In our role as Curriculum, Teaching and Learning Specialists at the Centre for Innovation and Excellence in Learning at VIU, we are developing an Online Learning Institute.

As an institute it will be a fairly substantial training opportunity to address a the need for online teaching and learning support. We both have a committed practice to blended and online learning and we want to work with faculty to create the most impactful online learning experience for students. At first, this seemed like a fairly straightforward proposition. We thought we could just repackage many of the discrete bits of training (e.g. choosing the right tools, UDL, authentic assessment) that we have delivered previously. But once we started on the development process we realized how much the landscape of online learning has shifted.

So, using the BC Post Secondary Digital Learning Strategy as a foundation, we are re-examining our approach. New topics will include trauma informed pedagogy, digital wellbeing, artificial intelligence, human centered approaches, commitment to Indigenous students and reconciliation and streamlined approaches in the face of reduced budgets and time constraints. As we develop this new offering we would like to share our progress at BCNET Connect 2024 and ask others for their valuable ideas and input. We invite you to join the conversation and help us build and share this resource with a wider audience.
 

Summit Speaker

Anwen Burk

Curriculum, Teaching and Learning Specialist, Vancouver Island University

Anwen Burk, BA (University of Calgary), MLIS (University of Alberta) Anwen is a Curriculum, Teaching and Learning Specialist at Vancouver Island University (Nanaimo Campus). She is particularly interested in how technology can be leveraged to make learning more flexible, accessible and human centered. She has previously worked at the University of Alberta as an instructor (EDU210: Introduction to Educational Technology) and as Digital Learning Consultant and at Red Deer College (now Red Deer Polytechnic) as an Instructional Designer. She lives on the traditional and unceded territory of the Snuneymuxw First Nation with her husband and her cat.  - Jessica Gemella, BLA (University of Guelph), MA (in progress, Royal Roads University) Jessica Gemella is a Curriculum, Teaching, and Learning Specialist (CTLS) at Vancouver Island University (VIU), situated on the traditional lands of the Coast Salish peoples including the Snuneymuxw, Snaw-Naw-As, Quw’utsun and Tla’amin. Jessica has a background in teaching horticulture and has also served as VIU’s Trades and Applied Technology CTLS. With a commitment to enhancing the quality digital of education, Jessica is pursuing a Master of Arts in Learning and Technology at Royal Roads University. Her research interest interests centre on building resilience in higher education, faculty development and digital literacy.

Summit Speaker

Jessica Gemella

Curriculum, Teaching and Learning Specialist, Vancouver Island University

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Slide Deck

Technology Track

Session Format
Interactive Speaker Presentation (45 mins)