Day 1 Saturday, May 27 | Online Only
Join us at the #OTESSA23 Morning Radio Show Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, May 29, 30, and 31 from 6:30 – 7:30 am (Eastern) at https://voiced.ca
Session Types
✨ Note
All times are in Eastern Time (Canada)
Keynote
Invited Speaker
Regular Session
Vendor
Workshop
Keynote | 11:00 - 12:00
Enabling ‘Students as Partners’: Open Textbooks, Power Shifts and Curriculum Transformation
Glenda Cox & Bianca Masuku | University of Cape Town
Abstract
Work done with open textbook creators at UCT has enabled the DOT4D initiative to articulate models of open textbook production that are being employed by academics at UCT who are using their open textbooks to address social (in)justice in the classroom. Building on this background work, we explore the values and attitudes of the academics who undertake open textbook production with student co- creators. Student inclusion is lauded in research as essential for student belonging, but little work has been done to look for the challenges involved when traditional power dynamics are disrupted. In this research, we describe a potential nexus of three complementary components: open textbooks, social justice, and students as partners. We investigate the affordances of the open textbook to facilitate change in the power dynamics of content production as well as in classroom practice.
Parallel Session 1 | Invited Speakers | 12:30-1:15
45 Minutes
Parallel Session 1.1
Anne-Marie Scott
5 Things You Need to Know Before You Buy Edtech
Abstract
Drawing on experiences of over 20 years in higher education technology, working across commercial and open technology contexts, this talk proposes that the procurement of educational technologies is fundamentally flawed both as a practice and as a process. Institutional processes such as procurement tend to be absent from conversations about digital education, often acknowledged as problematic but also outside our sphere of influence or domain of expertise. On the basis that pedagogy and technology are entangled in complex ways, in fact the opposite should be true. The educational technologies we use are not tools, and should be treated as matters of quality when we consider what good digital education might look like, and what we think the purpose of education is.
Consideration of ethics are often absent from procurement of technology, largely based on instrumentalist assumptions about the neutrality of technologies. Public sector procurement “best practice” also forces us to use poor proxies for our educational values, purposes, and contexts, and creates new risks and liabilities for institutions, at the same time as it seeks to minimise others. Whilst this talk will explore potential solutions to current procurement process and practice, the question that remains outstanding is whether we are simply buying and/or using too much educational technology, and whether, in order to achieve more environmentally sustainable and just forms of education, we should be embracing a de-growth approach to educational technology more generally? How much procurement of edtech, however well executed, is too much?
Parallel Session 1.2
Nicole Johnson | Canadian Digital Learning Research Association/Association canadienne de recherche sur la formation en ligne
Digital Learning Trends in Canadian Post-Secondary Education
Abstract
Join Dr. Nicole Johnson, Executive Director of the Canadian Digital Learning Research Association/Association canadienne de recherche sur la formation en ligne (CDLRA/ACRFL), as she shares how digital learning trends are changing over time and discusses what this means for the future of post-secondary education in Canada. Since 2017, the CDLRA/ACRFL has conducted annual pan-Canadian surveys to track trends related to digital learning at Canadian post-secondary institutions. In particular, since 2020, the CDLRA/ACRFL has been investigating the ongoing impact of the pandemic on course delivery and teaching practices. Through her independent research and consulting practice, Dr. Johnson has also worked on multiple other studies related to faculty experiences with technology, categorizing learning experiences by modality, and the future of higher education. In this presentation, Dr. Johnson will discuss challenges faced by institutions (and the post-secondary sector as a whole), what the future might hold, and recommendations for the sector.
Concurrent Session 2 | 1:30-3:00
Concurrent Session 2.1 | Wildcard
1:30-2:30 | Escape Rooms for Education | Practice
Ava Chow & Nazlee Sharmin | University of Alberta
Abstract
One of the most significant impacts of the COVID pandemic on post-secondary teaching and learning experiences was student disengagement. While gamification was a strategy that was occasionally used in junior-level anatomy and physiology courses pre-pandemic, it became an increasingly important pedagogical strategy during emergency remote teaching for students to become invested in their learning. Escape rooms, which are immersive storytelling games, are one form of gamification. Educational escape rooms, which can be adapted to be in-person or virtual, incorporate learning objectives into individual or team-based games, puzzles and clues, and require students to demonstrate mastery of the material to progress through the storyline. This type of activity not only helps to increase student engagement, but also provides an opportunity to develop soft skills like creativity, teamwork, decision-making, critical thinking and communication that are important in health professionals.
