Over the past three years project leads, Mark Robertson, associate university librarian, information services, Sarah Coysh, head, Frost Library, and Adam Taves, reference and instruction librarian, along with a steering committee and advisory board comprised of the Libraries, Learning Skills Services and the Writing Department, have developed SPARK’s 12 online modules.

“We actually started considering the concept of a virtual learning commons, that could be accessed anytime and anywhere, more than five years ago,” explains Robertson. “We had the Learning Commons at Scott Library but we wanted to recreate that ‘space’ online knowing that many 91��ɫ students study at home, or while commuting to and from campus.”

“We had the idea – the framework for SPARK – but we didn’t have the funding until the was created three years ago,” Coysh continues. “SPARK is an initiative that we’re very passionate about and have spent years developing. Launching SPARK, and evaluating the effect the modules have on further developing students’ academic literacy competencies, will be extremely rewarding for us.”

Capturing the recursive nature of research and writing, and how various aspects of these activities are intimately tied together, was one of the team’s top priorities.

The SPARK modules are organized into three categories, “Getting Started,” “Exploring” and “Pulling it Together,” and focus on key academic literacy skills such as: time management, research strategies, essay structure, essay editing and creating bibliographies. The SPARK modules consist of interactive components including test-your-knowledge quizzes, videos, and printable worksheets that are designed to enhance academic literacies while empowering students to take greater ownership in developing these skills.

It was that theme of empowerment that became the foundation of the SPARK awareness campaign, which was developed by the steering committee in partnership with the communications and design agency, 12Thirteen.

“The students that we spoke to both in focus groups and through concept testing revealed that they appreciated that SPARK allowed them to choose when, and how, they wanted to learn. From those consultations the theme of empowerment emerged,” explains Taves.

Sobia Ali, a second-year student in the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies, had an early introduction to SPARK as a focus group participant. “All the students in the focus group noted that SPARK will make a significant difference in their academic careers.  The modules are intuitive, helpful, and easy to navigate,” explains Ali. “Perhaps best of all, the modules encouraged me to be reflective and ask myself different, more deductive questions.”

The focus group participants’ feedback became the basis of, “The power of SPARK” awareness campaign, which illustrates how SPARK can transform any student into an empowered “super-student.” Featured in the campaign are Ali, along with Drew Pinkerton, a fourth-year student at Glendon, and Tristian Reid, a recent graduate (’13) from the Faculty of Health.

To celebrate the official launch of SPARK today (Oct. 16) students, faculty and staff are encouraged to come by the atrium in Scott Library from 11am to 3pm for SPARK demonstrations and giveaways.

Similar launch events will occur at the Bronfman Business Library on Oct. 17 from 11am to 1pm, the Steacie Science and Engineering Library on Oct. 18 from 11am to 1pm and the Frost Library at Glendon Campus on Oct. 21 from 1pm to 3pm.

For more information about SPARK, questions about integrating specific modules into courses, or to provide general feedback, please contact askspark@yorku.ca.

The post New online tool SPARKs students and empowers their writing and research appeared first on Research & Innovation.

This project will take place on Thursday, Aug. 23, from 8:30am (registration) to 4:30pm at 0001 TEL Building, Keele campus. Everyone is welcome to attend this free event, but participants are asked to contribute to a celebratory lunch by either bringing a potluck contribution or a Pay What You Can donation ($5 to $10 suggested). Advance registration is also necessary as the Summer Institute is almost full. To register, .

The opening panel with artists and educators , Damian Adjohda and 91��ɫ FES Professor Sarah Flicker will discuss how art-making processes strengthen identity, connect community members and fuel resistance.

Left: Participants create art together at least year's Summer Institute

The morning workshops will run from 10:30am to 12:30pm with afternoon workshops from 2 to 4pm. The following is the list of workshops:

Exploring Ecology and the More-Than-Human World through ceremony and Indigenous story-telling with Tanya Chung Tiam Fook will teach participants about Indigenous ways of being present with and knowing the land, non-human beings and sacred ecology through environmental ethics, story-telling, human-animal relationships and shamanistic traditions in South America.

The Wonder of the Book looking at art, equity and environmental education through ’zine-making, with storyteller, puppeteer and bookbinder Chris Cavanagh, will be a hands-on workshop on how to make ’zines.

Hands and Eyes and Marks on Paper: An Introductory Practical Workshop on Drawing and Painting Nature (Note: Part II of this workshop continues in the afternoon) will be led by FES Professor . No previous art training is required for this full-day workshop.

