We are riding a generational and technological wave into a new mobile age, and teaching and learning in higher education are along for the ride. I didn’t start off as a tech enthusiast, but recent experiences, and the example of a wonderful friend, have turned me into a proponent of online education. I’ve come to realize that meaningful human connections of the sort that facilitate education can happen online.

I’m approaching some milestones this year. My 40th birthday is approaching at the end of the summer, and my 15 year law school reunion is coming then too, both of which signal that I’m no longer a young teacher, young lawyer, or young person, by any stretch of the imagination.

My 40th is a mile-marker for me but it’s also a personal instance of a larger social trend. I’m on the “”, right between Gen-X and the millennials. I’m one drop in a cultural wave. This year, the year I turn 40, is the moment at which the first wave of millennials is turning 40. The “generational” literature about different demographics in the workplace is about to become dated. The “younger” group is coming of age, and the electronic world they live in is becoming mainstream across professional and educational settings.

It makes a lot of sense that, riding this cultural wave, I have become excited about the potential of online teaching. I’ve been thinking lately about how well travelled my laptop is. It has been to New Orleans, Cancun, Calgary, Banff, Montreal and Toronto, and I’ve only had it a few months. I have to pause and marvel that I often reach students who are in my online class while living in Beijing, Vancouver and Vienna, by sending and receiving emails while in flight.

For a long time, I have had some cynicism about online teaching. I share popular of online education and worry about how it can be an easy “cash cow” for universities, the ultimate way to cram more “butts in seats” without having to pay for infrastructure. The first time I taught an online course, at another institution 10 years ago, the technology didn’t support much interaction between students and teachers. I could post slides and send and receive emails and that was it.

Now, we have live chat and the ability to have online synchronous classroom discussions using and streaming video. Further, western society has shifted a great deal so that through social media platforms like Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook, we all have personal and professional connections who we contact regularly but certainly don’t see often, if ever.

A close friend of mine died a couple of years ago, a few months before she would have turned 40. Her name was and we were law school classmates. We didn’t see each other often, but, mostly online, we had always kept in touch. She was a and a social media master. Deb had epilepsy, which was what ultimately ended her life, and it sometimes presented a barrier to in-person communication. However, online, Deb was able to function fabulously, and her incisive intellect, lightning wit, and wonderful warmth came through almost magically. When she passed away, her family and friends marveled at the geographic reach of her kindliness and support.

She had been a friend and mentor to a huge network of people, from soldiers serving in the Middle East, to her fellow law school alumni across Canada, to comic book aficionados across North America and the UK. She is sorely missed by so many of us, hundreds of whom she never met.

So, yes, I am excited, now, as I turn 40, about the prospects and potential of teaching and learning online. Deb’s incredible example of mentorship around the world shows well how online relationships of mentoring, support and teaching can be very real. So, as I enter my next chapter in teaching and learning, at mid-life, remembering her example, I’m enthusiastically embracing electronic communication.

By Emily Cook, TLS staff writer

Some might see the challenges of online teaching and shy away from it, but for Associate Professor Peter Thompson, those challenges are opportunities in disguise.

“The challenges and opportunities are in some ways the same. I think the big thing is being aware of them and using them in the most effective way,” he says.

Thompson joined ĐÓ°ÉÔ­´´â€™s School of Canadian Studies in 2009 and two years later began teaching online courses that he developed along with two other colleagues.

When teaching, Thompson says he strives to create an open environment and excite students with his own enthusiasm for the subject. His efforts were recognized in 2015 when he was named a Provost’s Fellowship in Teaching Award winner for sustained excellence in teaching.

“I feel really lucky to teach at ĐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ because we have such amazing support, both for online and for face-to-face teaching,” he says.

When it comes to teaching online courses, Thompson says he tries to apply similar principles as he does in his face-to-face lectures.

“I try to create an environment where the students are comfortable and where they feel like they can respond to the material,” he says.

He says he uses programs like BigBlueButton, a web conferencing tool developed at ĐÓ°ÉÔ­´´, as well as Google Docs for shared notes. With BigBlueButton, students can ask questions in real-time, which helps build a classroom feel. Thompson says this addresses the major challenge of timing in online teaching because students generally watch lectures and join the chat room at different times.

“That shared experience of being in a classroom is lost,” he says.

But this challenge is also an opportunity, he says, because students’ time is more flexible. That means they can rewind if they missed something, and look up facts as they go.

What’s important, according to Thompson, is mitigating the challenges of online teaching with tools like BigBlueButton, inviting students to his office, or having live lectures.

Thompson says students respond pretty well to these methods because they’re quirky and different. For some, he says, they even prefer this format because those too nervous to come into his office can talk to him online.