2:30-3:00 | A(nother) Guide for Resisting EdTech: The Case Against (or For?) Course Hero | Practice
Brenna Clarke Gray | Thompson Rivers University
Abstract
Using Sean Michael Morris and Jesse Stommel’s landmark essay “A Guide for Resisting EdTech: The Case Against Turnitin” as its foil, this presentation asks participants to apply the same kinds of critiques applied effectively to Turnitin in that piece to Course Hero as we evaluate its claims against the benchmarks of ethical educational technologies. This experiment in collective meaning-making provides a model for critiquing tools that have been carefully marketed but not well-studied by academics, offering a “way in” to these discussions that is rooted in the practical and factual, and not so profoundly shaped by personalities of influence.
Concurrent Session 2.2 | Sustaining Positive Change
1:30-2:30 | Engaging in Open Pedagogy: Insights from Designing and Teaching Post-Secondary STEM Courses | Practice
Elena Chudaeva | George Brown College
Abstract
What is Open Pedagogy? Open Pedagogy (OP) is a process, a way of
thinking and a way of acting. OP is not a collection of pedagogical
procedures. It does not have a set of predetermined outcomes. OP is
intentionally inclusive, intentionally ethical, and reflective practice.
In this workshop we will look at the implications of “open” in a college
setting. How to engage in Open Pedagogy in a STEM college course? We
will have a look at the Physics for Health course: its design, teaching
strategies, and OER that support OP. We will discuss what does it mean
in practice to participate in OP and what opportunities it presents to
support diverse learners and what challenges such practice presents for
an educator. The following questions will guide the workshop:
- How can Open Educational Resources extend into Open Pedagogy?
- How similar and different Open Pedagogy and Inclusive Pedagogy
are?
- How can Open Pedagogy impact accessibility and inclusion?
- What is the teacher’s role in Open Pedagogy?
- What role does technology play in Open Pedagogy?
2:30-3:00 | An Upgrade to Ungrading: Alternative Grading in Higher Education | Practice
Sharon Lauricella | Ontario Tech University
Rebekah Bennetch | University of Saskatchewan
Abstract
The various practices of “ungrading” have gained increasing popularity, particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic. Ungrading – or what we prefer to call alt-grading – can increase intrinsic motivation, alleviate anxiety associated with judgment, and can invite students to take intellectual risks without fear of being punished or suffering long-term effects if an academic experiment does not work. The many benefits of alternative grading include some degree of freedom from such stress and fear. However, most university administrations resist revisions to traditional grading, and as such, precarious faculty with their students’ best interests at heart often struggle to implement creative, helpful strategies to release students from the stressful grip of judgment and grades. Further, some ungrading “purists” (particularly on social media) are unwelcoming to educators who must or would like to include some fundamental parts of ungrading but must still “fit” within the constraints of the traditional university grading system. This interactive, helpful, and friendly session will be a candid look at what alternative grading really is, what it could be, and how innovative educators seeking to work within a traditional system can address how to move forward with alternatives that are legitimate “upgrades” to “ungrading.”
Concurrent Session 2.3 | Transitions of Online Learning & Teaching
1:30-2:00 | Creating Capacity for Capabilities: Using Professional Development within Learning Design in Capstone | Practice
Sonja Johnston | University of Calgary
Abstract
During the peak of the pandemic, where emergency remote learning was required, undergraduate students trying to complete a business degree had a choice between business capstone and practicum. Unfortunately for our students, there were nearly no positions available as businesses had decreased their workforce numbers so substantially and were canceling practicum positions. This created a very large influx of students through the capstone pathway. This 6-credit hour course is a culmination of student learning throughout the degree and is the final experience prior to graduation. A growing number of industry and scholarly reports explore the disconnect between graduate capabilities and employer expectations regarding workplace skill competencies (Lapointe & Turner, 2020; Mishra et al., 2019; RBC, 2019). Highlighted through consecutive semesters of capstone through 2020 to 2022, an opportunity arose to scaffold a professional development module into the learning design. The author will present the structure, purpose, implementation, and challenges of the module and provide initial insights of the value and iteration through this time period. The content of the module will be shared as it leans into open and accessible training and development. A discussion of the current state and collaboratively brainstorming options next iteration will be undertaken.
