Events

Offered jointly by Human Resources and the Centre for Learning and Teaching

Date: June 25, 2020
Time: 9:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.

These unprecedented times may lead to feelings of uncertainty, disquiet, stress, noticing anxiety for the first time, or increases in anxiety that was already there. Working to get your teaching online, keep your research program on track, and possibly carrying increased administrative responsibilities, all from home, might lead to issues with: being present at work, decreased productivity despite desire to be productive, and how to manage other responsibilities (e.g., childcare).

There is concern that this is unsustainable and could lead to burnout. Dr. Pencer will discuss these concerns, as well as concrete tips for managing stress during these difficult times. In addition, Dr. Pencer will discuss the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health in the short term and the long term and provide resources for anyone that might be experiencing anxiety and depression.

Our Presenter:  Dr. Alissa Pencer is a Senior Instructor within the Departments of Psychology and Neuroscience and Psychiatry at Dalhousie University, a Registered Psychologist, and an Affiliated Scientist with the IWK Health Centre and the Nova Scotia Health Authority (NSHA). Dr. Pencer is also a Co-founder and Senior Scientific Director for an internet-based CBT company out of Nova Scotia (Tranquility Online). Her clinical and research interests are in the areas of prevention and treatment of anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive and related disorders, severe mental illness, and substance use in youth and young adults.

Date: Tuesday, June 23, 2020
Time: 1:00pm - 2:00pm
Online via Collaborate

Presenter:
Dr. Karen Gallant, Assistant Professor, Recreation and Leisure Studies, School of Health and Human Performance, Faculty of Health, Dalhousie University

Description:
This session will focus on sharing our collective experiences in cultivating conversation—that is, interactive, dynamic, meaningful communication among students in undergraduate courses using the discussion function in Brightspace.

The following topics will be addressed:

-Logistic of online discussion - group size, purpose, frequency, and evaluation
-Linking online discussion to other aspects of the course (i.e., readings, in-class discussion, independent student work)
-TA/instructor roles in cultivating conversation
-Getting to “conversation” - strategies to encourage engagement

There will be time for questions and discussion, so please bring your own questions and experiences related to online discussion.

A link to join via Collaborate will be emailed to the registration list one hour prior to the start of the session. 

Karen Gallant, Assistant Professor, Health and Human Performance

Karen is a faculty member in Recreation and Leisure Studies within the School of Health and Human Performance. Along with her research interests related to the role of community-based recreation settings and experiences in facilitating social inclusion, she is interested in the scholarship of teaching, and particularly innovations in experiential learning. She is a CLT Faculty Associate, and received the Faculty of Health Teaching Excellence Award in 2018.

Date: Tuesday, June 16th
Time: 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Online via Collaborate

Faculty Presenters: 

• Dr. Jennifer MacDonald, Dalhousie University, Chemistry
  
• Dr. Katherine Darvesh, Mount Saint Vincent University, Chemistry
  
• Dr. Jason Loxton, Cape Breton University, Geology
  
• Katelyn MacNeil, MSc., St. Francis Xavier University, Biology

This session will explore different ways laboratory learning outcomes can be achieved in online/remote courses. Experienced faculty panelists will share the important questions that guided their course design choices and examples of how they moved learning out of the laboratory.

Panelists have experience with:

• Home labs
  
• 3D Models
• Emulated field experiences
• Simulations
• Virtual labs

A link to join via Collaborate will be emailed to participants one hour prior to the start of the session.

This event is part of the "Going Online Together: A Technology-Enabled Learning Committee Event Series."

The COVID-19 state of lockdown has Nova Scotia post-secondary institutions considering online course offerings over the summer and possibly into the fall of 2020.

To foster community and support for this rapidly evolving reality, the Technology Enabled Learning Committee, a multi-stakeholder group representing institutions across the province, is offering a series of webinars to connect faculty currently working on developing online coursework.

These events will provide an opportunity for faculty to ask questions to peers who have experience in using technology in their practice. The panel will feature faculty members from institutions across Canada.

The format of these webinars will be mainly Q/A. The panelists will provide an introduction of their practice as it relates to online course delivery and design, and moderators will facilitate attendees' questions via Padlet and visuals.

