https://conference.otessa.org/index.php/conference/issue/feed The Open/Technology in Education, Society, and Scholarship Association Conference 2024-11-05T12:07:15-08:00 OTESSA Conference Planning Team conference@otessa.org Open Journal Systems <p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; color: #242424; font-family: 'Segoe UI', system-ui, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">The Open/Technology in Education, Society, and Scholarship Association (OTESSA) organizes a conference during the annual conference of the Federation of the Humanities and Social Sciences, also known as Congress. Congress is the convergence of over 70 scholarly associations, each holding their annual conference, and is Canada’s largest gathering of researchers, scholars, graduate students, and practitioners with approximately 8,000 attendees. The mandate of the OTESSA conference is to build connections with respect to the application of technology and open across K12, post-secondary, and other spaces where learning and knowledge sharing happens.</p> <p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; color: #242424; font-family: 'Segoe UI', system-ui, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"> </p> <p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; color: #242424; font-family: 'Segoe UI', system-ui, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">This is the portal for conference submissions and home for the publication of the conference proceedings.</p> <p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; color: #242424; font-family: 'Segoe UI', system-ui, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"> </p> <p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; color: #242424; font-family: 'Segoe UI', system-ui, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">To find the conference website, visit <a style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; outline-style: none; color: #6264a7; text-decoration: none;" tabindex="-1" title="https://otessa.org/" href="https://otessa.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-label="Link https://otessa.org">https://otessa.org</a> and click on "Conference" then "Current Conference."</p> https://conference.otessa.org/index.php/conference/article/view/292 The Importance of Showing Up (Virtually) 2024-11-05T12:07:15-08:00 Danielle E. Lorenz Nicole Patrie <p>Although online discourses about dissertation writing (i.e., you should be writing memes) offer students levity, they function in stark contrast to how dissertation writing is treated in real life. Canadian education scholars with PhDs have examined the student-supervisor relationship (McAlpine &amp; Weis, 2000), collaborative writing spaces (Eaton &amp; Dombroski, 2022; Ens et al., 2011), and the overall difficulties of the dissertation process (Bayley et al., 2012; Walter &amp; Stouk, 2020), but we have yet to locate literature on the perspectives of Canadian education PhD students who have generated online communities of practice to engage in their dissertation writing. To obtain better understanding of our personal relationships to writing and virtual communities of practice, we established an online writing group during the summer of 2023 where we wrote our respective candidacy proposal and dissertation chapters while also reflecting on and responding to prompts about the process of writing. This reflection on our writing practice concludes that if PhD students feel un(der)supported by institutional writing communities, or if said communities are not available, constructing their own community will be beneficial to their writing goals</p> 2024-11-24T00:00:00-08:00 Copyright (c) 2024 Danielle E. Lorenz, Nicole Patrie https://conference.otessa.org/index.php/conference/article/view/421 Creating Capacity for Digital Transformation of Education 2024-09-29T16:03:47-07:00 Hongran Cui Valerie Irvine Mariel Miller Colin Madland <p>Canadian institution currently provides a PhD program in educational technology. While requirements for flexible access is a global trend, no doctoral programs with a specific educational technology focus are available online and only 15% of PhD programs in Education offer online or blended formats overall. While this review excludes the EdD pathway, we did find two EdD programs in educational technology that could be accessed entirely online plus one blended program. As technological and conceptual shifts of entire sectors that prioritize digital learning and digital literacy (e.g., BC Digital Learning Strategy), there is significant demand for PhD qualified individuals to lead, execute, or support these initiatives. As such, this paper concludes with a reflection on alternative options for accessible PhD study of educational technology.