The Learning Management System (LMS) has long been the key underlying infrastructure for online, hybrid and even augmented face-to-face education.

With the global pandemic and rush to remote learning, the LMS became more important than ever, helping colleges and universities transition operations online without too many major breakdowns — a remarkable accomplishment for this long-maligned technology.

Yet at the same time, the experience and understanding of just what a “learning platform” is underwent another, parallel transformation with the rise of the synchronous video conferencing system. “Zoom U” may have been overdone with poor pedagogy, but the video platform is here to stay.

Key Takeaways

In this webinar, participants will explore:

• Long-term and recent trends in learning management systems
• Key changes over the past year and what they mean for the learning platforms of the future
• Changing expectations and their likely impacts  

Contact North is a non-profit organization funded by the Government of Ontario to support Ontario's education and training providers.

Zoom’s breakout rooms provide a unique opportunity to learn to create active and engaging learning experiences for students.

Join Contact North | Contact Nord’s Research Associate, Dr. Ron Owston, who describes how educators can:

• Move beyond holding ineffective, unstructured breakout room discussions
• Create distinctive breakout room roles for students to promote active participation
• Employ a variety of tools and techniques to enhance breakout room experiences
• Pre-assign students to breakout rooms or allow them to chose their own
• Design creative ways for students to report breakout room outcomes to the whole class
• Make use of breakout rooms in large enrolment courses
• Participants have ample opportunity to ask questions during the webinar.

NOTE: Registrants are expected to have a basic knowledge of how to use Zoom.

Contact North is a non-profit organization funded by the Government of Ontario to support Ontario's education and training providers.

As higher education leaders, decision makers and governments look to the future of colleges and universities, the decisions they make now will have impacts on our higher education system for years to come.

There is no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on our colleges and universities. But there is more to come. While many seek a return to “normal”, they will need to adjust to the new normal. What does this involve?

• A Hybrid Campus: All services, not just teaching and learning, will need to be offered online – advising, careers guidance, counselling, registrar, finance.
• Rethinking the Academic Portfolio: Teaching and learning will need to be provided in every case as both blended and online – we can no longer assume that social gatherings in large numbers will be possible. We can also better serve a more diverse population through a hybrid approach.
• Refocus Learning and the Student Experience – focus on lifelong learning, engaged and authentic learning and collaborative learning experience. Intensify project-based learning and strengthen ties with alumni.

Becoming hybrid will encourage innovation, increase access, improve quality and lower costs. It will be a compelling new model for many colleges and universities, not just in the U.S. and Canada, but around the world. It requires a real rethinking and reimagining of all workflows, technology adoption and opportunities at colleges and universities.

There are several institutions already exemplifying some key features of this future – University of Central Florida, Georgia State University – which will be used to illustrate this thinking.

In this interactive webinar, Cole Clark, Managing Director of Higher Education at Deloitte will share his thinking and the findings from some recent explorations.

Key Takeaways

• How the academic portfolio will be reshaped by a shift to the hybrid campus.
• What the hybrid campus means for the college and university workforce.
• What the hybrid campus needs in terms of technology supports, analytics and professional development.
• What students will be able to experience in the hybrid campus.
• What challenges will be faced in the shift to hybrid campus, especially in unionized environments.
• What the medium to long term outcomes of this approach would represent.

Contact North is a non-profit organization funded by the Government of Ontario to support Ontario's education and training providers.

In a year that feels brutal and undeserved, many educators are exhausted. Some are angry. Others have suffered devastating personal consequences.

Yet it’s never been more important to meet the moment in higher education.

The time is now for educators to challenge themselves to serve their higher calling. They must take a beat and learn more about the inspiring work of the larger education community, which has collaborated on an array of in-person, blended and online tools in innovative ways for learning and student support.

Key Takeaways

This informative webinar takes a deep dive into a variety of topics, inviting participants to:

• Confront the conflation of emergency remote learning with decades of digital-learning practice
• Explore pandemic-inspired innovations from the professionals and those who are freshly embracing digital tools
• Contemplate what educators want to bring forward  
• Discuss how to better connect to the aspirations and needs of students
• Figure out how educators can meet this moment together and make the road ahead far better than the one behind

Contact North is a non-profit organization funded by the Government of Ontario to support Ontario's education and training providers.