If you have any questions, feel free to email chad.obrien@dal.ca

A Dalhousie Academic Integrity Week Event

Date: Monday, June 15
Time: 10:00 am - 11:00 am
Online via Collaborate 

Lead: Vivian Howard

Panelists:
Marc Comeau, ATS - will speak about Respondus Monitor
Brian Lesser, Agriculture - will speak about Urkund
Tom Duck, Physics
Rohan Maitzen, English

Instructors have access to technological tools to help them monitor their students’ work and identify potential academic integrity concerns. Two key tools are available for every Brightspace course site: the originality checking software Urkund and the automated online proctor Respondus Monitor.  

This session will explore the strengths and weaknesses of these tools and will also discuss some of the various online tools and websites that students are prone to use and misuse, as well as strategies for detecting this misuse.  There will be an opportunity for participants to share their experiences and awareness of other tools.

A link to join via Collaborate will be emailed to participants in the morning of the session. 

Date: Friday, June 12
Time: 2 p.m. - 3 p.m. 
Online via Collaborate

This session will focus on preparing to move studio-based learning coursework to online formats. For purposes of this session studio-based learning is intended to be broad and encompass architecture, design, engineering, and creative and performing arts or any coursework which applies principles of studio to delivering coursework. Panelists will share their experiences with using online platforms to foster community, support remote collaborative activity and provide feedback to students. Also of focus will be course planning and design for online studio-based coursework.

Presenters:

• Julius Poncelet Manapul, OCAD University, Drawing & Painting
• Joe Norris, Brock University, Dramatic Arts
• Sebastian Tory-Pratt, NSCAD, Design

Going Online Together: A Technology Enabled Learning Committee Event Series 

The COVID-19 state of lockdown has many post-secondary institutions considering online course offerings over the summer and possibly into the fall of 2020.   
  
To foster community and support for this rapidly evolving reality, the Technology Enabled Learning Committee, a multi-stakeholder group representing institutions across the province, is offering a series of webinars to connect faculty currently working on developing online coursework.  
  
These events will provide an opportunity for faculty to ask questions to peers who have experience in using technology in their practice. The panel will feature faculty members from institutions across Canada.   
 
The format of these webinars will be mainly Q/A.  The panelists will provide an introduction of their practice as it relates to online course delivery and design, and moderators will facilitate attendees' questions via Padlet and visuals. 

If you have any questions, feel free to email chad.obrien@dal.ca

A Dalhousie Academic Integrity Week Event

Date: Friday, June 12
Time: 1 p.m. - 2 p.m.
Online via Collaborate 

Lead: Bob Mann

Panelists:
Jill McSweeney-Flaherty, Centre for Learning and Teaching
Margie Clow Bohan, Writing Centre
Anne Matthewman, Libraries
Catherine Gunn, School of Health Sciences
Justin Roberts, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences 

This informal drop-in session wraps up Academic Integrity Week and gives participants the opportunity to ask questions related to any of the sessions presented over the week and share experiences related to any aspect of Academic Integrity.

A link to join via Collaborate will be emailed to participants in the morning of the session. 

A Dalhousie Academic Integrity Week Event

Date: Friday, June 12
Time: 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
Online via Collaborate 

Lead: Margie Clow Bohan

Panelists: 
Adam Auch and Janice MacDonald-Eddington, Dalhousie Writing Centre

We learn through writing (e.g., diagrams on white boards, exercises, labs, reflections, practice questions, papers). Students display increasing competence in fields through texts, and evaluation of course learning outcomes is accomplished through writing (research papers, take-home exams, and exams). 

This session will allow participants to learn more about good (i.e., appropriate) writing practices, better ways to assess written work, and the support offered by the Writing Centre that is available to improve student writing. (Answer: Yes, we can help.)

A link to join via Collaborate will be emailed to participants in the morning of the session. 

A Dalhousie Academic Integrity Week Event

Troubleshooting research: Tools & Tips from the Libraries for maintaining academic integrity and preventing accidental plagiarism

Date: Thursday, June 11
Time: 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
Online via Collaborate 

Lead: Anne Matthewman

Panelists:
Deborah Hemming, Louise Gillis and Allison Fulford, Dalhousie Libraries

Dalhousie’s Libraries have many tools to assist students with identifying and avoiding plagiarism as they use research resources to prepare papers and assignments.