“I tend to think most of those things work both ways,” he says. “They’re not necessarily perfect either way but as long as you’re aware of them, or doing your best to mitigate them, they tend to work fairly well.”

Native Spanish and Russian speakers across the country will have the unique opportunity to formally study their respective languages through four new online courses at ĐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ next fall.

By placing emphasis on students familiar with Spanish and Russian linguistics, often the product of childhood upbringings or birthplaces, ĐÓ°ÉÔ­´´â€™s School of Linguistics and Language Studies (SLaLS) is redirecting the focus of typical language classes. While the majority of programs concentrate almost exclusively upon those with little to no understanding of languages, ĐÓ°ÉÔ­´´â€™s heritage speakers series is geared towards students with medium to advanced knowledge of their mother tongues.

Professor Ioana Dimitriu will be teaching SPAN 4015 and SPAN 4025, or Spanish for Heritage Speakers I and II. She says she’s eager to teach those who have achieved a high level of verbal competency, a proficiency that usually prohibits registration in conventional Spanish courses.

“A number of students are turned back from registering into the lower-level Spanish classes every semester. Their placement tests show that their level is too high for enrolling in a standard language course,” says Dimitriu.

On the Russian front, this issue affects approximately five to 10 students each year who are flagged as too advanced. This often disadvantages heritage speakers who, though literally well versed in the basics, lack comprehension of academic terms or concepts.

SLaLS professor Iryna Kozlova is aware of gaps in expertise that frequently characterize members of Russian communities who may be comfortable with the ethnic alphabet without being able to read or write.

“These speakers have never been extensively educated in the language…some are children of immigrants. They may have only finished elementary school,” she says.

Kozlova will be running RUSS 3015 and 3025: Russian for Heritage Speakers I and II, which, along with the Spanish courses, will make use of virtual tools to enhance vocabularies, oral communication and proper grammar.

EDC educational technology development coordinator, Kirk Davies, is overseeing the design of these courses. By way of quizzes, ePortfolios and a 3D environment simulating ĐÓ°ÉÔ­´´â€™s campus, Davies is confident that students will benefit from the multifaceted system.

“This is an authentic way to learn the language. There is less intimidation,” says Davies. “Sometimes when you’re looking at someone, you can intimidate them. But this environment will have avatars instead. Students won’t be intimidated to use the language.”

In addition to minimizing a potential sense of intimidation, the online format will also accommodate a wider pool of registrants. Rather than offering the courses to ĐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ students only, Dimitriu and Kozlova are calling upon anyone with substantial exposure to the languages.

Even with registration not yet open for the Fall 2015 and Winter 2016 terms, Kozlova has already received a great deal of interest in her courses. ĐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ political science student Daria Kazhdan is among this group of Russian speakers. She is intent on learning more about the words she was introduced to at a young age.

“I only know how speak and read Russian. My writing skills are non-existent. So I would really like to learn how to send letters to my grandparents. I know it will be useful later on,” says Kazhdan.

For first year ĐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ criminal justice student Polina Tsyban, this course will not only develop her writing skills, but also her relationship with her own ethnicity that she holds in high regard. Since moving to Canada from Kazakhstan in 2005, Tsyban has tried to maintain a balance between her usage of Russian and English.

“It’s important to preserve our language and our heritage…it’s important for me to be really fluent in my language and to not forget it,” says Tsyban.

The heritage courses will also help Tsyban connect with her cultural roots through reading and writing assignments that highlight events related to family, friends and holidays.

Running alongside the engaging content will be a flexible learning environment stemming from the online setup. Davies is convinced that by eliminating the need to physically attend class, virtual academic structures accommodate busy schedules.

“This opens up doors for a lot of people. If you have other commitments, it gives students more flexibility. They don’t have to be fixed to a certain time and place, so there’s a lot more freedom,” says Davies.

Of course, this freedom comes with the need for self-motivation, which, luckily for Dimitriu and Kozlova, is often the case with enthusiastic heritage language speakers.

• Develop a manageable plan for designing an online unit or course
• Create an online module for an upcoming course
• Engage and motivate students in online learning environments
• Evaluate available educational technologies in relation to learning outcomes

At the end of this program, you will have a ready-to-use online module for an upcoming course and the opportunity to participate in a symposium about online teaching and learning. In addition, all participants will receive an iPad at the beginning of the program, which is theirs to keep upon successful completion.

This program will run on Mondays from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. beginning January 20 and ending April 7, 2014. The sessions will run in the fourth floor Discovery Centre Learning Lab at the MacOdrum Library.

for more information and to register.