Workshops and Consultations

Have you ever wondered how to make your Brightspace course look more polished and visually appealing? In this workshop, we will provide some tips on how to achieve that – all without any knowledge of HMTL. We will introduce two sources of templates that you can import into Brightspace and modify: the 'Brightspace Course Setup ... Read more

This session will focus on the options available for assessing student learning using the Quizzes tool in Brightspace. Brightspace quizzes enable asking various types of questions of students, and they are easy to set up, administer, and grade. Topics covered in this session include: Creating a quiz Due dates, availability dates, and other restrictions Appropriate ... Read more

Let's reconnect (or join us for the first time) and discuss your experiences with ChatGPT and other AI tools. There is no doubt that this technology is changing the way instructors assign and assess writing in university classrooms. Whether you’re concerned how generative AI is impacting students’ learning or have found exciting methods to streamline ... Read more

The Assignments tool in Brightspace provides instructors with a consistent location to collect student work. Instructors can also evaluate and return student submissions directly in Brightspace. The Assignments tool has a built-in annotation tool, a range of grading features (e.g., rubrics, audio/video feedback), and can be linked to the grade book for an efficient transfer ... Read more

Rubrics are an effective and efficient way to authentically assess student learning. Articulating specific criteria by which students will be assessed helps learners to prepare more thoughtful submissions that are aligned with your expectations. As an added bonus, rubrics provide an objective and systematic method for grading work. Brightspace Rubrics tool offers a variety of ... Read more

Brightspace offers a range of tools that allow instructors to monitor student activity in a course such as their engagement with the course material or participation in discussions. Other Brightspace tools let you identify students who may be at risk (and those who are succeeding), and send those students automated yet personalized emails to help ... Read more

The presenter for this session is Dr. Lourdes Peña-Castillo, Full Professor, Departments of Biology and Computer Science, Faculty of Science. Identifying strategies on whether and how to incorporate generative AI (Language models) in teaching is an ongoing challenge and debate for educators. In this talk, Dr. Peña-Castillo will define generative AI, discuss the benefits and ... Read more

The presenters for this session are Dr. Arthur Sullivan, Professor, Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences and Dylan White, PhD Candidate. Over the past few years AI models like ChatGPT have captured the attention of academics, business owners and everyday users, but not without raising apprehensions about data privacy, bias in AI, ethics ... Read more

The presenter for this session is Melanie Doyle, Per-Course Instructor, Department of  English, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. Undergraduate student reading has often been described as a “don’t, won’t, can’t” problem (Horning, 2013, p. 1). Despite these problems, it can be difficult for course instructors to support students’ development into strong critical readers because, ... Read more

The presenter for this session is Dr. Katie Wilson, Assistant Professor, Biochemistry, Faculty of Science. Incorporating AI as a part of your teaching practice may feel like a daunting task; however, having the opportunity to hear of the experiences of others can help with making critical decisions and provide the confidence to explore how the ... Read more