1 The FLO EdTech Sandbox Series: A Collaborative Process of Innovation

Gwen Nguyen and Brittanny Dzioba are advisors on the Learning + Teaching team at BCcampus

The FLO EdTech Sandbox Series: A Collaborative Process of Innovation

The FLO (Facilitating Learning Online) EdTech Sandbox series began in the fall of 2023 as an initiative offering a safe online environment in which educators could explore, experiment with, and consider adopting new tools for innovative teaching and learning in post-secondary settings in British Columbia. It was inspired by the sandbox approach in education encouraging an experiential, hands-on, exploratory learning experience, providing educators with the freedom to try new things, play, and learn from mistakes in a nurturing environment.

The mission of the series was to foster digital teaching innovation, encouraging faculty and staff to embrace emerging technologies with curiosity and openness, ultimately enhancing the learning experience for all. Through five interactive sandbox sessions, participants were given the opportunity to engage with the tools, collaborate with fellow educators to review their features, and gain valuable insights from experts on integrating these tools into their teaching practices.

The EdTech Sandbox initiative was brought to life through a collaborative process, inviting expressions of interest from potential sandbox leaders with both leadership and facilitation skills. The process involved a rigorous review of proposals against a detailed rubric, focusing on the leaders’ demonstrated experience with a tool in teaching and learning environments, a thorough understanding of the tool’s features and uses, a solid evaluation of the tool’s openness and accessibility, and the practicality and creativity of the proposed activities for the sandbox session.

EdTech Sandbox leaders then worked closely with the Teaching and Learning Team at BCcampus to make the sandbox sessions accessible and available to a broad audience — all educators, facilitators, faculty members, and learning designers in British Columbia. The leaders were encouraged to adopt the Guiding Rubric for EdTech Tool Sandbox Evaluation inspired by the Rubric for eLearning Tool Evaluation to review the tools based on criteria including functionality, accessibility, technical and mobile design, privacy, data protection rights, and teaching and learning presence. However, although they could use the rubric with participants for reviewing the tools or designing teaching activities, each sandbox leader also brought their unique perspective and teaching approaches, contributing to the distinct and effective nature of each sandbox session.

In addition, each Sandbox leader compiled an overview, tips, tool features, and feedback from participants into a concise blog post. This book is a compilation of those blog posts, along with recordings of each session, their transcripts, and additional resources. It aims to provide readers interested in exploring, using, and adopting these emerging tools with a centralized and accessible platform to facilitate their exploration.