Dr. Ann-Louise Davidson is a Professor of Education and Concordia University Research Chair in Maker Culture. She is the Director of the Concordia University Innovation Lab. She is also Associate Director of the Milieux Institute for Arts, Culture and Technology and she directs #MilieuxMake, the Milieux makerspace initiative.
Her work focuses on maker culture, social innovation, inclusion and innovating with advanced pedagogical approaches and digital technologies. She has expertise in action research methodologies that engage participants in collaborative data collection and meaning-making and hands-on studies in technology and innovation.
Dr. Davidson created Education Makers. She is principal investigator on several SSHRC funded grants that focus on the Potential of the Digital Maker Movement for Authentic Learning and on Engaging Disadvantaged Children in the Maker Movement to Help Them Succeed in a Competitive World. She develops innovative workshop concepts that draw on crucial themes, such as global issues, big data, health, sustainability and youth motivation, through concrete maker activities such as building gaming tables, gamepads, wearable computing, pedagogical robotics, and using coding and 3D printing, while engaging marginalized communities. She also investigates how makers from interdisciplinary fields develop identities as makers. Her innovative work has been featured in the media. In addition, Dr. Davidson is co-researcher on Intergenerational Making Art and Gaming in Education (IMAGiNE), an umbrella project which is currently supported by the Ageing, Communication and Technology Project (ACT Project).
As for her research in pedagogical innovation, Dr. Davidson spearheads an interdisciplinary initiative to improve methodology courses in the Department of Education to integrate problem-based learning in higher education (funded by the Vice-Provost of Teaching and Learning). She also studies how to develop learning communities to improve student retention and academic success from a grassroots perspective with a network of six elementary schools (funded by Chantier 7). She is also an Associate Researcher at the EILab at UOIT where she studies innovative approaches to teaching and learning with technology. Because of her reputation with innovative online learning, she was invited as professor with the Master Recherche à Distance International Francophone (MARDIF) in France from 2014 to 2017.
Dr. Davidson has a solid network of partners in schools, universities, NGOs, governmental bodies, corporate industries, start-ups, innovation centers and incubators that work with her collaborators and students.
Education
Postdoctoral fellowship, Carleton University (funded by SSHRC), June 2008
PhD Psychopédagogie, Ottawa University (funded by SSHRC), June 2007
MA Education Administration and Foundations, August 2003
BEd Ottawa University, April 1996
BA Littérature française et arts visuels, April 1995
Professional experience
Assistant professor –Educational Technology Program, Department of Education, Concordia University
Graduate Program Director –Educational Technology Programs, Department of Education, Concordia University
Lecturer –Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Carleton University
Lecturer –Women Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ottawa
Lecturer –Faculty of Education, University of Ottawa
Social Analysis Systems certified instructor.
Courses taught
Qualitative Methods (EDUC 807)
Fundamentals of Human Performance Technology (ETEC651)
Fundamentals of Instructional Design (ETEC 650)
Fundamental Methods of Inquiry (ETEC 548/648)
Human Performance Technology (ETEC 512/712)
Educational Computing (ETEC 560/660)
Social Computing (ETEC 560/562)
Selection of articles published in peer reviewed scientific journals
Davidson, A.-L. *Price, D. (accepted) Does Your School Have the Maker Fever? –An Experiential Learning Approach To Developing Maker Competencies. LEARNing Landscapes.
Davidson, A.-L., *Naffi, N. (submitted). Une analyse réflexive sur l’accompagnement des étudiants universitaires dans une approche par problème en ligne. Revue Distances et Savoirs.
*Naffi, N., & Davidson, A.-L. (submitted). The Integration of Syrian Refugee Youth in Canada from a Systems Perspective. Directions.
Davidson, A.-L. & *Naffi, N. (revise and resubmit). This Is Why I Post, Share and Comment Online: Reflections of Adolescents about how they View their Use of Digital Tools and Social Media to Construct and Project their Image. Learning, Media and Technology.
Cucinelli, G., Davidson, A.-L., Romero, M. (accepted). Intergenerational learning through a participatory video game design workshop. Journal of Intergenerational Relationships, 18(1) March 2018.
