As academic semesters are beginning, we welcome you back with a preview of the new year with SALTISE! For this year, we have prepared a virtual events series, each with specific goals in mind:
- The information series will be monthly with webinars and workshops to provide basic know-how about online approaches that support student engagement and offer new forms of assessment that provide more feedback and promote learning;
- The tech support series will be weekly with virtual “drop-in” and “ask SALTISE” sessions to provide one-on-one mentoring related to using the technologies we have developed and/or support (e.g., CourseFlow, myDALITE, Visual Classrooms, Perusall);
- The community-building and community-sharing series, will be bi-monthly with roundtable meetings (talking circles), led and managed by peers – these are aimed at bringing colleagues who share disciplinary content concerns together to discuss pedagogical solutions. We imagine these three forms of virtual gatherings as a suite of tools to help support your efforts as you work through this upcoming semester, and beyond.
Our first event, 2 -Stage Assessments: Teaching While You Test, happened on Thursday, January 7th. We gathered an impressive panel of colleagues from 4 institutions across the country, including Carleton University, University of British Columbia (UBC), McGill University and John Abbott College, who have substantial experience implementing this approach, even as they have moved their classes online. If you missed this opportunity to join in this discussion that can change the way students think about assessment, we will upload a recording of the webinar along on our webpage about Two-Stage Exams. Don’t miss out on anymore events! Check out our Events Calendar, register, and add them to your personal calendars so that you don’t forget.
The plans for our Annual Conference, to be held in early June, are well underway. Notably, 2021 marks our 10th anniversary of SALTISE. With the current uncertainty, we are preparing to navigate new territory for this virtual event using cutting edge technologies to provide multiple ways to engage. In particular, our focus for the Conference will be to make the content of the keynotes and format of the presentations relevant and uplifting, at the same time as acknowledging your fatigue. At its core, SALTISE is about community, collaboration, connection and sharing, as it relates to evidence-based pedagogical innovation, and we intend to make 2021’s event reflect these values. Stay tuned for more information coming later this month.
