Learning, Teaching, Educational Technology, and Research at BCcampus
This past year we continued to remove barriers to educator professional development to better support teaching and learning practices. All our online learning events were free to attend, and where registration fees existed, we offered access to travel grants.
Studio23
In November, BCcampus hosted Studio23: Reignite Your Teaching and Facilitation Practice, a two-day event for faculty, instructors, facilitators, and educators in the B.C. post-secondary sector. The studio-based learning and hands-on workshops provided a platform for professionals to reunite and invigorate their teaching and facilitation practice. Recordings of selected sessions are available including the keynotes by Carrie Nolan, “Joy as an Antidote,” and Kathi Hemphill Camilleri, “A Resilient Village Around Every Learner.”
Facilitating Learning Online (FLO)
Since March 2020, BCcampus has hosted 91 FLO offerings, engaging 6,300 participants. The FLO program is not exclusive to online facilitation; it also equips educators with skills that apply to in-person teaching. This year the FLO program expanded its offerings by introducing the FLO Panel to its roster, further enriching the professional development opportunities for post-secondary educators in B.C. Through our continuous evolution of programs, delivery, and instructional design, we remain dedicated to meeting the evolving needs of both educators and students in the province.
FLO EdTech Sandbox Series
The FLO EdTech Sandbox Series offers educators in B.C.’s post-secondary institutions two-hour livestream webinars where expert leaders introduce cutting-edge, open, and free or low-cost educational technology tools. This past year, participants had the opportunity to gain insight, experiment, collaborate, and integrate these tools into their courses, fostering digital teaching innovation and enhancing the learning experience. Initially a component of the FLO program, the series has gained immense popularity and is now emerging as an independent entity for 2024–2025. This expansion aims to welcome a broader community including educators, edtech developers, learning designers, students, and researchers to explore, test, and evaluate emerging technologies in a safe and vibrant space.
The series covered the following topics:
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
AI continues to disrupt post-secondary education. At BCcampus, we hosted several FLO events about AI, wrote blog posts, and launched an AI Community of Practice for BCcampus staff.
For educators in B.C.’s post-secondary institutions, we also hosted several FLO events about AI:
- FLO Panel: Artificial Intelligence in Post-Secondary Education, a B.C. Perspective
- FLO Friday: Teaching and Learning with ChatGPT: Navigating the Landscape
- FLO MicroCourse: Musing Around with Artificial Intelligence and Pedagogy
- FLO Lab: Drawn Into AI Angst: Can I Really Prove I Am Not a Robot?
- FLO MicroCourse: Future Facing Assessments: How to Use AI in the Design of Alternative Assessments
- FLO Panel: The Creative and Ethical Use of Artificial Intelligence in Post-Secondary Education — a B.C. Perspective
We also wrote blog posts about AI. Here are some of our most popular blog posts on the topic:
- An Educational Emergency: The Bot vs. the Human in Your Classroom
- Digital Pedagogy Toolbox: Generative AI in Teaching and Learning – The Least You Need to Know
- Developing Policies for Generative Artificial Intelligence at Post-Secondary Institutions: What We Need to Consider
For BCcampus staff, we launched the AI Community of Practice, an internal learning group offering the opportunity to explore all things AI. We provided demonstrations of various AI tools and allowed time for hands-on practice. We also hosted discussions on topics such as the ethical considerations of using AI and the impact of this rapidly evolving technology on our sector.
Digital Pedagogy Toolbox Blog Series
The Digital Pedagogy Toolbox blog series highlighted interactive technologies and pedagogies. A diverse group of authors, representing many post-secondary institutions in B.C., shared their thoughts on current topics in the Digital Pedagogy Toolbox blog posts
- Generative AI in Teaching and Learning – The Least You Need to Know
- Engaging with Technology and Accessible Practice
- Integrating Digital Literacy Practices
- Digital Literacy Outcomes
- Promoting Equity and Inclusivity Through Digital Formative Assessment
- Cultivating Digital Well-Being – From Fatigue to Healthy Daily Practices
BCcampus Research Fellows
The BCcampus Research Fellows Program provides B.C. post-secondary educators and students with funding to conduct small-scale research on teaching and learning and explore evidence-based teaching practices focusing on student success. This year we celebrated five years of research at BCcampus with an ezine featuring our researchers’ work.
