The Catch: Issue #13

What’s happening in technology-enabled learning?

Things Are Budding Edition

Photo by Andrea Reiman on Unsplash.

Open Treasure

In this issue’s Open Treasure category we present the Open Group of 7 (educators that is) that participated in our eCampusOntario Business Textbooks adaptation sprint March 2-4. Two extremely useful introductory-level Business open textbooks will emerge by the end of March from this exciting process. From Conestoga College we had Michelle Grimes and Anela Tomac, from Fanshawe College we had Nitsa Andres, Jim Johnston, and Shauna Roch, and from from Lambton College we had Matt Hutchinson and David Simon. All of them were excellent collaborators and subject matter experts helping us achieve significant milestones of adaptation in just three days. We have learned, and will share a lot about effective sprint methods for open textbook adaptation and the creation of ancillary resources.

Trickle Up

Photo by Ezra Jeffrey on Unsplash

Recently, the SXD Lab ventured on a week-long design roadshow that involved hosting three expedited student-experience design (SXD) sprints across three institutions: Confederation College, the University of Waterloo and the University of Ottawa. Students, faculty, and institutional support staff were among the participants. The purpose of the roadshow events was to share the design process the lab adheres to; support local student-led initiatives; provide a crash course in design thinking through a learn-by-doing approach; and, most importantly, engage a diverse audience of educators and institutional support staff. 

Here’s what the lab core team learned:

1. There is an appetite for design and co-creation.

2. The design process is uncomfortable yet powerful.

3. The post-secondary system needs more opportunities for design and design thinking.

Stay tuned for a blog post on ecampusontario.ca that describes the above takeaways in detail.

The Cutting/Trailing Edge

On March 6th, at Fleming College, we kicked off a group of Ontario Extenders called the Extend East Cohort. It was called the East simply because Fleming College is kind of in the Eastern part on Ontario. That did not mean that we were limiting anyone from joining in on the fun! We offered in-person and online versions of the kick off. All told, about 55 people participated all the way from Cornwall to Winnipeg! Extenders continue to participate in a variety of ways, including a Daily Extend task (as of writing this post, 47 people have made 172 responses), Submitting responses to (and new ideas for) module activities (29 responses so far), as well as sharing blog posts from their own domains which are syndicated into a hub (56 posts from 27 blogs so far). It’s been a fun ride! We will continue working our way through the six modules together.

If this sounds fun and you have some time to work on your own professional learning in May, Join in for the Extend West kick off at Lambton College on May 8th! Once again we are playing fast and loose with direction, and “west” doesn’t mean much. Anyone can join. Pop your name in at bit.ly/ExtendWest

Read It and Tweet

While we’re chatting about Ontario Extend, let’s play “Read it and Tweet!” The rules are very easy, and they are included in the name of the game. Read a thing and tweet about it! Click on this link to visit the syndicated blog posts from the Extend East Cohort. Scroll through and click on one or two that interest you. Read them and be interested. Enjoy being interested in the things that the Extenders are sharing. Then, to get imaginary points in this game, copy the URL of your favorite post and tweet it out, saying “Hear ye, hear ye! This one is my favorite post from the @ontarioextend East Cohort!” or something to that effect. Add the hashtag #ExtendEast. We will like it and retweet it and everyone will get a warm and fuzzy feeling. YAY!

Network Connectivity

O is Open, Ottawa, and On the Move

Last month, two of your Program Managers (Jenni Hayman and Peggy French) braved plane, trains, automobiles, Ubers, and taxis (yes, there is another post in here, but likely to a travel or adventure blog) to connect with Francophone colleagues in Ottawa who were curious about the concepts, capacity, and copyright of open. The Seminaire REL Francophone (https://seminairerel.ecampusontario.ca/), organized by our former colleague and strong supporter, Michel Singh at La Cité collégiale, gathered over 100 educators from this province and beyond for a day of exploring how we might begin to develop not only greater awareness of open education, but also to increase the creation of resources for a Francophone audience of learners and educators.

eCampusOntario’s own David Porter was the English springboard for the day’s conversations, while Business Professor Nicolas Boivin from the Université de Quebec – Trois Rivières, showcased possibilities with his French keynote detailing his department’s efforts out in the open: https://oraprdnt.uqtr.uquebec.ca/pls/public/gscw030?owa_no_site=1730

Conversations, started in sessions, spilled over into breaks and lunch with learners and educators excited by the opportunities and supports available, the realization some were already well down the open road, and the ability to share in a collective understanding of the challenges and freedoms afforded by open education.

To make the most of the quick trip to our capital, Jenni and Peggy engaged with colleagues at Algonquin College and Carleton University for an introduction to open education and its impact. (And yes, the travel story involved for these sessions could be another blog post or a parable illustrating the meandering path with multiple forks, side trips, involved in the move to open education. It could also be a huge sign from the universe that Jenni and Peggy need to take an urban orienteering course.)

The Catch is a weekly (when the budget allows) blog post on ecampusontario.ca curated, created, and collaborated on by the eCampusOntario Program Managers: Terry Greene, Peg French, Joanne Kehoe, and Jenni Hayman. Other contributors include… you? Let us know if you have something that you think would fit nicely in here by emailing thecatch@ecampusontario.ca with the subject heading “Catch This!” or whichever subject heading you want to use, really.