In this session, librarians from Dal Libraries will review library supports available for helping students navigate academic integrity, including consultations with liaison librarians and the various tutorials, subject guides, videos, and quizzes they have developed to help students.  These include information on paraphrasing, proper citation, copyright and fair dealing.  They will talk about how Dalhousie Libraries can help students better understand what constitutes plagiarism and how to ensure academic integrity.

A link to join via Collaborate will be emailed to participants in the morning of the session. 

A Dalhousie Academic Integrity Week Event

Date: Tuesday, June 9
Time: 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
Online via Collaborate

Lead: Joy Galloway-Jones

Panelists: 
Vilis Nams, Agriculture
Jill McSweeney-Flaherty, Centre for Learning and Teaching

Instructors will gain insight on converting strong learning outcomes into creative assessments.  Utilizing low stake assessments and scaffolding can lower incidence of academic integrity offences and can make teaching and learning more engaging and enjoyable for both the instructor and the learners. There will be an opportunity to brainstorm, and participants will leave with some resources and idea starters to help build robust online learning experiences that encourage academic honesty.

A link to join via Collaborate will be emailed to participants in the morning of the session. 

A Dalhousie Academic Integrity Week Event

Date: Monday, June 8
Time: 1 p.m. - 2 p.m.
Online via Collaborate 

Lead: Bob Mann

Panelists:
Justin Roberts, Faculty of Arts sand Social Sciences
Khurram Aziz, Faculty of Computer Science
Robin Parker, Libraries and Senate Disciplinary Committee member
Susan Holmes, College of Continuing Education and Chair of the Senate Disciplinary Committee

Anyone can read Dalhousie’s policies on how an academic integrity matter will be handled, but no policy can paint a clear picture of the experience an instructor might have when bringing a case forward. 

In this session, Bob Mann, Manager of Discipline and Appeals for the Senate, will lead a panel of two Academic Integrity Officers, Justin Roberts, FASS; Khurram Aziz, FCS, and two members of the Senate Discipline Committee, Susan Holmes, CCE and Robin Parker, Libraries, in walking participants through what can be expected at the faculty and Senate levels.

The discussion will include what should happen, what could happen, and some general advice on the best way to approach what can sometimes be a challenging and uncomfortable process.

A link to join via Collaborate will be emailed to participants in the morning of the session. 

We are pleased to invite you to our Third-Annual Dalhousie Language Teaching Retreat!

Please join us for two collaborative and instructive online sessions!

Guest speakers will be sharing their knowledge and expertise in an interactive, informative and supportive way.

When: Friday, June 5, 2020

Time:

• 9:00 am to 10:30 am. Reyes Llopis-Garcia, Colombia University, Latin American and Iberian Culture LAIC, will lead a session entitled Grammar instruction and applied cognitive linguistics: Natural pedagogical allies.
• 10:30-11:00. Break
• 11:00 am to 12:30 pm. Tracy Franz, of the Dalhousie University ESL Programs, will lead a panel discussion and practical online language teaching workshop called Transitioning to Online Language Teaching: A Case Study, focusing on the challenges around assessment, academic integrity, and development of speaking skills in online language teaching. 

The event will be held on Zoom. Please contact the coordinators for the webinar link. 

Contacts:

Magali Dam-Mazzi Magali.Dam-Mazzi@Dal.Ca

Taghrid Abou-Hassan Taghrid.AbouHassan@Dal.Ca

Date: Tuesday, June 2
Time: 2 p.m. - 3 p.m.

Panelists:

Geneviève Boulet, Mount Saint Vincent University
Lorie-Ann Mills, Jordan Simms, Nova Scotia Community College
Geoffrey Lee-Dadswell, Cape Breton University

This session will provide an opportunity for faculty to ask questions related to teaching math and statistics to faculty who have done this work in an online context.

This panel will discuss:
· teaching tips and tricks for instructing both math and statistics online
· leveraging different online tools for course delivery
· preparing online materials for math and statistics learning, students’ interaction, lesson planning, online classroom management, etc.

A link to join via Collaborate will be emailed to participants one hour prior to the start of the session.

This event is part of the "Going Online Together: A Technology-Enabled Learning Committee Event Series."

The COVID-19 state of lockdown has Nova Scotia post-secondary institutions considering online course offerings over the summer and possibly into the fall of 2020.

