During the workshop, participants will be provided with an introduction to being a GA/TA online. Various topics will be covered, including GA/TA responsibilities in the online learning environment, tips for how best to prepare to support online teaching, questions and concerns to anticipate before beginning the semester, suggestions for communicating with the course instructor and the students, and ideas for troubleshooting issues.
After registration, you will be emailed the link to the virtual classroom.

Do you need to record a lecture/webinar? Do you need to meet with students online (as a group or privately)? The virtual classroom (formally called Blackboard Collaborate Ultra) can handle this and more. Best of all, it is available in every Blackboard site or can be set up outside of Blackboard and is free for faculty, staff, GAs/TAs, and students to use. This workshop will attempt to demonstrate everything you need to know to use the virtual classroom.
After registration, you will be emailed the link to the virtual classroom.

This session will provide an overview of key Blackboard tools and topics for GAs and TAs in the online environment. Our focus will be on communicating with students (announcements, discussion board), and grading the different types of assessments found on Blackboard (tests, assignments, and discussion boards) in addition to using the Grade Centre and related features. For optimum experience, you should be using Google Chrome for this session.
After registration, you will be emailed the link to the virtual classroom.

Although often considered tedious, grading can be the ultimate teachable moment! Grading and feedback are integral to learning and require more than just assigning a numerical value to a student's work. This workshop will offer practical strategies, resources, and provide you with an opportunity to practice effective feedback to support your development as efficient and effective GA/TA’s.
After registration, you will be emailed the link to the virtual classroom.

Attention to administrative tasks, appropriate planning and preparatory work, instructional duties, and awareness of student needs can have a significant impact on the efficacy of GA/TA facilitation during laboratory and tutorial sessions. These four aspects of effective graduate and teaching assistantship will be discussed with respect to their impact on learning in the laboratory and tutorial environment. Special focus will be given to recommendations for planning and preparation, with respect to course material and delivery methods which enhance student engagement and learning. Awareness will be brought forward regarding the importance of communication with instructors and fellow assistants as well as the scope of student needs, beyond the academic.
After registration, you will be emailed the link to the virtual classroom.

As we have shifted to a world of online learning, effective discussions are essential to achieving learning outcomes. However, facilitating student engagement when not connected by a physical classroom can have its challenges. In this active-learning workshop, we will learn and apply strategies to develop a safe and inclusive environment to promote discursive dialogue. We will discuss how to manage dynamics to ensure a socially just learning atmosphere. Finally, we will explore and apply alternative methods, such as using chat and breakout rooms, to promote participation.
After registration, you will be emailed the link to the virtual classroom.