2:00-2:30 | “Leave No One Behind.” Peer Support for Teachers: Reflections on a Digital Pedagogy Development Project | Practice
Susanna Kohonen, Helena Kantanen, Kati Kasanen, Vesa Paajanen & Piia Siitonen | University of Eastern Finland
Abstract
This presentation overviews and discusses an on-going peer support method launched by a Finnish university for their teaching staff. The aim of the peer support method is to further develop the pedagogical and digital skills adopted during the Covid19 pandemic. Moreover, its aim is to re-imagine higher education by promoting best practices of online learning and teaching based on staff experiences and relevant research.
The university recruited a team of five experienced lecturers from within its four faculties and the Language Centre to work as pedagogical support to their peers at a 50% work-time allocation, the other 50% of their work still consisting of teaching. The team recently finished its first two-year operation period and has analysed and reported the successes and challenges of the first two years, with recommendations for the following two years.
The team’s analysis of the first two-year period indicates that this peer support mode has proven a necessary modus operandi. In an institution of higher education with its multiple departments, units, boards, working groups, committees, support services, and digital services, the voice of a single teacher may too easily go unheard.
In its reflexive analysis of the first two years of operation, the team highlights four areas of success. Alongside with the successes, challenges do remain, and must be addressed in the following two years of operation. The main challenges are directly connected to the successes. The core challenge concerns the need to keep improving university-wide, accessible, and efficient communication of all the services and support that are available to the teaching staff.
2:30-3:00 | Mediating Relationship and Sexual Health Education | Practice
Andrea Hasenbank | Onlea Studios
Abstract
This session will outline the development of a youth sexual health education program adapted from a series of facilitated in-person workshops to a self-guided, asynchronous online format. The development focused on three key considerations: (1) accessibility, which includes addressing different learning and physical abilities, as well as technical elements relating to devices and rural internet networks; (2) privacy, which includes protection of student information, questions relating to cross-border data hosting, and the ability of participants to ask questions and receive support anonymously; and (3) mediation, which includes how the design of the course must compensate for the loss of an in-person facilitator. The course modules have focused on the use of narrative as a strategy for introducing concepts, connecting to real-world scenarios, and promoting empathy and engagement in the absence of a facilitator. The session will discuss how choices of tools and technologies have addressed the program’s stated considerations, as well as allowed for innovative use of character and storytelling to promote sexual health education.
Concurrent Session 2.4 | Sustaining Positive Change
1:30-2:00 | Sharing Experience Regarding OER Creation and Adoption as a Tool to Manage Student Engagement | Research
Kiranjot Kaur & Kimberlee Carter | Conestoga College ITAL
Abstract
This presentation supports the view that Open Educational Resources (OER) have positive impact on pedagogy and student engagement. OER supporters believe that OERs offer compelling implications on pedagogy including increasing level of student engagement and pedagogical innovation (Open Education Quality Initiatives, 2011 and Orr et al., 2015). A community college faculty member and administrator who supported the faculty member with the Open Educational Resources (OER) project will share how creation and adaptation of OER in the course lead to positive impact on student engagement. OER enabled pedagogy assures student engagement as well increases self-regulated motivation (Werth & Williams, 2021). A notation that the supporting administrator has noticed is that when the same faculty member designs the OER and then facilitates the course, the OER is adopted then anecdotally has greater results then when OER is adopted without creative input or customization. The administrator wonders that if faculty do not have the time to evaluate content to the same degree as an OER creator does they may lose the value of deep connection with content as noted by Skidmore (2019).
