As universities across Canada were directed to teach remotely, members of the University of Windsor community assisted in creating a national teaching resource for higher education instructors.

Within days of the move to online, keepteaching.ca was created, spearheaded by the Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (STLHE) and the Educational Developers Caucus (EDC).

The website was designed to help postsecondary instructors, educational developers, and administrators rapidly transition courses online, rethink final exams, and make coursework accessible for learners with impaired vision, learning disabilities, or limited fine motor skills.

Erika Kustra, director of the Centre for Teaching and Learning, and chair of the EDC, initiated the site with colleagues Carolyn Hoessler (OCAD/Higher Education & Beyond, Saskatchewan), and Denise Stockley (Queen’s University), with technical development by Michelle MacDonald (AOR Solutions). Several of the website’s collection of resources were developed by UWindsor staff and faculty.

Each week there is a new webinar with a focus on an emerging topic, with past webinars recorded and posted. Kustra has facilitated and co-hosted several of the webinars covering issues of leadership and pedagogy.

Academic initiatives officer Beverley Hamilton co-facilitated a webinar on planning for new faculty orientations online, and Brandon Sabourin, a graduate student in the Faculty of Education, facilitated a panel of students sharing their diverse experiences as learners in uncertain times. UWindsor Outstanding Scholar Isabella Bobbie made up part of the student panel.

“The keepteaching.ca site is tangible evidence of the powerful ongoing collaboration across Canada,” said Kustra. “With these and many other initiatives, the University of Windsor is making a difference nationally”

The website was highlighted by Penny Wise, president of 3M Canada, a funding partner of the STLHE’s 3M National Teaching Fellowship.