• Digital Collaboration: Cultivating communication and collaboration routines in flexible learning environments, including Indigenous perspectives. 

• Designing Flexible Learning Environment Courses: Applying the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework. 

• Adapting the OER Book “Pulling Together: A Guide for Teachers and Instructors” published by BCcampus. 

Note: For Topic 1 – Digital Collaboration, MB Hub has developed found a support document that incorporates Indigenous perspectives on digital communication and collaboration. 

MB Hub recognizes its ongoing and active role in decolonizing the post-secondary education system. We acknowledge that the resources we create or promote must include education for instructors on integrating Indigenous teaching methods and Indigenous Knowledges into flexible learning environments and classrooms, as part of our commitment to answering Call to Action 62 and supporting Reconciliation. 

Target Audience 

MB Hub’s primary audience includes instructors at partner institutions (colleges, polytechnics, and universities) who teach in flexible learning environments. This vibrant and adaptable group brings fresh perspectives due to the nature of flexible teaching roles. These instructors may: 

• Be subject matter experts looking to build strong teaching and pedagogical skills 

• Be experienced face-to-face instructors with limited digital or online pedagogy experience 

• Be flexible learning instructors aiming to refine their digital teaching skills 

Instructors are encouraged to complete the self-paced learning modules through their institutions’ Learning Management System (LMS) and explore learning resource packs (adapted OERs, toolkits, or similar) available on the MB Hub website and OpenED Manitoba. 

How to Apply 

If you’re interested in contributing to this initiative, apply now. 

Send your application to info@mbhub.ca and include the following items: 

1. Resume or Curriculum Vitae (CV) – PDF format preferred 

1. Cover Letter – Briefly describe which learning module or resource you would like to develop or adapt and explain your interest in the project 

1. Email Subject Line – Use: Call for Authors MBHUB052025 – [Your preferred First and Last Name] 

Reminder for Indigenous Applicants: Please self-declare in your cover letter, resume, or CV if you identify as Indigenous (First Nations, Métis, or Inuit). For Topic 3, preference will be given to Indigenous candidates. 

For full details, including compensation and project requirements, please visit our blog post: Call for Content Authors – Spring 2025 — Manitoba Flexible Learning Hub. 

An Opportunity to Recalibrate: Aligning with Best Practices in Assessment to Support Learning in the Context of GenAI panel will provide post-secondary instructors from across the province the opportunity to engage in dialogue about assessment, academic integrity and GenAI.

The panel discussion is open to all UM instructional staff as part of the Manitoba Flexible Learning Hub partnership. These intra-institution panels allow sharing of expertise between publicly funded post-secondary institutions in Manitoba on online teaching and learning topics. Previous panel topics include the trauma-informed teaching panel, which was held earlier this year.

The event, presented via Zoom, includes MB Hub partners panelists from Assiniboine College, Brandon University, Red River College Polytech, and a guest from Medicine Hat College.

Register for the panel discussion

Panel details

Date: Friday, Nov 22, 2024

Time: 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Panelists:

• Josh Seeland [BA/21] (he/him), Manager, Library Services and Academic Integrity Officer at the Assiniboine College (AC) Library in Brandon. Seeland has authored and co-authored works on academic integrity and contract cheating. He co-edited the recently published book Academic Integrity and the Role of the Academic Library with Jason Openo.
• Curt Shoultz (he/him), Director of the Centre for Teaching, Learning, & Technology (CTLT) Brandon University.
• Hannah Gifford (she/her), Academic Integrity Specialist at Centre for Learning and Program Excellence in Red River College Polytechnic. Gifford is also experienced international credential assessment and Recognition for Previous Learning (RPL)
• Jason Openo (he/him), Dean of the School of Health and Community Services at Medicine Hat College and co-author of the book Assessment strategies for online learning: Engagement and Authenticity and Co-editor of Academic Integrity and the Role of the Academic Library with Josh Seeland.

In the new UM Learn module, Exploring Power Dynamics in Post-Secondary Institutions, instructors can enhance their understanding of power dynamics in the post-secondary teaching context.