2:00-2:30 | Developing a Learning Design Framework: A Collective Process Intended to Foster Collaboration | Practice
Melissa Jakubec & Michelle Harrison | Thompson Rivers University
Abstract
This proposal describes the development of a learning design framework by an instructional design team in an open learning division of a medium-sized university. The team recognized the need for a foundation that reflected their values and guiding principles for design and aimed to build tools that would strengthen collaborative relationships and create a more inclusive and learner-centered experience. The framework is intended to be used as a tool for framing conversations with collaborative teams to ensure the principles of caring, connection, openness and active learning are considered in our learning design. In the presentation, we will provide examples of the framework and its underlying principles and focus on how it can support collaborations among various teams and stakeholders. The team is still in the process of building collaborative and practical elements to support course development and will share both these projects and how the framework is helping to reframe processes and clarify roles.
2:30-3:00 | Reimagining Art and Culture by Decolonizing Digitization | Practice
Amanda Figueroa | Curationist
Abstract
Museums, archives, galleries, and libraries have balanced their responsibility to protect the world’s most important cultural artifacts with their roles as important pillars of public education. However, these goals become increasingly at odds with each other if the institution doesn’t take a deliberately decolonial, and anticolonial, stance towards curatorial work. Left unexamined, contemporary curatorial practice still carries the legacies of colonization, which is visible in the metadata of digitized collections from major institutions like the British Museum. This presentation outlines the necessary role of decolonial practice in GLAM-field digitization projects as well as in the digital tools that make this content available to public audiences. By centering on the co-developed metadata tools of Curationist, we will offer not only an introduction to this platform and its uses to digital art and open education, but also a method of online community development that centers indigenous data sovereignty, community engagement, and decolonization practices to rebalance the power dynamic in collections-based open education.
Concurrent Session 2.5 | Sustaining Positive Change
1:30-2:00 | Qu’en est-il de l’enseignement et de l’apprentissage de la danse à distance ? Adaptations et défis (in French) | Research
Cathia Papi | Université TÉLUQ
Abstract
The health measures imposed in 2020-2021 have led to the development of distance learning courses in the field of leisure. Be it music, yoga, cooking, etc., many courses have been offered online. This has been particularly the case with dance. As distance learning dance classes were rare before the pandemic, new practices had to be developed. How have dancers adapted to this change in training mode and what challenges have they faced in teaching or learning online? In this paper, we propose to look at the challenges faced by teachers and learners of recreational dance. To do so, we will rely not only on the literature published on the subject, but also and especially, on interviews conducted with 78 professional and amateur dancers living in Quebec and France. We will highlight the technologies and teaching methods used in these courses as well as their advantages and limitations according to the teachers and learners. We will then open a discussion on the perspectives of online dance courses.
2:00-2:30 | Que dit la recherche des approches pour contrer l’isolement en FAD ? (in French) | Research
Cathia Papi, Serge Gérin-Lajoie & Wanderlucy Czeszak | Université TÉLUQ
Aristide Tsayem Tchoupou | Université Laval
Abstract
While student isolation was a major issue during the pandemic, a systematic review of the literature conducted as part of the SSHRC’s Knowledge Synthesis program allowed us to review the scientific literature on support aimed at limiting the sense of isolation of students in distance education (DE). This study was conducted on scientific papers published between 2012 and 2022 and led to the examination of 301 articles in French or in English. The analysis of these publications highlights three main approaches to supporting distance education students: the approach focused on developing student autonomy and commitment; the approach focused on the support of a teacher or mentor; and the approach focused on peer-to-peer interactions and collaborative work. In this paper, we propose to review each of these three approaches and to outline the strengths and weaknesses that researchers have identified. We can then discuss how they can be addressed to provide DE. Finally, we will conclude with some possible directions for future research.
2:30-3:00 | A Framework for Evaluating the Creation and Adaptation of Open Textbooks |
Melissa Ashman | Kwantlen Polytechnic University
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in dramatic growth in the use of open education resources, such as open textbooks, as classes moved online around the world. This highlighted the importance of evaluating the creation and adaptation of open textbooks used in online courses. In reviewing the research literature, I found existing rubrics or frameworks were outdated and lacked criteria that are important in today’s digital age. Therefore, I synthesized the evaluation and quality criteria from 31 articles into a single framework, which online instructors can consider using as they create or adapt an open textbook. The criteria include content, accessibility, technology, open licenses, instructional design, and a new category I termed verification.
