some tips for teaching the students of today were three invited keynote speakers:

Dave Berry: Laboratory Supervisor and Senior Lab Instructor, Department of Chemistry, University of Victoria

Jamie Mulholland: Senior Lecturer, Department of Mathematics, Simon Fraser University

Brett Gilley: Teaching and Learning Fellow, Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of British Columbia

Workshop sessions included: Designing a Lab Course, Visualizations for Learning and Classroom Assessment Techniques. Faculty also engaged in round table conver-sations with many lively discussions on running successful labs, the first year experience, and using technology in the classroom. Feedback was gathered from participants and their positive comments have created another offer-ing next year. Save the date: Thursday, May 14, 2015 (8:30—3:00 p.m.)

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

TEACHING + LEARNING SYMPOSIUM

STLHE 2015 Conference to be held in Vancouver! Seeking dynamic opportunities for dialogue with other passionate educators, and leaders? The 34th Annual STLHE (Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education) Conference will be co-hosted by Simon Fraser University, and the University of British Columbia. The program will focus on creating strategies, de-veloping ideas, and celebrating teach excel-lence in higher education. Enjoy a harmonious locale, while you “fine-tune” your practice. The conference will be held June 16—19, 2015 at the Westin Bayshore Hotel in downtown Vancouver. See http://www.queensu.ca/stlhe2014/ to see this year’s conference. More information will be emailed and posted for VIU Faculty and Staff in the Fall.

LEARNING , INNOVATION AND TEACHING

ENHANCEMENT (L ITE) GRANT UPDATE

We have solicited feedback on how LITE grant items have helped teaching practices and here are some thoughts: “Over the past year, the digital camcorder, bamboo tablet and high definition microphone purchased have been used to generate over 45 laboratory and lecture video tutorials to supplement traditional learning methods. These videos correspond to over four hours of additional learning material accessible to students 24/7 on any smart device through VIUTube and VIULearn”

From another grant recipient on receiving three webcams; “It allowed

Our Team Liesel Knaack Director Local 6395 | B305-R514 Email: Liesel.Knaack@viu.ca Carl Butterworth Manager, Learning Technologies Local 6513 | B305-R511 Carl.Butterworth@viu.ca Charity Gillett Administrative Assistant to the Director/Centre Coordinator Local 6179 | B305-R512a Charity.Gillett@viu.ca Stephanie Didsbury Administrative Assistant to the Director/Centre Coordinator Local 6167 | B305-R511 Stephanie.Didsbury@viu.ca Kathleen Bortolin Curriculum, Teaching and Learning Specialist Local 2026 | B305-R512d Kathleen.Bortolin@viu.ca Tine Reimers Curriculum, Teaching and Learning Specialist Local | B305-R512b Tine.Reimers@viu.ca (starts mid-Sept) Bill Roberson Curriculum, Teaching and Learning Specialist Local 2295 | B305-R512e Bill.Roberson@viu.ca (starts mid-Sept) Stephanie Boychuk Learning Technologies Support Specialist Local 2063 | B305-R511 Stephanie.Boychuk@viu.ca Melissa Robertson Learning Technologies Support Specialist Local 2668 | B305-R511 Melissa.Roberston@viu.ca Tamara Cameron Learning Technologies Support Specialist Local 2918| B305-R511 Tamara Cameron@viu.ca Michael Paskevicius Learning Technologies Application Developer Local 2029 | B305-R511 Michael Paskevicius@viu.ca

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Image courtesy of Bone Clones

Image courtesy of Candent

The Centre for Innovation and Excellence in Learning along with support of the Vice President Academic and Provost offered a limited number of LITE grants to teaching faculty to provide support for teaching and to assist with student learning. This was the third year for the grant to be offered at VIU.

A few examples of teaching tools that faculty received included a collection of physics demonstration tools, a few iPad minis, portable document camera, a knee joint, a spectrophotometer , giant molecular model, and fossil casts.

a subset of motivated and interested students to work together out of free will, not because they had to.”

“Another faculty member described how she used the parachute and balls in an exercise where students were learning about therapeutic activities to use with families and having the items allowed her to demonstrate the ‘doing’ and for students to actively engage in the learning process.“

Next year the LITE Grant process will start a bit earlier in the year, so start watching for the invitation email from Liesel Knaack around the beginning of 2015.

You don’t want to miss out on an opportunity to purchase a learning resource to support your teaching.

The Centre Library

The Centre for Innovation and Excellence in Learning has an extensive library of teaching and learning resource books available for signing out to faculty and staff. Come on by the fifth floor of the Library building 305 to Room 512 and take a look at what is available or call 740.6167.