The Office of Open Learning is offering a free open online course exploring teaching in an increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous world, and ways in which educators and learners can navigate these challenges.
The course, which runs for six weeks from January 22, is structured around Simon Bates’ concept of the anatomy of a 21st Century educator, which identifies six core elements of a modern teacher in higher education: Scholar, Technologist, Curator, Teacher for Learning, Collaborator, and Experimenter.
“In this course, we will explore what it means to be an educator in the 21st century university, especially focusing on online and technology enhanced teaching,” says Nick Baker, director of the Office of Open Learning, who will be leading the course.
The course is designed for busy faculty and grad students who need flexibility, and will be delivered online in Blackboard, with synchronous and asynchronous components.
Another important aspect of the course is that it is based on open educational resources (OERs — openly licenced online educational resources that are free to use and adapt), and participants who complete the course requirements will earn a digital badge that can be displayed in their LinkedIn profiles or other digital portfolios.
It also counts for credit towards the new Certificate in Open and Online Learning that the Office of Open Learning is launching in the new year, designed to offer flexible learning opportunities for faculty and graduate students interested in online, open, and technology-enhanced learning and teaching, as well as a way to recognise the scholarly work they might be doing in this field.
The course is open to all UWindsor faculty and graduate students, although space is limited so registering early will help secure your spot. Interested people can register at: https://ctl2.uwindsor.ca/openlearning/workshops/20/#wkshp-87.
For more information on the course or the Certificate in Open and Online Learning, contact Baker by email at nbaker@uwindsor.ca or phone 519-253-3000, ext. 4925.