Concurrent Session 3 | 3:45-5:15
1.5 Hours
Concurrent Session 3.1 | Addressing Inequities
3:45-4:45 | The Seemingly Small Details that are Easily Overlooked in Designing Inclusive Online Courses | Practice
Tai Munro, Ashley Stasiewich & Susan Cauti | MacEwan University
Abstract
While distance and online education are not new, the Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the challenges that students can face with online learning. These challenges can magnify inequity and increase resistance to learning. Many educators have used the pandemic as motivation to reassess their courses but still often overlook seemingly small aspects that can make a big difference for students. Examples of these aspects might include mobile compatibility, video length, and technological requirements. The three panelists are experienced instructional designers and instructors who have focused on improving accessibility in online learning in a variety of contexts. They will share their experiences as both advocates and skeptics on why we need to take the small things into account to develop courses which facilitate learning for all students without exhausting instructors who are experiencing their own barriers and challenges.
4:45-5:15 | Podcasting for Student Agency | Research
Yu-Ling Lee & Nina Lui | Trinity Western University
Keywords:
Abstract
This article explores the potential of podcasting as a useful education technology for promoting agency in preservice teacher education programs. The authors propose a mixed-methods study to investigate the impact of co-creating podcasts as a holistic pedagogical practice. Reporting on the first phase of this research, podcasting appears to helpfully assess student learning. Additionally, it is a powerful technology that can mobilize knowledge created by preservice teachers beyond the classroom. Next stages in the research will incorporate in-service teachers to provide generative feedback, thereby creating a Community of Inquiry between podcasters and listeners.
Concurrent Session 3.2 | Sustaining Positive Change
3:45-4:45 | The Slow Trend Toward K-12 OER Sharing | Practice
Connie Blomgren | Athabasca University
Beth Cormier | University of Lethbridge
Kathy Wise | University of Calgary
Abstract
For K-12 teachers sharing resources is a long established professional practice and with the affordances of digital technologies the ability to file share has been amplified. However, there are technological and copyright implications of sharing curricular teaching content that requires more support and understanding. Copyright ease and ethical sharing of curriculum resources is provided by open licenses yet pre-service and graduate education students currently receive inconsistent tutelage of these licenses. To fill this niche for understanding, locating, or creating OER, the website Openteacherab.ca has been developed. Further support for these students to determine OER quality is the ISKME curation framework that assists with the selection and assessment of pre-existing K-12 OER. Looking to Washington State provides a further example of support for the slow trend toward K-12 OER sharing and development.
4:45-5:15 | Letting Go of Holding On: Promoting Student Choice in a Post- Pandemic Classroom | Practice
Rebekah Bennetch | University of Saskatchewan
Abstract
The pandemic has forced teachers to adapt with greater flexibility to meet changing classroom environments and student needs, resulting in a shift in pedagogy towards promoting more intrinsic motivation and student autonomy. OTESSA’s theme of “Reckonings and Re-imaginings” reflects this transition, inviting educators to re-evaluate their approach. One effective way to achieve this kind of shift is to give students more freedom and choice in their learning, as supported by the work of Evans and Boucher (2015). This presentation will outline practical strategies for promoting more student choice in the classroom, such as incorporating formative assessment exercises, opening student work to include OER projects, and tips on changing one’s teaching mindset. Participants will be encouraged to reflect on opportunities for making small but meaningful changes to their pedagogy to inspire more student autonomy.
Concurrent Session 3.3 | Wildcard
3:45 - 4:45 | Whiteboard Animation for Dental Education | Research
Nazlee Sharmin, Ava K Chow & Mike Carbonaro | University of Alberta
Abstract
Teaching complex scientific concepts in an engaging manner is challenging for educators. Animated videos can explain concepts and engage students by combining audio messages with changing graphics. Whiteboard animation is a style of animated video where the content appears to be hand-drawn on a whiteboard and narrated in a storytelling manner. This technique has the benefits of traditional animations, with the added ability to combine visual thinking and storytelling. Whiteboard animations were successfully applied to explain health-related topics. Creating a successful whiteboard animation requires paid software, time, and drawing skills. Most whiteboard animation software is designed for business advertising and does not provide the graphics gallery needed to explain health science-related topics.
