OnEd Videos

Constructing a Virtual Community for Dentistry Instructors during the COVID Pandemic by von Bergman

Dr. von Bergmann took on the role of Education Specialist at UBC Dentistry in Fall 2010 with the responsibilities of conducting and mentoring educational research activities and designing modules and professional development activities to enhance teaching capacity and educational experiences for students in the Faculty. In response to COVID-19, she has built a virtual Learning Community for her dentistry colleaguesin March 2020. As a result, she was nominated for the 2021 3M National Teaching Fellowship and has received two UBC teaching awards: Open Champion Award, and Killam Teaching Prize. On the scholarship front, Dr. von Bergmann has received grant funding each year in the past 11 years to support her colleagues developing education scholarship.

Consideration for Adopting and Teaching Fully Online Courses

A fully developed online course is a very different beast from in-person classes or even classes delivered remotely. Online classes are more structured, often including predetermined learning outcomes, activities and assessments, and both written and media-based learning materials. These classes can seem to break the connection between students and instructors, leaving both feeling isolated and unengaged. But this does not need to be the case! Online courses offer different pedagogies that can enhance engagement, foster active learning, and foster new skills in students. This session will introduce some considerations for adopting and teaching online classes and facilitate a conversation about opportunities and challenges for your courses.

Dr. Martin Gaal has lectured at the University of Saskatchewan in Political Studies and International Studies since 2012. Since 2016, Martin has been deeply involved in the development of the Global Studies Certificate and the formalization and teaching of the Political Studies online programming, working with the DEU to create six courses. In 2018-19, Martin received the USSU Teaching Excellence Award and in 2019-20 he was the recipient of the College of Arts and Science New Teacher Award in BA, BFA, and BMus Programs.

JR Dingwall is an instructional designer based in the Distance Education Unit at the University of Saskatchewan. He has experience designing instruction for a variety of delivery formats (face-to-face, blended, and online) in post-secondary, not-for-profit, continuing education, and open education contexts. He is an educator at heart and uses educational technologies to increase accessibility to course materials, promote effective teaching and learning strategies, and enhance students’ learning experiences in online courses.

Emulating an Independent Studio to Encourage Equitable Group Participation

Online teaching and learning has created obstacles around student accountability—a problem exacerbated in group work environments. To encourage students to make an equitable contribution to group work, Dr. Phillips uses an approach modelled after a lean startup business—specifically, independent videogame studios. Independent studios often work in a remote context and leverage a free set of tools and methods to create a rigorous online work environment. The talk will outline the process, its benefits, and some limitations of the method. The talk will also discuss methods for combatting student procrastination in a more general context.

Dr. Cody Phillips is a special lecturer at the University of Saskatchewan. His research investigates the psychological benefits of games. In recent years, Dr. Phillips has worked on designing and developing games for children living with cystic fibrosis, with an eye towards helping them feel resilient and socially connected during hospital isolation. Cody's future work will focus on combatting procrastination by applying theories from game design.

Designing Immersive Learning Experiences in Higher Education

Learn how to deploy immersive and spatial technologies to enhance teaching and learning in your classes. Paula will discuss instructional design strategies for integrating extended reality (XR) with innovative course assignments, engaging team meetings, and collaborative learning experiences. Get inspired by practical examples of how XR can contribute to building a learning community and achieving specific objectives that complement course goals.

Dr. Paula MacDowell is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Curriculum Studies, College of Education. Her area of specialization is in Educational Technology and Design (ETAD). Paula’s research interests are in immersive education, instructional design, media studies, media arts, technological innovation in developing countries, and education for sustainable development goals (SDGs).

Empowering Graduate Policy Students in an Online Program

This presentation will describe how course structure and the Moodle learning management system are utilized to prepare professional graduate students to understand, analyze, and formulate policy.

Dr. Cheryl Camillo is an Assistant Professor at the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy and the former Director of its online Master of Health Administration (MHA) program. She teaches online and in-person courses at JSGS, including Health Policy and Social Policy. Prior to her transition to academic teaching and research, she worked for twenty years in the non-profit and public sectors in the United States as a policy advocate, senior federal policymaker, and policy implementer. In these roles, she mobilized policy knowledge for many audiences ranging from the general public to senior elected officials.

