[Fall Workshop 2023] The Evolving EdTech User – Schedule

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As we leave the COVID-19 pandemic behind, studying student experiences during that special period will help us learn what course design approaches and teaching strategies improve students’ online learning. This study reports on the survey results of 351 students at a polytechnic institute in Canada. The questionnaire invited students to rate the helpfulness of 13 commonly used course components, identify the most challenging aspect of remote learning, and provide feedback regarding the three presences of Community of Inquiry (CoI). Read more…

• Youdan Zhang is an Instructional Development Consultant at British Columbia Institute of Technology
• Oleg Lungu is the Manager of Academic Planning and Quality Assurance at British Columbia Institute of Technology

Ben will provide an update on the Digital Learning Strategy.

• Ben Ferrel is Executive Director, Post-Secondary Digital Policy and Programs at Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills

The accessibility and usability of AI tools has been largely ignored. New research shows there is yet another reason to urge caution about using and recommending these tools. Luke McKnight, assistive technologist at Langara, will walk through the findings of his research into the accessibility of AI interfaces.

• Luke McKnight is an Assistive Technologist at Langara College

With many ethical concerns including bias, misinformation, environmental impact, working conditions of AI labourers, and copyright, a question many are asking is: can AI contribute to education as a social good? This demo will show how ChatGPT’s new “Vision” functionality is being used at BCIT to create first draft alt text for OERs, which subject experts can then correct and improve. Other applications will also be explored.

• Ian Linkletter is the Emerging Technology and Open Education Librarian at British Columbia Institute of Technology

In the Summer 2023 semester, Langara launched Reading Lists for all courses. Adoption of the tool was initiated by the Library and supported by the Educational Technology department. With Reading Lists, instructors can create and manage reading lists of online and physical resources. In this presentation, Lindsay Tripp (Copyright Librarian), Luke McKnight (Assistive Technologist), and Briana Fraser (Learning Technologist) will tell the story of one instructor’s adoption of the tool to highlight how it improves the student and instructor experience in the LMS; improves accessibility; streamlines processes for providing accessible content; helps ensure copyright compliance; and facilitates collaboration between including EdTech, the Library, and Accessibility Services.

• Briana Fraser is a Learning Technologist & EdTech Department Chair at Langara College
• Lindsay Tripp is a Copyright Librarian at Langara College
• Luke McKnight is an Assistive Technologist at Langara College

In the evolving landscape of education, there is a growing recognition of the need to shift away from traditional grading systems that emphasize outcome over process towards a more holistic approach that prioritizes learning, feedback, and growth. Read more…

• Erika Ram is Specialized Faculty and Chair of the Education Council Educational Technology & Learning Design Committee at British Columbia Institute of Technology

I am hoping to do a brief demonstration of how Microsoft Forms can be used as an alternative to Slido/Mentimeter as a live polling option in-person, online, or in a hybrid environment. Participants will engage with two to three different Microsoft Forms questions to showcase how they might use this tool and what their learners would experience.

• Jeanette Wu is an Educational Technology Support Specialist at University of Victoria
• Jiexing Hu is a Learning Experience Designer at University of Victoria

In this session Paul Hibbitts will give a slides-free overview of his new open source project that aims to significantly lower the barriers of entry to leveraging Markdown publishing. With Docsify-This you can instantly turn any publicly available Markdown file into a responsive web page that can be shared or seamlessly embedded into other platforms, such as an LMS where it can improve both the student and author experience. Multiple page mobile-friendly websites, based on a collection of online Markdown files, are even possible with no website setup or build process required!

• Paul Hibbitts is a Sessional Instructor at Simon Fraser University

In this presentation, we conduct an in-depth exploration of our work in digital media technologies, specifically our recent virtual production work which was used to teach waveguides in electrical and computer engineering. Discover and understand how these innovations lead to elevated student engagement and reshape how educational content is presented.

• Andrew Wang is a Media Specialist at UBC Studios, University of British Columbia
• Matthew Yedlin is a Faculty member in Electrical & Computer Engineering at University of British Columbia

Langara’s EdTech department has been identified as a primary resource for supporting accessibility improvements to teaching and learning at Langara College. In this short session, Briana Fraser and Luke McKnight will outline the intentional and staggered approach adopted by the department as an example other institutions and departments may want to follow.

• Briana Fraser is a Learning Technologist & EdTech Department Chair at Langara College
• Luke McKnight is an Assistive Technologist at Langara College