General
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Digital Citizenship for the U of S Community
[social-bio] In my recent post on the basics of educational technology I mentioned a bit about what not to put online. “Never post anything online that you wouldn’t want your boss, mother or grandchildren to see. Facebook is not private. Twitter definitely is not private. Even email can end up in the hands of the wrong person (have you accidentally had autocomplete come up with the wrong name and then you sent the email without noticing or had someone forward a message they shouldn’t have?). I also point out the grandchildren part because the Internet is the new permanent record.” In the undergraduate course that I teach for the College of Education I cover…
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A Topic We Avoid: Teaching for the Success of Students with Psychiatric Disabilities
[social-bio] By Tereigh Ewert I was teaching a class of graduate student teachers this fall, and we were discussing a perennial concern: classroom management and student misbehavior. I wanted them to consider what motivated classroom disruption and misbehavior. We covered unintentional disruption, attention seeking, power challenges, and maliciousness. Then I suggested a cause that had not occurred to many of them—what if the disruptive student had a mental illness? Commonly discussed around mid-term and final exam time on campus is the amount of pressure experienced by students, and the need to be vigilant for signs of students in distress. But student mental health, beyond temporary periods of extreme stress,…
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wāskamisiwin: ‘Growing in awareness’
By Tereigh Ewert and Jeff Baker In 2011, the wāskamisiwin staff and faculty development series was created through collaboration among the Gwenna Moss Centre and the Colleges of Education, Nursing and Medicine. The goals of this series contribute directly to the University’s commitment to Aboriginal Engagement, and include generating increased awareness of the historical roots of contemporary social relations, considering the implications this history has for pedagogies being utilized within academic institutions, and fostering more positive and respectful relationships among Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. Last year’s series consisted of six presentations on topics such as Circle teachings, Indigenous health and well-being, the Plains Cree way of life, the Indian Act…
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Call Opens for TLt 2013
[social-bio] The 2013 Teaching and Learning with the power of Technology (TLt) Conference will be held this coming May 1 and 2 at the University of Saskatchewan. This year’s theme is “Making IT Mainstream: Everybody’s doing IT”. With ubiquitous use of smart-phones, tablets and laptops by students and faculty the days of speaking of educational technology in future or fringe terms are long past. It is now mainstream so conversations at this year’s TLt will focus on the mainstream integration of learning technologies at both the level of the institution and individual instructor, what is what working and what is not, and how all of this is and will continue to…
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Happy Holidays
[social-bio] Educatus will be taking the rest of December off, but will be returning the first week of January. From all of us at the GMCTE, have a very happy and healthy winter break.
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Philosophy for Children: Experiential Learning at the U of S
[social-bio] Philosophy in the Community of Saskatoon Philosophy as a discipline is often thought of as an individual pursuit. However, it is my view that philosophy has always been about connecting with others, as shown by Philosophy in the Community, which has been offering public lectures off-campus for eight years. Philosophy can engage diverse audiences, even children. Philosophy for Children As a method of teaching, philosophy can be a tool to facilitate not only the development of communities of inquiry in primary and secondary schools, but also critical, caring and creative thinking skills among students of all ages. Philosophy for Children (P4C) programs have been growing in popularity all over…
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“Hey Students! I Care; Be Aware”: An Academic Integrity Researcher’s Approach to Teaching
[social-bio] Having read and thought about students’ understandings of academic dishonesty, students’ responsibilities, and our own as teachers, I am very intentional about how I present my expectations and commitment to academic integrity in my teaching practice. Here are some principles I strive to follow: Create and foster student-teacher familiarity—I tell students about myself and express my interest in learning about them, especially through their writing and contribution to class discussion. Establish the value and relevance of the course content and learning outcomes—I explain why this course exists in the curriculum, why it may be useful to them now and in the future, and why students have a unique and…
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Learning to Teach “My Way”
[social-bio] By Carolyn Hoessler Every so often I return to the question I first thought about when I started teaching my first lab: Who am I as an educator? I remember attending a workshop early in my career about using humour in the classroom. With a sense of humour tending towards puns and irony that might be misunderstood, I remember watching the amusing presenter but quickly realizing that this particular approach was not quite for me. I did take away the importance of enthusiasm that was an element I could embed in my own teaching. “You have to…develop your own style”, Dr. Patrick Winston shared, because what works for…
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To Extend or Not to Extend: Is it an Academic Integrity Question?
[social-bio] It was interesting to me in my discussions with students for my doctoral study that the matter of unwarranted or easily begotten extensions came up as a concern for academic integrity. Of course, I realize the students who volunteered to participate in my study on students’ understandings of academic honesty and dishonesty could have been unique in some way or had their own “bones to pick” with teaching practices. This was, however, still a striking concern voiced by students and one worth passing along. Students in my study said the meeting of deadlines, especially those established well in advance, was a skill to cultivate and one that was worth…
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Open CourseWare at the U of S
[social-bio] Are you teaching a class this term? Would you consider opening some of your class resources to the public? Students thinking of taking your class next year could look up your notes to get a better idea of what to expect. People outside the university could find out more about what we do. Your colleagues could learn more about what you do. Using the U of S Course Tools, you can hand-pick files within your course for sharing more widely. Every course using U of S Course tools has a built-in public view. By default, the public view is very limited, and you can chose to share as many…