We used traditional PowerPoint and hand-drawn digital images to create whiteboard animation explaining topics for dental education. The built-in animations of PowerPoint were used to animate the images and supporting text.
We aim to create a series of whiteboard animations for dental students. According to Dewey, learning is a social activity resulting from human interactions. Studies found that avatars, cartoon characters, dialogues, and simulated real-world settings in animated videos serve an essential social function in engaging students. We hope the whiteboard animations will be beneficial for dental students.
4:45 - 5:15 | In-class gaming to improve students’ learning experiences in dental education | Research
Nazlee Sharmin & Ava K Chow | University of Alberta
Abstract
Higher educational institutes increasingly focus on incorporating games and simulations to enhance student engagement. Gamification refers to using or adopting game mechanics, techniques, and game theory in a non-game platform, like education. Many health professional education courses have successfully applied gamification. Online games like Kahoot are shown to increase student satisfaction and motivation, help students overcome individual difficulties, and improve collaboration. Gimkit is a new gaming platform that allows instructors to create quiz games that students can play live in class. The instantly generated code by the host allows students to enter live games without having an account or registration. We have introduced in-class gaming using Gimkit in the Dentistry and Dental Hygiene program at the University of Alberta. The effect of playing games on student learning, motivation, engagement, and satisfaction will be evaluated. We believe in-class gaming will be a positive incorporation in didactic dental education to enhance student motivation and engagement.
Concurrent Session 3.4 | Transitions of Online Learning & Teaching
3:45 - 4:45 | Encadrer des étudiant.es à distance : Description des pratiques de nouveaux professeure.s (in French) | Research
Serge Gérin-Lajoie | Université TÉLUQ
Abstract
Canadian higher education institutions are placing increasing emphasis on the development of distance education (DE) and online learning (Bates et al., 2017). Historically, in ADF institutions, the “traditional” teaching process is split into two phases. In the first stage, courses are designed by a professor or design team. Thereafter, student mentoring is assumed by a professor or designee (Racette et al., 2017). This involves accompanying students in their learning process, acting as a moderator, facilitator, coach, pedagogical mentor, e-tutor, coach, etc.
When they take up their positions, new professors are quickly called upon to develop distance supervision practices and, as Vachon (2013) points out, to develop multiple skills such as written and oral communication, the use of ICT, etc.
Over the past few months, a research team has been conducting an analysis of distance education student supervision practices. This research project, financed by the Fonds de recherche – Société et culture du gouvernement du Québec (FRQSC), allowed the deployment of the Observatoire du cours d’action. This theoretical framework allowed for the deployment of the relative life course tool, a methodological tool derived from the semiotic framework of the course of action (Theureau, 2004, 2009).
This project has three objectives: (1) to describe the coaching practices of new teachers in their ADF courses, (2) to explain how the coaching practices of new teachers evolve over time, and (3) to analyze how new teachers develop their skills in coaching practices in ADF courses.
In this paper, we propose to present the mentoring practices of new professors in distance education courses over the past few years.
This session has been rescheduled to Concurrent Session 11.4. #### 4:45 - 5:15 | Face to Face, Online or Something in Between – Student Perceptions of Student Engagement in Different Learning Environments | Research {-}
Hongran Cui, Michelle Harrison & Victoria Handford | Thompson Rivers University
Abstract
During the COVID-19 pandemic, online teaching and learning became the primary model for education, and we are calling this Emergency Remote Education (ERE) (Bozkurt et al., 2020). Previous studies have accumulated rich theories and have proven that student engagement (SE) is positively related to student’s academic achievement. However, only a few studies specifically focused on SE in ERE, which constitutes a gap in the research. This research found that there were differences in student engagement between F2F and ERE; the main reasons causing differences were course design and organization, learning with peers, student-faculty interaction, and social interaction. Students preferred synchronous courses and subjectively perceived less interaction with instructors and peers. However, a supportive environment that was included in the student engagement in F2F learning but not considered as an influenced factor in the Community of Inquiry model showed in this study as a constructive factor in ERE. Sharma and Alvi (2021) found that students were more positive toward blended learning after the pandemic. The findings of this study provide the reason and theoretical foundation for the modification of online education.
