TCDC and Ed Tech have created resources to help you teach remotely and we continue to host several online support sessions and webinars to address instructor questions.
After reviewing the resources, if you have questions, attend a session or contact TCDC at tcdc@langara.ca and EdTech at edtech@langara.ca or EdTech Help Hours.
(CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
The UDL Working Group has organized a series of events and posts for the entire month of May to get our community involved with UDL in a variety of ways — big and small. To get the UDL momentum going a new article, event, or resources will be shared each week of May. Last week’s post highlighted the plus-one approach to implementing UDL. This week will focus on the first principle of UDL: Multiple Means of Engagement.
Universal Design for Learning (CC0 1.0)
Public Domain Dedication
May is Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Awareness Month! The UDL Working Group has organized a series of events and posts for the entire month of May to get our community involved with UDL in big ways and small. Each week we will post a new article, event, or resources to get the UDL momentum going. You will find these communications in the Langara Post, on the TCDC iWeb UDL page and on our UDL CoP Yammer.
Ungrading by Susan D. Blum
The summer semester book club selection, Ungrading: Why Rating Students Undermines Learning (and What to Do Instead), edited by Susan D. Blum, promises to give us much food for thought as we contemplate the idea of ungrading and critique the entire notion of grading students.
Join us via Zoom every Wednesday, May 12 to June 23, from 4:30pm to 5:45pm as we unpack two chapters at a time and delve into discussion and conversation. Save your spot and register now!
Note: While we encourage participants to sign up for the duration, if you wish to attend only one or two sessions, please contact us at tcdc@langara.ca to get the Zoom link and meeting details.
Image by pch.vector at Freepik.com
Last summer, TCDC worked at record speed to design and deliver an intensive workshop, Online Course Design and Delivery, now affectionately known as OCDD. In this workshop (initially three days, now extended to five), participants take on the role of student to experience a well-designed online course that uses both synchronous and asynchronous modes of facilitation and participant engagement.
The next sessions will be May 3 to May 7, 2021 and May 31 to June 4, 2021, so be sure to sign up via the TCDC/EdTech calendar if you haven’t participated yet!
Looking ahead to next semester, TCDC and EdTech have two opportunities to “gear up” for the summer semester: Course Check Under the Hood and Course Tune-Up Challenge.
Image by dave_7 from Wikimedia Commons
Image by picjumbo_com at Pixabay
| Early in 2020, students all over the world experienced a sudden, dramatic, and unprecedented shift in their academic world. Now, one year later, we continue to teach and learn in the virtual environment, and now contemplating a return to in-person instruction for the fall semester. Over this past year, some Langara instructors have shared their perspectives on the impact of moving to online teaching and learning.
Our tenth contribution comes from Emma Courtney. Emma has been a part of the Recreation Studies team as an Instructional Assistant for the past two and a half years, and is currently pursuing a master’s degree at Royal Roads University. These two experiences—working in higher education and a student navigating the online landscape of learning—provide her with rich educational opportunities. We look forward to bringing you more perspectives. If you would like to contribute, please contact Jessica Kalra at jkalra@langara.ca. |
EDUCAUSE is offering a unique Learning Lab Experience during the month of April 2021. This four-week course, facilitated by Flower Darby–author of Small Teaching Online–consists of asynchronous and synchronous learning opportunities, an application project, and culminates in the awarding of a microcredential.
Sign up using your Langara email and receive the reduced membership registration rate of $289USD. The registration deadline is April 13, 2021 although they recommend registering by April 1.
Image by freepik at freepik.com
| Early in 2020, students all over the world experienced a sudden, dramatic, and unprecedented shift in their academic world. Now, one year later, we continue to teach and learn in the virtual environment, and now contemplating a return to in-person instruction for the fall semester. Over this past year, some Langara instructors have shared their perspectives on the impact of moving to online teaching and learning.
