The past week has seen much debate over synchronous/asynchronous online learning for the Fall 2020 semester.  As you know, President Alan Davis provided clarification on Wednesday by stressing that faculty are welcome to utilize “appropriate synchronous events that reflect best practice and that are essential to achieving the intended learning outcomes of each course.” The regular timetable will remain in effect for fall (minus room and campus coordinates), so such events should utilize that time frame. You are urged to keep such events short and “to record them for viewing for those who cannot join in at the scheduled time.” Observing this practice will help to reassure students that they all have equal access to course content and modes of instruction and online interaction.

For those who wish, for reasons of inclusion, equity, and access, to go further down the path of asynchronous teaching, we’ve attached brief document containing a sprinkling of relevant principles and resources drawn from the Teaching and Learning Commons.

Contacting IT/T&L:  We know many of you are grappling with technology and software challenges with teaching online.  Please remember to use the recently integrated IT/T&L support portal at: http://sm.kpu.ca/, which was created in part because faculty are sometimes not sure about which unit to approach for assistance (e.g., IT for the Microsoft Suite vs. T&L for Moodle, etc.). Because there is a high-volume of requests for assistance, we kindly request that you be patient, knowing that the response time is typically less than 36 hours.

Fine Arts – Online Teaching:  We’d like to give a celebratory shout out to the Fine Arts department. Faculty who are teaching this summer have been undertaking some admirable and challenging work in shifting hands-on learning to the digital context. They are building toward a cooperative approach for the fall semester.  As shared by faculty member Amy Huestis: “In Fine Arts, we’ve moved into this new paradigm of online delivery of our studio courses with such a creative impulse, sharing tools and tips and supporting each other from this challenging distance.  I find in my colleagues also a constant empathy for the students and the drive to make things work for them.  They are an inspiration.  Now having developed our summer courses and technical sites, we have built a core community resource for the department– to share online tools, courses, and resources moving forward into the intensity of the fall.”  

Academic Integrity – Online Workshop: We are delighted to announce that Kristie Dukewich has kindly agreed to hold an online workshop for Arts faculty entitled “Helping Students to Avoid Violations of Academic Integrity” on June 9, from 10-11 AM.  This session will take place via Teams.  Please watch for more information about how to attend this Arts event.

Graduate Certificate in Sustainable Food Systems and Security (SFSS): We are rolling out a new graduate certificate! The SFSS program features a collaboration between the KPU’s Institute for Sustainable Food Systems and the Faculty of Arts, and focuses on concerns with agriculture, food systems, economic and social policy, and sustainability. The program will launch online in Fall 2020, such that students from around the world will be able to enroll. Students who complete the Graduate Certificate in SFSS will be well-placed to work in government, planning and consulting, NGO operations, public education and research, community activism, community health, and economic development. The certificate can also be extended into a Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies, with an emphasis on sustainable food systems and security, through Royal Roads University in Victoria, B.C. To learn more, visit kpu.ca/foodsecurity.

Congratulations to Dr. Kent Mullinix, Director of the Institute for Sustainable Food Systems, and all those who helped to bring this path-breaking program to fruition!

We know there can be a steep learning curve, and considerable labour, involved in transforming courses into quality online learning experiences. The Covid context has presented us with a particularly dramatic and urgent challenge for professional development. We continue to express our deep respect and appreciation for your effort and dedication, and to celebrate the inspiring ways so many of you have embraced the challenge. The skills accrued, and the online course materials developed, will offer tools of lasting value when we return to in-person classes and move forward as an ever-more-resilient and resourceful Faculty of Arts.

Diane, Wade, Greg, and Shelley