Journals @ Ontario Tech
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The Merry Go Round: Carnival Ride
No full textThis poem describes the unpredictable ride of interrupted speech for both listeners and the speaker. Like a merry-go-round, the stopping and starting is unpredictable, but the ride of fluent speech is enjoyable and melodic. 
Institutional Ethnography as Critical Policy Analysis: Health Equity Discourses in Canadian Public Policy
No full textThe use of the term health equity (HE) has increased dramatically in the past decade in Canada and globally. However, there is limited evidence that explosive growth in the use of the term is reflected in HE policy outcomes. In this paper we argue that the methodology of institutional ethnography (IE) is useful in understanding how policy outcomes (including, notably, policy inaction) are constructed. Applying IE methodology in critical policy analysis (CPA), we analyze how the discursive utilization of HE neutralizes effective policy change. The point of our analytical approach is to explain how three complex areas of investigation (HE, IE, CPA) may be usefully integrated to enhance policy action to tackle the structural, root causes of health inequities. We demonstrate how an integration of IE in CPA provides a deeper understanding of how the political forces shaping policy outcomes manifest themselves in discursive relationships and textually mediated sites of power.
 
Using Social Media to Develop Critical Thinking in Higher Education
No full textAccording to a 2018 study by the Pew Research Center, two-thirds or more of all adults in advanced economies use social media regularly. Despite their popularity, the current underuse of social media in higher education could indicate a missed opportunity. While many educators believe that integrating social media is a need, not a choice, the reality is that believing and doing are often quite different. This paper examined the literature on leveraging student engagement with social media to develop critical thinking in higher education. The findings indicate considerable data supporting the need for social media adoption in higher education. Ideally positioned as a highly interactive set of tools, social media platforms address the principles of active learning and interaction between students and faculty, as well as their relationship between technology and student engagement. The revised Bloom\u27s Digital Taxonomy (BDT) could empower instructors to cut through the confusion, foster critical thinking, and focus on learning outcomes, not platforms
That special hand that reaches for me
No full textReprinted with Author’s Permission, originally presented at the Invitation to Poetry 2008 (City of Toronto) International Day of Persons with Disabilitie
Novice Coders Reactions to Pedagogical Strategies within a Coding Education Course
No full textWhile coding is integrated into K-12 curricula worldwide, most teachers are new to coding and need more preparation on how to present coding well. This study investigates the reactions of novice coders to teaching strategies within a carefully developed coding for pre-service teachers (PSTs) course. During the course, PSTs participated in many coding challenges and were prompted to reflect on their learning and connections to future teaching in Digital Learning Portfolios (DLPs). Using thematic analysis, the DLPs of 3 PSTs without prior coding experience were analyzed in depth to determine PST reactions to the teaching strategies used within the coding-for-teachers course. The reflections captured in the teaching approaches were generally effective for novice coders, but at times more scaffolding would have supported learning. Finally, the implications of these findings are discussed concerning teacher educators preparing teachers to teach coding in other contexts
Examining the Role of Emotions in Learning with Technology
No full textMany theorists suggest that emotions and learning are highly interconnected, however, research on the impact of emotions is limited. This study explored the emotions of 220 pre-service teachers while they learned new technology tools and the relationship of these emotions with technology experience and preferred learning strategies. Happiness was most often expressed while learning with technology, followed by anxiety, anger and sadness. Technology experience was positively correlated with happiness and negatively correlated with anxiety, sadness and anger. Experimental and authentic learning strategies were positively correlated with happiness and negatively correlated with anger, anxiety and sadness. Direct instruction was positively correlated with happiness, negatively correlated with anger and unrelated to anxiety and sadness. Finally, a social learning strategy was positively correlated with anxiety and unrelated to happiness, anger and sadness. Implications for and for practice and suggestions for future research are discussed
Exploratory Data on U.S. Beekeeping and Disabilities
No full textOver 500 beekeepers in the United States contributed to a survey concerning beekeeping and disabilities, providing the first exploratory, contemporary data regarding the range of disabilities, limitations of current equipment and approaches, and ideas for innovation and change across the beekeeping industry. The results should provide inspiration for individuals with disabilities who may have been told that beekeeping as a hobby or profession is not an option for them. The insight provided should also fuel innovation for new tools, equipment, and approaches to beekeeping that are more inclusive to all individuals, including those with disabilities
The Audio Describer As Cast Member: Audio Description At Every Performance
No full textNOTE: This abstract is based on a professional audio description experiment for two productions at Arena Stage in Washington, DC, USA. It does not follow a traditional research model but is rather a report of practical work in the field of live audio description for theatre.
