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Conferences & lectures

How can universities build learning environments that are both digital and connected?


Date & time
Thursday, April 2, 2015
12 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Speaker(s)

Amy Collier, Senior Director, Inspiration and Outreach, Office of the Vice-Provost for Teaching and Learning, Stanford University

Cost

This event is free

Organization

Concordia University

Contact

Suzanne Kay
514-848-2424 ext. 5748

Where

John Molson School of Business Building
1450 Guy
Room MB-10.121

Wheel chair accessible

Yes

Stanford University is undertaking innovative projects that leverage technology to create meaningful, shared learning experiences. For Amy Collier, who has assumed the new role of senior director, Inspiration and Outreach in the Office of the Vice-Provost, Teaching and Learning, technology should allow for creativity, awe and surprise that support open-ended learning opportunities for students.

Collier says if you provide technological space for students to explore and experiment, the results are engaged learners. In fact, says Collier, faculty members are surprised and invigorated by the solutions developed by students who have the opportunity to explore creative spaces based on their goals.

Her new position builds on her former role as director of Digital Initiatives where she managed a team of instructional designers, developed a process for prioritizing projects, and catalyzed faculty interest in digital learning.

Collier is coming to Concordia on April as part of the speaker series, The Future of the University and the Future of Learning. This series is just of the many activities taking place on campus as part of the university's strategic directions initiative.

During Collier’s tenure, Stanford has been seeding and supporting many projects that leverage technology to enhance the learning experience. One example is the Lacuna Stories, a project led by Amir Eshel, a professor of comparative literature in the Department of Comparative Literature. He and a team of postdoctoral students and technologists created the annotation platform, Lacuna Stories, which supports close reading, analytical thinking and research through annotation. This platform builds on current tools and allows for annotation and critique of primary texts.

Collier believes that universities have an important role to play in helping learners make meaningful connections. This includes helping learners understand their digital identity, make smart choices about their digital identify, and choose from the array of digital tools available to them. The online learning environment needs to be designed with this in mind.

While there is not charge for this event, advance registration is required.

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