AI is everywhere! Wonder what the hype is all about? Are you using or thinking of using AI tools, but not sure how or if you should use them at work? Have questions about the ethical concerns of AI and how we even got here? In this LDDI professional development session, we delved into the murky waters of the rapidly evolving AI landscape in our diverse workplace contexts. With activities designed for various tools, we critically engaged Faculty of Education staff with generative AI from different lenses and perspectives, and had them gain the confidence to make informed decisions about AI.
Location: In person, Ponderosa Ballroom (April 23)
Zoom (April 25)
The Faculty of Education hosted its monthly event where faculty, staff, and students were encouraged to bring their own games or join existing ones. It was a delightful occasion for friendly competition and connecting with fabulous individuals.
This interactive Viewpoint session was an extension of our collaborative podcast series titled, An Inter-Institutional Action on Climate Change, where thought leaders in social institutions engaged in dialogue to discover transformative learning opportunities to address climate change.
In this session, Lana Voracek, a Neonatal Intensive Care Registered Nurse, shared her perspective on climate change as a health issue and health concern for patients. Nafis Rahman shared her deep passion for public health and her commitment to addressing the complex connections between climate change and human well-being. Together, Lana Voracek and Nafis Rahman discussed their unique perspectives and approaches to climate justice within the public health industry.
This event was hosted in collaboration with the Edith Lando Virtual Learning Centre.
Nafis Rahman is a Master’s student in the Public Health (MPH) program at the School of Population and Public Health (SPPH) in the Faculty of Medicine, UBC. Her academic journey began with a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBBS) from Faridpur Medical College, Bangladesh followed by an MPH with a major in Epidemiology from the American International University Bangladesh. Her career has been enriched with diverse experiences, including roles at renowned organizations like the Johns Hopkins Program for International Education in Gynecology and Obstetrics (Jhpiego) and the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control, and Research, Bangladesh (IEDCR). Her pursuit of a second Master of Public Health is driven by a profound commitment to address the global impact of climate change on health. She has had the opportunity to work on the Nutrition in City Ecosystem (NICE) project, where she visited the rural areas of Kenya and Bangladesh and witnessed firsthand how climate change is affecting their food production system, further deepening her understanding of the pressing challenges in public health.
Lana is originally from the traditional territory of the Attiwonderonk and the Haundenosaunee peoples in Ontario. She completed her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at Toronto Metropolitan University, and worked as a Registered Nurse caring for ill and preterm infants in Neonatal Intensive Care units (NICUs) in the Greater Toronto Area before starting her Master of Public Health at UBC. Her passion for climate change as a health issue, and her concern for the futures of her patients, is what drew her to the field of public health. Throughout her two years of graduate studies, Lana has engaged with climate work in many ways, including working as a Teaching Assistant for the Health Impacts of Climate Change course at UBC’s School of Nursing, and starting a podcast called Pulse of Change, which will be launching soon. Lana is grateful to live, work, and play on the traditional, unceded, ancestral territory of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh peoples.
During the workshop, we showcased various strategies and tools to make Zoom Meetings more interactive and engaging. Participants gained instant feedback and unlocked meaningful collaboration through each tool’s features. This workshop bid farewell to unengaging meetings and welcomed productive ones!This workshop covered:
An overview of Zoom’s interactive features, Padlet and Mentimeter;
Live demonstrations of common features within these tools;
Best practices and things to be aware of;
LDDI’s Padlet and Mentimeter support and services.
Facilitators Maryam Danaei Ababin,Kristofer Mah, and Eduardo Rebagliati.
The Faculty of Education hosted its monthly event where faculty, staff, and students were encouraged to bring their own games or join existing ones. It was a delightful occasion for friendly competition and connecting with fabulous individuals.
In the workshop, we introduced the participants to the possibilities of using AR technologies in teaching and learning. We provided an overview of AR tools and their affordances and limitations. After presenting a few examples, participants had the opportunity to experiment with the technology and craft engaging AR experiences.
During this interactive Viewpoint session, Stories Rooted in Healing the Planet, our panelists Dr. Elin Kelsey, Dr. Sara Florence Davidson and Dr. Bonny Norton with Dr. Liam Dohorty shared their unique perspectives and approaches to children’s books that weave in themes of climate justice, the environment, animals, and more.
Dr. Bonny Norton (FRSC) is a University Killam Professor and Distinguished University Scholar in the Department of Language and Literacy Education, UBC. Her primary research interests are identity and language learning, critical literacy, and the Global Storybooks project. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and the American Educational Research Association, and was elected BC Academic of the Year in 2020. Her website is: http://faculty.educ.ubc.ca/norton/
Dr. Liam Doherty is a language educator teaching in the Department of Asian Studies and a Research Associate in the Department of Language and Literacy Education at UBC, with a particular interest in digital literacy and multilingualism, corpus linguistics, translation and identity, language socialization and heritage language learning, and the use of open data-driven digital tools to help better understand, learn, and teach languages.
Sara Florence Davidson (sgaan jaadgu san glans) is a Haida/Settler Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Education at Simon Fraser University. She has a PhD in Literacy Education, and her research focuses on Indigenous pedagogies, literacies, and stories. With her father, she is the co-author of Potlatch as Pedagogy: Learning through Ceremony and the Sk’ad’a Stories, a picture book series which is based on family stories and highlights Indigenous pedagogies and intergenerational learning.