The module is the third of six modules in Incorporating EDI into Your Course and Teaching, a course to help instructors apply equity, diversity and inclusion concepts in their teaching. Each module provides strategies and teaching techniques and additional resources for those who wish to take their learnings further. It is available to all UM instructors and staff. 

This module was authored by Eric Sagenes, a doctoral student at UM and sessional instructor at Brandon University. His areas of scholarly interest include social activism, decolonization and diversity.

“The goal of this module is to raise your consciousness about how power plays out in different situations, so you can start to see how it plays out in your own context,” explains Sagenes. “Once we become aware of how power is operating, then we can be more likely to address it and ensure that we are working towards equitable and inclusive environments.”

By the end of the 35-minute self-study module, learners should be able to:

• explore the concept of power and how practices and policies can marginalize members from equity-deserving groups
• recognize how oppression is based on relationships of unequal power among social groups and how those in power can continually perpetuate inequality
• identify the impact of privilege on teaching and learning
• explore teaching and learning strategies and activities that address power, oppression and privilege in post-secondary and promote equity, diversity and inclusion

The EDI course was developed by the Manitoba Flexible Learning Hub (MB Hub) upon request from the Flexible Learning Advisory Group, representing six post-secondary institutions in Manitoba: Assiniboine Community College, Brandon University, University College of the North, Red River College Polytechnic, University of Winnipeg and University of Manitoba.

More than 10,000 instructional and support staff across the province have access to the course through the learning platform at their respective institutions. 

The MB Hub is part of The Centre for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning and provides instructional design and digital media support to the six partner institutions.

Access the course today 

1. Login to UM Learn with your staff email
2. In the main navigation menu, select “Self Registration” 
3. Under Course offering code, select CENTRE_IEDIYCTMOD3_092024 or under Course offering name select Incorporating EDI into Your Course and Teaching: Module 3 

Use module completion in EDIA course and micro-certificate

Each of the six UM Learn modules of Incorporating EDI into Your Course and Teaching can be used as an ongoing learning in Equity Diversity Inclusion Accessibility – EDIA: Expansions (EDIA 0102), in the online and hybrid course for UM staff, students and faculty. The course is part of the Micro-certificate in Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (EDIA) program supports UM’s efforts to improve equity and access across UM campuses, by educating and empowering all members to contribute to individual and collective transformation. It is offered, at no charge, through Extended Education in partnership with the Office of Equity Transformation and with the support of the UM President’s Office.

Other EDI resources

If you want more help applying EDI to your teaching practice, connect with The Centre for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning for one-on-one consultations. 

Learn more about the Manitoba Flexible Learning Hub.

“We all are living a trauma-lived experience, we have been for quite some time now, especially around COVID.”

Gagne was one of four panelists in a discussion panel January 26 who shared perspectives on incorporating trauma-informed principles into online and blended teaching. The discussion panel marks the first time the partner institutions of the Manitoba Flexible Learning Hub have collaborated on a panel discussion to support students and increase student success.

The panelists shared their passion for helping students feel safe wherever teaching takes place. Discussion was wide-ranging and lively, covering the topics of curriculum development, course syllabi, course assessment, and how to improve the online spaces where courses are taught.

Participation by more than 60 attendees showed the growing interest in developing the teaching skills that create a safe space where learning can happen more easily.

“At Assiniboine Community College, when the pandemic hit, the first thing we did was create a quality assurance measure that talked about the minimal things we need to do online to make sure that our learners are okay,” said Sheryl Prouse, Senior Advisor, Student Affairs and Interim Director, Learning Commons. Most of the items were common sense. “I need to make sure I introduce myself. I need to make sure I have online office hours. I need to make sure I point people to where they can get help, I need to make my site easily navigable – thinking about the user experience on the other end.”

Prouse also described how instructors can sometimes re-traumatize students unintentionally through assignments. “When we’re asking students to do things like self-reflective exercises, please align those with your learning outcomes and stop being intrusive,” she said. Students should not have to reflect upon abusive childhoods, she explained. Instead, they could be asked to relay an experience with a child they worked with or could use a case study that is depersonalized from their own experience.

