Creating Meaningful Educational Experiences

Murray Bronet

This workshop will present the current definitions and research on Blended Learning (BL) pedagogy, some infographics on BL, why a BL format might benefit Science students, and how best to implement a BL pedagogy into your course. A few sample Blended Learning outlines will be presented and participants will be encouraged to bring their own to discuss, refine, and perfect. Nonetheless, BL formats do present significant challenges to the teacher, the student, and to institutional resources. The teacher must ensure content equity between sections of the same course with and without the BL format, as well as maintain equity between students in terms of internet connection and equipment access. Teachers must somehow foster an affective online learning environment, facilitate effective student interaction and learning, be perceived as “present” and supportive while incorporating flexibility in presentation and assessment. For the student, research has shown that online learning poses challenges for self-regulation, feelings of connectedness, digital skills, and motivation. And for the institution, resources have to be allocated to support an online BL pedagogy; Internet (WiFi), equipment, learning spaces, technical support, and pedagogical support. In spite of all the challenges indicated, it is clear that BL pedagogy can allow increased accessibility and flexibility to students while increasing deep learning of course content. One aspect to discuss amongst participants would be the available research on the effectiveness of BL pedagogy: satisfaction, academic performance, pass rates, student retention, etc. Another outcome of this workshop would be the discussion of best practices for BL implementation.

Maggie McDonnell

Get to know Moodle Workshop with this hands-on session. We will learn how Workshop can make peer review effective and meaningful, and the best configurations to support collaboration and learning.

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Nolan Bazinet

The purpose of this workshop is to present the concept of gamification and interrogate its use as a pedagogical strategy in the college classroom to engender meaningful education. To do this, concepts such as games and play, and their connection to meaningful, experiential learning will be discussed, followed by a presentation and analysis of a variety of different games ranging from analog, table-top games, to escape games, to contemporary digital games such as computer off the shelf games and serious games, all of which will be considered for college-level teaching and learning. Moreover, the link between gamification and meaningful and experiential learning will be highlighted, with a focus on elements such as the favoring of students’ agency, the promotion of active learning and engagement, and the presentation of clear goals and objectives. Finally, this workshop seeks to promote a critical reflection on the inclusion of play and games in the college classroom, with the goal of cultivating meaningful learning.

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Dominic Brierre

Distance education has arguably changed how we build relationships with our students and how they build relationships among themselves. How can we open up spaces to help establish, strengthen and nurture these relationships in the digital world to foster learning? What have we learned that can be re-used going forward?

Building on the SoTL and the CoI frameworks, this collaborative and interactive session invites you to draw from your teaching context to:

• Reflect on practices and digital tools that can help foster meaningful relationships in distance education.
• Identify areas you would like to improve in your teaching practice (strategies/digital tools).
• Start drafting an action plan to implement the improvements you would like to make next time you teach.

In this session you will have the opportunity to work both individually and in small groups sharing inspiring practices with fellow educators to look for solutions and strategies. Tools and resources will be made available to you during and after the session to keep you going.

Whether you are new or experienced at teaching, you are welcome to join and be part of this conversation.

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Sharon Coyle

Concrete examples of creative activities at the cegep level will provide context for exploring how we can encourage an innovative and creative approach to the use of digital technology, both for ourselves as teachers designing learning experiences, and to support student creativity. How do we build creativity into learning experiences and assessments? What does a marking grid look like when you leave room for diverse submissions? What are some examples of creativity-inspiring digital tools that can be accessed easily? This workshop will also offer hands-on creative experiences, as well as time for small group reflection on discipline specific application for the use of digital technology to support creativity in your field. 

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Vikram Singh

H5P is a tool that allows you to create online interactive content that you can embed in your Moodle. For example – Have you ever assigned a video to watch and you’re not sure if your students actually watched it? With H5P, you can create an “interactive video” that automatically pauses the video and presents the student with a question they have to correctly answer before they can proceed further with the video. Other examples include: Branching scenarios (self-paced learning), crossword puzzles, drag-and-drop diagrams, memory games, and more!  This hands on workshop will allow you to explore the H5P features and start creating interactive activities.

Limit of 30 participants