Ontario eTeaching and eLearning Community of Practice, live debate
Celia Popovic, Teaching Commons
Have you ever wondered how to find people who might be interested in discussing issues around eLearning? Perhaps you are a faculty member interested in making greater use of technology in your teaching. Maybe you are an IT specialist who supports teachers and students with online resources. Whoever you are, you now have a community ready to share ideas, air discussions and compare notes.
In January the Teaching Commons here at York was pleased to launch this new venture. The Ontario eTeaching and eLearning Community of Practice is aimed at anyone and everyone interested in eLearning in Ontario – http://ontarioelearncop.ca/
We received funds from eCampus Ontario to start up the CoP, and launched the site at a face to face meeting in downtown Toronto in January.
The site provides links to a suite of resources, initially those collected by eCampus Ontario, which continues to grow as members of the community share resources they have found or developed. As well as resources, the site is also about providing a meeting place for those who have a shared interest.
To keep the CoP vibrant we have planned a number of initiatives. On Monday 24th April we are pleased to launch our first debate with two contenders from York setting out the arguments for and against recorded lectures. In two short videos our debaters Franz Newland and Mary Helen Armour go head to head.
Watch and listen as Franz and Mary Helen put their sides of the argument, then join in the debate. Which side do you support? What additional arguments can you make? Are you undecided?
We have two weeks to share our thoughts – and then on Friday 5th we will close the debate, with the results published on the site on Monday May 8th.
We do hope you will be able to join the CoP and engage in this debate.
Joining the CoP couldn’t be simpler – simply go to http://ontarioelearncop.ca/ and clicking on Register Now. There is a short delay while we verify your identity, and establish that you are not a robot! Then you become a member and have access to the resources and activities.
We do hope that the York community will support this venture, although not aimed only at York, this is the home of the CoP this year. In subsequent years other universities will take on the role of facilitating the CoP.