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Digital Practice - a collaborative approach

Build Brightspace Better

Luke McKnight

The Build Brightspace Better workshop series is designed to empower instructors with the knowledge and tools needed to enhance the student experience in Brightspace. This series comprises three engaging workshops. Each workshop is centered on a different aspect of Brightspace and the tools and features available to create a more enriching and accessible learning environment for students.

Session 1 May 6

Optimizing Course Readings

This hands-on workshop explores the Brightspace Reading Lists tool. Leverage library support and technology to seamlessly integrate diverse educational resources, from scholarly books to essential websites, into a singular, user-friendly digital Reading List format. Gain practical experience by curating a Reading List that exemplifies clarity, accessibility, and engagement for your students.

Session 1 registration.

Session 2 May 8

Enhancing Course Design with HTML Templates

In the second workshop learn how to revamp the appearance and structure of your course content. Make content pages that adhere to Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and Accessibility standards (WCAG). No coding required!

This session will explore:

  • The benefits of using templates
  • Using the Brightspace HTML editor
  • How to apply templates to new and existing Brightspace content
  • Incorporating different template elements to create engaging pages

Bring your content and a laptop to create or update Brightspace content live with expert support.

Session 2 registration.

Session 3 May 13

Streamlining Course Navigation for Student Success

The final workshop in our series focuses on ensuring that your students can dedicate more time to learning rather than navigating. This interactive session will empower you to seamlessly integrate strategies that reduce excessive scrolling, clicking, and searching for your students. Together, we’ll work to highlight essential course elements, making content, assignment requirements, and due dates prominent and accessible.

Session 3 registration.

Don’t miss out on this opportunity to transform your online course material into dynamic and engaging learning environments that prioritize student success.

Accessibility at Langara College

Improve Digital Accessibility: May Accessibility Workshops

Luke McKnight

EdTech is excited to announce a series of upcoming workshops dedicated to improving the accessibility of Microsoft Word documents and PowerPoint presentations.

Why Accessibility Matters

In today’s digital age, ensuring that everyone, regardless of their abilities, can access and understand information is crucial. This is where accessibility comes in. It’s about making sure that everyone has equal access to information and functionality.

What Our Workshops Offer

Our workshops are designed to provide you with the tools and knowledge to create accessible Word documents and PowerPoint presentations. We believe that with a little effort and the right guidance, we can make a significant difference in making information more accessible to all.

Who Should Attend

These workshops are for everyone! Whether you’re a content creator, an educator, or just someone looking to learn, these workshops are for you. No prior experience is required.

Let’s Make a Difference Together

By participating in these workshops, not only will you enhance your skills, but you’ll also contribute to a more inclusive and accessible digital world. So why wait? Join us to learn how to make information accessible to all.

Learning Lab: Enhance Accessibility with AI

Date: May 15

Time: 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM

Location: Hybrid (C202 or Zoom)

How to Create Accessible PowerPoint Slide Presentations

Date: May 22

Time: 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM

Location: Hybrid (C202 or Zoom)

Learning Lab: Improve the Accessibility of Existing PowerPoint Slides

Date: May 27

Time: 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM

Location: C202

Learning Lab: Improve the Accessibility of Existing PowerPoint Slides Drop-In

Date: May 29

Time: 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM

Location: C202

Using AI to Enhance Accessibility

Luke McKnight

The Langara Accessibility Handbook for Teaching and Learning has a new chapter on AI Generated Alt Text. Generative AI chatbots have rapidly improved their ability to recognize and describe images. CoPilot, ChatGPT, and Gemini have shown to be useful tools to describe images and provide a starting point for writing alternative text (alt text). This new resource explains:

  • How to upload images to CoPilot, ChatGPT, and Google Gemini.
  • Effective prompts to get image descriptions.
  • How to refine output to write effective alt text.
  • What alt text is, when to use it, and how to write it.

In addition to this new resource, EdTech is offering a workshop on using AI to enhance accessibility. Join EdTech on May 15th for this interactive session perfect for anyone creating content using visual elements. Adding alt text to images is essential to creating accessible content. AI can be a useful tool to help start the process of writing alt text and this session will introduce effective tools and prompts.