To foster community and support for this rapidly evolving reality, the Technology Enabled Learning Committee, a multi-stakeholder group representing institutions across the province, is offering a series of webinars to connect faculty currently working on developing online coursework.

These events will provide an opportunity for faculty to ask questions to peers who have experience in using technology in their practice. The panel will feature faculty members from institutions across Canada.

The format of these webinars will be mainly Q/A.  The panelists will provide an introduction of their practice as it relates to online course delivery and design, and moderators will facilitate attendees' questions via Padlet and visuals.

If you have any questions, feel free to email chad.obrien@dal.ca

Date: Wednesday, May 20, 2020
Time: 11:00am - 12:00pm

Presenter:
Jennifer Van Dommelen is a Senior Instructor in the Department of Biology and a CLT Faculty Associate.

Description:
Though some consider them to be "the last mile"¹ of distance learning, science courses -- including labs -- can be taught successfully online. In this webinar, the presenter will briefly describe her experience with developing labs in two online introductory biology courses and offer prompts and guiding questions to help you to determine which components of your lab program can work well online².

There will be time for Q&A; colleagues with experience in teaching online labs in other subjects are welcome to attend and/or contact the presenter directly to contribute to a crowdsourced list of recommended resources. 

References:

¹ TOPCast Episode 56: "The Last Mile": Getting STEM Online

² Gass, G and J. Van Dommelen. 2015. Conversion Immersion: Adapting Labs for Online or On-Campus Use. Article 8 in Tested Studies for Laboratory Teaching, Volume 36 (K. McMahon, Editor). Proceedings of the 36th Conference of the Association for Biology Laboratory Education (ABLE).http://www.ableweb.org/volumes/vol-36/?art=8

Not cited: Oregon State University Ecampus Research Unit Online Learning Efficacy Research Database; search keyword "lab"

Date: Wednesday, May 13, 2020
Time: 10:00am - 11:00am

Presenters:
Dr. Suzanne Le-May Sheffield, Director, CLT
Raghav V. Sampangi, Instructor, Faculty of Computer Science, and Faculty Associate, CLT

Description:
As we move into the online environment over the spring and summer terms, we may be filled with excitement, but we may also experience feelings of trepidation, anxiety, and being over-whelmed. 

As we transform our face-to-face courses into online versions, with limited time available to do so and within the context of a global pandemic, what considerations should we take into account for ourselves and for our students to ensure a positive learning and teaching experience?  

Join us to consider how you can design and teach your courses within a framework that keeps self-care and compassion in mind. 

Please send your questions for consideration in advance of the session to our emails - Dr. Suzanne Le-May Sheffield or Raghav V. Sampangi. Connect with Raghav on Twitter @RaghavSampangi.

Date: Friday, May 1, 2020
Time: 1:00pm - 2:00pm

Presenter: Phillip Joy, Graduate Teaching Associate, Dalhousie CLT

Description:
Moving from a face-to-face classroom to an online environment can seem like an overwhelming change when you’re a TA. This transition will naturally require you to think differently about how you approach some of the typical TA responsibilities. In this webinar, we will provide you with some just in time tricks to help you manage TAing online.

Topics will include:

• Considerations for synchronous and asynchronous teaching 
• How to engage students in a virtual environment 
• Building your online presence to enhance the student experience 
• Managing your communication and time 

Date: Wednesday, April 29
Time: 1:00pm - 2:00pm

Presenters:

• Angela Crane, Faculty of Science
• Shelley Cobbett, Faculty of Health
• Karen Joudrey, Faculty of Health
• Jennifer Stamp, Faculty of Science

Moderated by:

Brad Wuetherick, Executive Director, Centre for Learning and Teaching

This panel features faculty with experience teaching online and sharing their perspectives about teaching online. 

The format will be for each presenter to start off by answering two quick questions:

1) What is one thing that you think about when designing your online courses that someone new might not think about?

2) What is one approach to engaging students that you use in your own online teaching?

