The Evans Edition (Library Newsletter) - Issue #6

The March newsletter includes friendly library reminders, a recap of Freedom to Read Week, a new way to receive book recommendations and Evans Library stats.

Retirement Planning with Manulife

Manulife will be presenting a retirement planning session during our late start at 9 a.m. on April 10 for members of the UTS Retirement Plan (or other staff who also wish to attend). During the session, Manulife will cover topics such as preparing for your future, an overview of the UTS Retirement Plan, How to choose the right funds for you, and highlighting tools and resources available from Manulife.

F1 Late Start on April 10

Please note that F1 students will be arriving at the regular start time on Friday, April 10, despite it being a Late Start day, and will head directly to the Withrow Auditorium for a required assembly.

THE AI BEAT

by Adnan Zuberi, Director of AI Integration

“Lunches with Lydia” Series

Yes, this is exactly the same amazing Lydia you are thinking of – OISE professor Lydia Cao who gave a phenomenal presentation at our January PD.

In late April and late May, we will either head out to a restaurant or host her in-house for an informal exchange regarding her latest research and our experiences with AI in the classroom. Lunch will be provided. Dates to be confirmed soon.

AI Lunch Workshops for Teachers

We have a good number of teachers interested in presenting their latest and greatest AI experimentations in the classroom. Lunch will be provided.

Friday, April 10, RM L135 – Xander (Flint) and Allison Dickson will present how Flint can be integrated into the classroom
Wednesday May 6, RM 131 – Christine Balt and Melisa Shaddick will present their pilots that involved our drama students using U of T’s cutting edge AI-Drama technologies that could be used across different UTS departments
Monday May 25, RM 131 – Mike Farley will present on his AI pilots in geography class and collaboration with OISE professor Lydia Cao

Drama Department Pilots AI Tech at U of T

On January 22 and 29, M3 Drama students took a field trip to the BMO Lab at University of Toronto’s Centre for Drama, Theatre and Performance Studies. In the BMO Lab (an institute that has been at the forefront of developments in the performing arts and emerging technologies), the students, under the guidance of esteemed artist David Rokeby, played with storytelling and improvisation techniques in collaboration with Generative AI tools. We were curious: What might happen when students engage creatively with Gen AI through performance practices, and what could that mean for human ingenuity in a time in which these technologies are rapidly changing the face of creative industries across the world? In these workshops, the students approached GenAI in playful and irreverent ways, at once demystifying the ‘magic box’ tropes that accompany these large language models - and discovering how they could be used as provocations for further human creative exploration.

CIS AI Microcredentials

AI Microcredentials NEXT GEN 2026: Choose Your Path, developed in partnership with Future Design School, is a “...fully online, modular program designed specifically for independent school professionals. What makes it especially faculty and staff-friendly: each microcredential is a standalone, two-hour session. There’s no expectation to commit to a full series — your team members can choose the single session most relevant to their work right now and start there.”

UTSPA Funding Requests

The UTSPA funding request form for school activities deadline has been extended! The form can be found here with the submission period going to Friday, April 10, 2026. Good luck to all the applicants!

Interested in ordering lunch?

Reminder that you can order through Basil Box and have something warm and delicious delivered and waiting for you in the Main Office. Life's too short for a sad snack at your desk.

Order here

On the horizon…

Looking for something?

April 2, 2026