Online Learning News - February 23, 2022

Free Contact North | Contact Nord Webinar

How to Use a Lightboard and OBS Studio
to Effectively Teach Online

Thursday, March 3, 2022

 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. (Eastern Time)

Register Now!

Using a lightboard is one of the best ways to engage your students in interactive presentations. Join Michael D. Justason, Assistant Professor at McMaster University, to learn how to capture (and keep) the attention of your online students as he explores:

• The setup and use of a home or office lightboard
• The most relevant features of OBS Studio for teaching with a lightboard, including combining webcam view with MS PowerPoint slides or images, scene transitions, the use of hotkeys, colour-correction filters, screen capture and camera settings
• How to apply the techniques to produce recorded content
• The main takeaways from a recent research project that investigates the effectiveness of lightboards for live-synchronous teaching

Free Contact North | Contact Nord Webinar

How to Improve and Promote Student Engagement in the Online Classroom

Wednesday, March 16, 2022

2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. (Eastern Time)

Register Now!

As we explore the future of learning in higher education post-pandemic, what do we need to know about student engagement? How do we design our classes and the learning experience to balance what we need to teach with engaged learning?

In this interactive webinar, Dr. Amy Sloan, Lecturer in the Department of Curriculum & Instruction at Baylor University, investigates:

• Why student engagement is a critical variable in student success and what this means for course design and delivery
• Examples of effective student engagement
• The five Cs of student engagement: connection, consistency, content, community, and compassion
• The pitfalls of designs for engagement and the importance of tying active learning to learning outcomes

Assessment of Student Learning
Three Things to Stop, Improve and Start!

Student assessment is under the microscope like never before, thanks in part to the pandemic. In the second instalment of Stop, Improve, Start series, find out what faculty, instructors, and education and training providers need to do to make assessment more relevant in a post-pandemic world.

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Dr. Tony Bates’ Blog:
Online Learning and Distance Education

In this blog post, Dr. Bates describes and outlines the topics covered in Stephen Downes’ recent article on connectivism.

Read Contact North I Contact Nord Research Associate Dr. Tony Bates’ blog post:

Stephen Downes latest contribution to the theory of connectivism: an overview

Leaders & Legends of Online Learning

Dr. Mark Nichols’ Podcast

Leaders & Legends of Online Learning is a podcast that brings first-person perspectives from online learning experts that inform and inspire. Each interview lasts about 30 minutes and links to each guest's work and profile.

In this episode, Dr. Mark Nichols interviews Dr. Tony Bates about higher education in a post-COVID world.

Beyond the Basics:
Helping You Teach More Effectively
with Zoom’s Advanced Tools

You have mastered the basic features of teaching on Zoom, so now what?

Beyond the Basics is live training geared specifically to educators and trainers like you. Led by Contact North | Contact Nord’s e-Learning Training Facilitator, our FREE session will help you boost engagement and accessibility for all types of learners:

• Enable live transcriptions for added accessibility
• Use PowerPoint as a virtual background, as a more immersive way to present
• Use focus mode to help learners avoid distractions by only seeing the host's webcam
• Use immersive view for creative discussions
• Set up and use exit surveys for all types of feedback
• Set up advanced polling and quizzes for instant engagement

Register now for a one-hour live FREE training session!

This Week’s Must-Read Book
on Online Learning

Self-Directed Learning: An Imperative
for Education in a Complex Society

Edited by Elsa Mentz, Dorothy Laubscher, Jako Olivier (2021)

This collection of papers focuses on both theory and practice of self-directed learning, including a focus on self-assessment and the triggers and prompts to sustain learning. The book contains contributions from colleagues in the US and Africa. A rich, insightful and sometimes demanding collection is very substantial (300+ pages). The materials range from work in schools, teacher education to work in higher education. There are detailed empirical studies as well as theoretical explorations. There is an especially helpful chapter by Jako Oliver of North-West University (South Africa) on “panic pedagogy” (Chapter 3) and another on the learning environment by Charlene du Yoit-Brits (Chapter 2) who also contributes to the introductory chapter on ubuntu (the self as collective and collaborative being – “I am because we are”) from the same institution, which add a great deal to this book. Well worth reading. Available for free download at https://books.aosis.co.za/index.php/ob/catalog/book/279

Browse all Must-Read Books

Contact North I Contact Nord’s

Searchable Directory of 65+ Open Universities Worldwide 

More than 65 open universities around the world provide open and equal access to education, without requiring students to have formal education or credentials to be admitted. These institutions have a common commitment to open access to quality learning and student success.  

Use the directory to search location, contact information, delivery modes, enrolment and more!

Search the Directory

Upcoming Events in Online Learning

European Advanced Educational Technology Conference (EAET 2022)

March 25 – 27, 2022

University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

The aim of the EAET 2022 is to provide scholars, faculty, researchers, students and administrators with an excellent opportunity to convene with colleagues from many countries and discuss innovative ideas and changes in education, results and outcomes of theories and practice in the area of educational technology.

Topics include instructional design; learning and technology; teaching and technology; learning and teaching processes; distance education; e-learning; teacher training; lifelong learning and technology; learner needs in the 21st century; and new approaches in educational technology.

For More Information and to Register

About Contact North | Contact Nord

As Ontario's community-based bilingual distance education and training network, Contact North | Contact Nord helps underserved residents in 1,300 small, rural, remote, Indigenous and Francophone communities access education and training without leaving their communities.

Visit contactnorth.ca for more information

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5. Contact North | Contact Nord Webinars