North Cohort

Below are all syndicated blog posts from the Northern Ontario Cohort. See also the list of active blogs.

Extend mOOC, Extender Blogs, mOOC Cohort, North Cohort

Empathy Map

Profile Picture for Melrad Melrad on

This was a tough one to do as I am constantly getting feedback from my students and having recently completed their KPI’s, I think the students might be “all surveyed out.” I posted a three question survey to try to get their input but am not getting much in the way of response (understandably!). I created to following Empathy Map using some of the feedback I have gotten in the past as well as feedback from this year. https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/166-a5osyO8ynHki5xDYB_gUqdOxdZms310NCHd0MzAw/edit?usp=sharing

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Extend mOOC, Extender Blogs, mOOC Cohort, North Cohort

Digital Literacies for Teaching

Profile Picture for Melrad Melrad on

When doing these readings, I really liked the perspective from the All Aboard: Digital Skills In Higher Education article that speaks to digital literacy being about ” a broad range of knowledge, skills and capabilities, many of which will be essential to successfully navigating the digital world and others which may give us scope to pursue particular interests, hone our skills and perhaps also fuel our creativity. ” This reminds me of how important developing student’s digital literacy is and […]

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9X9X25 Challenge, Extender Blogs, North Cohort, West Cohort

Engaging Learners: Tips from Class with @ProfvocateMel

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Last week I had the pleasure of watching Mel teach class. In this post I will share several things I noticed her doing that may be useful for mindful incorporation into others’ classes. These simple yet effective strategies can go a long way towards building an engaged community of learners. If you would like to share something that you are doing in your class like this please let me know. We don’t always blog about it, but Mel and I […]

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My Metaphor for Teaching and Learning

Profile Picture for Melrad Melrad on

I went through some of the exercises for exploring your teaching philosophy and looked at some example metaphors and found that I was somewhat of a blend but the one that resonated most with me was this: “Gardeners – Their goal is to cultivate the mind by nourishing, enhancing the climate, removing the weeds and other impediments, and then standing back and allowing growth to occur.” (as cited on https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-teaching-excellence/teaching-resources/teaching-tips/professional-development/enhancing-your-teaching/exploring-your-teaching-philosophy) One of the things that stood out to me was enhancing […]

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Extend mOOC, Extender Blogs, mOOC Cohort, North Cohort

Thought Vectors: Judging others

Profile Picture for Melrad Melrad on

When I started this particular activity, I went through a few of the Patch readings and finally fell across this one that really resonated with me: PATCH TWENTY-TWO: DIBAABIIGINAN– MEASURE IT by Liz Stone, Fleming College  https://facultypatchbook.wordpress.com/2017/08/25/patch-twenty-two-dibaabiiginan-measure-it/ As were the instructions, I read it, re-read, went away and came back and read again. I had grandiose plans to create a visual screen capture with video to help capture what and how it landed for me, specific to myself as a […]

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9X9X25 Challenge, Extender Blogs, North Cohort, West Cohort

Janu-Rollercoaster: Failing Forward

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January is almost a blur. As I reflect on the last month the best analogy is a roller-coaster. Sharing my ups and downs will hopefully help someone out there feel comfortable sharing their journey with me. Great value can be obtained from talking one another through it all. Meet Laura Killam, Innovation ChampionShe problem-solves new ways to approach classroom challenges with faculty, shares cool things that are happening in the classrooms and more!Reach out to Laura through Twitter or email: […]

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Questions to get to know my learners…

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I typically start my courses off with fun icebreaker activities that allow me to get to know the students a bit and set a positive tone for the class. It helps them to feel more comfortable. I might have them get into small groups and find one thing that they all have in common, then one thing that makes each of them unique. We then get back together as a larger group and each person introduces another from their group. […]

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Extend mOOC, Extender Blogs, mOOC Cohort, North Cohort

Group Leadership is like Driving a Car

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When asked to speak to a concept in my field that is “like driving a car,” leading therapeutic groups is one that specifically came to mind for me. In our line of work, we are constantly leading groups of children and youth. Before a CYC can master this skill, there are several other skills that they require a good understanding of first (counselling skills, time management, conflict management, organization, understanding group process and dynamics, etc.) Once you begin to understand […]

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