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Teaching & Tech Fundamentals

At the beginning of the fall and spring semesters, the CTE offers a variety of workshops that tap into the fundamentals of teaching and educational technology. Whether you are new to the classroom or looking to reinvigorate your practice, we hope you’ll join us.

Teaching Fundamentals sessions dig into core pedagogical questions, providing time to engage  with other faculty and graduate student instructors while making progress on a particular component of your course. 

Ed Tech Fundamentals sessions introduce  ºìÌÒÊÓƵ-supported technologies with a focus on how those technologies can support student learning and help you work through various teaching challenges.

Find descriptions and links to register for our remote January 2026 sessions below. Scroll to the bottom of the page to find links to recordings from prior sessions.

August 2026 Offerings (Remote)

Ethical Teaching & Learning in the Age of AI

Tuesday, August 11, 10:30 - 11:45 

This workshop is designed to equip you with a framework for ethical decision-making around questions of why, how, when you frame AI use at course or assignment level.  Participants will be provided with examples of course descriptions, policy statements, and assignment details before and after applying the framework.

Intro to Canvas

Tuesday, August 11, 1:00-2:15

Canvas is an online learning management system that can serve as a central hub for your course. It can be an important tool for communicating with your students about course structure and requirements and sharing course materials including syllabi, readings, and other media. During this workshop, we will introduce instructors to the Canvas platform and essential features such as Announcements, Files, Modules, Pages, and Discussions. We will also explore ºìÌÒÊÓƵ Library resources and services that can help make course materials more affordable and easier to access. The session will include substantial hands-on practice.

Designing Discussions for Deeper Learning

Wednesday, August 12, 10:30 - 11:45

Leading a meaningful discussion can be one of the most challenging — and enjoyable — parts of teaching. If you want to think more about what to do when faced with a sea of silent students or how to get a runaway conversation back on track, this session is for you. In our conversations, we’ll unpack the role discussions play in student learning and review strategies to help you and your students prepare for more productive classroom conversations.

Hybrid Drop-In Session (8/12)

Wednesday. August 12, 10:30 - 11:45

Bring questions about educational technologies (e.g. Canvas, NotebookLM, Perusall, etc.) or pedagogy and course design (course policies, first-day-of-class plans, designing assignments with AI in mind, etc.), and CTE staff will  address them with you. This drop-in will be offered in-person and on Zoom.

Making Groups Work

Wednesday, August 12, 1:00 - 2:15

Group work can be a meaningful way for students to engage more creatively with course content, learn from each other, and build connections amongst peers. Plus, group assignments can help keep grading loads in check. However, planning for effective student collaboration — and getting students on board with the benefit of collaborating — can be challenging.  In this session we will tackle some of those challenges by exploring strategies for forming and managing groups, designing group assignments, and evaluating group projects.

Guest Workshop: Integrating Restorative Practice to Promote Discussion

Thursday, August 13, 10:30 - 11:45

Join Clara Cahill Farella and Melissa Hunt (Office of the Dean of Students) to learn about the  foundations and practices of restorative justice and its potential uses for the classroom. Outside the classroom,  various Boston College stakeholders use restorative practices — structured, relationship-centered processes — to proactively build community and reactively respond to harm by centering the needs of those most impacted and prioritizing accountability and repair. However, some faculty at Boston College have also experimented  with restorative practice as a pedagogical tool that can enable students to engage in more honest and frank discussions of hot topics within a structure that anticipates conflict and can support repair. Participants in this session will be introduced to restorative practices, learn about relevant resources at Boston College, and consider where there might be opportunities to use this as a pedagogical tool.

Facilitating Critical Conversations

Thursday, August 13, 1:00 - 2:15

Critical conversations are charged moments in the classroom that can present in a variety of different ways, though they're often focused on questions that bring together topics of difference, power, and justice. Whether a critical conversation predictably breaks out in a discussion of a provocative text or unexpectedly erupts in response to a student comment, they are an opportunity for learning. During this session, participants will brainstorm  what might be at stake for individuals with different backgrounds in the room, identify pedagogical moves that support learning while attending to power dynamics, and identify opportunities to recenter learning when conversations get off track or break trust.

