[Ssphrfaculty] Teaching Unit (Liaison) newsletter

Mon Aug 17 10:49:17 EDT 2026

Hello all

I hope the term is ending well for you and that you are able to take some well-deserved vacation time before the start of the Fall term.  I will be off in France, with the Breast Cancer Survivor dragon boat team that I coach, from Aug 19th -Sept 2nd. In my absence, the ADT team<https://uwaterloo.atlassian.net/servicedesk/customer/portal/67> and  learnhelp at uwaterloo.ca are available to help.

Below are some upcoming events, some timely information and links to resources.

I am hopeful that we will have a proper support for Arts from our unit shortly (although everything takes a long time these days). In the meantime, after my vacation, I will still be here for you.

Happy end of term and best wishes,

Mary

Teaching Unit Events and Programming

(registration is required)

Teaching with Tech: A Practical ViewBoard Workshop<https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-teaching-excellence/events/teaching-tech-practical-viewboard-workshop-person-tii5010-0>

Monday, August 17, 10:00 am - 11:00 am, LIB 329

Part of the EdTech Sandbox series, this introductory workshop helps instructors build confidence using ViewBoard Interactive displays. Participants will explore touch, pen, erase, whiteboard/annotation, casting, and collaboration tools, and connect these skills to active learning. They will also learn ways to support collaboration, formative assessment, multimodal teaching, and student-generated content.

Virtual Reality in the Classroom: An Introduction for Instructors<https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-teaching-excellence/events/virtual-reality-classroom-introduction-instructors-person-0>

Monday, August 17, 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm, LIB 329

In this one-hour hands-on workshop, instructors will be introduced to the Meta Quest 3 VR headsets and explore how virtual reality can support teaching and learning across disciplines. Participants will learn the core functions of the headset, review examples of educational use cases, and discuss considerations for classroom integration. The session concludes with guided free exploration time, giving participants the opportunity to test applications, experiment with the technology, and imagine how VR might fit into their own courses.

Getting Started in LEARN<https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-teaching-excellence/events/getting-started-learn-person-cte6656-6>

Tuesday, August 25, 10:00 am - 12:00 pm, MC 2036

This in-person session will introduce you to LEARN (D2L Brightspace), uWaterloo's learning management system for presenting course activities and resources in on-campus and blended courses.

On the horizon...

Graduate Supervision Series for Faculty - Fall 2026<https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-teaching-excellence/support-faculty-and-staff/support-new-faculty/graduate-supervision-series-faculty>

Friday, October 2 & Friday, October 30

If you are interested in attending the Graduate Supervision Series or finishing a previous series, please contact Mary Power<https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-teaching-excellence/profiles/mary-power>.

Hold the Date!

•         Instructional Innovations Week - Tuesday, October 13 to Friday, October 16

•         AI Discovery Day - Wednesday, October 14  (registration open<https://portal.uwaterloo.ca/events/14944/registration>)

More Teaching-Related Items

In case you missed it: Requesting TA access for Fall term – memo from IST

Due to security and privacy reasons, the ability for instructors to add users to courses has been removed as of July 8. We are currently investigating different processes. In the meantime, if you need a TA or someone else added to your course, please submit a ticket to LEARN Help - Request a TA/Staff member<https://uwaterloo.atlassian.net/servicedesk/customer/portal/40/group/1605/create/3293> and include the following information:

•         name of course and term (e.g. MATH 135, Fall 2026)

•         UW username or student number of the user(s) that need access

•         reason why access is needed

•         role the user should have in the course<https://uwaterloo.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/ISTKB/pages/1268416532/Adding+TAs+Teaching+Assistants+and+Staff?xpis=eyJicmlkZ2UiOiJzbWFydExpbmtzIiwiaWQiOiIxNzg1MzQzNzA2NDExIiwic291cmNlIjoiY29uZmx1ZW5jZSJ9> (Editing ability or view only)

•         is the user a UW student or staff member

LITE Seed Grants<https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-teaching-excellence/support/teaching-and-learning-research-and-grants/learning-innovation-and-teaching-enhancement-lite-grants>

Deadline: October 1, 4:00 p.m.