The session offers a blend of theory and practice, providing hands-on exercises to master the art of crafting prompts that yield precise and useful outcomes. This workshop will equip Langarans with the skills to harness the potential of generative AI, paving the way for accessibility and inclusion. EdTech AI and accessibility experts will be on hand to help. Participants are encouraged to bring visual material that needs alt text.

Register for Enhance Accessibility Using AI today!

Accessibility at Langara College

Accessibility Quick Start Guides

Luke McKnight

The Accessibility Handbook for Teaching and Learning has added quick start guides to help you make content more accessible.

The quick start guides introduce core concepts of digital accessibility in a concise format. The guides preface chapters that expand on and explain the steps necessary to create accessible material in Brightspace, Word, and PowerPoint.

Screenshot of Brightspace Quick Start Guide
Screenshot of Brightspace Quick Start Guide

This latest addition to the Accessibility Handbook includes:

These guides will introduce to the importance of digital accessibility and help you integrate better practices into your content creation workflows.

Inclusive Content Delivery

Luke McKnight

Creating accessible content is important to ensure an inclusive and welcoming experience. What you do with that material is equally important. Enhance your delivery—whether in-person, online, or during conversation—with new Langara resources.

The Accessibility Handbook for Teaching and Learning now has a chapter on Inclusive Content Delivery.

Accessibility Handbook for Teaching and Learning

In this resource find information, tips, and tools to guide you with:

  • Setting up for an in-person, hybrid, or remote session
  • Tips when speaking, presenting, or otherwise delivering content
  • How to consider your audience
  • How to account for disability and diversity
  • Bimodal delivery
  • Creating content that can be reused, remixed, and repurposed

Inclusive content delivery is not only a matter of respect and empathy, but a powerful way to increase the impact and reach of your material. Read Inclusive Content Delivery to learn more about creating inclusive and engaging experiences for everyone.

Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI) Resources

susanbonham
AI generated image of a humanoid robot teacher with a pointer in a classroom, standing in front of a blackboard with equations
Image generated by DALL-E.

Whether you are a superuser or a novice, the number of resources on generative artificial intelligence can be overwhelming. EdTech and TCDC have curated some that we’d like to recommend.

  • How to access Copilot (Microsoft)
    • Interested in trying a generative AI tool or using it in your course? ChatGPT and Copilot (formerly Bing Chat) are currently available in Canada. Langara College students and employees have access to a premium version of Copilot through Microsoft Enterprise and the Edge browser. Microsoft’s FAQs provide information on how to access Copilot through Microsoft Edge. 
  • Practical AI for Instructors and Students (Ethan Mollick/Wharton School, August 2023)
    • If you’re looking for a great primer on AI, this series of five videos is worth the watch. Each video is approximately 10 minutes so the whole series can be viewed in under an hour. Topics include: 1) an introduction to AI; 2) what large language model (LLM) platforms like ChatGPT are and how to start using them; 3) how to prompt AI; 4) how instructors can leverage AI; and 5) how students can use AI.
    • Note: this series references four LLMs: ChatGPT, BingCopilot, Bard, and Claude. Bard and Claude are not yet available in Canada. 
  • AI Primer by Educause
    • This article is a reading (and viewing) list that links to resources that do a deeper dive into generative AI. A good resource for those who know the basics and would like to learn more.  

EdTech and TCDC also regularly offer professional learning opportunities on AI topics. Check the PD Events Calendar for current offerings.

As always, if you’re planning to integrate AI into your course, please be aware that: 

  • There are privacy concerns with AI platforms. We recommend using caution when inputting – or having your students input – private, personal, or sensitive information (e.g. resumes or other identifying data).  
  • For those using assistive technology such as screen readers, some AI platforms are more accessible than others. For more information, please see Accessibility of AI Interfaces by Langara Assistive Technologist, Luke McKnight. 

If you would like more recommendations for AI resources, or any other AI-related support, please contact EdTech or TCDC. 

Accessibility at Langara College

Empowering Accessibility: Register to Join Our Upcoming Workshops

Briana Fraser

EdTech is excited to announce a series of upcoming workshops dedicated to improving the accessibility of Microsoft Word documents and PowerPoint presentations.

