Schedule – NIC Comox Valley

Day 1: June 3, 2026

• Welcome and Opening Remarks 9:00–9:30 a.m.
• Break 9:30–9:40 a.m.

  Please note that refreshments will not be not provided.

• AI Toolkit for Educators: An Introduction 9:40–11:00 a.m.

  Facilitated by Gwen Nguyen

  Participants will be introduced to the GenAI in Teaching and Learning Toolkit, designed to support educators in understanding and integrating Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) tools within their teaching practice.

  The session will begin with an introduction to GenAI literacy skills required for teaching and learning, addressing both pedagogical opportunities and ethical considerations in educational contexts. Through guided practice, participants will then engage with selected toolkit activities, gaining hands-on experience with GenAI integration strategies while exploring practical implementation steps.

• Break 11:00–11:15 a.m.

  Please note that refreshments will not be not provided.

• Reflection in Action 11:15 a.m.–12:15 p.m.

  Facilitated by Helena Prins

  Did you just read the title and think, “ugh, reflection again?!” Well, then this workshop is for YOU! Let’s move away from the stale and overused “reflection essay”. Together we’ll explore and experience reflection done differently. When reflection is well-designed, it meaningfully improves learning, decision-making, and professional growth.

  This workshop is for those who are looking for fresh ways of integrating reflection into coursework and facilitation.

• Lunch 12:15–1:00 p.m.

  Please note that refreshments will not be not provided.

  The NIC Comox Valley campus offers meals at LUSH Valley Cafe from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m

• BCcampus’ Open Resources: A Personal Tour 1:00–2:30 p.m.

  Facilitated by Josie Gray

  BCcampus maintains several collections with hundreds of open educational resources (OER). In addition to a robust collection of open textbooks and curriculum for academic disciplines, we also have materials to support digital literacy development, student services, and educator professional development.

  In this interactive session, learn how to find and use what you need in our collections for your work and how to contribute to the collections. Bring your own phone, tablet or laptop!

• Break 2:30–2:45 p.m.
• Digital Literacy in Your Course? Here’s How... 2:45–4:15 p.m.

  Facilitated by Britt Dzioba

  Participants will be briefly introduced to the provincial Digital Literacy framework and invited to choose and try a collection of hands-on activities. Participants will consider how to integrate digital literacy concepts and resources into course design.

• Social Event 4:30–6:30 p.m.

  Join us for a fun networking event! Appetizers and drinks will be provided.
  Stay tuned for more details!

Day 2: June 4, 2026

• Welcome and Opening Remarks 9:00–9:30 a.m.
• Icebreakers (That Aren’t Terrible…) 9:15–10:15 a.m.

  Facilitated by Helena Prins

  An icebreaker is an activity or game designed to welcome attendees and warm up the conversation among participants in a meeting, classroom setting, team-building session, or other activity. Any event that requires people to comfortably interact with each other is an opportunity for an icebreaker. We’ll focus on the post-secondary classroom setting, both online and face to face. We’ll introduce you to a few “low-risk” icebreakers and provide an opportunity for participants to share some of their favourite tried-and-tested icebreakers with peers.

• Break 10:15–10:30 a.m.

  Please note that refreshments will not be not provided.

• Rethinking Assessment in the Time of GenAI 10:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m.

  Facilitated by Gwen Nguyen

  Generative AI is transforming how students learn and produce work, raising urgent questions about how we design meaningful and fair assessments. This interactive workshop explores alternative approaches that move beyond simply “catching” AI use and instead focus on fostering critical, authentic, and reflective learning.

  We’ll revisit the three purposes of assessment (of, for, and as learning) to examine how each is disrupted and reimagined by GenAI. Participants will explore some practical frameworks as potential guides for creating meaningful assessments. We’ll conclude by crowdsourcing alternative assessment ideas that integrate GenAI meaningfully and equitably.

• Lunch 12:00–12:45 p.m.

  Please note that refreshments will not be not provided.

  The NIC Comox Valley campus offers meals at LUSH Valley Cafe from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m

• Coaching Practices for Educators & Leaders 12:45–2:15 p.m.

  Facilitated by Robynne Devine

  Coaching can provide low or no-cost ways to elevate collaboration, curiosity, problem solving, empathy, and conflict resolution in any team or organization.

  Participants will learn about coaching mindset and explore specific coaching practices to use in post-secondary settings (e.g., GROW model, peer coaching, community of practice, coaching circles).

• Break 2:15–2:30 p.m.

  Please note that refreshments will not be not provided.

• Towards Trauma-Aware Teaching 2:30–3:15 p.m.

  Facilitated by Helena Prins

  Explore new learning from research by Dr. Sandra VanderKaay from McMaster University (2023) and her “Do it Anyway!” resource for Trauma-Informed Pedagogical Strategies. Participants will build educational tools for trauma-aware teaching practices that they can apply to their courses and programs.

• Closing Remarks 3:15–3:20 p.m.