How to Submit
Share your work with your peers and across the UBC Biology Community!
Below are some instructions for how you can contribute your biology teaching and learning resource to BioSpace. Submissions will undergo an internal peer-review and feedback process before they are approved for posting.
Steps to Submit:
- Register for a BioSpace account with your name and email, and request instructor access
- Collect your materials: we've prepared some Submission Guidelines below to help prepare your submission
- Complete our submission form online
[Sign in to open MyBioSpace and click Start a New Submission, or the direct link is here]
a) provide some details about your resource
b) upload your resource files
c) select a copyright licensing option - Once your submission has been reviewed, you will receive an email from the BioSpace Curator. We may ask you to provide additional details before the resource is posted on our archive.
Once approved and posted on BioSpace, others can more easily access and cite your work.
What is the internal peer-review? What are the evaluation criteria for posting to BioSpace?
Submitted resources will be evaluated on completeness, relevance to the UBC Biology subject areas, and suitability and readiness of the content for reuse in teaching and learning (e.g. no rough notes). With the internal peer-review, we check that quality resources within the scope of BioSpace are shared on the site.
At this time, we will only accept contributions from those verified for instructor access to BioSpace.
What type of files can I submit?
We accept a variety of resource types (including activities and worksheets, exam questions, video, Powerpoint slides, and Pencasts) and any file type can be uploaded to BioSpace. However, since some files may not be supported on local devices or browsers, we encourage using file types that are accessible for others to use.
Resources can be submitted as a file upload or a URL, and we ask that you also upload an image (e.g. a screenshot of a logo) as a thumbnail to represent your resource.
What information do I need to fill on the submission form?
To describe your resource on the submission form, we encourage you to prepare:
- a title for your resource
- a 1-2 sentence description of what your resource is about
- learning objectives that you hope to achieve with your teaching- or learning resource
- keywords to help others search for your resource
You may also want to add a lesson plan using our template (see also: "Do I need to include a Lesson Plan?" below).
Do I need to include a Lesson Plan?
A lesson plan is optional if your resource is self-explanatory and straightforward to use.
However, we recommend to attach a lesson plan for resources that, for example:
- contain multiple file items/components: a lesson plan can point users to which files should be used and how to navigate through them
- are not self-explanatory: an activity may require a lesson plan that describes additional equipment and instructions for what the teachers vs. learners will do
- have interesting examples on how you have applied the resource in a classroom setting
Here is a downloadable template that we hope will provide helpful guidelines and standards, ultimately making BioSpace easier to use for both contributors and users.
What copyright options do I have for posting my resource?
By posting your resource to BioSpace, you consent to making your resource freely available with either a Creative Commons License or in the public domain. Creative Commons licenses govern what people may do with your work. View the different types of licenses here.
You can choose an “Instructor only” option when uploading your files if you wish to make your resource only available to BioSpace users registered as instructors.
Who do I contact if I need help or have questions?
Find our latest contacts listed on the Contacts page.
If you have any feedback (regarding the template, the site, the resources, or otherwise), please let us know! We would love to hear from you.