Applying the principles of improvised theatre in a classroom can help breathe life into numerous aspects of your pedagogy. Short, accessible improv exercises can be used as dynamic warmups for rigorous group activities such as brainstorming and idea-generating. Improv can foster productive habits, including: accepting offers, supporting teammates, taking risks, creative thinking, active listening, co-creation, and having fun. This workshop will equip you with a few easily applicable improv games that you can use in diverse settings, including with large groups and in tight spaces.

This workshop explores the multitude of ways in which students’ cultural backgrounds can shape and influence their interactions with members of the college community. We will discuss examples of communication blocks that can occur when a student’s cultural expectations appear to conflict with “norms” of education as we understand them.

One hour of directed introduction to meditation, including how to breath, how to stand, visualizing the circle of protection, visualization of the Clear Light.

This activity will reflect on the convergence of trends in teaching and learning with increased emphasis on Universal Design for Learning (UDL), adaptive learning and informal learning recognition, all being on our collective radar. This round table discussion will touch on initiatives at Dawson, shared experiences with synchronous and blended learning approaches, and provide references to digital tools that can facilitate course design.

The Graduate Profile outcomes of “critical thinking” and “ethical understanding” speak directly to the library profession’s responsibility to help students’ develop their “information literacy” skills. As academic (i.e., teaching) librarians we are working hard to incorporate more active learning approaches in our library sessions, as part of a concerted effort to build the attitudes (‘dispositions’) and competencies (‘knowledge practices’) defined in the ACRL’s "Framework for Information Literacy". This session will present the key elements of the Framework and explore ways that Dawson’s librarians and faculty members can work together to create meaningful “library” learning experiences for students.

SMART Boards can be powerful teaching tools when used as more than a simple projector. This hands-on, 1 hour workshop will introduce faculty to the basics of using SMART Boards in class, including: Turning your SMART Board on, aligning the touch, and troubleshooting; Using Ink Layer to annotate Power Point presentations and PDF files, and; An introduction to SMART Notebook – a powerful application for taking notes, drawing, preparing interactive lectures and lessons. No experience necessary.

Experiential learning has been gaining traction over the past few years in the context of higher education. It promises to increase the relevance of theories through application, to help learners develop marketable 21st century skills and to increase motivation. With the recent rise in popularity of the maker movement across the world, schools, CEGEPS, universities, libraries and community centers are building makerspaces to facilitate experiential learning. In this talk, Ann-Louise will discuss experiential learning in maker culture, its potential and its challenges.

Hands on training for working in your office, in your classroom, or on the go. You will have a familiar, top-of-the-line set of productivity tools at your fingertips. Explore how to fully leverage O365 tools for the classroom. Applications like OneDrive, OneNote, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Skype let you create, edit and share from any device in real time. Come see what Office 365 can do for you!

This workshop explores pedagogical resources found on the SALTISE web-platform that are described by an unique framework that structures activities on instructional principles - active learning strategies that promote student engagement and learning. The workshop provides participants with opportunities to use and analyze the framework and design AL activities. It is particularly relevant for new faculty members.

Participants will engage in the use of found footage mash-up techniques to make creative interventions with online video propaganda. The main goals of this will be to: promote media literacy, expose implicit messages, subvert ideas and develop a dialogue about artistic activism's potential role in the classroom.

Experience hands-on use of myDALITE v.2, the powerful online tool that supports deep learning, prepares students for better classroom engagement and helps teachers prepare their lesson by providing clear feedback on their students’ understanding.