With the start of the new year, we welcome new leadership for the Educational Technology Users Group (ETUG) stewardship committee. The new co-chairs are Jamie Drozda of Thompson Rivers University and Kar-On Lee of the University of British Columbia. Vice co-chairs Melanie Latham, Thompson Rivers University, and Rie Namba, University of British Columbia, will support their leadership.
The ETUG stewardship committee meets once a month to plan events, put together a monthly newsletter, and discuss topics of current interest in educational technology. The committee is made up of twelve volunteers and led by two co-chairs who serve a two-year term.
Outgoing co-chairs Andy Sellwood, Vancouver Community College, and Keith Webster, Royal Roads University, led the committee from 2022 to 2024. Keith served the ETUG community for many years as both a committee member and chair. “The highlight has always been the people I got to meet and the supportive team I worked with,” says Keith. “I look forward to seeing great things from Jamie, Kar-On, and the committee as they move forward.”
Andy also reflected positively on his time as co-chair. “I feel honoured to have served as chair of the ETUG Stewardship Committee. I was fortunate to have a great team to work with and I am thrilled that we were able to put together such amazing workshop events.”
Get to Know the New Co-Chairs
Jamie is a coordinator of educational technologies at Thompson Rivers University. She enjoys researching and analysing the effectiveness of current learning technologies and assessing the challenges in adapting new technologies. She strives to address interaction and assessment issues along with integrating technology with open pedagogy. As ETUG co-chair, Jamie serves as a leader within this dynamic and innovative community where educational technology professionals engage in meaningful dialogue and share expertise across institutions. Through her involvement with ETUG, she has developed both professionally and academically, while fostering valuable relationships that enable knowledge exchange and scholarly contribution across the higher education landscape.
Kar-On was an instructional designer and learning technologist at Simon Fraser University for the past decade and is now a learner management systems support manager at the University of British Columbia where she supports various learning technologies and bridges pedagogy in the classroom. Her areas of interest include accessible and inclusive learning technologies. She also enjoys learning about new technologies.
Kar-On has been an active member of ETUG since 2011, participating in workshops as both an attendee and a presenter. “To me, the ETUG community is very diverse yet also inclusive and supportive. One of the amazing things about this community is that you can talk to anyone, whether they are from an institution that is small or large, metropolitan or rural, and they will share a similar experience, challenge, or achievement. It feels like a family where we understand each other completely.”
Jamie and Kar-On will lead the stewardship committee as it plans for the 2025 ETUG Spring Workshop, which will be held May 22 and 23 at UBC’s Vancouver campus. If you are interested in submitting a proposal or attending the event, please visit the ETUG Workshops page.