International and Intercultural Learning through Virtual Exchanges

COVID has greatly impacted programs that have integrated international travel, study aboard and community outreach. It has provided educators an opportunity to be innovative in their approach to integrate international and intercultural student experiences and connections. Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) is one strategy educators can apply to provide the students the opportunity to gain exposure to intercultural collaboration. Traditionally, only some students could access study and work abroad opportunities. In a COIL project, all students registered in a course can gain this unique integrated experience. It is part of regular coursework so there are no extra costs and students still receive the same USask supports. This allows students the opportunity to see and experience global learning when there are limitations on study abroad. COIL equitably widens access to a greater number of students because it targets entire classes from a large spectrum of disciplines, instead of individual or small groups of students doing study or teach-abroad. Accomplishing internationalization at home, this program engages students in a process of exploration and reflection. Students who have completed a COIL experience will be prepared to study or work abroad because they will have the cultural lens necessary to engage in international experiences.

The USask COIL website provides additional information.

Aditi Garg is an educational development specialist with interests in assessment, inclusive and responsive learning, and sustainable practices in education. At the Gwenna Moss Centre, she also consults on internationalization of the curricula, embedding the Sustainable Development Goals in teaching, curriculum design, learning outcome development, and active learning.

Online Learning As Assemblage

Much of the richness of technology enhanced education comes from the ability to (co)construct rich networks of learning resources and software which contribute to learning. Educators can effectively use technology from many industries and “hack” it to suit educational purposes in exciting and innovative ways. However, students may experience fatigue and overwhelm in the face of too many new and changing tech tools.

In this interactive session, participants were invited to discuss the barriers and opportunities of integrating a variety of software and tools into the online learning experience. We discussed ways to make such integration smoother and more learner friendly. We explored a variety of tools that can be used to facilitate many parts of the online education experience including: student communication, project management, interactively gathering student input both asynchronously and in the moment, sharing resources, and facilitating student assignments.

JAMIE MAYOH-BAUCHE

Jamie has worked in the field of adult and professional education for over 15 years. She has designed, implemented and assessed educational programming in community organizations and higher education. In a variety of roles, Jamie has provided leadership in the collaborative creation of training programs, curricula, and educational policy informed by best practice and innovative approaches. She has extensive experience relevant to the design of online learning. Jamie currently works in Executive Education at the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy, designing online training programs for health leaders, public sector board members and public servants amongst others.

Jamie has Masters of Adult Education (MAdEd) from St Francis Xavier University and is currently enrolled in a PhD program in Curriculum and Instruction with a focus on Educational Technology at the University of Regina.

Potential of Virtual Reality in Higher Education

Virtual Reality (VR) has the potential to transform the way we learn and teach.However, to grasp its full potential impact on higher education, some pre-requisite knowledge about the technology is required and some very important questions must be answered.This presentation will provide a basic overview of the various VR technologies, present some key terms and definitions, offer some parameters and current exemplars of use in higher education, and provide a platform for discussion amongst colleagues.

Presented by: Dr. Don M. Leidl, RN BScNMN EdD

Dr. Leidl is a registered Nurse and Assistant Professor at the College of Nursing, University of Saskatchewan. His professional nursing practice is in acute inpatient psychiatric assessment and intervention and emergency department psychiatric intervention teams. His research portfolio is focused on the use of technology in nursing education and service delivery, most recently with a focus on virtual reality in clinical nursing education. Current research projects include work to create a sustainable evaluative framework for the College of Nursing distributed learning program and the use of 360°Virtual Reality Video to create immersive learning scenarios for nursing students and practicing clinicians in the mental health clinical environment. He has an extensive background in distance education and blended learning technologies in nursing education and is the current co-lead of Northern Nursing Education Network (NNEN), a UArctic thematic research network with membership from 7 countries whose focus is on leveraging technology to provide quality nursing education in the circumpolar north.

OnEd Panel: Where do we go from here? Tough questions facing online education

Covid has accelerated the prominence of online education. Its impacts raise questions related to the future of online learning at Saskatchewan universities. For our next OnEd session, we will hear from leaders in university administration and education discussing tough questions facing online education.

• How do we prepare for uncertainly while serving diverse student needs?

• Is this the time to significantly reduce the administrative workforce related to online education?

• Instead of Canadian universities competing for online students, should we consider collaboration?

• How will the role of in-person university education change in a world increasingly filled with online educational opportunities?

• What are some ideas for new business models for online university education in Saskatchewan?

Panelists include:

• Dr. Ken Coates, Canada Research Chair in Regional Innovation and Professor, Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy

• Dr. Louise Greenberg, Executive-in-Residence, Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy, and former Deputy Minister of Advanced Education, Government of Saskatchewan (2012-2017)

• Dr. Nancy Turner, Director, Teaching and Learning Enhancement, University of Saskatchewan

Bringing Case Studies into the Online Classroom

How can professional academic programs respond to the skills needed in the modern workplace and create opportunities to bridge theory and practice? As the expression goes, “In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. But in practice, there is”. Can theory and practice be brought together in an online professional program? This presentation will discuss lessons from bridging theory and practice in an Online Master of Public Administration degree. Within this program, instructors have woven cases—such as the carbon tax legislation, the phoenix pay system, the duty to consult, and affordable housing—throughout courses as diverse as Public Policy Analysis, Economics, Statistics, Public Finance, and Governance and Administration. This presentation will share examples and experiences of cross-course integration of case studies, applied assignments, and practitioners in program development.