In Audio Landscapes: Exploring Podcasting and Pedagogy with CoHearence, FES PhD students Amanda diBattista and Andrew Mark, coordinators of CoHearance, a podcast series that explores the intersections of culture, history and the environment (see YFile, Feb. 8), will discuss the potential for podcasting to engage students and communities in environmental conversations.

SonicWalk with , a Toronto-based media/performance artist and curator and founder of the performance company Outerregion, will have participants visiting familiar places for the first time and embracing the strange and wonderful worlds hiding in plain view.

Talking and Testifying: Writing History, Rocking Boats with performer, poet and FES Professor will offer participants hands-on ways to gather testimonies, edit and share them.

Telling Food and Eating Stories: Digital Storytelling for Food Justice with 91��ɫ Professor will focus on storytelling around food and food justice. After viewing some digital stories, participants will have the opportunity to create a story with one photograph that speaks to their experiences.

The collaborative Summer Institute brings together teachers, educators, community members, and artists to explore ways of teaching and learning, giving attention to the inter-relationships of art, environmental education and equitable social change.

For more information, visit the website or email Maggie Hutcheson, Summer Institute coordinator, at reclaimingculture2012@gmail.com.

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

The post Summer Institute explores art, equity and environmental education appeared first on Research & Innovation.

Over the course of the next year, YFile will be profiling the projects through videos and stories. Today, the camera's spotlight is on Monahan and the story of his inspiration for AIF. 

Patrick Monahan grins when he recalls his “Aha!” moment, which led to the creation of the Academic Innovation Fund. 

Several years ago, 91��ɫ’s vice-president academic & provost had just completed a series of consultations with 91��ɫ community members regarding the , a document that would outline the future academic priorities of the University. What he discovered during that process energized him. 

[stream provider=youtube flv=http%3A//www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DbBxGVDLSy8g%26feature%3Dplayer_embedded img=x:/img.youtube.com/vi/bBxGVDLSy8g/0.jpg embed=false share=false width=400 height=300 dock=true controlbar=over bandwidth=high autostart=false /]

“As we went through the White Paper a couple of years ago, what impressed me were the people who participated in that process,” he said. “We sat in focus groups and we talked about our ideas, dreams and aspirations for the University. What was so striking was that people had so many great ideas – there were literally hundreds!”

He discovered the main obstacle preventing these ideas from becoming a reality centred on the lack of resources. Monahan had heard of projects in the United States that provided seed funding for academic initiatives. He thought the idea had merit and turned to his colleagues in the Provost’s Office to see if they could find funding that could be used to create a made-in-91��ɫ solution to turn the ideas into working projects.

His inspiration led to the formation of the Academic Innovation Fund of $2.5 million that would provide an initial investment of resources to bring projects from the drawing board to reality. In the fall of 2010, applications were invited from the University community for funding (up to $200,000 each) to support new initiatives advancing 91��ɫ’s strategic priorities in relation to teaching and learning and the student experience.

The response, he discovered, was nothing short of amazing. “It was just fantastic because of the tremendous energy and participation," he said. “The committee was only able to fund 39 of those projects, but all the project submissions were very interesting and innovative, and showed a real commitment to the University and to our students."

The 39 projects funded include clusters of initiatives that support e-learning, experiential education and the student experience. From a project to enhance how first-year students move from high school to university, to a student-run sustainable business initiative, each of the AIF projects is as diverse as the University community. There is a project to create an online enrolment system for new students, a mentorship program for varsity athletes, a partnership between two faculties to develop a blended learning initiative, a community centred action plan for experiential education, and a project to bring public history into the classroom, to name just a few.

All of the projects, said Monahan, reflect 91��ɫ's DNA. "Each of the projects is about engaging people in these ideas," he said. "I hope that what this does is that it shows people what is possible and that we can build on this energy."

Monahan said that many people have told him how excited they are to see their ideas finally becoming a reality. "What I find so interesting is that there are ideas that would never have occurred to someone sitting in an office here in the 91��ɫ Research Tower or even in a dean's office," he said. "Ideas like a project that we have with refugees in Thailand connecting them with researchers and students here in Toronto or a project to teach area youth how to swim."

The AIF projects provide a concrete example of the potential for innovation and engagement that resides in the 91��ɫ community. "It is an example of the idea that the collective brain is always better then a single brain. If you get one hundred people in a room and get them thinking and talking – you are going to get more ideas than with 10 people, five or one. That is what makes this a really successful initiative so far." 

By Jenny Pitt-Clark, YFile editor

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

The post Vice-President Academic & Provost Patrick Monahan on the Academic Innovation Fund appeared first on Research & Innovation.