Week of January 4, 2024

Teaching Support & Canvas Resources

For questions about Canvas, educational technologies, course development and redesign, and live streaming and recording
options, please contact Forestry Teaching & Learning Support Team via forestry.tls@ubc.ca.

In addition, we organized the Canvas & EdTech Resources Site (view here) to compile key resources for setting up Canvas courses for instructors, teaching assistants, and staff in Forestry.

Tip-sheet for Teaching in Forestry

We organized this tip-sheet to summarize the important information, resources, and support available to new and returning instructors. Feel free to check it out.

UBC Zoom & Teams and MS Teams Video Retention Policy

Starting in October 2023 and March 2024
respectively, UBC will begin removing video recordings from Microsoft Teams and Zoom automatically, one year after each video is recorded. Detailed information can be found here.

Please download any video recordings for which you need stable URLs.
– How to Download Zoom Recordings.
– How to Add Media in Canvas with Kaltura

More information about alternative storage, recovery of deleted recordings, previous lecture recordings, and frequently asked questions can be found in this document. For further questions, please contact
forestry.tls@ubc.ca.

Academic Integrity & AI

Privacy Implications of AI Tools

A Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA)  is required for tools involving personal information at the university. Instructors can check out this page for the current state of PIA and any recommendations with regards to teaching and learning uses of generative AI (e.g., ChatGPT, Bing Chat) at UBC.

For academic integrity cautions, or guidelines for tool use in your class, please visit the Academic Integrity at UBC Chat GPT FAQ page. For further instructional guidance around optional use for students, please visit the FAQ item on whether you can require GenAI in your course. Please contact forestry.tls@ubc.ca for consultation and support.

Consider Adding a Statement to Your Syllabus on Generative AI

There is no overall ban in using AI tools in teaching and learning at UBC. As a result, this leaves it as a course-level decision. UBC (see here) states that students should not assume that all available technologies are permitted, but it also states that the use of ChatGPT or other generative AI tools does not automatically equate to academic misconduct at UBC. Read more in the
Generative AI Syllabus for further resources and sample statements.

Update on Turnitin AI-detection

As you may know, Turnitin has released an
AI-detection feature that attempts to check
for text generated by AI-writing tools, such as ChatGPT. For a number of reasons, UBC will be maintaining its April decision not to enable the Turnitin AI detection features, and will not centrally install any AI
detection tooling at this time. See the
full announcement and rationale here.

Term 2 Exam Scheduling

There are different exam formats (in-person paper, in-person computer, online Canvas, etc.) that instructors can consider. Refer to
the following tip-sheets:
– Navigating the Choice: Online or In-Person Assessments.
– UBC Exam Policies, Procedures, and Reminders.
– Technical Tips for Exam Logistics.

For midterm exams, teaching teams can
arrange them in their assigned classrooms or online as needed. If the teaching teams need to conduct exams in alternative classrooms to meet exam needs (e.g., power to all seats, extra space for double seating, etc.), they can submit ad hoc booking requests directly to Scheduling Services (see Option 2). Upon receiving the request, Scheduling Services will search for a general teaching space that is available for the requested date and time. Once the processing is completed, Scheduling Services will send an email to the instructor regarding the status of their request.

For final exams, the booking is managed by UBC Scheduling Services. Instructors need to submit exam requests to the department exam contact by 4:30 pm, Jan 15. Note that the Winter Term 2 exam period is April 16-27, including Saturdays and Sundays.

Information and support for examination scheduling can be accessed via the exam website.

Workshops & Events

Forestry TA Training

Time: Jan 12 (10:30 am – 3 pm) | In-person
The upcoming TA training session will be
hosted in FSC 2916.

Topics include EDI, instructional and classroom skills, conflict resolution, and more. You must be a Forestry TA in the 2023 Winter Term 2, and have not already participated in TA training. RSVP here by the end of Jan 5.

Forestry Teaching & Learning Drop-in Sessions

Time: Fridays, 2024 (11 am – 12 pm) | Online
We will continue to host weekly drop-in sessions to answer teaching related questions in Term 2. Instructors and TAs are welcome to join the zoom meeting.

CTLT OER Fund Proposal Consultation Session

Time: Jan 9, 17 (1 – 3 pm) | Online
The Open Education Resources (OER) Affordability Grant is for faculty who desire extra funding for additional educational resources in their UBC Vancouver credit courses. Learn more about these grants and get help creating a project supported by this funding. Register here for Jan 9 or
here for Jan 17.

CTLT Workshop: Inclusive Teaching Practices

Time: Jan 24 (1 – 3 pm) | In-person
Take the opportunity to deepen your awareness of your own teaching practice as it relates to inclusive teaching. Register
here.