</p> 2024-09-30T00:00:00-07:00 Copyright (c) 2024 Hongran Cui, Valerie Irvine, Mariel Miller, Colin Madland https://conference.otessa.org/index.php/conference/article/view/294 Planning, Living, and Adding to our Plates: K-3 educators' Experiences of Curricula in Virtual Learning Environments (VLE) 2024-01-27T20:12:25-08:00 Melissa Bishop <p>Virtual Learning Environments (VLE) have interested scholars since the late 20<sup>th</sup> century, with much of the research focusing on secondary and post-secondary instructors and learners (Brown, 2010; Dabbagh, 2007; Fuchs, 2020; Proserpio &amp; Gioia, 2007). With the onset of VLEs in elementary education due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the continuation of synchronous virtual learning thereafter, VLEs have become commonplace in K-3 contexts across Ontario. Yet, as we contend with the ubiquitous nature of technology in early elementary, a paucity of literature exists regarding teachers’ and early childhood educators' (ECE) experiences of planned and lived curricula (Aperribai et al., 2020; Ferdig et al., 2020; Muldong et al., 2021) in VLEs. Adopting a narrative methodological approach, I reflected on themes unearthed through narrative interviews with five educators (Clandinin, 2006; Clandinin &amp; Connelly, 1988, 1996, 2000). Early narrative analysis suggested four narrative threads: time, parent relationships, classroom community, teacher presence and engagement, and technological barriers. Each thread explored how teachers navigated the entanglements of planned and lived curricular experiences in VLEs. Further, the threads exposed critical elements to be considered in future VLE policy and curricular reform in the K-3 context.</p> 2024-11-23T00:00:00-08:00 Copyright (c) 2024 Melissa Bishop https://conference.otessa.org/index.php/conference/article/view/321 The Power of Role Play and Imagination in Online Learning 2024-03-18T21:24:09-07:00 Lisa Hammershaimb <p>Asynchronous capstone courses often lack clear opportunities for students to gain confidence in applying skills they’ve learned throughout their program of study. To counteract this, I developed an HR capstone simulation course. Through the experience, I learned the power of low-tech role play to reinvigorate the online capstone experience. To accomplish this, the course author and I created Jade Stone, a fictional home décor and accessories company and the site of an eight-week simulation. Students entered the simulation as Jade Stone’s new HR manager and were required to solve increasingly complex issues. I leveraged my design background to make branding assets and emails, further immersing students. The course author and I developed engaging avatar videos, discussions, and assignments to prepare students for HR careers by integrating academic knowledge with real-world applications. Student feedback showed the continuity of story arc and practical application made this coursework highly engaging. Developing the simulation was intensely collaborative, requiring meticulous planning to seamlessly embed content without disrupting the fictional world. Though the course took much creative planning, it resulted in a delightful capstone experience that allowed students to gain confidence as they imagined themselves as HR managers.</p> 2024-11-24T00:00:00-08:00 Copyright (c) 2024 Lisa Hammershaimb https://conference.otessa.org/index.php/conference/article/view/342 Role of Social Media in Addressing Educational Inequality 2024-03-18T20:45:24-07:00 Daeun Jung <p>Although digital technology is valorized for its promises in empowering individual learners and democratize educational opportunities, such hopeful imaginaries need to be critically revisited. What is the role of social media in addressing educational inequality? This study aims to unravel the question by examining the role of social media in the college choice system of potential first-generation college students. The study adopts a multiple case study approach, engaging with eleven high school seniors, whose parents did not complete a four-year college/university. Two interviews and a week of social media diary data were collected. The themes revealed the teens’ contradictory views toward the role of social media in their college choice system: (a) abundant but insufficient information, (b) helpful but not impactful for college choice, and (c) inspiring but distressing experiences. The contradictions uncover the important role of in-person support system and resources embedded in marginalized teens’ college choice system, underscoring the pre-existing inequalities in their social contexts. Based on the results, I critically discuss the role of social media in addressing educational inequality, particularly the optimism around digital informal learning, and provide suggestions for formal schooling to enhance marginalized teens’ college access.