The CIEL Blog

Category: Teaching & Learning

  • EDUCAUSE 2013 Conference

    EDUCAUSE 2013 Conference

      A couple of us attended the EDUCAUSE Annual Conference held this year in Anaheim, California from October 15-18.  The conference program is derived from member-driven content organized across six overarching IT domains including: Data/Information Access and Management; Enterprise and Infrastructure; Leadership and Management; Security, Privacy, and Compliance; Services and Support; and Teaching and Learning.  This…

  • Metacognitive Teaching Strategies: Ways to Help Students Learn about Learning

    This past week I hosted a community of practice group for teaching faculty members on the topic of metacognition. They were asked to skim/read over a variety of articles/videos/web summaries (see bit.ly/17fHXHD for the resources). We then made a list of the various ways we could incorporate metacognitive activities into our classrooms. Here is a…

  • Metacognition: Valuable Resources on Thinking about Thinking

      I am fascinated by the field of metacognition. I am fascinated by this notion of ‘learning how to learn’ because I don’t think I really understood learning until I became a teacher. I know I didn’t understand the learning process and I know I didn’t truly know how to reflect and monitor my learning…

  • Mobile Education – Lessons from 35 Education Experts on Improving Learning with Mobile Technology

    Mobile Education – Lessons from 35 Education Experts on Improving Learning with Mobile Technology

    Mobile Education – Lessons from 35 Education Experts on Improving Learning with Mobile Technology from Studio B Productions, Inc. This is a great presentation (which actually reads like a book) providing a number of excellent ideas for using educational technology to improve student learning and experiences.  A group of 35 experts from around the world,…

  • Book Review: The Courage to Teach

    Book Review: The Courage to Teach

    I have just read The Courage to Teach by Parker J. Palmer, an incredibly powerful text reflecting on the essential role of the teacher. The book calls for inward reflection on behalf of teachers to examine their own motives and intent when approaching their practice. Early in the text Parker notes; “Teachers possess the power…

  • TEACH – Primetime TV Show Showcases Teachers

    Rarely do you find primetime television spending two hours showcasing the struggles of teachers and providing an indepth view of what it is like (really like) to be an elementary or secondary teacher in today’s classrooms while experiencing meaningful learning in students. On Friday, September 6, CBS aired a 2 hour documentary called “TEACH“….and it…

  • CIEL First Ever Open House October 10!

    On Thursday October 10, the Centre for Innovation and Excellence in Learning (CIEL) will have an open house of its facilities, resources, services and personnel from10 a.m. until 4 p.m. We are located on the 5th floor of the library. The Centre is planning a very active open house intended to give the Vancouver Island…

  • Developing + Designing a Comprehensive Course Outline (Syllabus)

    Most often teaching faculty in higher education don’t receive much instruction or guidance on building a comprehensive course outline. Course outlines (or syllabi) are often passed down from one instructor to another with little discussion or explanation. Deans, chairs and other leaders in the department try for consistency and common elements in a course outline…

  • Wiggio: Online Group Collaborative Learning Tool Coming to Desire2Learn

    In March, Desire2Learn acquired the company, Wiggio (http://wiggio.com/). Wiggio creates a product to help students self-organize campus groups. Desire2Learn is working on integrating Wiggio into their Learning Suite, and are aiming to make Wiggio available to all clients in the Fall (although a specific date has not yet been given). So what exactly is Wiggio…

  • World Conference on Educational Media and Technology 2013

    World Conference on Educational Media and Technology 2013

    I attended the World Conference on Educational Media and Technology (EdMedia) organized by the Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE).  The conference was held in Victoria from June 24-27 at the Victoria Conference Centre.  This is a truly global conference and we were lucky to have it hosted just down the road,…

  • Achieving Better Balance: Learning First, Technology Second

    There is a better balance yet to be achieved – between technology and learning in higher education (well K-16 education for that matter). I don’t believe we are there yet. There is a lot of “technology talk” these days….. technology training, technology tweets, technology blog posts, technology spending, technology conference keynotes, technology hype, technology expenses,…

  • Design Alchemy: Transforming the Way We Think about Teaching and Learning – in Online Courses

    Review of Talk: EdMedia (Victoria, BC, June 2013) Keynote: Design Alchemy: Transforming the Way We Think about Teaching and Learning Presenter: Dr. Rod Sims (Senior Lecturer, Online Learning), University of South Queensland YouTube Capture of Keynote: One of my staff attended the EdMedia Conference and was telling me about this keynote talk. Wow…what a great…