Thursday, June 20
Online Only. All times Eastern Daylight Time.
Current Eastern Daylight Time (click for more info)
Host: Meo
11:30 - 12:00 | Conference Welcome, Announcements, & Land Acknowledgement
Host: Katy –>
12:00 - 1:00 | Ethics in Design Showcase 20
Host: Katy
Note
There is ONE Zoom link for all Ethics in Design Showcases in Session 20.
Showcase 20.1 | Sustaining Positive Change
Redesigning Computing for Openness - the Ethics of Consuming Devices
Brian Sutherland | University of Toronto
Have you started to accumulate old computing devices? Why does the logic of computing involve repeated purchase and consumption of expensive “molded plastic epics” (Gabrys, 2011)? Thinking back on calculation devices and this ethical problem of repeated consumption, the simple solar calculator stands out for its durability – an energy harvesting strategy that doesn’t use batteries, and it doesn’t wear out. Fifty year old solar powered calculators and other electronic devices which still work may be found. In this session, proposed for the Ethics in Design Conference Strand, I will review the history of energy harvesting information devices and their significant characteristics around sustainability, present response designs which engage various ethical questions around consumption, carbon production and degrowth, and discuss their usefulness as open designs and thought-artifacts in an iterative speculative design conversation around climate change.
Showcase 20.2 | Addressing Inequities
Open Learning Design in Context: Expanding the Continuum
Research
Verena Roberts | University of Calgary
Michelle Harrison | Thompson Rivers University
Our conceptual paper examines open-learning approaches from a design perspective that takes a more systematic view which is not intended to promote the replication of open-learning design models. Instead, this paper is written to highlight how educators can find connections and possible integration to their own learning contexts to design with principles that could lead to more equitable, accessible and responsive learning environments for all learners. The Open Learning Design Continuum (OLDC) is an ever-changing and evolving collaborative learning design model that examines the potential principles of open learning design in multiple higher education contexts. Through a comparison of case studies of open curriculum designs at two Canadian HE institutions, we will examine ways that educators and learners have experienced a variety of approaches to open learning design, including the blurring of informal/formal spaces, the uses of open educational resources (OER) and open platforms to create more student-centered, equitable and accessible learning spaces.
Showcase 20.3 | Addressing Inequities
Speculative Design in a Summer Camp: Tensions around Infantilization
Research
Madalyn Wilson-Fetrow | University of New Mexico
Summer camps offer opportunities for youth to learn technical skills and apply them in service of solving wicked problems, like climate change and social/economic injustices. While many camps want youth to bring their experiences, they anticipate that campers will share happy or optimistic experiences, contributing to a sense of hopeful, if idealistic and unrealistic solutions to pressing issues. Those who administer and facilitate such learning experiences encounter youth who passionately want to tackle these problems, but who are not naïve regarding the harms surrounding climate disaster and racial injustice.
In this session, we present examples of design challenges that—through participants’ perspectives and an ideation technique—became more speculative and critical. We supported our middle school participants to use the Wrong Theory Protocol to generate harmful and humiliating ideas prior to generating beneficial solutions. In doing so, some facilitators—who came from higher SES settings than the campers—became uncomfortable with the darkness of participants’ ideas, which included policy brutality, gun violence, etc., and stemmed from their everyday experiences of poverty. In this way, facilitators’ infantilization of participants is a tension present in many such designs, and one which we aim to trouble, using structural analysis of videos and artifacts.
1:00 - 1:15 | Break
1:15 - 2:45 | Concurrent Session 21
Session 21.1 | Wildcard & Addressing Inequities
Host: Meo
1:15 - 2:15 | Graphically Speaking: Sketchnotes in an Open Educational Practice
Workshop
Helen DeWaard | Lakehead University
Debbie Baff | Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC)
Giulia Forsythe | Brock University
The application of graphic visualization can be used by open educational practitioners, scholarly writers, and researchers to illustrate mental models, enhance sense making, and extend memory. Although the presenters will share their collaborative autoethnographic research as they examined theoretical frameworks that relate to their graphic visualization practice of sketchnoting, the primary focus of this workshop is on the practice of sketchnoting in academia. Definitions of sketchnoting, open educational practices, and hupomnemata are provided, and theoretical frameworks are shared. This is followed by brief descriptions of the presenters’ individual contexts and sketchnoting stories. In this way, the authors advocate for and explain why and how sketchnotes are part of their open educational practice. The presenters will actively engage participants in sketchnoting experiences and identify issues when sketchnoting in an academic writing practice. The authors identify issues and challenges, offer tips to begin sketchnoting, and outline how sketchnoting can expand the landscapes of academic writing.
Session 21.2 | Transitions of Online Learning and Teaching
Host: Katy
1:15 - 2:15 | FLO Fusion – A Sustainable Approach to Supporting Professional Development with OERs
Practice
Helena Prins | BCcampus
In the face of multifaceted challenges confronting higher education globally, strategic professional development becomes paramount. Economic, social, technological, demographic, environmental, and political dynamics necessitate a resilient sector capable of delivering quality education. The profound impact of the global pandemic on the Canadian post-secondary system has accentuated issues like the digital divide and online learning readiness. Recent research underscores that overwhelm, burnout, and negative faculty perceptions about online learning persist; faculty and students desire more technology supported learning, but does faculty have the skills and “know how” to teach in digital environments?
This presentation emphasizes the strategic utilization of existing open education resources (OERs) for professional development in preparing and supporting faculty to navigate our complex post-secondary context. A curated collection of OERs under the Facilitating Learning Online (FLO) umbrella will be introduced. These resources cover a diverse array of topics, including Indigenizing pedagogy, Artificial Intelligence exploration, and Anti-racism strategies, providing a robust foundation for professional development.
