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Upcoming events, workshops, and webinars

Content reviewed:

Teaching and learning focused on online, blended or distributed workshops, webinars, panel discussions, and other professional development events MB Hub has gathered for our membership. We have highlighted events from Partner institutions and organizations such as Educause and Quality Matters and sibling organizations from Canada (BC Campus and Contact North | Contact Nord).

August professional development events

How might we decolonize higher education?  What does that mean in reality?

This week the Future Trends Forum is delighted to host Dr. Oscar Mwaanga, program director for the Post Graduate Certificate in International Sports Management at the University of London Worldwide.

Date: Thursday, August 29, 2024 
Time:  1:00 to 2:00 p.m. (CT)) 
Location: Online 

FLO Friday: What’s So “Safe” About Safe Spaces in Higher Education? by BCcampus

Educators have described their classes and institutions as “safe spaces” with increasing frequency and certainty since the 1990s. This certainty, implying that a safe space is somehow better for learning outcomes, has been widely adopted with little critical consideration of what it truly means and what is expected when an educational space is labeled “safe”.  

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:  

  • Recognize “safe space” as an educational metaphor 
  • Explain their obligations to others when they welcome them to a safe space 
  • Identify the implicit promises others make when a place or situation is labeled a safe space 

Presenter: Bhuvinder Singh Vaid
Date: Friday, August 30, 2024
Time: 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. (CT)
Location: Online

Truth and Reconciliation events

Truth and Reconciliation Week Lunch and Learn webinars by the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation

Be moved by the powerful stories of survival and strength. Unlock the power of understanding and immerse yourself in UN-learning of the myths of our colonial history. Registration for National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR) free annual Truth and Reconciliation Week Lunch and Learn webinars are now open.

Languages: English, French, and ASL interpretation provided.
Dates: September 23-27
Time: 12:00 p.m. to 12:50 p.m. (CT)
Location: Online

September professional development events

How might colleges and universities prepare students for the job market?

This week the Future Trends Forum is delighted to host Jeff Strohl, research professor and director of the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce (CEW).

Date: Thursday, September 12, 2024 
Time:  1:00 to 2:00 p.m. (CT)
Location: Online 

Designed at First Sight – Will AI be a Partner in Course Design? by Quality Matters

Follow our human designers as they journey through a new course design project, while agreeing to an exciting new proposal: fully committing to artificial intelligence as their co-designer the moment they first meet. Will it be a match made in cyberspace or will the pair be destined for doom? Join us to find out if the pair will stay together…or if they will split up!

Presented by Paula McDougald, Lead Course Design Specialist at Virtual Arkansas
Date: Wednesday, September 18
Time: 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Location: Online

Stanford Neurodiversity Summit 2024: Putting Strengths-Based Approaches in Action by the Stanford Neurodiversity Project

This hybrid summit is a unique conference bringing together neurodiverse/neurodivergent individuals, employers, service agencies, educators and students, parents, and professionals from all areas of the field. We are planning the conference with Universal Design in mind to maximize accessibility and inclusion.

At this forum, we will share visions, innovations, and inspirations about how neurodiversity can make our society better. Here is where neurodiverse/neurodivergent people, their family members and friends, educators, clinicians, researchers, and all other stakeholders and professionals learn from each other. Neurodiverse individuals will share their unique life and professional journeys, and some will share their significant contributions to the community. Other professionals and stakeholders will illustrate how their work enhances the lives of neurodiverse individuals.

Dates: Sunday September 22, 2024, to Tuesday September 24, 2024.
Program: Program at a Glance
Featured speakers:

  • Dilip Jeste, M.D., Director of Global Research Network on Social Determinants of Mental Health and Exposomics
  • Morenike Onaiwu, Ph.D. Advocate, author, public speaker, and social science researcher
  • Judy Mark, President Disability Voices United and parent of a neurodiverse young man
  • Meng-Chuan Lai, M.D. Ph.D, Canadian Institutes of Health Research Sex and Gender Science Chair, Department of Psychology, University of Toronto
  • Temple Grandin, Ph.D., Author and advocate, Professor of Animal Science, Colorado State University

Location: online
Cost: $20 UDS

FLO MicroCourse: Decolonizing Pedagogies – Reframing the Ways We Teach by BCcampus

Join BC campus for this free one-week Facilitating Learning Online (FLO) MicroCourse offering you opportunities to reframe some of the pedagogical approaches that could be hindering your journey towards reconciliation.

Each day will introduce a new approach or resource aimed at weaving Indigenous perspectives into our practice, fostering decolonization and expanding our teaching repertoire.

Learning Outcomes

  • Become acquainted with the Government of British Columbia’s distinctions-based approach.
  • Reflect on what stops us, and what motivates us, to do the work of decolonization and reconciliation.
  • Share similarities and differences in our practice.
  • Create visions for the future based on our individual contexts and collective aspirations.

Facilitator: Dr. Carmen Rodriguez de France
Dates: Monday, September 23, 2024, to Friday September 27th, 2024

While most of the learning will happen asynchronously, BCcampus has one optional synchronous session planned on Wednesday, September 25, 2024, from 12:00 to 1:30 p.m. (PT) This session will be recorded and shared publicly after the event.

