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.

How Panorama helps

Panorama scans your content and creates an accessibility report that flags issues and provides suggestions for how to resolve each of them. This allows you to ensure the accessibility of your content before it is distributed or published. It can also create accessible alternative formats for you or your readers to use.

Using Panorama’s Alternative Formats Menu, you can make various changes to text to improve readability. For example, you can change the text size, increase line spacing, select a readable font, and change themes. You can also highlight parts of speech and use Line Focus to facilitate focused reading. Panorama can also create accessible PDF, high contrast, text to speech, braille and audio files.

How to access Panorama

Panorama is integrated into your UM Learn courses and requires a plugin to view the Alternative Formats menu, which you install through the integration. You can find Panorama through the integrations menu in your course.

Learn more from The Centre

The Centre for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning is your campus resource for accessibility. Visit Panorama on The Centre’s website for more information about this tool.

Support

Panorama is a YuJa Inc. product. If you have questions about Panorama, visit the Panorama Digital Accessibility Platform Overview on the YuJa Help Center website. You’ll find video tutorials, quick start guides and general documentation.

You can also contact YuJa Inc. directly between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. central time:

By phone: 1-888-257-2278

By email: support [at] yuja [dot] com

Through Twitter: @yujanow

Panorama is an accessibility tool that has been available on UM Learn since 2022. Now it’s also being relaunched as a password-protected portal, which means you can also review documents for accessibility outside UM Learn. You just log in to Panorama using your UM password—which means that UM staff and students can now also use it for any materials they produce.  

It’s the law 

As of May 1, 2024, the University of Manitoba must abide by the Accessible Information and Communication Standard Regulation—part of the Accessibility for Manitobans Act. The regulation states that educational institutions and other bodies must, among other things, make educational materials accessible.  

How Panorama helps you 

Panorama checks how accessible your materials are and provides suggestions for improvement.  

Panorama scans your content and creates an accessibility report that flags any issues and provides suggestions for how to resolve each of them. This allows you to ensure the accessibility of your content before it is distributed or published. It can also create accessible alternative formats for your users who have disabilities and different abilities, including high contrast, text to speech, braille, and audio files.  

The Panorama platform also includes Panorama’s PDF Remediation engine, which uses AI to address issues such as contrast, font size, alternative text, missing headline structures, hyperlink context issues and more.  

You are the only person who can access your accessibility reports—no one else will see or evaluate you on them. The product has been vetted by UM’s Access and Privacy Office and Information Security and Compliance. 

To access Panorama, log in to the Panorama portal with your UMnetID and password. 

Learn more from The Centre 

The Centre for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning is your campus resource for accessibility. Visit Panorama on The Centre’s website for more information about this tool.

Training 

An online workshop, Panorama – Improving Digital Accessibility, is being offered Wednesday, September 25 from 12-1 pm. This workshop will be facilitated by YuJa staff and will cover how to use Panorama to scan courses and documents and automatically improve the accessibility of digital media and course content, identify and fix issues for a variety of file types.  

Training topics: 

• Accessibility Reports 

• • Finding Accessibility Reports for Documents 
  • Understanding Accessibility Reports
  • How to Improve Files 

• Alternative Formats 

• • Overview of Alternative Formats 
  • Understanding Different Types of Formats 

• Accessing the Panorama Reporting & Panorama Settings 

• • How to access Course Reports 
  • My Content Area 

You can also book an appointment with the media team at The Centre for help to make your course materials or other digital content more accessible. Please email us at TheCentre [at] umanitoba [dot] ca.  

Support 

Panorama is a YuJa Inc. product. If you have questions about Panorama, you can visit the Panorama Digital Accessibility Platform Overview on the YuJa Help Center website where you’ll find video tutorials, quick start guides and general documentation.  

You can also contact YuJa Inc. directly between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.: 

By phone: 1-888-257-2278 

By email: support [at] yuja [dot] com 

Through Twitter: @yujanow 

Date and time: Thursday, June 13, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM

Create pages in UM Learn from HTML templates, discover best practices in managing files, and understand your legal responsibility in creating accessible content. Explore various media objects that can be created for your courses in collaboration with the Centre’s Media team.

