Free, open textbooks for some post-secondary courses in BC

B.C. to lead Canada in offering students free, open textbooks

VANCOUVER – British Columbia is set to become the first province in Canada to offer students free online, open textbooks for the 40 most popular post-secondary courses.

Up to 200,000 B.C. students each year could benefit from this move under B.C.’s Families First Agenda, saving each student hundreds of dollars a year or more on textbooks – money that can go toward other learning supplies or living expenses. etc etc. . .

http://www2.news.gov.bc.ca/news_releases_2009-2013/2012AEIT0010-001581.htm

Last couple of months . . .

My posts to our blog have been very inconsistent over the last couple of months.  It’s been very busy - for all of us - but I’m trying to get back on track with my posts now that the fall semester is well underway.

The last couple of months have been interesting, challenging, and honestly,  sometimes quite overwhelming.  It is always interesting to see view the landscape and experience work from a different position, and I’m continuing to learn a lot.   Here are a few observations as I reflect back on the last three months.

• Many of you have stepped up - in a variety of ways - to help as I’ve tried to juggle responsibilities in both CTLI and EET.  Many of you have also been patient as you’ve had to wait a bit for responses and / or support.    I appreciate both your support and your patience very very much during these busy times.   

• It feels like much of my time over the last couple of months has been spent “managing” as opposed to “leading”.  By this I mean I’ve been busy taking care of staffing (hiring for new positions in EET and across CTLI, getting new people started, filling in for staff on sick leave, and dealing with a variety of other issues related to staffing across the Centre), budgeting (it’s already started for next year), and other operational functions.   As I work on getting back into the “leading” part, we’ll be working on team-based strategic planning, goal setting, and thinking about ways to take EET to the next level.  

 

• Watch for more information in the next week or so as we prep for our two hour EET meeting on October 31.  

Very interesting article / series on education from the Globe and Mail

A good read when you have time . . .

From Academica this week:

News Date: 

Oct 10, 2012

In Saturday's issue, the Globe and Mail kicked off "Re:education," a 2-week series that explores the roadmap for the PSE system that Canada needs to thrive. The series delves into several threads of the country's current university model, from the evolution of the lecture hall to digital learning and the role the private sector plays in overcoming financial strains. The Globe launched the series with a feature article on what is not working on today's campuses (a one-size-fits-all approach) and what needs to improve, touching on credential inflation, massification, advantages to and concerns over differentiation, and accountability. The series is supported by a number of interactive features and digital storytelling online, including a video mosaic of Canadian students and influential experts responding to the question: "What's the one thing you'd change in post-second ry education?"; online polling to ask readers whether today's education system has worked for them; interactive data and charts to explore matters such as tuition, debt, salaries, and employment; and video interviews with some of Canada's top academics and innovators. This is the latest theme the Globe is exploring in its editorial series, Canada: Our Time to Lead.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/time-to-lead/

Work Spaces in TE3213 and TE3215 - Time to evaluate

In the summer we transitioned our work spaces from TE3215 to TE3213 and moved some people around.   One of the purposes of this move was to utilize our space more efficiently and provide better overall work spaces, but the other very important purpose was to tap into synergies among staff working on specific and / or similar initiatives.

At that time we also said we would re-evaluate these moves in October, so watch for more information coming out on this.   We may do a quick survey and / or facilitate a discussion on this among people impacted by these moves.

A few of the great things going on in EET . . .

Project planning started on development of Digital Learning Objects for Trades (Welding and Electrician)

Tablet Project (Ed Tech Innovation Committee): 14 instructors have iPads or Android tablets in their hands.  

Orientation activities for new instructors - significant amount of work done for August / Sept;  currently debriefing.  We’re also talking to HR and to the Registrar’s Office about collaborating on an online resource (one-stop-shop) for primarily new instructors.

College-wide outcomes - Implementation:  We’ll be broadening the team involved with this project to include instructional designers and other College resources.

30-60-120:  This is the conversion from credits to units of learning that Karen O’Dwyer explained in a email about a week ago.   This impacts EET in a number of ways:  Potential curriculum redesigns, which could impact online course development projects, instructional practices, BYOD etc. etc.

Completion of Classroom Technology Upgrades - 57 Smartboards and teaching stations installed over the summer!

DL Strategy Implementation:  Complete the final documentation of the third and last year of the DL Strategy implementation.  This includes sending out surveys to both students and instructors, documenting Angel logins, charting trends of enrolment in online courses, etc.   The biggest challenge will be to really understand the level to which instructors are incorporating blended learning into their teaching.

Fitness Challenge and Poker:  Thanks to Jackie for getting this fitness challenge going.   Who knew we would be playing poker once a month in EET as part of a fitness challenge?   I had to leave the game early but somehow still won the pot (I think thanks to Christie and her amazing poker face :).   The pot this month will be donated to food for one of our functions.  I’d encourage everyone to get involved in this challenge through the fall and into the winter.

Refresh Conference Committee - starting to plan for May 2013 Conference

Flexible Learning - launch of new website that allows students to search for specific instructional methods and locations.  For example, only online courses . . .

and we’ll keep adding to this list!