About the Session:
Educators have described their classes and institutions as “safe spaces” with increasing frequency and certainty since the 1990s. This certainty, implying that a safe space is somehow better for learning outcomes, has been widely adopted with little critical consideration of what it truly means and what is expected when an educational space is labeled “safe”.
Join this free one-hour Facilitating Learning Online (FLO) discussion, exploring “safe space” as an educational metaphor unconsciously communicating both explicit and implicit expectations about the nature of teaching and learning relationships.
Learning Outcomes:
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
- Recognize “safe space” as an educational metaphor
- Explain their obligations to others when they welcome them to a safe space
- Identify the implicit promises others make when a place or situation is labeled a safe space
Register Now!
This session will be recorded, archived, and made available publicly on BCcampus.ca. By participating in this session, you acknowledge you are aware your participation will be recorded and the recording will be openly available.
About the Facilitator:
Your FLO Friday Facilitator for this session will be Bhuvinder Vaid.
Bhuvinder Singh Vaid (he/him/his) is a philosopher of education and an educational developer at the Centre for Teaching Excellence at Capilano University. Bhuvinder’s nearly two decades of work in higher education and consultancy with subject-matter experts are informed by his recognition that teaching and learning exist as uniquely relational practices that are not easily standardized. This understanding has informed his work studying the positionality of seemingly straightforward educational concepts such as safe spaces, efficiency, free speech, and most recently, how to pedagogically engage with Coast Salish canoe stories. You can reach him at bhuvindervaid@capilanou.ca.
About the Session: 
Join us for this free one-hour Facilitating Learning Online (FLO) session highlighting different aspects of being mindful in our selection, use, and purpose for bringing technology into the classroom.
Topics range from protecting personal information, to providing alternatives if students are uncomfortable sharing digital data within a platform, to offering multiples ways of engaging with technology including being anonymous or using pseudonyms, and always making it clear to students why we are asking them to engage with a specific tool.
Learning Outcomes:
By the end of this session, you will be able to:
- Engage in small group discussions when prompted with a case-study scenario, focusing on how best to support students while proposing at least one solution or action point.
- Critically evaluate your own use of different technologies, including Zoom.
- Participate in dialogues with colleagues around key tenets of B.C.’s Digital Literacy Framework and how it relates to your use of technology in the classroom.
Register now!
This session will be recorded, archived, and made available publicly on BCcampus.ca. By participating in this session, you acknowledge you are aware your participation will be recorded and the recording will be openly available.
About the Facilitator:
Your FLO Facilitator for this session is Dr. Gerry Gourlay.
Gerry (she/her) gratefully acknowledges the traditional territory of the lək̓ʷəŋən peoples as the land and place where she currently lives and works. Holding a PhD in biology from University of Victoria (UVic), Gerry concurrently completed an accredited graduate certificate for learning and teaching in higher education. As an instructional skills workshop trainer and facilitator, she teaches in STEM and education, while working as an independent educational developer.
Gerry is the program and volunteer manager for the Science Fair Foundation B.C. Previously, she was the TA coordinator in the Division of Learning and Teaching Support and Innovation at UVic. Gerry’s portfolio encompasses a wide range of topics, including creating strong learning outcomes, ensuring course alignment, supporting all learners while providing choice for students, appropriately using artificial intelligence in the classroom, exploring alternative assessments in STEM, and implementing digital literacy skills to better aid and support students.
When not teaching, Gerry volunteers with and supports youth through the Canadian Association for Girls in Science as the coordinator for the Victoria chapter.
About the Workshop
This one-hour Facilitating Learning Online (FLO) Friday workshop will explore the transformative power of learner-centred design in fostering inclusivity in virtual educational settings. Drawing on the wisdom of group collaboration and leveraging tools and techniques from Liberating Structures, this session will delve into practical strategies and innovative approaches to design culturally safe and inclusive learning experiences, celebrate diversity, accommodate varying learning styles, and promote participation.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:
- Network with peers to share their learning and classroom design challenges and experiences,
- Experiment with several Liberating Structures promoting participant and learning engagement an online environment,
- Compare their experience to learning and teaching principles and practices, focusing on designing and creating safe and inclusive learning spaces, and
- Reflect on the use of Liberating Structures in their own, and their learners’ contexts.
Registration coming soon!
About the Facilitator:
Your FLO Friday facilitator is Kele Fleming.
Kele (she/they) is an artist, facilitator, learning designer, educator, singer-songwriter, podcast host, and proud member of the LGBTQIA2S+ community with extensive experience in both the public and private sectors. As a young university student, she remembers not seeing her identity and experiences represented in anything she was learning. Contributing to making learning experiences and teaching practices more inclusive is one of her life’s callings. Kele’s work has spanned multiple decades, and she has led and contributed to innovative practice and community-building organizations large and small. She served as associate director at the University of British Columbia’s Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology (CTLT). Her work and creative practice are guided by principles of inclusion, collaboration, respect, and reconciliation.
About the Session:
Join us for this free, one-hour Facilitating Learning Online (FLO) Friday workshop on how sound can be effectively used in an online learning environment.
This presentation explores the principles of sonic pedagogy and demonstrates practical applications for online teaching. Participants will learn about the integration of user-friendly audio tools, discover creative approaches to curriculum design, and learn techniques for optimizing student engagement through intentional soundscapes. This presentation closely examines the relationship between sound and education, offering practical skills and strategies to enhance the online teaching experience.
Learning Outcomes:
- Gain a foundational understanding of sonic pedagogy and its significance in the online educational context.
- Acquire practical skills in applying user-friendly audio recording and editing tools to online teaching.
- Explore effective strategies for integrating sound into lesson plans and curriculum design in an online teaching environment.
- Develop the ability to design creative and engaging lesson plans leveraging sound elements to enhance the online learning experience.
- Understand strategies for optimizing student engagement through the strategic use of sound in online teaching.
This presentation is tailored for online educators, instructional designers, and anyone passionate about the art of sound to enhance online teaching experience.
Register now!
This notice is to inform you that this session will be recorded, archived, and made available publicly on BCcampus.ca. By participating in this session, you acknowledge that your participation in this session will be recorded and the recording will be made available openly.
About the Facilitator:
Your FLO Facilitator for this session is John Born.
John (he/his) is the manager of the educational media team at the Centre for Educational Excellence at Simon Fraser University (SFU). In this role, he provides technical and pedagogical expertise in multimedia for face-to-face, blended, and online teaching environments. Before joining SFU, he worked at the British Columbia Institute of Technology’s Learning & Teaching Centre as an educational technology specialist and at the Centre for Enhanced Teaching and Learning at the University of New Brunswick (UNB) in educational technology and as a multimedia specialist. He holds a diploma in sound design from Vancouver Film School and a Master of Education in instructional design. His teaching experience includes eight years as a sound instructor in the multimedia studies program at UNB, as well as three years at the Centre for Arts and Technology. Outside of work, he is passionate about jazz music, sound design, and field recording.