FREE Contact North webinars exploring how higher education is shifting in an age of rapid disruption and AI and what educators and institutions can do next, with practical, human-centred strategies.

The Age of Disruption: Reimagining the Work of Faculty and Instructors in an Age of Rapid Change

Date: Wednesday, March 11, 2026

Time: 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. (Eastern Time)

Register here: https://teachonline.ca/webinars/age-of-disruption-reimagining-work-of-faculty-and-instructors-age-of-rapid-change/Links to an external site.

 Higher education is being reshaped by financial pressures, AI disruption, eroding trust, and governance challenges. This session examines why “business as usual” (and symbolic change) won’t work and how faculty can reclaim agency and help build what comes next.

Key takeaways:

• • Understand why today’s disruption is structural, not temporary
  • Distinguish “digital layering” from real pedagogical transformation
  • Identify how faculty can initiate meaningful change within existing structures

Host: Stephen Murgatroyd, Contact North | Contact Nord Research Associate

2) Rethinking Assessment in the Age of AI: Transforming Evaluation Practices with Human-Centred Approaches

 Date: Thursday, April 23, 2026

Time: 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (Eastern Time)

Register here: https://teachonline.ca/webinars/rethinking-assessment-ai-transforming-evaluation-practices-human-centred-approaches/Links to an external site.

As AI reshapes how students approach tasks, feedback, and learning strategies, assessment needs to evolve. This webinar offers practical approaches to redesign evaluation for authenticity, transparency, equity, and resilience.

Key takeaways:

• • Recognize how AI is changing learner behaviour and assessment expectations
  • Apply strategies for more authentic, equitable, and AI-resilient assessment
  • Explore concrete examples of assessment innovation across sectors

Host: Redwan Siddiqui, Professor (Humber Polytechnic); Instructor (Wilfrid Laurier University)

3) The Augmented Knowledge Worker in Higher Education

 Date: Thursday, May 20, 2026

Time: 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (Eastern Time)

Register here: https://teachonline.ca/webinars/augmented-knowledge-worker-in-higher-education/Links to an external site.

Move beyond tools to a work redesign lens: this session presents a framework (with real institutional examples) for how AI can augment teaching, research, and academic operations, responsibly and at scale.

Key takeaways:

• • Learn a practical framework for “augmentation” across academic roles
  • See examples of how institutions are embedding AI into core work
  • Consider how to design effective human–AI teamwork responsibly

Host: Dr. Ken Kwong-Kay Wong, Professor, Seneca Polytechnic

Friday 3 October, 13:00 – 14:05, online

As SoTL (Scholarship of Teaching and Learning) continues to grow in importance within higher education, understanding how it is evaluated and recognised in academic promotion pathways becomes increasingly crucial. This event will be an opportunity to gain deeper insights into the evolving expectations and potential challenges associated with career progression in the field.

This session will explore common questions and concerns around how teaching-focused academics are perceived by promotion panels, what evidence is considered impactful, and how to effectively document and present contributions to teaching and learning, scholarship research and academic leadership.

Register here: [Link]

The Global OER Graduate Network (GO-GN) is a network of PhD candidates around the world whose research projects include a focus on open education (i.e. OER, OEP, MOOC). These doctoral researchers are at the core of the network; around them, over two hundred experts, supervisors, mentors and interested parties connect to form a community of practice.

The aims of the GO-GN are to:

• raise the profile of research into open education,
• offer support for those conducting PhD research in this area,
• promote equity and inclusion in the field of open education research, and
• develop openness as a process of research.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: https://go-gn.net/

Media Developer

 

Primary Purpose: Engage in the development and creation of new multimedia projects with campus constituents, affiliated partners, and educational entities, as well as, to produce professional quality media content through effective collaboration, scripting, creative and technical direction of a production team to create visual and audio elements appropriate to the requirements provided.

Nature of Work: Reporting to the Director, Media Production and working in close collaboration with the Media Production team and the University of Saskatchewan community and partners, the candidate responds and assesses incoming project enquiries, prepares a workplan and service estimate, ensures all proper documentation is in place, prepares, oversees and executes all production and post-production elements in accordance with agreed estimate during work.   On completion, ensures the project(s) are approved and completed to the satisfaction of the client and to a high standard of quality for distribution on a variety of digital platforms.

Evening, weekend work and travel are occasionally required. The incumbent must work effectively amidst the ever-changing landscape of media and technology and create a welcome atmosphere for collaboration. Discretion is required as this position is privy to sensitive and confidential information. Errors can significantly impact the reputation of the unit and the university.

Media projects will cover a diverse range of subject matter, from promotion of the university, to learning objects for instructional use, to showcasing research and the strategic mission of the University of Saskatchewan.  The produced content is to be delivered according to deadlines within the budget allocated to the project.

[Read more . . . how to apply . . . ]

Conference opportunity: STLHE

Links to an external site.. June 10–13, 2025 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan for the 2025 STLHE Annual Conference at TCU Place.

The cool thing:

We invite all full-time college and university students to apply to the STLHE bursary fund to receive financial assistance to attend the 2025 STLHE conference. Students presenting at the conference will receive priority funding. The precise amount of each bursary award will depend on the number of successful applications.

To apply for the fund, please complete this form and submit it by March 28, 2025. You will be notified by Friday, April 11, 2025, and must register for the conference using the code provided to apply the bursary amount awarded to your registration costs. Only students who attend the conference are eligible to receive a bursary.

To apply for the fund, please complete the form: https://www.stlhe.ca/conferences/2025-stlhe-conference/2025-stlhe-annual-conference-student-bursary/

A test of AI’s Instruction Design skills in theory & in practice

“Of course, we’re talking about the dreaded ‘job talk!’ When a department hires a new faculty member, the search committee might review hundreds of applications, and invite just the four or five best candidates to host a seminar describing their work.”

To listen, click here:  https://hellophd.com/2023/02/189-crafting-an-unforgettable-job-talk-w-dr-andres-de-los-reyes/

From “Hello PhD” Podcast.

Directory curated by Contact North: https://teachonline.ca/tools-trends/journals

We’ve been updating the list of readings in the resources section: https://sites.usask.ca/etad/resources/#reading

 

Wednesday, September 21, 2022

11am – Noon (Eastern Time)

Register now! 

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the education system in Canada and around the world received an unexpected shock as schools, colleges and universities closed and people began working and learning from home. As faculty, instructors, students, administrators, policy-makers and funders, we learned a lot. But what can we expect in the future?

In this webinar, Contact North I Contact Nord Research Associate Stephen Downes discusses the 10 major educational technology tools, methods and developments that are expected to be more widely adopted within two to three years and will likely be mainstream by 2030.

Our Host:

Stephen Downes
Research Associate, Contact North | Contact Nord