Assignment Design in the Age of AI 

Tuesday, August 25, 10:30 - 11:45

AI has changed what students can produce, which means it has changed what your assignments are actually measuring. Designing for this new reality requires getting specific: What kind of thinking matters most in this assignment? What role, if any, should AI play? And how do you assess student work when you can no longer assume it reflects only the student's own effort? In this workshop, we will work through a practical framework for evaluating existing course elements and developing new ones with AI in mind. Drawing on principles of backward design and academic integrity, participants will leave with a plan for approaching a specific assignment or course element, such as a draft policy for AI use or a rubric designed to surface the thinking that matters most.

Building Trust with Students in the Age of AI

Tuesday, August 25, 1:00 - 2:15 

This workshop is for faculty interested in developing new or modified policies for AI use (or non-use) for their courses. We will discuss how to set clear expectations for AI use by including guidance in your syllabus, assignment guidelines, and classroom activities . The workshop will provide an opportunity for instructors to consider the stakes — and potential benefits — of leaning into trust to support learning in the AI context. We will also examine approaches to co-creating AI policies with students,  recognizing that they  may offer valuable insights into practical applications and challenges of AI in their academic work. 

Tech Tools for Assessing Student Learning

Wednesday, August 26, 10:30 - 11:45  

ºìÌÒÊÓƵ’s supported assessment tools can provide time-saving efficiencies and guardrails around the use of AI. This session will review Classic Quizzes and New Quizzes in Canvas—including criteria for choosing between them—and how to administer the question types they support. We will discuss how to account for learning accommodations, such as extra time to complete tests, and review options for automated grading and tools for proctoring, where applicable.

Planning for the First Day & Beyond

Wednesday, August 26, 1:00 - 2:15  

The first day of class is an important opportunity for you to set the stage for the rest of the semester and get students on board with why this course should matter to them. In this workshop, we will discuss how to use your first class to begin  setting expectations for the course, getting to know your students, engaging students with course content, and creating a positive learning environment. Drawing on lesson planning principles, participants will leave this workshop with the beginnings of a plan for their first day of class and a lesson planning toolkit for future use.

Collaborative Reading & Writing

Thursday, August 27, 10:30 - 11:45  

Instructors at ºìÌÒÊÓƵ can leverage a variety of options to have students discuss and interact collaboratively with texts and documents. This session will introduce a number of reading and writing tools: advanced Discussion Board features in Canvas; Google Docs; and Perusall (which allows collaborative annotation of texts). The overview will be followed by time for hands-on practice with any of the tools. 

Back-to-School Lunch

Thursday, August 27, 12:00 - 1:00

If you’ll be working on campus and in search of some sustenance and community, stop by the CTE in O’Neill 250 for lunch with other instructors and CTE staff. If you have specific questions about your course planning, you can bring your questions to our hybrid drop-in session immediately following lunch. Registering for lunch helps us anticipate numbers and make sure your dietary needs are met. 

NotebookLM as a Teaching Tool

Thursday, August 27, 1:00 - 2:15

This introductory workshop will walk you through how to use NotebookLM, a ºìÌÒÊÓƵ-supported AI tool that can be set up to use a specific set of materials for its responses. With guidance and training, students can use the tool for learning activities like self-testing, mind mapping, memorizing, and other techniques. And instructors can find it a useful tool for course preparation.. We will also discuss how to communicate appropriate guardrails for student use, including expectations for transparency, citation, and academic integrity.

Hybrid Drop-In Session

Thursday, August 27, 1:00 - 2:15

Bring questions about educational technologies (e.g. Canvas, NotebookLM, Perusall, etc.) or pedagogy and course design (course policies, first-day-of-class plans, designing assignments with AI in mind, etc.), and CTE staff will  address them with you. This drop-in will be offered in-person and on Zoom.

Past Session Recordings

Click the links below to see recordings from previous tech trainings:

• (August 3, 2021)
• (August 3, 2021)
• (August 3, 2021)
• (August 3, 2021)
• (August 3, 2021)
  
• (August 3, 2021)
• (August 17, 2020)
• (August 6, 2021)
• (August 5, 2021)
  

Accommodation Requests

The Center for Teaching Excellence is committed to providing equal access to its events and programs. Individuals with disabilities who anticipate needing accommodations or who have questions about physical access may contact centerforteaching@bc.edu.

Past Workshops