About the Session
A dynamic and interactive two-hour webinar is designed to introduce educators to Animaker, a free and intuitive tool for creating engaging animations. In this session, you will learn everything you need to get started with Animaker, from signing up to create your first animation, to exploring its key features. The session includes a fun scavenger hunt to explore Animaker’s functionality, opportunities to collaborate with peers and share animation ideas, and hands-on practice building animations to foster a dynamic learning community. Whether you are a seasoned tech user or a complete novice, this webinar will provide the skills and confidence needed to bring animations into your 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
Maryam Safa Schneider (she/her) is an educator with over 16 years’ teaching experience, and a dedicated researcher and learning designer for the past four years. Her research focuses on the intersection of communication technology and mental health, exploring how technological advancements influence well-being and i
nterpersonal dynamics. She holds a bachelor of fine arts in visual arts from the University of British Columbia, a master of liberal arts in psychology from Harvard Extension School, and several specialized educational certificates, blending her passions for art, education, and mental health.
She serves an assistant professor at University Canada West, where she teaches general psychology and communication to undergraduate students. In her role as an educational consultant and learning designer, she develops dynamic, learner-centered experiences tailored to diverse educational and corporate settings. She provides personalized consultation and training that aligns teaching practices with emerging trends and best practices in education.
About the Series
Discover the BCcampus EdTech Sandbox Series, workshops empowering educators, learning designers, and graduate students in B.C.’s post-secondary institutions to explore, experiment with, and evaluate cutting-edge tools for enhancing teaching excellence and student success. Aligned with the B.C. Post-Secondary Digital Literacy Framework, this program emphasizes a support technology perspective, encouraging open-mindedness, curiosity, troubleshooting skills, and the selection of appropriate tools for work and study.
Focus Areas for 2024-2025:
- The AI Sandbox: A space dedicated to experimenting with, and reviewing, artificial intelligence (AI)-based learning technologies.
- The No-Go EdTech Sandbox: A space aimed at examining learning technologies educators, students, and staff should avoid using in teaching and learning, and why.
In these two-hour live streamed webinars, expert leaders will introduce and demonstrate cutting-edge, open, and free, or low-cost educational technology tools.
By actively participating in these sandbox sessions, participants will experiment with tools, work with fellow educators to review features of the tools, gain insights into teaching activities, and discover ways to integrate these tools into courses.
Recordings of the presentations and reviews of the tools will be available on our website following the event.
EdTech Sandbox Series Sessions:
- September 18, 2024 — Beyond Surveillance: The Case Against AI Detection and AI Proctoring, Ian Linkletter, BCIT
- October 16, 2024 — Learning Design with ChatGPT: Implications for AI Literacy, Hajime Kataoka, UVic
- November 6, 2024 — Design Smarter: Harnessing Canva’s AI for Enhanced Educational Outcomes, Prabhjot (Prab) Bhamra, University of Toronto
- January 22, 2025 — Exploratory Learning: Effectively Integrating AI with Hypothesis, Julia Grav and Emily Schudel, Camosun College
- February 26, 2025 — Exploring Animaker for Teaching and Learning, Maryam Safa Schneider