We will moderate discussion with participants asking questions in the chat, around topics such as:

• How to approach creating an instructor presence in your online course
• How to build a community between students and instructor in virtual spaces
• How to approach ‘lecturing’ or sharing material in online spaces (including how to use video as a tool)
• How to approach assessments for online courses

WATCH ON YOUTUBE

Date: Wednesday, April 29
Time: 3:00pm - 4:00pm AST

Presenter: Dr. Valerie Irvine, Assistant Professor of Educational Technology, Faculty of Education, University of Victoria

Description:
In this session, participants will learn about design shifts that are necessary to consider in making the pivot to online learning. Specifically, we will discuss design opportunities for synchronous learning (e.g., live video meetings and decentralized learning pod video meets) and assessment strategies for online learning environments. We recognize sudden shifts in practice can be stressful and will focus on preparing instructors to make this shift as smoothly as possible with tried and true methods. These strategies have been used in both undergraduate and graduate courses online with successful reports from learners both anecdotally and via course experience surveys. This presentation welcomes your participation.

Please send your questions for consideration in advance of the session to my email or via Twitter.

We will also generate a shared space for documenting questions and responses during and after the session, which will be recorded.

Date: Tuesday, April 28
Time: 3:00pm - 4:00pm AST

Presenter: Dr. Richard Schwier, Associate Dean, College of Education, University of Saskatchewan

Description:

Much of what we understand about the notion of online learning communities and how they develop, grow, and die away is based on examinations of formal online learning environments— primarily post-secondary courses managed by institutions of higher learning. As effective as formal environments may be, paying exclusive attention to them limits our understanding of the nature of social learning and the formation of learning communities.  Informal learning environments can tell us a great deal about how people learn together in natural settings, and can teach us a great deal about what happens when the authority for learning is entrusted to learners. This presentation considers what we have learned about learning communities in formal and informal online environments and speculates about what is at the heart of how learners make use of social interaction for the purpose of learning.

Dr. Richard Schwier is a Professor of Educational Technology and Design, and Associate Dean in the College of Education at the University of Saskatchewan.  A 3M National Teaching Fellow, Rick has long been recognized for his teaching, educational leadership, and research related to educational technologies and the design and delivery of online courses and programs. 

Date: Tuesday, April 28
Time: 1:00pm - 2:00pm

Presenters:

• Joseli Macedo, Faculty of Architecture and Planning
• Robin Oakley, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
• Binod Sundararajan, Faculty of Management
• Florence Tarrant, Faculty of Management

Moderated by: Brad Wuetherick, Executive Director, Centre for Learning and Teaching

This panel features faculty with experience teaching online and sharing their perspectives about teaching online. The format will be for each presenter to start off with answering two quick questions:

1) What is one thing that you think about when designing your online courses that someone new might not think about? 

2) What is one approach to engaging students that you use in your own online teaching?

We will follow up with moderating questions from participants asking questions in the chat, around topics such as:

• How to approach creating an instructor presence in your online course
• How to build a community between students and instructor in virtual spaces
• How to approach ‘lecturing’ or sharing material in online spaces (including how to use video as a tool)
• How to approach assessments for online courses

The COVID-19 state of lockdown has NS post-secondary institutions working hard to maintain our program offerings. In many cases this means that faculty are being compelled to consider online course delivery in a very short timeframe. 

In an attempt to foster community and support for this rapidly evolving reality, the Technology Enabled Learning Committee, a multi-stakeholder group representing institutions across the province, is offering a webinar to connect faculty currently working on developing online coursework for the Spring and Summer, or contemplating doing so for the Fall should that become necessary.  

This event will provide an opportunity for faculty to ask questions to peers who have experience in online course design and delivery. The panel will feature faculty members from institutions across NS with expertise in a range of topics such as:

• Large online class group work and graded discussions
• Video creation and innovative approaches to sharing content online
• Fostering the development of community online
• Planning for learner engagement
• Designing coursework which is visually and conceptually engaging as a means to support learning and motivate learners

Session Details

Date: Monday, April 27
Time: 2:00pm - 3:00pm

Panellists:

• Dr. Lyndan Warner, Saint Mary's University
• Dr. Derek Fisher, Mount Saint Vincent University 
• Dr Leanne Stevens, Dalhousie University
• Paul Maher and Monika Kulesza, NSCAD University 
• Dr. Peter MacIntyre, Cape Breton University

Moderators:

• Chad O’Brien, Educational Developer, Dalhousie Centre for Learning and Teaching
• Terry MacDonald, Educational Developer, CBU Centre for Teaching and Learning

 The format of this webinar will be mainly Q/A.  The panellists will provide an introduction of their practice as it relates to online course delivery and design, and moderators will facilitate attendees' questions via chat and audio.