Online Learning News - July 8, 2020

Contact North I Contact Nord Research Associate, Dr. Rory McGreal, Receives First Place In UNESCO IITE Open Initiative “Innovative Educational Technologies”

Contact North | Contact Nord Research Associate, Dr. Rory McGreal was recognized by the UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education (ITE) for his essay, The benefits of an Open Educational Resource implementation in an Indigenous College. Maskwacis Cultural College Case Study.

Dr. Rory McGreal developed the essay for Contact North | Contact Nord’s teachonline.ca portal, which shares the findings of implementing Open Educational Resources (OER) at Maskwacis Cultural College in Alberta, Canada. The College, a Centre of Excellence in Academics and Cree Indigenous Knowledge, offers courses from basic literacy to university transfer programs. The OER facilitated the development of stackable portable credentials, which can be achieved in a timely fashion and contribute toward completing a diploma from the college.

Read the full announcement from the UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education.

Host: Dr. Stephen Murgatroyd

Chief Innovation Officer
Contact North I Contact Nord

Dr. Murgatroyd has over thirty years’ experience in teaching online as well as developing online programs and courses and helping students at the undergraduate and graduate levels succeed.

He is a psychologist who has focused his work on resilience and adaptability, both for individuals and organizations. His most recent book is Beyond Resilience: From Mastery to Mystery – A Workbook for Personal Mastery and Change. He teaches online for Athabasca University, University of Toronto and University of Alberta.

Register Now!

How to Help Your Students Succeed in Their Online Courses

Tuesday, July 14, 2020, from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. (ET)

This practical and interactive webinar is designed to prepare faculty to help their students succeed in their online courses, including how to:

• Ensure your students have the equipment and devices they need to be effective online learners.
• Promote effective time and “project” management to help them stay on track.
• Encourage them to ask for help from other students and from you.
• Stop plagiarizing and cheating.
• Prepare your students to critically leverage the resources available on the Internet.
• Overcome anxiety about sharing ideas and online project work.
• Avoid the five common mistakes of first-time online learners.
• Develop engaged students rather than passive ones.

Participating in this webinar prepares you to help your students become more adaptive and resilient and to help them develop effective approaches to learning and sharing online.

Register for How to Help Your Students Succeed in Their Online Courses

Learning Design for Accessibility, Flexibility and Student Success at Northern College, Ontario

Learn how Northern College in Haileybury, Ontario, used design principles focused on accessibility, flexibility and engagement for success to build an Introduction to Business course integrating asynchronous access, content delivered in short, precise formats, open registration, social learning, and interactive multimedia to meet the needs of millennial students and working professionals.

Contact North I Contact Nord’s Searchable Directory of Selected Journals in Online and Distance Learning

Journals play essential roles in online and distance learning, for sharing the latest in research, innovation, theory, practices and events. Educators find ideas and connections, building a collective knowledge base that advances teaching, learning, management – and student success. 

Search the Directory

Moving your classes online due to COVID-19?
Have questions about teaching online?
Ask an expert!

Contact North I Contact Nord’s world experts from Canada, the United States, Europe and Africa are volunteering to help you.

e-Mail your questions about anything related to teaching online to [email protected] or submit your question online on teachonline.ca and receive a response within 2 business days. Questions and answers will be posted for quick reference.

The search tool on teachonline.ca is available to help with your immediate requests. Enter keywords in the search tool and it displays a list of relevant resources.

Read the selection of questions and answers submitted

Read Dr. Tony Bates’ Blog Post

The issue of equity has always been inherent in discussions of distance education, because the aim of distance education is usually to widen access to those unable to access conventional educational offerings. In this blog post, Dr. Bates reviews and comments on a recent report by BCcampus/ABLE Research Consultants that addresses the role of online learning in terms of adding to or alleviating inequity in educational provision.

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

Equity and online learning: practical design steps

Must-Read Books on Online Learning

Must-Read Books on Online Learning features books and articles of interest to those involved in the expansion and improvement of online learning.

Ko, S. and Rossen, S. (2017). Teaching Online – A Practical Guide [4th Edition]. New York: Routledge.

Another helpful, practical book, which is light on theory and heavy on suggestions, ideas and examples of what to do. Some really helpful suggestions about how to teach when many of your students can only use mobile devices (true for many international students) and ideas about how to integrate open education resources (OERs) into your courses. Some great case studies of quality online teaching.

Browse all Must-Read Books

Registration Now Open!

The 8th Annual McMaster Conference on Education & Cognition

July 16-17, 2020
Fully Online

#EdCog2020 is a two-day event that brings together educators, cognitive scientists and policy-makers to explore how cognitive science can be applied to educational policy and instructional design. In addition, there will be posters, a discussion panel and evidence-based workshops to provide practical guidelines for essential teaching skills.

To register, view archived videos and get additional information, please visit edcog.mcmaster.ca.