Attendees will 1) gain a deeper understanding of how FLO OERs enhance teaching resilience in higher education, 2) explore FLO content for professional development, and 3) discuss strategies for OER adoption locally.
2:15 - 2:45 | Realities of Remote Learning: Autistic Youths’ Experiences During COVID-19
Research
Millie Batta | Shoreline Counselling
School closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a shift to emergency remote learning, significantly impacting autistic students who experienced interruptions to school-based supports and social interactions. Using the framework of thriving, this research study explored the experiences of autistic youths and their mothers of emergency remote learning during the first few months of the pandemic, with a focus on well-being. The findings of this study highlighted how remote schooling came with a spectrum of benefits and challenges. The autistic youths’ experiences of remote schooling are described through three common themes: (1) social, (2) emotional, and (3) academic. This research aligns with the conference’s subtheme of online learning and teaching as it aims to integrate the learnings from students’ remote schooling experiences for inclusive practices for neurodiverse students. This presentation considers how online learning may impact the social engagement and overall well-being of autistic youth. I conclude the session by highlighting how professionals working with autistic youths may benefit from understanding their remote schooling experiences using a thriving framework to better support their social, emotional, and educational needs in future online settings.
Session 21.3 | Sustaining Positive Change
Host: Colin
1:15 - 2:15 | Exploring Systemic Issues and Bias Against Education Research: An Examination of 10 Years of Data of SSHRC Doctoral Fellowships
NEW
Research
Valerie Irvine | University of Victoria
In this session, we will review findings from a review of 10 years of doctoral fellowship data from the Government of Canada Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. We will discuss aspects like disciplinary comparisons within the social sciences and humanities as well as the presence of hard science contexts being funded within the social science and humanities funding. Equity and ethics will be discussed along with how this may impact campus-level and national-level reviews of applications. We invite a discussion about how funding could be designed for the future.
2:15 - 2:45 | Power to the People: Digital Humanities for/as Community Development
Research
Keith Cheng | University of Toronto
“Digital Humanities” (DH) has been a rapidly growing field within academia, used to broadly describe scholarship situated in the intersection of technology and the humanities. While the field was originally conceptualized with radical intentions to move toward “the democratization of culture and scholarship” (Schnapp and Presner, 2009), it has become increasingly institutionalized and largely detached from these radical origins. In a time where there is there is a growing digital divide (Darko et al., 2023) and heightened concerns around the harmful impacts of new technologies (Benjamin, 2019), imagining new futures for the field of digital humanities is crucial. Putting digital humanities in conversation with scholarship from the fields of human and community development, the author argues that digital humanities is a radical site of possibility where agency and solidarity can be developed (Bhattacharyya, 2004), understandings of the self and one’s position within the larger world can be negotiated (Collins, 2006; Freire, 1968), and power can be decentralized from the university.
The author employs Nancy Fraser’s theory of justice to develop a framework for equitable digital humanities work, discussing tangible strategies and potential barriers to its application through an autoethnographic account of their experiences developing digital humanities programming for underrepresented students at a Historically Black College/University (HBCU). The paper will discuss both the process and product of digital humanities, exploring how the process of doing digital humanities can have transformative impact for those involved and how new technologies can help facilitate wider and more diverse public engagements with digital humanities work.
2:45 - 3:00 | Break
3:00 - 4:00 | Study on the Ways of Conferencing for OTESSA 2.0
Host: Katy Link to Consent Form and Survey
NEW
Hongran Cui | Thompson Rivers University
Valerie Irvine | University of Victoria
Connie Blomgren | Athabasca University
Mariel Miller | University of Victoria
Stephanie Moore | University of New Mexico
Colin Madland | University of Victoria
Focus Group for OTESSA 2.0: Collecting Research on Ways of Conferencing
You are invited to engage in a focus group session exploring the future of conferencing. This focus group is part of a research project, exploring the evolving landscape of academic conferencing in the context of continuous technological advancements, societal changes, and climate concerns. Conference attendees are invited to review the study overview and consent form. Those who wish to participate are welcome to come discuss your preferences, experiences, and expectations. The session will be audio recorded for transcription, but not streamed. Through this structured discussion, we aim to gain a comprehensive understanding of how conferencing can meet the needs of diverse participants in environments that can range from nature-based to digital, online, and open contexts. We look forward to identifying challenges and opportunities that will shape OTESSA 2.0.
Host: Meo
Showcase 20.3 | Addressing Inequities
Bringing Human-centeredness Learning Analytics Dashboards: Design Principles and Implications
Practice
Dana Al Zoubi, Noah Glaser & Evrim Baran | Mississippi State University
The rise of Learning Analytics (LA) applications, particularly Learning Analytics Dashboards (LADs), offers immense potential to improve teaching and learning outcomes. However, challenges persist in the effective design, ethical use, and privacy considerations associated with LADs. This paper explores the growing interest in LADs and emphasizes the need for a human-centered approach to address design and structural challenges. The proposed human-centered design (HCD) approach advocates for prioritizing end-user’s perspectives and needs throughout the design process, incorporating transparency, inclusion, and accountability principles. This paper delves into the implications of adopting HCD principles, such as personalized learning experiences, inclusive representation, improved learner engagement, and ethical use of data. By involving stakeholders, especially learners, in the design process, LADs can be tailored to diverse needs and preferences, promoting engagement and informed decision-making. The discussion extends to transparency, inclusion, and accountability as key principles for addressing ethical and privacy concerns associated with LADs. Future research directions are proposed to further explore the effective application of human-centered approaches in LAD design, aiming to continually enhance their role in promoting positive learning outcomes in educational settings.
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