I am a PhD candidate in the Faculty of Education at the University of Victoria, BC. My dissertation applies a phenomenology methodology to explicate the reflected lived experiences of university educators when using open education resources in their teaching practices. Specifically, I apply the reflective lifeworld research methodology (Dahlberg, Dahlberg, & Nyström, 2008) and view the interview data through a conceptual framework based upon self-determination theory (Ryan & Deci, 2017).
The data collection is completed and I expect to defend my dissertation in early 2020.
I am fascinated with personal stories and experiences of how people perceive phenomena; thus, my research and interests often lead me to ask why educators choose to use, or not use, specific technologies. In the vein of Roger’s theory of innovation (2003), I attempt to explore the tipping point that brings educators to embrace or abandon the technology.
Although my current research interests focuses on university educators’ motivations to using and adopting different technologies into their teaching practices, my interests have evolved to exploring a variety of areas, such as:
- Integration of educational technology in higher education facilitation (online and face-to-face)
- Open educational resources
- Curriculum and instructional design practices
- Facilitators’ motivation to use educational technology
- Facilitators’ support of learners’ online social collaborative environment
- Barriers and affordances to educational technology
- Social connectedness in online environments
I am currently a limited-term instructor with the Faculty of Education at Ontario Tech University (University of Ontario Institute of Technology), located in Oshawa, Ontario, where I’ve facilitated five different online courses. These synchronous/asynchronous courses rely heavily on problem-based learning, social interaction, and collaboration in the online environment. The weekly tutorials (classes) are highly interactive, and bring together learners from across the country to form a supportive learning community of practice.
Prior to joining Ontario Tech University in 2014, I taught at the University of Victoria where I facilitated two courses in the Faculty of Education undergraduate program. UVic provided me with the opportunity to grow my online and blended facilitation skills and gain the experience I needed to move beyond face-to-face teaching, which was my forte for eight years at Seneca College in Toronto. Seneca allowed me to explore and expand my facilitation skills and also begin designing courses.
My teaching interests are varied and I enjoy the challenge of taking on new education courses and viewing these from the three perspectives: the learners’, the facilitators’, and the instructional designers’. Invariably, this leads to course modification, and, with feedback from learners, I attempt to create or modify courses that meets their needs while working within the online collaborative problem-based-learning model that underpins the philosophy of Ontario Tech’s Faculty of Education’s programs.
Although I seem to always be in front of the computer, working on research, meeting with learners, or designing instruction, I make a point to balance my life by going for long walks with my Chinese crested dog, riding my BMW motorcycle, watching CFL football (Saskatchewan Roughriders), and playing canasta and various board games.
Reference
Dahlberg, K., Dahlberg, H., & Nyström, M. (2008). Reflective lifeworld research (2nd
ed.). Studentlitteratur.
Rogers, E. M. (2003). Diffusion of innovations (5th ed.). Free Press.
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2017). Self-determination theory: Basic psychological
needs in motivation development, and wellness. Guildford Press.