Register for the Panorama workshop

Open Educational Resources – What, How, Why (Part 1)

Date and time: Tuesday, June 18, 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM

The term open educational resources (OER) describes a wide range of materials in teaching and learning that are available for public use with an open license or in the public domain. Examples of OER include full courses, course modules, syllabi, textbooks, lectures, assessments, and datasets. In this workshop, participants will learn why OER are valuable, how to locate them, how to evaluate them using a rubric, and how to adapt and create them. The workshop does not assume prior experience with these topics. 

Register for the open educational resources series.

Best Practices in Providing High Stakes Feedback in Clinical Instruction

Date and time: Thursday, June 20, 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM

This workshop is offered to all educators in Health Sciences who teaches in classroom, lab, and clinical settings. The purpose of this workshop is to inform  about the best practices in giving high stakes feedback in their classroom, lab, and clinical instruction. 

Register for the high stakes feedback in clinical instruction workshop

The Flipped Classroom

Date and time: Tuesday, June 25, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM

Interested in more knowledge application and problem-solving activities in your classroom? Looking to add more active learning to a traditional lecture course? Come to this workshop and learn the basics of a flipped classroom that will enable you to flip a lesson or two in an upcoming course.

Register for the flipped classroom workshop

SoTL Ethics

Date and time: Tuesday, June 25, 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM

Research with human participants requires approval from the UM Research Ethics Board to ensure the safety and well-being of all participants. This is true of all research with human participants, but SoTL projects often have unique characteristics that warrant extra consideration when preparing an ethics application. For example, how do you ensure that students do not feel coerced to give consent when the instructor of their course is also the lead researcher? In this workshop, we will provide possible solutions for this and other research design elements that require careful consideration of ethical practices when designing your SoTL study. We will also review the Research Ethics application process at the University of Manitoba, and attendees will be given the opportunity to begin to draft their ethics application. This workshop will be interactive and collaborative. To get the most of this workshop, please bring a laptop or device to the workshop. 

Register for the SoTL ethics workshop

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. 

UM Learn Assignments

Date: Tuesday, December 5, 2023

In this workshop, participants will receive technical guidance on the rubrics tool as well as the assignments tool in UM Learn. Participants will be guided through the process of adding a rubric and linking it to an assignment folder. Recommended prerequisite: UM Learn Grades and User Progress.

Register for UM Learn assignments

Learner-Learner Activities for your Course – Asynchronously!

Date: Thursday, December 7, 2023

Learner-learner interaction might be a reason to “go” to class – asynchronously or synchronously! Explore your choice of examples of asynchronous learner-learner activities pre-designed in UM Learn. Decide whether you will adapt these to your own asynchronous course or even use them as the fuel for your synchronous class time! Supportive roles of technologies and tools in facilitating, managing, tracking, and assessing the activities will be shared. Is time to diversify the learning activities in your courses?

Bring a laptop or other device with internet access if possible, to access the pre-designed learning activities.

Register for learner-learner activities for your course

Self-Evaluation of Teaching Practice (TLCN10)

Date: Monday, December 11, 2023

Feedback and evaluation of teaching are part of every teacher’s life. How do you make sense of the evaluative feedback you receive from SRI scores, daily classroom experiences, and student grades? This foundational workshop examines the theory and practice of evaluation and suggests practical strategies for integrating effective evaluative practices into your teaching. Please note that this workshop does not cover the design and creation of student assessments.

Register for self-evaluation of teaching practice

Mental Health in the Classroom (TLCN07)

Date: Monday, December 11, 2023

Young adults are highly susceptible to mental health problems. We know that most instructors encounter many students who are struggling with mental health issues that affect their academic performance, behaviour in the classroom, and interactions with teaching staff. Research also indicates that the incident rate and intensity of mental health problems experienced by students is increasing. These situations can be stressful, time-consuming, and potentially can involve risks to personal safety for the students and others. David Ness, the Director of the Student Counselling Centre at the University of Manitoba, will provide you with information about how to identify and respond effectively to student mental health issues, how to understand the factors that contribute to student distress, and how to access resources. This interactive workshop will involve case study material to apply your knowledge of risk assessment, response alternatives, and on- and off-campus resources.

