TEU Update 26 February 2026

ESD Ideas Exchange is Back for 2026

DCU’s Education for Sustainable Development Ideas Exchange is an informal get together for anyone interested in how they can integrate themes related to sustainability, sustainable development, climate action or global justice into their practice, regardless of their academic discipline.

Everyone, from curious beginners to experienced practitioners, is welcome.

There will be four meetings during the year, starting on Monday, 9th March at 1pm.

This session will focus on what has been achieved over the past two years and what needs to be done now to deepen impact. We will be joined by Mark Kelly from the Higher Education Authority.

It is an online session, please register here.

Register for the DCU Spring 2026 Universal Design Badge Course

This semester, we will be facilitating a UDL Badge course locally for DCU staff. Along with offering the "Universal Design in Teaching and Learning" badge, this instance of the programme will also offer a second track for professional staff in "Universal Design Beyond the Classroom", focusing on opportunities to apply universal design principles in non-academic roles. Participants who complete the course will be awarded a digital badge recognised by the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning. The course will run from mid-April to early June.

Register your interest for the course via this form. For more info on the content of the UDL badge course, see this page, or you can reach out to steve.welsh@dcu.ie with any specific questions.

Loop Guidance

Check your Turnitin Similarity text-matching settings

If you want student submissions to Loop Assignments to be text-matched, you must ensure these settings are applied before students start submitting. You can read more on Turnitin settings on the Loop Staff Support Page.

Please also notify students that they must accept the End User Licence Agreement (EULA) before uploading a file to a Loop Assignment to be processed. by Turnitin Similarity. They only need to do this once for the entire site. There is a helpful Turnitin Similarity resource on the Loop 101 for Students support page which you may also wish to share with your students.

Loop AI Question Generator Drop-in Sessions (Fridays at 11 AM)

The Loop Team is piloting an experimental question generator that leverages an AI technology to create quiz questions in Loop based on simple prompts from the lecturer. This tool can aid in the generation of quality quiz questions and streamline the process of populating quizzes in Loop, thus saving the lecturer the time of manual question creation. Initial feedback from pilot participants shows that the generator can provide time-saving efficiencies in formative assessment design at scale. The Question Generator is currently available on a pilot basis and can be accessed from all course pages under the More tab.

You can read more on the Loop AI Question Generator Support Page (available for self-enrolment). While the tool is currently available for experimentation, we encourage you to attend one of our upcoming drop-in sessions to orient you to the tool and the evaluation considerations. We’re holding drop-in sessions on Friday mornings 11 AM - 12 PM at this Zoom link (also available from the TEU calendar).

Inclusive Approach to Learning and Teaching During Ramadan

During Ramadan, many Muslim students will fast during daylight hours. They will wake up before sunrise to have breakfast and then break their fast in the evening after sunset. Taylor et al. (2025) describe some of the effects this may have on learning, and suggest some inclusive approaches to teaching during this period. Although coming from a UK context, these suggestions should also be applicable in Irish higher education.

Acknowledgement: communicate to students that Ramadan is currently taking place Taylor et al. (2025) provide a useful template for wording this.
Communicate availability of prayer rooms and community prayer times on campus.
Certain periods of Ramadan may be more demanding for students—the first days as they adjust to fasting—and the final days with preparation for Eid.
Coursework assignments: where possible, try to avoid setting deadlines which coincide with Eid (the end of Ramadan celebration), and if important assessment events occur during Ramadan, try to accommodate students’ choice of time of day to engage. It may be useful to check with the Interfaith centre to confirm exact dates of Eid.
Asynchronous learning: where possible, offer opportunities for students to engage in some course material asynchronously.
If you are already supporting students during Ramadan or other religious or cultural events in your teaching practice, and you are happy to share with us, please email teu@dcu.ie or samantha.xu@dcu.ie.

Reference

Taylor, L., Ahmed El-Hosny, N., Hall, D. A., Hill, L. J. B., Kempers, K., Malik, F., Mathers, H., Page-Tickell, R., & Raza, R. (2025). Creating an inclusive approach to teaching and learning during Ramadan: A brief evidence-based guide for educators in the UK (Version 1). National Teaching Repository. https://doi.org/10.25416/NTR.28381739.v1

SOTL Spotlight
In this section, we will regularly share conferences, call for papers and other items related to the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning across disciplines

INHED (Irish Network of Healthcare Educators) 2026 Annual Scientific Meeting

University of Galway / June 18th and 19th 2026

Navigating Change in Health Professions Education

This event represents a unique opportunity to share research, gain valuable feedback, and connect with fellow professionals in the field of health professions education. Date for submissions is March 6th – details are available at this link.

VR Convos & Cuppas

Tuesday 3 March, 14:00, SPC.F120

Have you ever wondered what virtual reality is all about? Curious to try on a headset and explore some educational apps? Want to have a chat to see if VR is something which would enhance your students’ learning experiences? If so, drop in to our VR Convos & Cuppas session, where we can have a good chinwag over the potential of VR. And don’t worry, the tea and coffee is real, not virtual!

No need to register (you can click on the date above to add to your calendar) - just come along.

ECIU Partner Universities Online Event

Each semester, ECIU partner universities facilitate an online event discussion (titled a Teamcher kick-off) on CBL/ELO design. This semester, the event will be hosted by Tampere University and the University of Twente and will take place on Tuesday March 3 at 12 noon. The session will focus on Challenge Based Learning in an online context. You can join the event on the day on Teams at this link.

Where to Find Help and Support

Submit a request at DCU Help for Loop queries
More complex query or prefer to chat? Join a Loop drop in clinic
Find comprehensive resources on our Loop Staff Support Page - enrolment key is 'staff'

For advice on teaching practice, including on the use of technology, email teaching.enhancement@dcu.ie
Request a workshop or extended consultation

Stay in the loop Professional and technical staff - Join Group to stay informed on TEU activities, including Loop communications and professional development opportunities.