Why Accessibility Matters

In today’s digital age, ensuring that everyone, regardless of their abilities, can access and understand information is crucial. This is where accessibility comes in. It’s about making sure that everyone has equal access to information and functionality.

What Our Workshops Offer

Our workshops are designed to provide you with the tools and knowledge to create accessible Word documents and PowerPoint presentations. We believe that with a little effort and the right guidance, we can make a significant difference in making information more accessible to all.

Who Should Attend

These workshops are for everyone! Whether you’re a content creator, an educator, or just someone looking to learn, these workshops are for you. No prior experience is required.

Let’s Make a Difference Together

By participating in these workshops, not only will you enhance your skills, but you’ll also contribute to a more inclusive and accessible digital world. So why wait? Join us to learn how to make information accessible to all.

Learning Lab: Create an Accessible Word Document

Date: January 19

Time: 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM

Location: C202

How to Create Accessible PowerPoint Slide Presentations

Date: January 26

Time: 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM

Location: Zoom

Learning Lab: Improve the Accessibility of Existing PowerPoint Slides

Date: February 16

Time: 10:30 AM – 12:30 PM

Location: C202

Learning Lab: Improve the Accessibility of Existing PowerPoint Slides Drop-In

Date: February 20

Time: 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM

Location: C203

Learning Lab: Create an Accessible Word Document

Date: April 5

Time: 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM

Location: C202

Explore the World of AI: Join Our Monthly AI Tinker Time Workshops

Briana Fraser

Are you curious about artificial intelligence and its applications but unsure where to begin? Look no further! Join us at AI Tinker Time, happening on the first Thursday of every month, and dive into the exciting world of AI tools.

Whether you’re new to AI or looking to expand your knowledge, these sessions are the perfect opportunity to experiment with various AI tools and discover how they can enhance your practice. Our EdTech faculty, staff, and TCDC colleagues will lead hands-on sessions, where we’ll test different AI tools for accuracy, quality, and effectiveness in addressing diverse teaching and learning needs.

Together, we’ll explore critical questions such as:

  • How accurate is the AI output?
  • Is the quality of AI output sufficient for practical application?
  • Can AI-generated content serve as a solid foundation for further refinement?
  • How do various AI tools compare in functionality and output?
  • Which AI tools can we recommend for specific needs based on our testing?

Don’t miss this chance to join a community of like-minded individuals eager to unlock the potential of AI in education. Whether you’re an educator, a technologist, or simply AI-curious, our AI Tinker Time workshops are the ideal space to learn, experiment, and collaborate.

Monthly topics:

  • January – Using AI to generate alternative text
  • February – Comparing output generated by Bing Chat’s different modes
  • March – Using AI audio generation and editing
  • April – Using AI to “break” assignments

Please register to join our AI tinker time.

EdTech Digital Media Can Help You Create Engaging Content for Your Courses

Julian Prior

Are you looking for ways to enhance your online teaching and learning experience? Do you want to create media-rich content that captures the attention and interest of your students? If so, you should check out EdTech’s Digital Media services at Langara College.

EdTech Digital Media provides support and resources for Langara faculty and instructional staff who want to translate their ideas into educational, professional, and engaging media content. Whether you want to do it yourself or get some expert help, EdTech Digital Media has something for you.

Here are some of the services that EdTech Digital Media offers:

