And suddenly it’s almost February, our term well underway and many of us settled back into the routines of prep, delivery, assessment, and reflection! There are though, unique or novel pressures that many of us are facing in these routines, largely centring around the uses of learning tools and technologies – and particularly generative AI. For me, these pressures range from trying to better understand which tools learners are using, and how, to what the best practices are for managing these uses, to the short- and longer-term implications of incorporating them in our pedagogies. In responding to all of these, I have been reflecting on our strategic plans and guiding documents, and specifically the Transformative Learning core area of UBC’s Strategic Plan. Here, I have been reminded that focusing on the larger outcomes of preparing our learners to think critically, to collaborate, to communicate effectively, and to develop skills of continuous learning can help inform the day-to-day of my teaching activities.
I have, too, been grateful for the opportunity to engage with the various specialists in CTL who continue to help me better understand the learning technology landscape. As always, they have been busy supporting teaching work on campus with regular programming, communities of practice, consultations, and ticketed requests, and they have also continued their own professional development journeys so that they can share back what they have learned with the rest of us. For those who are already working with our Learning Technologists and Educational Consultants, we appreciate the opportunities to engage – and for those who have yet to reach out, we’re ready when you are!
Jannik Eikenaar
CTL Academic Director
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