Pondering the Cell: Enjoyment and Education at a Distance
Jenny Jung needs a strong scientific foundation to excel in her General Science Major. By taking BIOL 200: Cell Biology she has gained a firm understanding of how cells work and interact while applying this information in a practical and relevant way.
Distance Education Showcase: Celebrating 60 Years of Distance Education
The event commemorated the 60th anniversary of distance education at UBC and showcased images and facts about the evolution of distance education at UBC since it’s inauguration in 1949. The high attendance reflected the degree to which distance education is a part of many faculty, staff and students time at UBC.
Overcoming Allergic and Health Barriers With Distance Learning
Elke Hutton offers a story of hope and inspiration to any student facing obstacles that may hinder them from fulfilling their educational goals. When her health and severe allergies became an obstacle for her to continue on-campus courses, instead of throwing in the towel, she looked for alternative outlets for fulfilling her Bachelors of Arts requirements.
Open Ed 09 Keynote: Fred Mulder
To wrap up the Open Education Conference, Fred Mulder, Rector, Open Universiteit Nederland, presented his keynote address on the open educational resource (OER) initiatives that are happening in the Netherlands.
Use of Needs Assessment for the Evaluation of Online Education in Higher Education
How often are decisions at public institutions made without a proper needs assessment? Anyone who works regularly on projects probably has many stories of initiatives gone awry due to insufficient planning and undefined project scope.
Breaking out of the CMS: Civilizing the Open Internet Frontier for Learning
Course co-author David Porter, Instructional Designer Jeff Miller, and MET students, Jarrod Bell and Deepika Sharma, described the experience of moving ETEC 522 beyond WebCT as a course management system into several social media environments during their presentation at the Canadian e-Learning Conference.
Taking Film Studies Online: One Student’s Experience
Mia Sedlar is a busy fourth year student. While working towards a major in Art History and a minor in Film, she manages to hold down two jobs and often needs to commute back and forth between work, her apartment, and the UBC campus.
Current and Evolving Accessibility Practices
Online learning environments hold great promise for expanding access to education for students with time and geographic challenges. Providing a supportive learning environment involves considering the needs of a wide range of learners and instructors, including those with physical and cognitive disabilities or technical limitations.
Instructors Share Their Teaching Experience at the Distance Education Course Showcase
On September 30, 2008, the Office of Learning Technology hosted a Distance Education Course Showcase, which celebrated distance education at UBC. The Course Showcase was put on as part of Celebrate Learning Week, and sought to highlight some of the challenges and rewards of teaching and learning in a digital learning environment.
Visualize Learning: Exploring Discussion Forums in WebCT Vista
The Social Network Analysis Tool gives instructors a visual representation of the discussion forum activity within WebCT Vista. For the instructor, this tool is valuable because he or she can draw conclusions about whether the intended pedagogy is reflected in the online discussion.