We welcome student involvement and input in the LT Hub, primarily through co-op positions, participation in studies and committees, and hands-on hackathon events.
Ways We Engage Students
Student Co-ops
Our Support Learning Technology Rovers (LTRs) are UBC co-op students who offer front-line technical support for instructors, teaching assistants, and fellow students when teaching and learning with technology. The roles provide basic support and troubleshooting, as well as giving appropriate referrals to other services. Rovers are either assigned to specific faculties or based centrally with the LT Hub.
UBC’s rover program began in 2014 and has helped many cohorts of students interact in a different, closer way with their instructors and teaching assistants. It also offers students the chance to actively participate in delivering teaching and learning.
The roles are open to any students interested in technology and do not require a formal technical background. Rovers receive hands-on training and experience with a variety of technologies. They also get the chance to “see behind the curtain” in terms of how courses are made and to assist faculty in their vital teaching work.
Opportunities for students to become rovers are posted with the various co-op offices (Arts, Engineering, Science, and Sauder) approximately 2-3 months prior to each co-op work term’s start date.
Other positions
Other student positions with the LT Hub may be focused on learning analytics or the development of learning technologies.
Opportunities are posted in various co-op offices as they become available, but feel free to contact us at the LT Hub if you are or you know of a student with a specific area of interest.
Pilot & Working Group Participation
When the LT Hub is evaluating learning technology through pilots (i.e., trial runs with a tool) or working groups (i.e., committees assessing tools in one learning space), students are often invited to give their input through surveys, focus groups, usability testing, or direct participation in committees.
If you are or you know of a student interested in this type of opportunity, please contact us at the LT Hub.
Hackathons
The LT Hub co-hosts regular hands-on hackathons, where students can explore learning analytics data and develop skills to build their own tools that work with this data. The hackathons are a collaborative effort with LAVA (Learning Analytics, Visual Analytics), Sauder Learning Services, and staff volunteers from Faculty of Arts, Faculty of Education, Sauder School of Business, and the Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology.
Previous hackathons have covered a variety of topics:
- The Canvas API (Application Program Interface), which allows people to write programs to interact with Canvas.
- Design-thinking and using the Canvas API
- Historical course calendar data and the Canvas API
- Building an interactive student discussion heatmap with the Canvas API
Hackathons generally occur every spring and fall. Information and registration can be found on the UBC Learning Analytics site.