Learning Innovation and Teaching Enhancement (LITE) Grants<https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-teaching-excellence/support/teaching-and-learning-research-and-grants/learning-innovation-and-teaching-enhancement-lite-grants> fund projects that investigate innovative approaches to enhancing teaching and fostering deep student learning at Waterloo. Each grant is valued up to $7500. The application deadline for the Fall term is October 1 at 4 p.m., but applicants must meet with the grant program manager (Annik Bilodeau<mailto:a2bilode at uwaterloo.ca>) no later than September 18 at 12 p.m. (noon).

The following projects will begin in September 2026:

•         Increasing Student Engagement in Mechanics by Integrating AI<https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-teaching-excellence/catalogs/funded-lite-grant-projects/increasing-student-engagement-mechanics-integrating-ai> - Rania Al-Hammoud, Murtaza Qadeer, Yujia Joshua Liang

•         Reimagining the Oxford Tutorial Experience in a Large Introductory Course using Chrysalis<https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-teaching-excellence/catalogs/funded-lite-grant-projects/reimagining-oxford-tutorial-experience-large-introductory>, an LLM Companion - Vivian Dayeh, Pascal Poupart, Okey Igboeli

•         Axiom: A GenAI Agent Integration Platform to Help Minimize Cognitive Offloading – A Pilot Project in the Faculty of Science<https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-teaching-excellence/catalogs/funded-lite-grant-projects/axiom-genai-agent-integration-platform-help-minimize> - Robert Hill, Jason Thompson, Stephanie Boragina, Kristin Wilson, Yasin Dahi, Vivian Dayeh, Steve Forsey, Niayesh Afshordi, Megan McCarthy, Darren Gigliozzi

•         Supporting the Development of Reflective Practice: A Study of the CLEAR Reflection Process in a Course-Level WIL Environment<https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-teaching-excellence/catalogs/funded-lite-grant-projects/supporting-development-reflective-practice-study-clear> - Madeleine Noble, Monica Vesely

•         Co-designing learning activities to support wellbeing and learning for university students<https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-teaching-excellence/catalogs/funded-lite-grant-projects/co-designing-learning-activities-support-wellbeing-and> - Trish Van Katwyk, Edwin Ng, Evelyn Morales, Melissa Potwarka, Kalpita Gaitonde, Leah Foster

Congratulations to all recipients!

Some Timely Resources

CTE Teaching Tips

•         Creating Course Outlines<https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-teaching-excellence/catalogs/tip-sheets/creating-course-outlines>

•         Aligning Outcomes, Assessments, and Instruction<https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-teaching-excellence/catalogs/tip-sheets/aligning-outcomes-assessments-and-instruction>

Additional Resources

•         Accessible Teaching website<https://uwaterloo.ca/accessible-teaching>

•         GenAI Programming<https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-teaching-excellence/areas-support/generative-artificial-intelligence>

•         Guide to Assessment in the GenAI Era<https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-teaching-excellence/online-resources/guide-assessment-generative-ai-era>

•         UW GenAI Hub<https://uwaterloo.ca/generative-ai/>

************************************************
Mary Power, PhD  (she/her)
Senior Manager, Faculty Support Services
integrated teaching support unit,  University of Waterloo
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3G1
m2power at uwaterloo.ca<mailto:M2power at uwaterloo.ca>  | Chat with me on Teams<https://teams.microsoft.com/l/chat/0/0?users=m2power@uwaterloo.ca>

The University of Waterloo acknowledges that much of our work takes place on the traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishinaabeg, and Haudenosaunee peoples. Our main campus is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land granted to the Six Nations that includes six miles on each side of the Grand River. Our active work toward reconciliation takes place across our campuses through research, learning, teaching, and community building, and is co-ordinated within the Office of Indigenous Relations<https://uwaterloo.ca/indigenous/>.
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