Canadian Network for Innovation in Education

Just what do we learn from playing serious games? Especially common in games for learning is the notion that participants need to be able to win the game, but is it always necessary for the player to win in order to ‘get’ our message? In his studies of productive failure, Kapur (2008) has suggested that failure can be important to learning. Indeed, when we think back on our most memorable learning experiences we often find that these lessons are things learned through failure rather than success. Learning through failure is an effective way to help people learn how to cope with situations where there is no clear solution (Dorner et al., 1990), and for certain kinds of messages negative messages delivered via games you can’t win may be more powerful than those you can.

This presentation explores a class of games where ‘winning’ doesn’t look the way we expect it to look. Some games don’t allow players to win at all, in which case the message is effectively a cautionary tale. The authors refer to these games as “games you can’t win,” and they form a distinctly different approach to game design (examples include: Sweatshop, Darfur is Dying and September 12th). This presentation will examine the philosophical background of games in education and the design of serious games, and it will look at both accidental and deliberately designed unwinnable games and how this relates to learning objectives.

Of Interest to: Online and distance education, Post-secondary education, K-12 educators, Instructional designers

ePortfolios are an effective way for students to engage with and reflect upon the process and product of their learning. Specifically, ePortfolios can be useful for creating and distributing educational philosophy statements and digital dossiers that illustrate and showcase examples of interest. In this hands-on workshop, participants will learn how they may use the tools within Google Apps for educational e-portfolios and digital dossiers. Participants will be invited to use their own Google accounts in this hands-on workshop, so that they may build skills with Google Apps by working with the features and functions in this facilitated session. Session facilitators will share lessons learned regarding different ePorfolio technologies during a recent transition from blogging platforms (such as Wordpress, Mahara, etc.) to an institutional version of Google Apps. Workshop learning outcomes include using Google Drive (including Google Docs) and Google Sites for pedagogically supported portfolio design, development and delivery.

The audience for this session includes educators, educational developers, instructional designers, educational technologists and anyone interested in learning more about how to use ePortfolios and Google Apps for Education.

This workshop will be highly interactive. Participants are encouraged to build skills through hands-on use of Google Apps.

Of Interest to: Post-secondary education, Instructional designers, Educational technologists

Your degrees can become accessible, worldwide.

Global demand for online and distance education is on the rise. Online education cannot only break down the barrier of rigidity and physical presence, but also those of student visas and long distances. With increasing competition in national markets, and tightened regulations, universities are increasingly looking for the right way to capitalize on this trend.

By showcasing user data from the world’s premier information portal on online and distance education, DistanceLearningPortal.com, this session will help universities to base their marketing decisions on hard facts instead of popular beliefs.

Of Interest to: Online and distance education

INTS 3331: International Community Development is an online course that has been running at Mount Royal University for approximately ten years. The adoption of Google Apps by Mount Royal University, and the opportunity to redevelop the course, allowed for a re-imagining of how students could connect with each other, successfully achieve the course outcomes and stretch their creativity. The redeveloped course was launched in January 2014.

Upon completion of the session participants will be able to:

• Determine whether Google Maps Engine Lite or YouTube are appropriate vehicles for community building in your own courses
• Anticipate the levels of student support required for these activities to be successful
• Imagine possibilities for creating similar activities and assessments in your own courses

 

In our presentation, we would like to share with you our scholarly reflections on how the community-building exercises set the stage for students’ exploration of the field of ICD, as well as provided success and practice for building online “artifacts” as part of their assessment in the course. If you have a laptop, please bring it to the session. Wifi will be available at the conference.

 

Of Interest to: Online and distance education, Post-secondary education, K-12 educators, Instructional designers, Educational technologists

The purpose of this workshop is to explore innovative assessments that will help students to develop 21st century skills. Participants will be introduced to some key assessment terms, including formative and summative assessment, as well as the difference between assessment and evaluation. A variety of non-traditional assessments will be addressed, with a focus on those that use digital tools such as blogs, e-portfolios, wikis, social media and multimedia projects. Participants will also be introduced to some best practices for marking a variety of assignments, such as the creation of rubrics that specifically link to learning outcomes. Participants will leave with some practical ideas for creating engaging formative and summative assessments that will allow students to demonstrate their learning in innovative ways.

 

Of Interest to: Online and distance education, Post-secondary education, K-12 educators, Instructional designers, Educational technologists