Time to Better Understand Collaboration
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Time to Better Understand Collaboration

ByChris Ryan and Lisa Gedak

While higher education is defined by debate and discussion, it would not be difficult to find a consensus that collaboration is an essential component of any learning. Tremendous support for this position came from the switch to emergency remote delivery, when it became clear that time-proven methodologies of class delivery were not transferable to the digital realm. What once seemed so easy…

Maximizing the LMS with Moodle Templates
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Maximizing the LMS with Moodle Templates

ByLisa Gedak and Nishan Perera

In this blog post, we would like to showcase a resource framework developed to assist KPU faculty in building their Moodle course sites using evidence-based instructional design principles. This comprehensive resource is housed in a WordPress site that includes three primary, tabbed sections.    Why Use Templates in Moodle for Course Design   Moodle is KPU’s adopted Learning Management System (LMS) and is used to deliver online, blended, and tech-enhanced face-to-face courses. As KPU pivoted to teaching online during the pandemic, Moodle was vital in supporting faculty to design lessons, activities, and assessments in synchronous and asynchronous formats.   Although Moodle provided a lifeline for current users,…

Video Conferencing Tools
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Video Conferencing Tools

ByLisa Gedak and Chris Ryan

This past year, maintaining communication with students, and sustaining student engagement, proved challenging. Conferencing tools, previously reserved for the odd administrative meeting or symposium presentation, suddenly became a vital tool for many of KPU’s faculty and instructional staff. When the shift to remote teaching first occurred, KPU educators had two conferencing tools at their disposal, BigBlueButton, which was designated as the teaching and learning conferencing tool to be used with students, and the IT department supported Microsoft Teams software for department meetings.   With…

You can’t always get what you want, but if you try, sometimes, you might find you get what you need: Reflections on the PebblePad Rollin’ Stones Tour
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You can’t always get what you want, but if you try, sometimes, you might find you get what you need: Reflections on the PebblePad Rollin’ Stones Tour

ByLisa Gedak

Start us up! if you start us up, we’ll never stop! start us up, start us up, we’ll never stop! start us up! yeah, yeah, yeah, yeahhhhhhh! start us up! we are Rock Stars on PebblePad making things easy,  for KPU Faculty yeah, were making things easy, community! that’s what we be! ways of learning like you never, never, dreamed! start us up!  The crowd sings and dances along as the lyrics flash across the screen, synchronized…

Rising to the Challenge: Reflections on “Levelling Up”

Rising to the Challenge: Reflections on “Levelling Up”

ByLisa Gedak and Leeann Waddington

The sudden pivot to remote delivery in the spring and summer semesters left many faculty feeling overwhelmed and scrambling to move their courses online. Some faculty are still trying to catch their breath, while others are frantically preparing for fall online delivery as the pandemic continues. For many faculty, digital delivery was not something they…

Building Bridges: Highlights from the OLC Innovate 2020 Conference

ByLisa Gedak, Gordon Cobb and Rajiv Jhangiani

KPU recently became an institutional member of the Online Learning Consortium, so when the organization announced that their OLC Innovate 2020 conference would take place entirely online, we immediately signed up for an unlimited group package to enable our university community to engage in the many rich conversations across 160+ sessions over the two-week event….

Faculty Spotlight: Emma Baggott

ByLisa Gedak

Although the shift to remote teaching over the past several months has been challenging for many faculty; several other faculty have quickly become champions of innovation, embracing this pivot, and in some cases, even supporting their colleagues through the transition. I have worked with many champions, although many are unknown, unsung heroes, supporting their colleagues….

Frameworks, Approaches and Models – Oh My!

Frameworks, Approaches and Models – Oh My!

ByLisa Gedak and Leeann Waddington

Teaching in the 21st century can sometimes feel like wandering down the yellow brick road, like Dorothy, dreaming of arriving at the emerald city of Oz (the online learning environment), only to find the great and powerful man behind the curtain (the experience) is not what you expected. Even scarier, if you did not choose…

Getting to Know All About You: Establishing the Importance of Teaching Presence in Online Courses

Getting to Know All About You: Establishing the Importance of Teaching Presence in Online Courses

ByLisa Gedak

Community of Inquiry (COI) Video Instructor turns doorknob and enters classroom. The sound of hardbottom shoes clicking against the composite tile flooring is subtle, yet present, as the instructor makes their way to the front of the classroom. The instructor proceeds to set down their briefcase on the epoxy resin table at the head of…