</p> 2024-10-09T00:00:00-07:00 Copyright (c) 2024 Daeun Jung https://conference.otessa.org/index.php/conference/article/view/360 Exploring Playful Hybrid Teaching Practices in Higher Education 2024-10-13T00:49:42-07:00 Sandra Abegglen <p>The Playful Hybrid Higher Education project [<a href="https://playhybrid.education/">https://playhybrid.education/</a>], based in the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape at the University of Calgary (Canada) and funded by the Imagination Lab Foundation, explores how play and creativity can be integrated into hybrid classrooms, particularly in response to the shift to blended learning during COVID-19. Through interviews and surveys with Canadian higher education stakeholders, the project aims to provide urgently needed best practice guidance to enhance staff competency and improve student outcomes. This paper presents the preliminary outcomes of the project, with a specific focus on (re)imagining a creative blended university that fosters student success. By sharing initial findings, the paper offers inspiration on how playful and creative approaches can enrich the hybrid learning experience, ultimately contributing to a more engaging and effective higher education environment.</p> 2024-11-23T00:00:00-08:00 Copyright (c) 2024 Sandra Abegglen, Mia Brewster, Sarah Wilkins https://conference.otessa.org/index.php/conference/article/view/365 Considering a Reboot 2024-04-29T08:42:13-07:00 Christopher Marsh Bruce Parsons <p>The gaming industry, expected to exceed $300 billion in global revenue by 2025, offers unique challenges and opportunities for academic programs and the traditional collegiate curriculum development process. This research discusses how game design curricula can evolve to meet those demands through sustainability and preparing graduates to be skilled and conscious of their impact and opportunities in the field.</p> 2024-10-16T00:00:00-07:00 Copyright (c) 2024 Christopher Marsh, Bruce Parsons https://conference.otessa.org/index.php/conference/article/view/393 Evolving our Understanding of Technology-Integrated Assessment 2024-03-14T10:33:02-07:00 Colin Madland Valerie Irvine Christopher DeLuca Okan Bulut <p>In this paper, we review the literature on technology in assessment in higher education and compare how the literature aligns with the assessment in a digital world framework (Bearman et al., 2022). We found themes in the literature that were not present in the framework (e.g., academic integrity and faculty workload) and constructs in the framework not evident in the literature (e.g., future self and future activities). Additionally, we consider other gaps in both the framework and the literature evident in day-to-day practices and government legislation or mandates, such as considering legal or ethical aspects of duty of care and the integration of Indigenous worldviews. We then developed the technology-integrated assessment framework to help instructors and administrators consider a broader range of constructs when planning assessment strategies in technology-integrated learning environments and to serve as a basis for further investigation into how the different constructs within the framework contribute to how we design, implement, and teach about assessment in digital learning environments today. We present an introduction of this technology-integrated assessment framework and discuss future research goals and opportunities.</p> 2024-09-27T00:00:00-07:00 Copyright (c) 2024 Colin Madland, Valerie Irvine, Christopher DeLuca, Okan Bulut https://conference.otessa.org/index.php/conference/article/view/417 Developing Scales of Learner Modality Preferences and Perspectives on Online Learning 2024-08-26T15:39:52-07:00 Valerie Irvine Mariel Miller Okan Bulut Jean-Paul Restoule George Veletsianos <p>While the COVID-19 pandemic significantly transformed post-secondary course delivery formats, little attention has been paid to post-pandemic learner preferences. To address this gap, we designed two scales to advance our understanding of learner preferences for online learning modalities: the Modalities of Digital Education – Learner Preference (MODE-LP) scale and the Perceptions of Online Learning Scale (POLS). In this proceeding, we describe the development and piloting of these scales, including how they can provide a nuanced understanding of learner preferences for online programs, courses, and course designs and the key underlying factors that impact them. We conclude with a snapshot of preliminary results and a discussion of future research.</p> 2024-09-22T00:00:00-07:00 Copyright (c) 2024 Valerie Irvine, Mariel Miller, Okan Bulut, Jean-Paul Restoule, George Veletsianos