Hi everyone. I have taught in the Early Learning and Yukon Native Education Teaching Program (YNTEP) at Yukon University in Whitehorse for the last 7 years. I began this work as early learning educators in Yukon communities had to remote into Whitehorse classes for their education. If anyone has tried to teach or learn using a hybrid method of blended learning, you will know that this program’s delivery is lacking.

Student engagement and success were low, and I was hired to start a pilot program. I was living in the community of Mayo, and students from a nearby community of Pelly Crossing were combined to make a class with Mayo students. I taught for one week in Mayo, with the Pelly students remoting into class. The next week I traveled to Pelly, and the Mayo students had a turn at learning remotely. This course delivery method was successful as the students could have face-to-face time with an instructor, which was lacking in the hybrid model. More communities were added to the mix, COVID happened, and nobody traveled anywhere. It didn’t matter for me or my students, as we were already zooming. YNTEP students were added to my teaching responsibilities, my family and I moved to Whitehorse, and the rest is history.

Despite the amount of time I have spent either teaching fully online or with blended learning, there is more to learn. I have been very successful in making connections with my students, in spite of the barrier of the computer screen. I think it is easier for adults to connect online with their instructor. I have heard the stories of how some of you had to teach during COVID. That sounds very hard and your tenacity and creativity must be acknowledged!

I was surprised to learn in our first class that blended learning can mean many things. It can occur when technology is used as an aid in the classroom. I was using blended learning for most of my classroom teaching career, I just didn’t know it. I used blended learning when I was teaching in a hybrid model. I am now teaching fully online. The challenge for me is how I can improve the quality of my online teaching. I connected with what Tony Bates said in the introductory video for Chapter Four. The key to teaching with an online focus is quality and design of the content is key. Bates was referring to pedagogy or the art of teaching. The picture below will look very familiar to  those of you who took EDL 829.

While the model refers to effective teaching for Indigenous students, I apply it to all of my teaching. I believe that Bates is referring to “Connection to process” section when he discusses the design of the course is how content is adjusted in order for it to be used effectively. If the needs of the students are met with effective pedagogical teaching strategies, responsible self-directed learners can be the result. This is important as students must be self-directed when leaning online.

I use Moodle as the platform for my online teaching and have much freedom in how I design my courses. I am looking forward to applying the ideas of quality to the design of my courses.