Our ninth contribution offers the perspective of a current Langara student, Theint Thinzar Lwin. Lwin is an international student who began the Post-Degree Diploma Marketing Management Program in the fall of 2020. Lwin shares her experience of living and learning online from across the world in her first semester and now in Vancouver for her second semester. This post will help us to switch gears for our next set of perspectives which will focus our attention on the student point of view. If you have students that would like to share their experiences in writing or another format (audio, video, meme, etc.), please contact Jessica Kalra at jkalra@langara.ca. |
Image by pressfoto from freepik.com
TCDC’s new subscription with Magna Publications gives you four avenues to pursue your professional development online:
Image by Hatice EROL from Pixabay.
| Early in 2020, students all over the world experienced a sudden, dramatic, and unprecedented shift in their academic world. Nearly a year later, we find ourselves preparing for more semesters teaching and learning in the virtual environment. Some instructors at Langara are taking the opportunity to share their perspectives on the impact of moving to online teaching and learning.
Our eighth contribution brings us full circle to our very first author Catherine Glass. Catherine initially shared student responses to a midterm question she asked about coping with the dramatic shift in the last two weeks of March 2020. In this follow-up, Catherine shares some observations of her experience being online, with both students and colleagues in her article, “A Zoom with a View.” This post will help us to switch gears for our next set of perspectives which will focus our attention on the student point of view. If you have students that would like to share their experiences in writing or another format (audio, video, meme, etc.), please contact Jessica Kalra at jkalra@langara.ca. |
We are very excited to announce and invite faculty to join our webinar with Dr. Thomas J. Tobin on February 5.
Some of you may recognize Dr. Tobin as the author of our fall 2020 book club pick, Reach Everyone, Teach Everyone: Universal Design for Learning in Higher Education, which led to the formation of the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) committee at the College.
In our hour-long online session, Dr. Tobin will introduce UDL and share his thoughts on how to implement UDL methods into your course designs.
Image by Jagrit Parajuli from Pixabay
| Early in 2020, students all over the world experienced a sudden, dramatic, and unprecedented shift in their academic world. A whole two and a half semesters later, we find ourselves preparing for more semesters teaching and learning in the virtual environment. Some instructors at Langara took the opportunity to share their perspectives on the impact of moving to online teaching and learning.
Our seventh contribution comes from Mário Moniz de Sá, an instructor in the Department of Biology. Below, we share his experience teaching in the fall of 2020. Mário gives us an enthusiastic and thoughtful tour of his genetics course with many practical examples of what can be done online. We look forward to bringing you more Perspectives. If you would like to make a contribution, please contact Jessica Kalra at jkalra@langara.ca. |
Image by Mohamed Hassan from Pixabay
| Early in 2020, students all over the world experienced a sudden, dramatic, and unprecedented shift in their academic world. A whole semester and half later, we have found ourselves preparing for more semesters teaching and learning in the virtual environment. Some instructors at Langara took the opportunity to write about their perspectives on the impact of moving to remote teaching and learning.
Our sixth contribution comes from Branca Mirnic, an instructor in the LEAP Program. Below, we share Branca’s article, “Creating Social Presence in Online Classroom through Brightspace Discussions,” a thoughtful exploration on how to encourage social presence alongside tips and examples for designing and implementing online discussions. We look forward to bringing you more Perspectives. If you would like to make a contribution, please contact Jessica Kalra at jkalra@langara.ca. |
Image by freepik from freepik
As the instructor for the asynchronous Langara Student Success Course (LSSC), I have grappled a lot with how to best connect to and engage with the approximately 3000 first year students who are automatically enrolled into the course each semester. Pre-Covid, I began to host regular office hours to connect with my online students. I did it as much for myself as for them. I became a teacher because I love engaging with people in a learning environment, and I wanted to have that with the LSSC students. I had very little traffic, and I was lucky if one student showed up in my office every couple of weeks looking for help with the course or wanting to find out about available student services.
Image by kiquebg from Pixabay
Early in 2020, students all over the world experienced a sudden, dramatic, and unprecedented shift in their academic world. A whole semester and half later, we have found ourselves preparing for more semesters teaching and learning in the virtual environment. Some instructors at Langara took the opportunity to write about their perspectives on the impact of moving to remote teaching and learning.Our fifth contribution comes from Jessica Kalra, an instructor in the departments of Health Sciences and Biology. Jessica shares her experiment with “Maintaining Academic Integrity Online through fostering a culture of academic and educational integrity” as well as some tools such as the academic integrity toolkit and the Brightspace Instructor Template.We look forward to bringing you more Perspectives. If you would like to make a contribution, please contact Jessica Kalra at jkalra@langara.ca. |