Panelists agreed that building predictability and routine into the course syllabus – and also some flexibility – are all ways to help students navigate their learning experience and balance competing demands of other courses, work, and family.

“We don’t know what they’re currently experiencing,” said Jocelyn Lavich, Faculty Instructor in the Department of Nursing at RRC Polytech and a marriage and family therapist.

“Something I do in the first or second class, is collaborate with them to develop a contract for a shared safe space. I want to hear from all students, what they feel is important for them, what they’d like others to know on how they feel safe in the room, so that learning continues to happen.”

All the panelists emphasized the importance of ensuring that students aren’t passive learners but instead active contributors in the learning process.

“I absolutely believe in a collaborative learning process, learning from each other in different ways, the small group work, and overall working on leveling out that power imbalance [between instructors and students],” Lavich said. She and others expressed the importance of instructors allowing students to fail, allowing multiple attempts for mastery, and creating choices where possible for ways students can present assignments.

“Whether it’s in person or online, we have to be very clear and consistent in our expectations,” said Lori Doan, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Developer at UM and Sessional Instructor at the International College of Manitoba. 

“I think what is really important is owning our mistakes. Admitting when we’ve made a mistake. Apologize for it and make it right. I used to tell my students I will always err on the side of what benefits them. I can say that, but they need to see me do that to be able to trust me.”

The panelists were clearly inspired by each others’ passion for improving the student experience and agreed that so much more can be done for students once one becomes familiar with trauma-informed principles. They agreed that building trust with students is critical, and that instructors need to be aware of the things in their own experiences that might get in the way of providing trauma-informed teaching, such as stress, and the degree to which one is feeling supported in one’s own life.

Learn more

The Manitoba Flexible Learning Hub (MB Hub) is a resource for post-secondary instructors in Manitoba. We provide service to partner instructors and departments through improvements in both the quality and quantity of higher education online and blended courses in Manitoba and the use of technology within teaching and learning.

Learn more about the work we do at the Manitoba Flexible Learning Hub by visiting our website or subscribing to our newsletter.

These identities can affect teaching behaviour and expectations in the classroom in explicit and implicit ways.  

In the new UM Learn module “Understanding social identities among faculty and students,” instructors can learn to recognize their own identities and those of their students, to help them develop strategies that promote engagement and success in the classroom.  

The 35-minute self-study module is the second of six modules for Incorporating EDI into Your Course and Teaching, a course to help instructors apply equity, diversity and inclusion concepts in their teaching. Each module provides strategies and teaching techniques and additional resources for those who wish to take their learnings further. It is available to all UM instructors and staff. 

Brandon University’s Kristen Hardy, authored the module. “I hope that those who engage with it come away with a stronger sense of how they can make connections with their students as whole, unique people, and feel more confident about their ability to use inclusive practices in their classrooms,” she says. 

The EDI course was created by the Manitoba Flexible Learning Hub (MB Hub) at the request of six partner institutions through the Flexible Learning Advisory Group. Over 10K instructional and support staff across the province have access to the course via the learning platform at their respective institutions. 

The MB Hub is part of The Centre for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning and provides instructional design and digital media support to partner institutions across Manitoba. Partner institutions participating in the EDI series include Assiniboine Community College, Brandon University, University College of the North, Red River College Polytechnic, University of Winnipeg and the University of Manitoba. 

Access the course today 

1. Login to UM Learn with your staff email
2. In the main navigation menu, select “Self Registration” 
3. Under Course offering code, select CENTRE_IEDIYCT_022024 or under Course offering name select Incorporating EDI into Your Course and Teaching: Module 2 

Other EDI courses and resources 

The course Equity Diversity Inclusion Accessibility – EDIA: Foundations (EDIA 0100) is an 18-hour hybrid or online course for UM students, staff and faculty. It introduces participants to the skills of critical self-assessment, social location, and diverse perspective-taking that are foundational practices in EDIA work and describes the content necessary for such skill development. It is offered in partnership with the UM Office of Equity Transformation and with the support of the UM President’s Office. 