Live audio description can be made cost-effectively available at each performance of a performing arts production. This chapter will demonstrate how it is possible to create accessibility for blind theater-goers on a par with sighted audience members. Similarly, multiple language and sign interpretation can be made available at all performances of an event. In 1981, a formal audio description service—the world’s first—was begun under the leadership of a blind woman at The Metropolitan Washington Ear, a radio-reading service based in Washington, DC. Radio reading services still exist throughout the United States with the participation of volunteer readers; I began working as a volunteer reader at The Ear in 1972 and was proud to be a founding member of its audio description service. Radio reading services are heavily dependent on volunteers and The Ear’s audio description service was also structured around voluntary contributions of time and effort. Cognizant of the limits on the times of people who often maintain full-time employment elsewhere, audio description was conceived as a service that would be offered at only two performances of a theatrical run and preparation for the audio described performances was based on the observation of only two or three performances early in the run. It was understood that optimally audio description would be prepared with more in-depth observation of the theatrical event, even during rehearsals, and that audio described should be offered at every performance in the run of a show. But the limitation of the volunteer structure prohibited that arrangement. The proliferation of audio description for live theatrical events in the United States is based on this volunteer, limited preview/two-described-performances model. With support from the D.C. Aid Association for the Blind, the Audio Description Project of the American Council of the Blind proposed a more expansive audio description arrangement for two productions again at Arena Stage. We collaborated with Arena on the experiment: an audio describer attended rehearsals for each production, met with the stage director, actors, the designers (scenic, costumes, lighting, sound) and developed an audio description script throughout the three-week rehearsal period. The script was then available for that same describer to voice at every performance beginning with opening night and with, of course, an eye on stage action as minor changes in action could occur from performance to performance. The describer, essentially, was a “cast member”, attending every rehearsal and performance. The arrangement had two benefits over the traditional model of audio description development for live performance: time was available to carefully observe the theatrical process and construct descriptive language that was more thorough and considered; and people desiring the service could attend any performance with no advance notice and be assured of access to the visual aspects of the production. Other innovations included Braille and large-print programs, models of the set and props in the lobby, and a tactile “scrapbook” of costume pieces. It was gratifying to note that attendance for the productions by people using audio description tripled over levels experienced at Arena using the traditional volunteer model
Survey of Knowledge of ADA: Basic Concepts, Accessibility Fundamentals - Disabilities, Guidelines, and Laws, Web Accessibility Testing: Basic Methods and Tools, and Web Accessibility Testing: Screen Readers
No full textIntroduction: The purpose of the project is to measure the knowledge of persons with blindness or low vision (BLV), addressing the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), accessibility fundamental, and web accessibility of persons with low vision or blindness.
Methods: A survey of knowledge addressing the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Basics, Accessibility Fundamentals, Web Accessibility: Basic Methods and Tools, and Web Accessibility Testing: Screen Readers was developed and distributed through Qualtrics. The knowledge test was to take 30 to 35 minutes. A final question will ask if a participant would like to participate in a training program on the aforementioned topics. Data was analyzed using MS Excel.
Results: Out of the target of 15 participants, seven elected to start the knowledge survey for a 47% return. However, five of the seven fully completed the knowledge survey. The average score was 33 out of 45 for an average percentage of 75%.
Discussion: The findings demonstrate that persons with low vision or blindness need training and more knowledge of web accessibility. Additional research to explore knowledge accessibility of persons with low vision and blindness should be encouraged to explore careers and training in the field.
Implications for Practitioners: Developing web accessibility training and providing resources for accessibility certification may be beneficial. It is essential to support persons with visual impairments to obtain licensure or certification. Career development and planning to help employment should be included
Higher Education Faculty Supports for to the Transition to Online Teaching during the COVID-19 Pandemic
No full textCanadian higher education institutions closed physical campuses in early 2020. It transitioned to online teaching and student service delivery because of the COVID-19 pandemic. For many faculty members and institutions unfamiliar with online teaching, this transition meant widespread innovation in digital technologies and pedagogical practices. While necessity created a perception of the usefulness of digital tools, faculty still needed to develop their technical skills and online teaching approaches. This research study found that faculty from two Canadian universities drew upon a combination of formal and informal support networks and resources to increase their technological self-efficacy. Faculty also found that formal professional development was most helpful when it focused on online teaching approaches rather than specific technical functionality. The barriers to innovation and changes to faculty use of digital tools and pedagogies point to recommendations for higher education institutions that must transition to online delivery