Register for mental health in the classroom

Navigating Challenging Student Situations (TLCN03)

Date: Tuesday, December 12, 2023

As instructors, you may have experienced behaviour by your students that you felt was disrespectful, rude, or disruptive. These can be challenging situations to deal with. Staff from Student Advocacy and Case Management and the Office of Human Rights and Conflict Management will provide an overview of pertinent University policies and procedures to help you understand your rights and responsibilities as an instructor. This interactive workshop will provide you with strategies and tips for preventing and responding to these behaviours.

Register for navigating challenging student situations

Developing Intercultural Teaching Competence (TLCN05)

Date: Tuesday, December 12, 2023

Every student and instructor brings their own culture into the teaching and learning contexts in which they inhabit. Similarly, every teaching and learning context is informed by and situated in institutional, regional, and national cultures. In this workshop, you’ll explore your own cultural attitudes, knowledge, and skills, and those of your learners and the environments you all find yourselves in. Then, you’ll apply this to your own teaching practices through elements of course design.

Register for intercultural teaching competence

UM Learn Quizzes

Date: Tuesday, December 12, 2023

In this workshop, participants will receive technical guidance through the process of creating quiz questions and quizzes in UM Learn. Quizzes in UM Learn can be used to provide both formative and summative assessment and may be utilized to facilitate exams. Please note this session is 2.5 hours long. Recommended prerequisite: UM Learn Grades and User Progress.

Register for UM Learn quizzes

Teaching Dossier (TLCN06)

Date: Wednesday, December 13, 2023

Increasingly, university promotion and tenure committees are requiring a teaching dossier to document your development and achievements as an educator. This workshop looks at the requirements at the University of Manitoba for teaching dossiers and covers the basics of writing a Teaching Philosophy statement and creating a teaching dossier.

Register for teaching dossier

Teaching and Technology (TLCN02)

Date: Wednesday, December 13, 2023

In this workshop, we will explore a framework for using technology in teaching and learning. Rather than a technology ‘how-to’ session, the focus will be on providing a method for evaluating technology that supports the goals of teaching and learning. We will also discuss the benefits and challenges of using technology in the classroom.

Register for teaching and technology

UM Learn Quizzes

Date: Wednesday, December 13, 2023

In this workshop, participants will receive technical guidance through the process of creating quiz questions and quizzes in UM Learn. Quizzes in UM Learn can be used to provide both formative and summative assessment and may be utilized to facilitate exams. Please note this session is 2.5 hours long. Recommended prerequisite: UM Learn Grades and User Progress.

Register for UM Learn quizzes

Academic Integrity Teaching and Learning Strategies (TLCN04)

Date: Thursday, December 14, 2023

Do you want to promote academic integrity in your course but you don’t know how to do this? In this workshop, we will discuss the meaning of academic integrity at the University of Manitoba, and how it relates to your teaching and learning environment (whether that be face-to-face, remote/online). We will discuss ways to implement teaching and assessment strategies that promote integrity that will allow you to focus on students’ learning and community building. Resources for academic integrity education (e.g., syllabus statements, learning activities) that you can modify and incorporate into your courses will be shared.

Register for academic integrity teaching and learning strategies

Universal Design for Learning (TLCN01)

Date: Thursday, December 14, 2023

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is an orientation to teaching and learning that promotes greater student choice and agency in learning experiences, with the aim of reducing barriers to learning by providing multiple means of representation, engagement, and expression. In this workshop, participants will explore how UDL values intersect with their own teaching philosophies, identify barriers to learning for students with a range of needs, and (re)design course elements to adopt UDL guidelines in a way that is practical for instructors yet beneficial to learners.

Register for universal design for learning

Reflective Practice (TLCN09)

Date: Friday, December 15, 2023

John Dewey observed that, “We do not learn from experience. We learn from reflecting on experience.” In order to become a better teacher, it is necessary to reflect on what we do and why we do it – to ask ourselves, is what we do effective? In this workshop we will explore several models of self-reflection, including the Gibbs’ Model, as methods for engaging in a reflective practice. Participants will also have the opportunity to share their own successes and struggles as they strive to become a better teacher.

