The OISE Education Commons team actively supports the OISE community year-round by leading a wide range of projects and initiatives. Our work focuses on improving daily technology and service operations, streamlining processes, enhancing research and researcher support, and expanding our community offerings.
We are always looking to collaborate with the OISE community and encourage members to engage with us early in their project planning and development cycles. Project requests are accepted from January 2 to December 1 each year.
Note: Requests submitted between December 1 and December 31 will be reviewed starting January of the following calendar year, in alignment with the University of Toronto’s annual winter closure.
Request Types
Technology/Service Integration
If there is a new application, service, or tool you would like to use at OISE, Education Commons would be happy to look into it. We can check whether it is currently under review by the University of Toronto, undergoing a risk assessment, or if a decision has already been made and it is not a technology we can support. A showcasing the technologies/services currently under review at the university.
To get started, please submit a ticket through our Online Service Hub. Be sure to include the technologies intended use case, target audience, and any associated costs.
Website Development
Our cloud-based website platform supports websites for labs, departments, programs, centres, research groups, and research projects. We offer both free and fee-based website options, and all websites are built using the Drupal content management system and hosted on a secure, external cloud-based platform.
If you're interested in creating an OISE-affiliated website supported by Education Commons, we encourage you to book a consultation with the Website Working Group. This ensures your website aligns with our platform standards and that the type of site you need is eligible for support.
Custom Applications, Projects, and Services
All projects that require Education Commons resources (both personnel and applications) beyond the delivery of approved services, applications, and technologies must be submitted through the Customized Project Intake Form. Members of the OISE community will be asked to outline potential outcomes of their project using established evaluation rubrics.
Customized projects typically involve significant manual input, alterations, and configurations that cannot be fulfilled by purchased service providers (out-of-the-box). They may also involve the secure storage and access of sensitive data, requiring additional oversight, risk management, and support.
Web-based applications developed through this process will be built exclusively using Laravel. Depending on the project’s needs, additional components from the Microsoft extended suite, Power BI, Power Automate, or Azure, may also be used.
Note: Before submitting the Customized Project Intake Form, the Project Requester must obtain approval from the Sponsor, who is responsible for overseeing the project and its outcomes. Submissions are accepted monthly, with reviews occurring in the first week of the following month or as soon as operationally feasible.
Project Questions?
Not sure how your OISE-based project or initiative aligns with the Education Commons or what kind of collaboration you're looking for? Education Commons invites you to book a virtual one-on-one consultation with a Technology Adoption Consultant from our team.
To help us connect you with the most suitable team member, please include a brief summary of the challenges you're facing, or goals you hope to achieve when booking your appointment.
