Exploring young children???s ideas about wearable technology: a case study

This case study, which forms a part of the Kids, Creative Storyworlds and Wearables project, explores children???s perspectives on wearable technology through their stories and other creative ideas inspired by wearable technology. Five children between the ages of four and seven were each given a smartwatch and were interviewed three times over the span of four weeks. Using a multi-method approach, inspired by the Mosaic approach to ethnography (Clark & Moss, 2011; Clark, 2005) and social semiotics (Kress and van Leeuwen, 2006; Kress, 1997), children were invited to share their ideas in a variety of ways (face-to-face discussion, oral storytelling, written text, drawings). This research viewed children as meaning-makers and sign-makers. Results supported and extended elements of Papert???s constructionist learning theory and Sutton Smith???s ???play as a viability variable??? theory (2008) and provided novel insights relevant to formal education practices. Empowerment is a key theme that emerged from this case study

Teaching Squares: Crossing New Borders

Teaching Squares is a teaching development initiative that brings instructors together in small groups to observe one-another’s classes and reflect on their experiences in a non-judgmental, supportive environment (University of Waterloo, (n.d.). Durham College, the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT), and a key industry partner, Ontario Power Generation (OPG), have partnered on a Teaching Squares initiative, enabling primarily face-to-face discussions amongst instructors at all three institutions. Despite positive feedback and minimal time demands, building faculty enrollment and involvement remains challenging to engage instructors across various disciplines, fields, and delivery formats. In the fall 2017 semester, a professor teaching in a fully online program enrolled in Teaching Squares, participating completely online. Although the significance of peer observation to support teaching in an online environment is well documented (Bennett & Santy, 2009; Swinglehurst, et al., 2008), there were logistical challenges, including arranging recordings of face-to-face classes for the online professor to observe, and involving the professor in face-to-face discussions amongst program participants. Despite the challenges, this experience inspired discussion about how Teaching Squares may be piloted in a fully online format. This paper and presentation will continue this discussion, extending it to the possibilities of expanding enrollment to international partners to promote the exchange of ideas across institutional and geographical borders and to provide more diversity of perspectives on Teaching and Learning in a digital context

Designing a Fully Online Social Marketing Course for 21st Century Learners

This paper focuses on the development of a Social Marketing for Public Health course created for health sciences students at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT). The course was intended to help students develop the skills required for planning and delivering social marketing campaigns. The development of this course brought together members of the Faculty of Health Sciences and the Teaching and Learning Centre at UOIT with individuals from ChangeMakers, a Canadian social marketing agency. Designing authentic learning experiences, providing students of a range of technical backgrounds opportunities to demonstrate their achievement of the learning outcomes, building in a strong social element to suit the nature of subject area, and scaffolding student learning in a fully asynchronous learning environment were four overarching challenges faced by the development team. This paper addresses those challenges, discusses the theoretical underpinnings and learning theories – including Constructive Alignment and Universal Design for Learning – which guided this process and identifies steps for further developing this course for future offerings