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,…

Cultural Humility
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Cultural Humility

ByChristina Page

Introducing Cultural Humility When we set out on the journey of developing intercultural teaching practices, the diversity of frameworks and perspectives available can be overwhelming.  Choosing a framework to guide our own complex process of intercultural development can feel confusing. Spitzberg and Changnon (2009) note that among the dozens of frameworks available, there is no…

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…

Responding to Multilingual Student Writing: A Model for Identifying Concerns and Framing Feedback
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Responding to Multilingual Student Writing: A Model for Identifying Concerns and Framing Feedback

ByChristina Page

In my interactions with faculty colleagues, an often-repeated theme is the need to support students in developing writing skills. Faculty value supporting student writing, recognizing that local employers desire graduates with strong literacy, writing, and communication skills (Conference Board of Canada, 2015). A challenging area for many faculty is determining the best ways to support…

Considerations for Selection of Technology
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Considerations for Selection of Technology

ByLeeann Waddington

Now that you understand PI more clearly, you are probably thinking about how difficult it is to find tools that adhere to these guidelines. You are right! These are challenging waters to navigate but we are here to help. Ideally, you will seek consultation on all your technology needs and limit your technology use to those tools offered by Teaching and Learning and Information Technology.   When you are…

Why Develop an Intercultural Teaching Practice?
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Why Develop an Intercultural Teaching Practice?

ByChristina Page

Blog post adapted from: Page, C. (2021). Foundations of Intercultural Teaching. Kwantlen Polytechnic University. Responding to the rapid changes in teaching and learning during COVID-19 times has consumed much of our energy as educators.  We have adapted to new methods of creating and delivering content and have searched out new ways to ensure active and…

Pandemic Pedagogy and the Labour of Care
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Pandemic Pedagogy and the Labour of Care

ByJennifer Hardwick

“Take care” — it was probably one of the most used phrases of 2020. As we worked through a pandemic, environmental catastrophe, social and political unrest, and economic uncertainty many of us started to think more deeply about the role of care in our classrooms and institutions. Pedagogical care is not a new concept, of…