[Institutional Update] Vancouver Community College

Contributed by Andy Sellwood, Instructional Associate, Vancouver Community College

At Vancouver Community College (VCC), eLearning support is one of the services provided by the Centre for Teaching, Learning, and Research, or “CTLR” (previously known as the Centre for Instructional Development). VCC has three campuses; one is downtown, one is on East Broadway, and one is on Annacis Island. We have a wide range of programs; everything from Academic Upgrading and University Transfer, to Culinary and Hospitality, from English as an Additional Language to Transportation Trades.

CTLR also provides support in the areas of curriculum development, research and governance. This work is the focus of the Instructional Associates (IAs). IAs assist faculty with their teaching and learning needs and provide guidance and mentorship to department leaders in the college.

The eLearning Support team provides faculty and staff with help and training on educational technologies, including VCC’s learning management system (Moodle).

Recently, we have been conducting a pilot of Kaltura, a media hosting and management system. A number of faculty have been trying out Kaltura from within Moodle. Another VCC pilot involves Zoom, a web-based conferencing system, that’s currently being trialed by our Computer-Aided Drafting and Building Information Modelling (CAD & BIM) department.

In the last year or so, CTLR has had two additions to its team. Firstly, Todd Biffard joined us in fall 2017, providing administrative support as well as additional eLearning Support. Another addition to the CTLR team is Andrew Dunn, who has taken on the new position of “Manager, Online Learning and Strategy”. Andrew will help to implement VCC’s Online Learning Strategy, which was developed last year.