Concurrent Session 3.5 | Sustaining Positive Change
This session has been rescheduled to Session 13.4 on May 31.
3:45 - 4:45 | Be(com)ing OE Librarians in Ukraine During Wartime: Taking Down Language Barriers and Practising Inclusion | Practice
Paola Corti | SPARC Europe
Tetiana Kolesnykova | Ukrainian State University of Science and Technologies
Mira Buist- Zhuk | University of Groningen
Abstract
Ukrainian librarians are champions of positive change despite the ongoing war with Russia. The academic library of the Ukrainian State University of Science and Technologies has continued to support students and faculty, even while working remotely from home basements, sharing computers, and taking care of each others’ children, despite air-raid alarms and daily electricity and heating outages. However, this is just a part of their work. They take every opportunity to advance their open agenda by upskilling through peer-to-peer learning, participating in international networks, and adapting existing and creating new OER. They are building bridges between the present and the future: as soon as this war is over, Ukrainian librarians will facilitate enhanced teaching and learning opportunities with fresh, professional skills and external collaborations.
All this while relentlessly facing language issues: rejecting Russia’s “linguicide” attempts and working with colleagues from other countries. The latter incentivises the international community to provide support. The former requires a different strategy: Ukrainian librarians are actively working to preserve their country’s language and heritage, ensuring that its history and culture are not forgotten, despite the war. This presentation offers an opportunity to hear their story and build new collaborative pathways while strengthening existing ones.
This session was rescheduled to Concurrent Session 15.3 on May 31.
4:45 - 5:15 | The Role of Academic Libraries in Fostering of Algorithmic Literacy in Canadian Universities: A Metaliterate | Research
Marta Samokishyn | Saint Paul University
Abstract
Algorithms are becoming an integral part of our socio-digital eco-system: Facebook’s impact on voting practices, Amazon’s resume screening, racial-profiling software, and even one’s ability to get a loan. As a result, there is an urgent need to address the issue of algorithmic awareness and algorithmic literacy in Higher Education to promote critical thinking skills towards algorithmic biases and their impact on social infrastructure.
This presentation will address the issue of algorithmic literacy from an information literacy and metaliteracy perspective. The presenter will discuss the role of information literacy education in promoting algorithmic awareness in higher education and address the adoption of teaching practices to promote critical awareness about algorithms in post-secondary institutions in Canada.
Parallel Session 4 | Invited Speakers | 5:30-6:15
45 Minutes
Parallel Session 4.1
Alec Couros | University of Regina
Harnessing the Power of AI in Education: Opportunities and Challenges
Abstract
In this presentation, Dr. Alec Couros will explore the exciting possibilities and impact of AI in education, focusing on tools such as ChatGPT. With the ability to provide personalized learning experiences, AI has the potential to transform the way we teach and learn. However, its integration into the classroom also raises important ethical and societal concerns. Dr. Couros will examine both the opportunities and challenges of AI in education. Participants will leave with a better understanding of the potential of AI to positively impact student learning and success, as well as the considerations and challenges that must be addressed in order to fully embrace it in our learning environments.
Parallel Session 4.2
Brad Wuetherick, University of British Columbia – Okanagan Campus
Unpacking the Tensions between Indigenous Knowledges and Open Education: Exploring Lar-Son’s 6Rs for Indigenous OERs in Practice
Abstract
Many conversations around open education focus on a Eurocentric framework of copyright and intellectual property rights that are sometimes in tension with Indigenous knowledge systems. While Indigenous communities and scholars are interested in making access to Indigenous Knowledges a more integral part of a decolonized and Indigenized post-secondary landscape, this session will explore areas for concern around the intersections between Open Educational Resources (OERs) and Indigenous Knowledges. Using Lar-Son’s (2022) 6Rs of Indigenous OERs framework for advancing Indigenous Knowledges through Open Education pedagogies and resources, this session will explore some of the principles and practices for engaging with Indigenous communities in the creation of OERs. Additionally, the session will discuss four different OER case studies featuring Indigenous perspective and Indigenous Knowledges from across Canada, including from an ‘in the works’ edited volume, that centre Indigenous ways of knowing, culture, experiences, and worldviews within the work of open education pedagogy and OER development.