  • Studio: You can book the EdTech Digital Media studio, a professional space equipped with a green screen, a lightboard, a teleprompter, podcasting mixing desk and various cameras and microphones. You can use the studio to record lectures, presentations, interviews, demonstrations, and more. To book our studio, email us at edtech@langara.ca
  • Audio & Video Production: Get assistance from the EdTech Digital Media team to produce high-quality audio and video content for your courses. The team can help you with scripting, storyboarding, filming, editing, and publishing your media projects.
  • Digital Media Consultation: Before using our studio or other services we ask that you consult with one or more of our EdTech Digital Media team to discuss your media needs and goals. The team can provide you with advice, feedback, and recommendations on how to best use media in your courses. Email edtech@langara.ca to schedule a consultation.
  • Drop-Ins: You can pop by the EdTech Digital Media studio during our scheduled drop-in times for a studio tour or to get quick help or tips on any media-related projects.
  • Green Screen: Use our green screen technology to create immersive and interactive videos for your courses. You can replace the green background with any image or video of your choice, such as a map, a diagram, a historical scene, or a virtual environment.
  • Lightboard: You can use our lightboard technology to create engaging and dynamic videos for your courses. You can write or draw on a transparent glass board with fluorescent markers, while facing the camera and your audience. The lightboard allows you to illustrate your concepts and ideas in a clear and captivating way.
  • Motion Graphics: Take advantage of our expertise in motion graphics technology to create animated and eye-catching videos for your courses. You can use motion graphics to explain complex or abstract concepts, to visualize data or processes, or to add some fun and creativity to your media content.
  • Podcasting: Use our podcasting setup to create audio-only content for your courses. You can use podcasting to share your insights, opinions, or stories, to interview guests or experts, or to provide supplementary or alternative material for your students. Come and talk to us with any ideas or questions you might have about this popular way to share content.
  • Screen Capture: You can use screen capture technology (on your own or with our guidance) to create video tutorials, demonstrations or mini-lectures for your courses. You can use screen capture to show your students how to use software, a website, or an online tool, or to walk them through a problem or a solution.
  • Slide Design: Work with our team to create effective, attractive and accessible slides for your courses.

If you are interested in any of these services, please visit the EdTech Digital Media page to learn more, to book a service, or to contact the team. EdTech Digital Media is here to support you and your media needs. We hope to see you soon!

EdTech Monthly Tip

The New Quiz Experience

Briana Fraser

Brightspace has released a New Quiz Creation Experience, a similar appearance to what you find in the Assignment tool. Over the coming weeks, we’ll highlight a couple changes that you should be aware of.

Changes to Timing & Display View

By default, no time limit is set on new quizzes. Use Time Limit to set the amount of time students are given to complete the quiz once they have started it.

To set a time limit:

  • Click Set Time Limit to add a countdown clock to the quiz. If this box is left unchecked, no time limit will be set. Be aware that setting a time limit does not, on its own, enforce the time limit — it only shows a countdown clock for the student.

Timer Settings

Timer settings are made once “Set Time Limit” is checked. Click on Timer Settings to control how a quiz behave once students exceed the time limit.

Timer setting options include:

  • Automatically submit the quiz attempt
    • This is the default on all new quizzes if the “Set Time Limit” box is checked. Quiz auto-submission automatically hands in quizzes on enforced time limit quizzes at the end of the set time.
  • Flag as “exceeded time limit” and allow the learner to continue working
    • This option allows the student to continue working but adds an “exceeded time limit” notation to the quiz when submitted.
  • Do nothing: the time limit is not enforced
    • The countdown clock is made available to students, but no time limit is enforced.

Old and New Experience Comparison

Previously Available OptionNew Behaviour
Prevent the student from making further changesAutomatically submit the quiz attempt
Allow students to continue working but automatically score zeroAutomatically submit the quiz attempt  
Allow the student to continue workingFlag the attempt as exceeded time limit and allow the learner to continue working
A quiz that has a grace periodGrace period no longer available. Quiz now uses only the time limit set

Adding Time to a Quiz in Progress

Changes to the timer may result in the need to add time to a Brightspace quiz in progress. Adding time is done through the Special Access feature and requires students refresh their browsers for the new time setting to take effect.

To add time to a Quiz in progress:

  • Navigate to the Brightspace Manage Quizzes tab and click on the quiz name to edit.
  • Select Availability Dates & Conditions.
  • Click on the Manage Special Access link.
  • Ensure “Allow selected users special access to this quiz” is selected.
  • Click on Add Users to Special Access.
  • Scroll down to the Timing sections and check the box for “Override time limit.”
  • Enter the new time limit in the minutes field.
  • Scroll down to the Users section and check all the students’ names.
  • Click Save.
  • Click Save and Close.
  • Tell your students to refresh their browsers.

Watch Changes to the Brightspace Quiz Experience (video, 8:56) to learn more about the recent tool updates.