Register for reflective practice

Indigenous Knowledges for Teaching in Higher Education (TLCN08)

Date: Friday, December 15, 2023

This workshop introduces participants to Indigenous pedagogies by contextualizing Indigenous knowledges, discussing the importance of making space for Indigenous content and knowledge transmission in the academy, and providing participants with resources about the pedagogical significance of Indigenous knowledges.

Register for Indigenous knowledges for teaching in higher education

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.

YuJa Video

• New Microsoft PowerPoint ribbon add-On: The YuJa Software Capture application can be installed as a Ribbon within Microsoft PowerPoint to provide users with a more seamless recording experience. The Ribbon will allow users to automatically sync the start and end of the recording with their presentation session.
• Browser Capture Studio now supports Apple Safari: With Safari version 14 supporting the MediaRecorder API, the Browser Capture can now be used with Apple Safari.
• Advanced media search is now available: The Advanced Search Console is focused on providing users with the ability to seamlessly filter through Titles, Folders, Metadata, Comments, Owners, and more.

Panorama Digital Accessibility

• Reprocess all documents within a course: Admins and Instructors who wish to re-generate Alternative Formats and Accessibility Reports for a course may do so with the click of a button. Simply access your Course Report or Content tab within the Panorama LTI app and select Reprocess Course.
• Instructors can now hide alternative formats: Instructors can now choose to enable or disable student access to the Alternative Formats menu for individual files.
• Real-time accessibility improvement suggestions for color contrast and font size: Suggestions for color contrast allow Content Creators to resolve WCAG 2.1 color contrast issues by choosing from a recommended selection of complementary text or background colors. Font size issues that could affect readability will automatically be detected and easy-to-use recommendations to adjust the text size are provided.

Panorama Digital Accessibility – math-related

• Users can now convert all text files to LaTeX: Panorama can now convert text-based files to LaTeX. This includes the ability to recognize and convert math equations within documents, whether they be directly embedded into the document or included as an image.
• New alternative math formats support for printed and handwritten math equations: Panorama now supports converting documents containing math equations into audio files and clear text (i.e. numbers and symbols to words) to improve readability.

Learn more

Visit The Centre’s website for more information about Panorama and YuJa Video.

Book an appointment with media team at The Centre if you need guidance making your course materials more accessible by emailing us at thecentrecontactus@umanitoba.ca. 

Support

Panorama and YuJa Video are supported by the YuJa Help Center website that provides Video Tutorials, Quick Start Guides and General Documentation: support.yuja.com

Or, contact YuJa Inc. directly by one of the following ways between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. CST:

By phone: 1-888-257-2278

By email: support@yuja.com

Through Twitter: @yujanow

I am happy to inform you that all courses on UM Learn have been activated. We heard from you that not being able to access all courses in UM Learn was an issue. We addressed this as quickly as possible to reduce any additional stress this caused you.

If an instructor is on strike, you are not responsible for any course work, assignments or exams in that course during the strike period. Those classes will resume at the end of the strike. If your instructor returns to work before the end of the strike, you are responsible for any of your courses and relevant work, assignments or exams that are continuing. The list of continuing courses is being updated regularly, so please check the list often.

If you are being asked to complete work for a course in which the instructor is on strike, please connect with your faculty/school/college/department office or the Virtual Advising Help Centre.

This is a challenging time. The Student Counselling Centre continues to operate during the faculty strike, albeit with reduced capacity, because some of their staff are participating in the UMFA strike. Individual counselling appointments continue to be offered by staff who are working and intake appointments are also available. I encourage you to reach out to UM’s student support offices if you need support. Please know that there are many people at the University who are ready and eager to help.

If you have any questions, please visit the strike website where an extensive list of FAQs has been posted. If your question isn’t there, please send it to strikeum@umanitoba.ca and we will get you an answer as quickly as possible.

All my best,

Laurie M. Schnarr, Vice-Provost (Students)