If you want more help applying EDI to your teaching practice, connect with The Centre for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning for one-on-one consultations. 

Learn more about the Manitoba Flexible Learning Hub. 

Panelist, Dr. Lori Doan [BA(Hons)/05, MA/07, PhD/14] explains, “Trauma-informed teaching is especially important in online learning. When we have a trauma response, our brain goes into survival mode, and this makes things like concentration, memory, and learning more difficult. Trauma-informed teaching strategies, such as building trust by being transparent and reliable about your course policies, can help students come out of survival mode and regain control of the thinking and emotion regulation centres of the brain.”

The event will be a shared expertise from our province and provide an opportunity for post-secondary instructors from across the province to engage in dialogue about trauma-informed teaching. The event will be presented via Zoom with panelists from the University of Manitoba, Red River College Polytech, Assiniboine Community College and a guest from Brock University.

The trauma-informed principles discussed will help every instructor’s relationship building skills, as Jocelyn Lavich [BN/00] shares “Our adult learners who may be coming in with a history of trauma, are already coming in with their alarm systems ‘on’ and may have had previous negative experiences in the education system. Healing always comes from relationships. It is our duty to role model a safe base for connection and a place where learning can happen.”

Trauma-informed teaching practices, an extension of trauma-informed care, have mainly focused on face-to-face classrooms. It is important to start to further the discussions on how creating pedagogy for online and blended learning is lacking. As guest panelist,  Dr. Ann Gagné, aptly notes “Trauma-informed discussions in the context of online in particular has mainly focused on social media discourse without a realization of the need for trauma-informed pedagogy in online course design and facilitation beyond just social media, which is why this panel focus is needed and hopefully a start of more continued discussions, applications, and resources to support trauma-informed pedagogy online in Canada.”

The panel discussion is open to all UM instructional staff as part of the Manitoba Flexible Learning Hub partnership. See the panel discussion registration for more details.

Panelists:

• Lori Doan (she/her), SoTL Developer at the University of Manitoba and Sessional Instructor at the International College of Manitoba. She holds a PhD in Psychology from the University of Manitoba and specializes in wellness for instructors and students.
• Ann Gagne (she/her), Senior Educational Developer, Accessibility and Inclusion at Brock University. She holds a PhD, English (Victorian Literature) from Western University and hosts the Accessagogy podcast, focused on accessible pedagogy.
• Jocelyn Lavich (she/her), Faculty Instructor, Department of Nursing at RRC Polytech and Marriage and Family Therapist. She holds a Bachelor of Nursing (2000) from a joint program through Red River College Polytech and the University of Manitoba. Master in Marriage and Family Therapy (2021) from University of Winnipeg.
• Sheryl Prouse (she/her), Senior Advisor, Student Affairs and Interim Director, Learning Commons at Assiniboine Community College. She holds a MSW University of Regina and MEd from the University of Saskatchewan.

This is the first of six plan modules, and it aims to enhance the understanding of EDI in the higher education teaching context.  Providing strategies and teaching techniques for advancing EDI in teaching and learning and well as additional resources for those who wish to take their learnings further.

The Manitoba Flexible Learning Hub (MB Hub) created the course at the request of six partner institutions through the Flexible Learning Advisory Group.  Each partner institution is hosting the course on its learning platform, with access for over 10K instructional and support staff across the province.

This shared course represents a multi-year commitment for MB Hub and UM. The MB Hub is part of The Centre for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning and provides Instructional design and digital media support to partner institutions across Manitoba. Partner institutions participating in the EDI series include – Assiniboine Community College, Brandon University, University College of the North, Red River College Polytechnic, University of Winnipeg, and the University of Manitoba.

Access the course today

• Login to UM Learn with your staff email
• In main navigation menu, select “Self Registration”
• Under Course offering code, select CENTRE_IEDIYCT_122022 or under Course offering name Incorporating EDI into Your Course and Teaching

Learn more about the Manitoba Flexible Learning Hub

If you want more help applying EDI to your teaching practice, connect with The Centre for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning for one-on-one consultations.