To get the most out of this learning experience, participants can expect to invest 2.5 asynchronous hours each day to review and reflect on the course materials and resources.

Registration closes: September 20, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. PT.

How to be an Educational Technology: An Entangled Perspective on Teaching by Contact North

  • Why aren’t there significant difference in outcomes for online or in-person learning?
  • Why does the seemingly intuitive fact that we learn better in some ways than others make no difference when we try to accommodate those different ways of learning in our teaching?
  • How can a teacher with only a few days of training teach as well as or better than one with years of subject matter expertise? And why can someone teach the same thing the same way twice, yet have completely different results each time?

These questions and many more will be answered in this session.

Key takeaways

  • A learning technology is one that includes pedagogical methods (when we learn, we are all learning technologists, no matter what other technologies we might use)
  • There are many teachers, from textbook authors to curriculum designers, but the most important teacher in any learning transaction is always the learner
  • The technology that matters is only ever the whole assembly, not the parts
  • Although technological determinism — the belief in technology as a key governing force in society — is exceedingly rare, some parts can be much more influential than others (they are the hard parts of the assembly that we must work with)
  • For all but the most trivial learning, the whole assembly will never occur the same way twice (it is complex, so there cannot be predictive sciences of teaching)
  • Creative technique, skill, passion and compassion matter at least as much and usually more than method (we should therefore not focus our efforts on developing better methods of teaching; instead, we should focus on becoming better teachers)

Date: Tuesday, September 24

Time: 12:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

October professional development events

FLO Friday: Neurodiversity in Post-Secondary Education – Supporting Students by BCcampus

In this FLO Friday session, BCcampus will delve into the world of neurodiversity to uncover the invisible disabilities affecting an estimated one in five adults.

Whether you are well-versed in neurodiversity or are just becoming aware of the variation in human neurological conditions, this webinar will address the harmful myths keeping us separated and increasing conflict in the classroom. It will explore the strengths inherent in neurodivergent students, propose how to support neurodiversity in education and campus life, and offer a vibrant Q & A session.

Learning Outcomes

  • Learn how to define neurodiversity and related terms in the context of post-secondary education.
  • Identify common manifestations of neurodiversity among young adults.
  • Explain the importance of neurodiversity awareness and inclusion in post-secondary settings.
  • Describe effective strategies to support neurodivergent students in the classroom and across campus.
  • Apply at least three practical steps to promote neurodiversity inclusion in your teaching practices.
  • These learning outcomes cover the essential aspects of understanding, recognizing, valuing, and supporting neurodiversity in post-secondary education, while also providing actionable steps for educators.

Date: Friday, October 4 
Time: 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. (CT)
Location: Online

FLO Friday: Mindfully Using Technology in the Classroom by BCcampus

Join us for this free 1-hour Facilitating Learning Online (FLO) session that will highlight different aspects of being mindful in our selection, utilization, and purpose of bringing technology into the classroom. Topics range from protecting personal information, to providing alternatives if students are uncomfortable sharing digital data within a platform, to offering multiples ways of engaging with technology including being anonymous or using pseudonyms, & always making it clear to students why we are asking them to engage with a specific tool. 

Learning outcomes

  • When prompted with a case-study scenario, you will dialogue in small groups around how to best support the student(s) in that situation while proposing at least one solution or action-point.
  • Following a short self-reflection activity, you will critically evaluate your own utilization of different technologies including the Zoom platform we are hosting this session on.
  • You will dialogue with colleagues around key tenants of the B.C. Digital Literacy Framework as it relates to your own work using technology mindfully in the classroom

Facilitator: Dr. Gerry Gourlay (she/fer)
Date: Friday, October 18, 2024
Time: 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. (CT)
Location: Online

FLO Panel: Let’s Talk About Faculty Well-Being by BCcampus

Faculty fatigue has been identified as one of the most pressing teaching and learning challenges in higher education. Join us for a panel conversation focused on faculty well-being. While we often discuss how to support the well-being of our students, it is important for us to consider what it means “to put your oxygen mask on first.”

Some of the topics we will explore during this 90-minute conversation include:

  • Leaning and leading into wellness
  • From resilience to human flourishing
  • Balancing self-care and success
  • The structural roots of faculty fatigue
  • This session will be ideal for administrators, educators and staff in post-secondary education. Be part of the conversation!

Date: Tuesday, October 22
Time: 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. (CT)
Location: Online

November professional development events

FLO Friday: Creating an Inclusive Classroom Using Learner-Centred Design by BCcampus

This one-hour Facilitating Learning Online (FLO) Friday workshop will explore the transformative power of learner-centred design in fostering inclusivity in virtual educational settings. Drawing on the wisdom of group collaboration and leveraging tools and techniques from Liberating Structures, this session will delve into practical strategies and innovative approaches to design culturally safe and inclusive learning experiences, celebrate diversity, accommodate varying learning styles, and promote participation.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

  • Network with peers to share their learning and classroom design challenges and experiences,
  • Experiment with several Liberating Structures promoting participant and learning engagement an online environment,
  • Compare their experience to learning and teaching principles and practices, focusing on designing and creating safe and inclusive learning spaces, and
  • Reflect on the use of Liberating Structures in their own, and their learners’ contexts.

Presenter: Kele Fleming
Date: Friday, November 29, 2024
Time: 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.
Location: Online

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