Online Learning News - May 18, 2022

Free Contact North | Contact Nord Webinar

Micro-Credentials, Microlearning and Canada’s Skills Agenda 

Tuesday, May 31, 2022

1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. (Eastern Time)

Register Now!

75% of Canadian employers say they cannot find the employees they need with the skills they require for available jobs. Despite high levels of youth employment, there are still some 50,000+ jobs each month that remained unfilled.

Our Host, Stephen Murgatroyd, Contact North | Contact Nord’s Chief Innovation Officer, explores the possibilities and potential of micro-learning and micro-credentials linked to competencies as a way forward for Canada’s skills agenda. 

Key Takeaways:

• What the skills challenge really is – the six skills gaps we need to close.
• What microlearning looks like and why it may be helpful if linked to competency assessments and learning profiles.
• Where micro-credentials could “fit” into a skills development system.
• What MOOC providers and firms are offering their own products and services in the skills space.
• What the future may look like for competency-based hiring, assessment and gap-based learning.

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!

EdTech
Three Things to Stop, Improve and Start!

Check out the sixth and final instalment on EdTech, as part of Stop, Improve, Start, the bite-sized series on what faculty, instructors and education & training providers need to stop doing, improve on and start doing. 

Read the Full Story

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

In this blog post, Dr. Bates shares his revisions for Chapter 8 on the pedagogical affordances of different media in his open textbook, Teaching in a Digital Age.

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

Analysing the pedagogical affordances of video

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. Laura Gibbs, retired online instructor from the University of Oklahoma.

This Week’s Must-Read Book
on Online Learning

Design Thinking Pedagogy
Facilitating Innovation and Impact in Tertiary Education

By Cara Wrigley and Genevieve Mosely (2023)

How we design learning for students in colleges and universities is suddenly a matter of intense interest. Faculty are exploring new designs, new ways of assessing and engaging students. While the lecture method persists, despite the lack of evidence for its efficacy, more and more instructors are looking to design thinking and design frameworks to improve student engagement, learning outcomes and their own satisfaction with their work. Given the interest in the growth of blended learning and the willingness to experiment and take risks in teaching evidenced during the pandemic, this book is timely and helpful. It helps the reader understand how they can achieve the course outcomes in creative and imaginative ways and uses case studies and a systematic design approach to help readers see possibilities. Well written and focused, it is worth a look.

Browse all Must-Read Books

Directory of Educational Technology and Related Education Conferences from Around the World

Search the 46th Educational Technology and Related Education Conferences by Contact North I Contact Nord Research Associate, Clayton R. Wright, updated to include 2022 conferences.

Use three unique search features of the comprehensive directory offered by Contact North I Contact Nord: 

• Sort the directory by date, conference name or country
• Filter the results by date or country
• Search for a conference name, country or topic using a keyword search

Search the Directory

Upcoming Events in Online Learning

EDEN 2022 Annual Conference
Tallinn University, Estonia

In Person and Virtual Options

June 20-22, 2022

“Shaping the digital transformation of the education
ecosystem in Europe”

This yearʼs conference is intended as a continuation of the efforts of EDEN to support educators by providing a space to explore the issues and insights that have emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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

Most Popular Resources on teachonline.ca

1. A New Pedagogy Is Emerging... and Online Learning Is a Key Contributing Factor 
2. Ten Facts You Need to Know About Micro-Credentials
3. Searchable Directory of 1,600+ Upcoming Education and Technology Conferences From Around the World 
4. COVID-19 and the Impact on Online Learning
5. Ten Guiding Principles for the Use of Technology in Learning