*Naffi, N., Davidson, A.-L. (2017). A methodology to explore how host society youth construe the inclusion of Syrian refugees. Personal Construct Theory and Practice, 14, 116-128. Complete paper online: [http://www.pcp-net.org/journal/pctp17/naffi17.pdf]
Davidson, A.-L., *Naffi, N., Raby, C. (2017). A PCP approach to conflict resolution in learning communities. Personal Construct Theory & Practice, 14, 61-72. Complete paper online: [http://www.pcp-net.org/journal/pctp17/davidson17.pdf]
*Naffi, N. & Davidson, A.-L. (2016). Examining the Integration and Inclusion of Syrian Refugees Through the Lens of Personal Construct Psychology. Personal Construct Theory & Practice, 13, 200-209. Complete paper online: [http://www.pcp-net.org/journal/pctp16/naffi16.pdf]
Davidson, A.-L. (2015). A Collaborative Action Research about Making Self-Advocacy Videos with People with Intellectual Disabilities. Social Inclusion, 3(6), 16-28. Complete paper online: [http://www.cogitatiopress.com/ojs/index.php/socialinclusion/article/view/412]
*Corona, S., *Hannum, C. (joint first authors), & Davidson, A.-L. (2014). Project Capabilities and Adults with Intellectual Disabilities: Towards Effective Interviewing for a Better Social Participation. Learning Landscapes (7)2, 115-123.
Waddington, D., Venkatesh, V., *Thomas, T. Davidson, A.-L., *Alexander, K., & *Gallant, T. (2013). Education from inside the bunker: examining the effect of a nuclear warfare simulation game on nuclear attitudes and critical reflection. Loading, 7(12), 19-58.
Davidson, A.-L. & Fountain, R. (2013). Social Media in Higher Education: A look at participatory culture in graduate coursework. International Journal of Technologies in Higher Education. Special issue on Web 2.0. V. Venkatesh, Rabah, J., Thomas, T. (Eds). 10(2), 14-27.
Davidson, A.-L. (2012). Use of mobile technologies by young adults living with an intellectual disability: A collaborative action research study. Journal on Developmental Disability, 18(3), 21-32. Complete paper online: [http://www.oadd.org/docs/41013_JoDD_18-3_21-32_Davidson.pdf]
Davidson, A.-L. & *Naffi, N. (2012). Une analyse des représentations d’enseignants réfléchissant à une expérience d’implantation d’un portfolio électronique. Revue canadienne de l’apprentissage et de la technology / Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology, 38(3), 19 p. Complete paper online: [http://www.cjlt.ca/index.php/cjlt/article/view/659/348]
Davidson, A.-L. & Desjardins, F. (2011). Vers l’identification d’une relation entre les representations de la pédagogie et de l’usage des TIC chez des formateurs d’enseignants. Revue Canadienne de l’Éducation, 34(3), 47-67.
Davidson, A.-L. (2009). Community and Residential Integration, and Paid Employment Go Hand-In-Hand –A Collaborative Inquiry. Journal on Developmental Disabilities, 15(2), 27-37. Complete paper online: [http://oadd.org/index.php?page=619]
Davidson, A.-L. (2009). Producing self-advocacy videos through a process of collaborative action research with adults living with an intellectual disability. International Journal of Learning, 16(9), 687-698.
Davidson, A.-L. (2009). Why is it so hard to talk about our intellectual disability? A pilot study using action research. Journal on Developmental Disabilities, 15(1), 8-20. Complete paper online: [http://oadd.org/index.php?page=589]
Leblanc, R., *Paruthi, R., Davidson, A.-L., *Clément, N., *Godbout, S., *Leno, S., Moldoveanu, M., *Payeur, Y., & Turcotte, C. (2008). The “On Our Own Together Housing Project” (Cooperative Housing for People with Intellectual Disabilities). Journal on Developmental Disabilities, 14(3).
Selection of authored book chapters with reviewing committee
Davidson, A.-L., Gulka, L., Valle, A., Castonguay, C. (2014). Tech-stewarding as a medium to help develop and sustain online niche communities. In. V. Venkatesh, J. Wallin, J.C. Sanchez, J. Lewis, Educational, Behavioral and Psychological Considerations in Niche Online Communities. IGI Global. Chapter14, 228-247.
Davidson, A.-L., *Durocher, S. (2014). Ratchet head pedagogy: an auto-ethnography about how we learned to customize and tune Italian motorcycles through asynchronous online discussions. In. V. Venkatesh, J. Wallin, J.C. Sanchez, J. Lewis, Educational, Behavioral and Psychological Considerations in Niche Online Communities. IGI Global. Chapter 12, 192-205
Davidson, A.-L., Carliner, S. (2013). eBooks in Higher Education. In M. Spector, D. Merrill, M.J. Bishop and J. Elen (eds.), Handbook on Educational Communications and Technology, 4th edition. AECT.
Davidson, A.-L., & Peters, M. (2009). La relation pédagogique dans un contexte intégrant les TIC. In. M. Peters (Dir.), L'intégration des technologies au primaire. Montréal : CEC, p.29-46.