Presented by Martin Boucher

Martin Boucher is the academic lead for the online Master of Public Administration (online MPA) and plays a key role in the Governance and Entrepreneurship in Northern and Indigenous Areas (GENI) program.Martin has over ten years of experience in online learning, teaching, and development. He is currently completing his PhD in Environment and Sustainability (SENS) at the University of Saskatchewan (USask), where his research focuses on socio-technical pathways to clean energy in Canada, the United States, and Sweden.

Developing Teacher-Student Relationships in Online Classes

In this OnEd presentation, Martin Gaal will be introducing talking points on a common blind spot in online teaching, the student-teacher relationship. He will discuss the evolution of his online-teaching, introducing some of the techniques he has used to build a rapport with students–including those that have worked and the many that have not.

Presented by Dr. Martin Gaal

Dr. Martin Gaal has lectured at the University of Saskatchewan in Political Studies and International Studies since 2012. Prior to moving to Saskatoon, he lived and worked in South Korea, China, Taiwan, Belgium and the United Kingdom. In Belgium, Martin read for his PhD in International Relations at the University of Kent Brussels. While undertaking his studies, he had the opportunity to work at the European Parliament and Copura, a European Security and Defence consultancy. Since 2016, he has been deeply involved in the development of the Global Studies Certificate and the formalization and teaching of the Political Studies online programming, working with the DEU to create six courses. He has also been working on the piloting and implementing of the First Year Research Experience across the departments 100 level courses. In 2018-19, Martin received the USSU Teaching Excellence Award and in 2019-20 he was the recipient of the College of Arts and Science New Teacher Award in BA, BFA, and BMus Programs.

Teaching Learning Ownership

Have you ever had a student ask this question, "Why did you give me a poor grade?" It seems that many students think that their teachers or instructors are responsible for their poor grades, rather than themselves. I will discuss methods that differentiate my role as a teacher, and the students' roles as learners, and how to enhance learning ownership

Presented by Dr. Hayley Hesseln

Hesseln is an associate professor in the College of Agriculture and Bioresources in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics. She teaches resource and environmental economics and has conducted research on the economics of forestry and forest fires, environmental and resource economics. She served as the Dean of Undergraduate Studies for the University of the Arctic from 2008-2012 working on curriculum development and distance delivery. In 2015, she got her executive coaching certification from Royal Roads University and started to focus more on the role of coaching and emotional intelligence in education and how it can enhance teaching and learning. Current research interests include workforce development, effective pedagogical approaches to learning, and the role of emotional intelligence on productivity, academic outcomes, and life-long learning. Hesseln is also the co-founder of EI Advantage.

Integrating Tools for Effective Online Classes

Presented by Dr. Alec Couros

Alec Couros is a Professor of educational technology and media at the Faculty of Education, University of Regina. An award- winning educator, Alec has given hundreds of workshops and presentations, nationally and internationally, on topics such as the designing collaborative learning environments, open/connected learning, social media in education, digital citizenship, and critical media literacy. His graduate and undergraduate courses help current and future educators understand how to use and take advantage of the educational potential offered by new and emerging technologies.

Ingredients for a Successful Online Class

Online learning and teaching comes in a variety of shapes, sizes, forms, and tastes. As diverse as online learning can be, similar to classroom teaching, there are key ingredients any instructor can lean on to create a welcoming and engaging learning environment for their students and themselves. The purpose of this session is to discuss a few ingredients to spice up the online learning environment and engage both instructors and their students. Whether you’ve taught online a little, or a lot, there will be something for everyone who teaches online in this session.

This session will highlight topics and strategies related to:

• Course overview and information

• Course technology

• Design and layout

• Content and activities

• Interactions, and

• Assessment

Multi-Access Learning by Valerie Irvine

Creating Engaging Online Learning Environments by Jay Wilson

Engaging Online Learners: Tools,Techniques, and Methodologies by Daniel Mittelhotlz

Indigenizing Online Courses by Stryker Calvez and Nazreen Beaulieu

Do you have a great idea for a topic or presenter for OnEd? We would love to hear from you. Please send your recommendations to Martin Boucher (martin.boucher@usask.ca)