By: Steven Smeall
Algonquin’s Centre for Online Learning is releasing a project called the Monday Morning Minute in late January or early February that will provide faculty with tips and strategies for teaching and learning.
The Monday Morning Minute is an email based message that will be delivered to help them network around topics of personal interest with each other.
“Every Monday morning, all faculties full and part time will get an email that will take them one or two minutes to read and look at and it will be a teaching tip, strategy, or some cool tool,” said Gail Allan, faculty e-learning development and support.
The centre is using the abbreviation A.C.C.C. for this project which stands for Active Continuous Connected Collaborative.
“We see it as an opportunity to be collaborative with each other,” said centre Manager Rebecca Volk.
“What we like to see is the COL providing more visible supports that are continuous and on-going so that teachers are very aware of their learning moments and documenting those to see how they can use those practices to help students learn better,” said Allan.
The centre’s goals for the Monday Morning Minute are to support the faculty’s personal learning plans to include a weekly activity, to build knowledge and skills related to 21st century competencies, and to provide faculty with an opportunity to connect and collaborate on their interests in learning and teaching issues.
“There is this concept of just-in-time, just-enough, and just-for-me which is the acronym being used for this continuous professional learning,” said Allan.
The Monday Morning Minute will also promote the many college resources that have plenty of tips, strategies, and methods for teaching and learning in-class and online.
The email will also feature quick and to-the-point articles from The Teaching Professor and The Online Classroom which are written by real teachers. These will help provide tips to faculty.
“Faculty should watch their emails for the first offering,” said Allan.