We welcomed the following group of BCcampus Research Fellows, who began their 18-month terms in early 2024:
- Alexandra Berry
- Valeria Cortés
- Matty Hillman
- Irina Izoneva
- Fenanda Tomesselli and Abhirami Senthilkumaran
- Kyra Garson, Brad Harasymchuk, Alana Hoare, Yujie Jiang, Amie McLean, and Anila Virani
Congratulations to our 2022–2023 BCcampus Student Research Fellows for completing and sharing their work.
Research Speaker Series
BCcampus hosted a Research Speaker Series to learn and share knowledge and advocacy on research methods, approaches, technologies, and pedagogies about accessibility; access; equity, diversity, and inclusion; and Indigenous engagement in teaching and learning.
The webinars allowed educators to hear about new research and an opportunity to ask questions about the findings. The series included:
- Decolonizing Data: Unsettling Conversations about Social Research Methods
- A Participatory Design–Based Approach to Creating Design Principles for K–12 Online Learning in Canada
- Centring Intersectional EDI in Research Practices and Approaches
- Creative Methods for Enabling the Participation of People with Disabilities in Research
- Storytelling as Methodology: Anti-Oppression in Teaching and Research
- Digital Arts-Based Research in Education
- Harnessing Artificial Intelligence to Supercharge Research Insights
West Coast Teaching Excellence Award
The British Columbia Teaching and Learning Council (BCTLC) is made up of leaders, usually at the director level, in teaching, learning, and technology from all publicly funded post-secondary institutions in B.C. Working with BCcampus, the BCTLC supports program development for professional learning events for educators and administers the West Coast Teaching Excellence Awards.
The West Coast Teaching Excellence Award recognizes educators in B.C. post-secondary for excellent learning design, facilitation, and student support. Congratulations to the 2023 West Coast Teaching Excellence Award recipients:
- Anna Atkinson, Vancouver Island University
- Mimi Gellman, Emily Carr University of Art and Design
- Celeste Leander, University of British Columbia
- Erin McGuire, University of Victoria
- Stephen McNeil, University of British Columbia Okanagan
Educational Technology Users Group (ETUG)
ETUG is a community of educators from B.C.’s post-secondary institutions, dedicated to leveraging technology to enrich learning and teaching experiences.
Over the past year, we organized two workshops. Our spring 2023 workshop Future-proof Learning Design: The Integration of Digital Literacy, Inclusive Tech, and AI featured an array of concurrent sessions that fostered face-to-face interaction and hands-on, activity-based learning. Topics included digital literacy, inclusive technology, and the burgeoning field of AI. In the fall, we hosted the livestream event The Evolving EdTech User. This all-day workshop delved into the user experience within educational technology.
Sector Advisory Committee (SAC)
This January, the SAC was created to provide vital support to the Professional Development for Educators Initiative, a key element of the implementation of B.C.’s Post-Secondary Digital Learning Strategy.
Comprised of a diverse array of experts in educator professional development from across B.C., the SAC represents a wealth of knowledge and perspectives. In the coming year, their input will support BCcampus as we embark on an environmental scan and gap analysis of existing professional development offerings that are pertinent to B.C.’s Post-Secondary Digital Learning Strategy.
The SAC will play a pivotal role in shaping the development of new components within the Professional Instructor Diploma Program. This collaboration underscores BCcampus’ commitment to enhancing professional development opportunities and fostering excellence in education within the province’s post-secondary landscape.
94%
event satisfaction rate
90%
of event participants rated the professional development as “high quality”
UVic, TRU, UBC
institutions with highest event registration