Award for Excellence in Online/Blended Course Development, Design, and Delivery

Gabriella Mosquera

Faculty of Computer Science

Gabriella’s course uses an impressive array of tools and platforms to vary the mode of delivery and provide options for student participation. These are all carefully considered and clearly communicated, creating admirable flexibility and accessibility. However, what really sets this course apart is the way it leverages the blended format to, as she puts it, change students’ primary question from “Why are we learning this Web Framework instead of another?” to  “Which Web Framework would I like to learn today?”  

Biography

Prof. Gabriella Mosquera earned an Associate Degree in Liberal Arts from the Universidad de Especialidades Espíritu Santo in Guayaquil, Ecuador; a Bachelor of Information Technology from Clayton State University in Morrow, GA; and, a Master in Electronic Commerce from Dalhousie University. Prof. Mosquera is a Cultural Competence in Computing (3C) Fellow from Duke University and implements EDIA principles into her course designs.

Prof. Mosquera's teaching focuses on applied web and application development courses at both the undergraduate and graduate level for the Faculty of Computer Science, as well as undergraduate electives for non-Computer Science majors with a focus on application development and content creation. Prof. Mosquera's teaching methodology focuses on creating an experiential learning environment in which students develop their skills portfolios in order to address industry demands. Through a combination of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and a Hybrid-Flexible (HyFlex) course design, her classes encourage a flexible, inclusive, and accessible learning environment that fosters creativity and supports all types of learners, while enhancing students’ learning experiences and increasing course engagement. Prof. Mosquera is currently researching the impact of course design on student learning experiences and exploring applications that address accessibility needs.

Dal prof changing the way we think about accessibility in the classroom

Emily MacKinnon - September 6, 2024

Dr. Lisa Berglund, School of Planning, Faculty of Architecture and Planning, is being recognized for her exemplary skills, including considerations for Universal Design for Learning and accessibility, with the Award for Excellence in Online/Blended Course Development, Design, and Delivery. She showed a purposeful effort in thinking through what teaching and learning activities can be moved to online, considering learning needs and content, and which learning activities are best facilitated in person. Dr. Berglund also developed curricula to support equity and cross-cultural competencies and enhanced the understanding of groups who have experienced historic and ongoing disadvantage and harm. 

Biography

Dr. Lisa Berglund earned a B.S. in Architecture from the University of Michigan, a Master of Urban Design from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, and a doctorate in Urban Planning from UCLA. Dr. Berglund's teaching focuses on urban design skills and history and theory of urban planning and urban design. In her studio and theory courses, students are asked to solve planning problems from the perspective of underrepresented and historically marginalized groups, conducting research and reaching out to local communities to do so. This past year, she led field study courses in both Charlottetown, PEI, and New York City where students were able to gain applied knowledge from urban planning practitioners carrying out their work on site, with a particular focus on social justice in planning practice. Her research focuses on gentrification and the role of local communities fighting for accountable development practices. She is currently exploring the role of policing and surveillance technologies as economic development strategies in gentrifying neighborhoods and their implications for racial and economic justice.