Elin Kelsey, PhD is an award-winning author, speaker and thought-leader for the evidence-based hope and climate justice solutions movement. Kelsey’s influence can be seen through the popularity of her book, Hope Matters: Why Changing the Way We Think Is Critical For Solving The Environmental Crisis (2020) and in the hopeful, solutions-focus of her clients, including the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and other powerful institutions where she has served as a visiting fellow including the Rachel Carson Center for the Environment and Society, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Kone Foundation, the Salish Sea Institute, the Cairns Institute and Stanford University. She co-created the viral social media campaign #OceanOptimism and is currently leading intergenerational collaborations with climate influencers to make evidence-based hope more shareable online. A best-selling children’s book author, her picture books reveal the intimate connections between humans and the greater than human world. Her work as a podcast host, film writer and exhibit creator celebrates the resilience that exists within ourselves, and across species. Kelsey is an Adjunct Faculty member of the University of Victoria School of Environmental Studies, and Western Washington University’s School of Environment. In 2020 she co-created an international network of researchers and practitioners working within the emerging academic discipline of Climate Emotions. She regularly leads workshops for environmental organizations, climate activists, and educators on evidence-based hope and serves as an author/artist in residence for international schools. For more, please visit https://www.elinkelsey.org.
In this interactive workshop, participants got hands-on experience with popular GenAI tools. Guided by activities specifically designed for each tool, participants had the opportunity to leverage GenAI for teaching and learning, multimedia content creation, and research.
The LLED community was encouraged, regardless of experience or familiarity, to come and learn about GenAI and play with these tools!
During this workshop our panelists, Dr. Keri Ewart, Dr. Sandra Scott, Dr. Derek Gladwin, and Dr. Kshamta Hunter, were engaged in a compelling conversation about the intersections and implications of climate justice and digital innovation. The panelists shared their research and perspectives on the nexus between technology and the environment, delving into strategies and limitations across these intersections.
This event was hosted in collaboration with the Edith Lando Virtual Learning Centre.
Dr. Keri Ewart is the Master of Educational Technology Program Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Decolonization, and Anti-Racism (EDIDA) and Community Outreach Coordinator at the University of British Columbia. She is also a dedicated educator and MET’s Practicum Instructor, Lecturer, and course developer. Specializing in EDIDA, Dr. Ewart's courses emphasize crucial topics such as environmental racism, environmental sustainability, social inequities, curriculum issues in cultural and new media studies, and advanced critical thinking. Through grant-funded, supervisory roles, International training projects, and passion projects, she is committed to creating inclusive in-person and online learning spaces that eliminate racism and address systemic inequalities.
Collaborating with government ministries, including the Ministry of the Environment and Ministry of Education, she integrates environmental sustainability into educational frameworks. Dr. Ewart's transformative approach is evident in her work with ETEC 531, empowering students to address environmental racism and injustices by advocating for inclusive curricula in British Columbia's schools. Her research aims to foster a comprehensive understanding of challenges posed by climate change, promoting learning, decolonization, and transformative practices to contribute meaningfully to global efforts. Dr. Ewart has a strong and lengthy background in K-12 education where she occupied the roles as a K-12 teacher, ELL, special education, and gifted resource teacher, board-level Modern Learning Resource teacher, and district-level Modern Learning Coordinator. Dr. Ewart’s previous roles also included the Director of Curriculum Development for education, government, and corporate sectors at York University and the Faculty Advisor and faculty teaching member at Brock University. In all roles, Dr.Keri Ewart has emphasized equity, diversity, and inclusion in globally.
My work is guided by Wonder as the Heart of Inquiry and Eco Pedagogy, which I view as learning in, from, and alongside nature with Nature as Companion, Teacher, Mentor, and Guide. Science education is my home, and my experiences developing relationships, teaching, and learning alongside my students provide the foundation for all my pedagogical pursuits. I welcome and guide students on a journey to wonder, whether it be through courses in Inquiry, Science Methods, Environmental Education, Research Methods, and beyond UBC in community. My teaching centres joy, evidence-based hope and optimism and follows a constructivist approach guided by collective noticings and wonderings.
Dr. Derek Gladwin is an Associate Professor in the Department of Language and Literacy Education (LLED), Faculty of Education, at the University of British Columbia (UBC). In addition to co-founding the Systems Beings Lab and Collaborative PhD for Climate Action at UBC, Gladwin has also served as a Sustainability Fellow and Wall Catalyst Scholar in Climate and Nature Emergency. Gladwin’s work explores approaches to education that create societal impact, including building literacy for energy transition, fostering literacy for socio-ecological awareness and action, prototyping regenerative learning models in higher education, and cultivating conditions for arts-based education. Gladwin has published dozens of articles and authored or co-edited many books, including Ecological Exile (2018) and Rewriting Our Stories (2021).
With over a decade of experience in sustainability learning and teaching, curriculum design and program management, Kshamta Hunter holds a PhD in sustainability curriculum and pedagogy, and teaches in the Faculty of Education at the University of British Columbia (UBC). Kshamta’s research explores the intersections of sustainability learning and leadership, using Transformative Learning and social innovation frameworks. She is interested in designing responsive and relevant integrative curriculum and pedagogical approaches for the 21st century, through understanding the development of competencies for innovation toward sustainability. She is the Manager of Transformative Learning & Student Engagement with the UBC Sustainability Hub, where she is able to shape a lot of her research ideas into practice. She is an Associate Editor for the International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, member of the executive team for the Canadian Association for Curriculum Studies and member of the editorial advisory board for the Journal of the Canadian Association for Curriculum Studies. She is also the recipient of the 2023 President’s Service Award for Excellence.
