Category: Tech For Teaching

February 6, 2025

Teaching Workplace Skills Through Hands-On Industry Experiences

Reading Time: 4 minutesChris Lamarucciola, Conestoga College Esports Manager, has been working in the Esports industry for nine years. In college, studying event marketing, he was introduced to...

Categories Active Learning and Engagement/Collaboration/Faculty Stories/Teaching

February 5, 2025

Preparing for Tech-Friendly and BYOD Learning

Reading Time: 5 minutesReview tips compiled from Conestoga faculty help set a tone of positive accountability and responsible device use in your BYOD classroom.

Categories Classroom Tech/Tech For Teaching/Zoom or Teams

January 3, 2025

How we Read Digital Texts

Reading Time: 6 minutesHow do people read digital texts differently than paper? What do we need to know about supporting reading on screens?

Categories OERs and eTexts/Tech For Teaching

January 1, 2025

Transitioning to a Digital Text

Reading Time: 5 minutesResearch shows tremendous advantages to using tools built into most e-reading tools. Learn about how to prepare for teaching using digital textbooks.

Categories OERs and eTexts/Tech For Teaching

December 18, 2024

How Gamification Supports Learning

Reading Time: 6 minutesGamification is incorporating game elements into non-game contexts. In education, this often involves using game elements like points, badges, leaderboards, and challenges to make learning...

Categories Gamification/Teaching/Tech For Teaching

December 18, 2024

Competitive and Gamified Quizzes

Reading Time: 5 minutesEducators across the globe use game-based quizzes to add a bit of competition and engagement to review, quizzes and retrieval practice activities. But what does the research say about these types of activities for learning? How can we best leverage them to improve student outcomes?

Categories Gamification/Tech For Teaching

December 17, 2024

PowerPoint Jeopardy!

Reading Time: 2 minutesBring in a new take on a classic trivia game by using a Jeopardy PowerPoint deck to gamify a review or test prep period. Download...

Categories Gamification/Tech For Teaching

November 7, 2024

Teaching in Teams

Reading Time: 5 minutesAt Conestoga, some Faculty may use Teams to teach their courses. This post aims to support you in the initial stages of learning to use...

Categories Online Synchronous/Teaching/Tech For Teaching/Zoom or Teams

October 29, 2024

Active Learning in your Tech or Software Lessons

Reading Time: 10 minutesTeaching technical courses on software, programming, web development, and design can effectively leverage active learning. Active learning emphasizes building firsthand, practical experience and gradually fostering...

Categories Active Learning and Engagement/Teaching/Tech for New Faculty/Tech For Teaching

October 9, 2024

Understanding your Students’ Conceptions of Assessment for a Better Learning Experience

Reading Time: 7 minutesHave you ever noticed that some students approach assessments with excitement and curiosity, while others seem overwhelmed with anxiety or disengaged? The way students perceive...

Categories Active Learning and Engagement/Assessing Learning/Assessment/Assessment Challenges/Assessment Quick Guides/Creating Assessments/Improving Assessments/Student Focused Assessment

September 26, 2024

STEM, AI, and You

Reading Time: 5 minutesWhere are you in your journey to bring the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into your STEM-related teaching? And how will AI impact your teaching...

Categories Active Learning and Engagement/AI and Learning/AI and Teaching/Artificial Intelligence/Teaching

June 25, 2024

Teaching Tool: Using Intelligent Agents to Foster Student Success

Reading Time: 2 minutesLearn how you can use the eConestoga tool Intelligent Agents to support your teaching.

Categories Communicating With Students/eConestoga/Teaching

June 13, 2024

“So, what do you think?” Using Think-Pair-Share to Engage ALL Students

Reading Time: 4 minutesOne of the simplest ways to engage your students is the tried-and-tested teaching strategy called ‘Think-Pair-Share’.  If you are newer to teaching, then this should...

Categories Active Learning and Engagement/Collaboration/Group Work/Teaching

April 12, 2024

Submit and Adjust Final Grades

Reading Time: 3 minutesReview steps for submitting final grades

Categories Assessment/Teaching/Tech For Teaching

April 3, 2024

Pre-Assessments in Lesson Planning

Reading Time: 2 minutesWondering what students already know about a topic and how this informs our lesson planning? This post will provide a short explanation as to why...

Categories Concept Mapping/Lesson and Course Planning/Teaching

March 20, 2024

Engage ALL Students with the Questions You Ask

Reading Time: 6 minutesAs teachers, we all have one thing in common: we like to ask our students questions. The questions might ask to recall some important information...

Categories Active Learning and Engagement/Collaboration/Communicating With Students

February 23, 2024

The Evolving Field of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) Chatbots

Reading Time: 13 minutesIn this post, we’ll explore what generative artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots are and try to understand how we’ve gotten to this point in AI technology...

Categories AI and Teaching/Artificial Intelligence/Getting Started with AI/Teaching

February 6, 2024

Peer Feedback: Grading Tool versus Assessment Tool  

Reading Time: 3 minutesPeer feedback is a powerful classroom assessment tool that you can leverage to support students’ learning (Patchan et al, 2015; Yu & Schunn, 2023). Particularly...

Categories Active Learning and Engagement/Assessing Learning/Assessment/Assessment Quick Guides/Collaboration/Creating Assessments/Improving Assessments/Student Focused Assessment

January 31, 2024

Effective Whiteboard Use

Reading Time: < 1 minuteWhen teaching in-person, the whiteboard can be an effective teaching tool in the classroom.  It helps students visualize content and recall important terms, concepts, and...

Categories Accessible Learning/Collaboration/In-person

October 26, 2023

Proctoring Technologies for Test & Exams

Reading Time: 3 minutesEffective test and exam proctoring is an important part of the work that we do as faculty to ensure integrity and create supportive spaces for...

Categories Assessing Learning/Assessment/Assessment Quick Guides/Teaching/Tech For Teaching

September 26, 2023

Gamification and Student Choice in Brick and Stone Mason Programs

Reading Time: 4 minutesLori Martin first taught at Conestoga in 2014. Since 2019 she has been teaching in Conestoga’s Trades and Apprenticeship, specifically in the Masonry Apprenticeship and...

Categories Active Learning and Engagement/Faculty Stories/Gamification/Teaching

September 19, 2023

Teaching in Zoom

Reading Time: 4 minutesAt Conestoga, many faculty use Zoom to teach their courses. This post aims to support you in the initial stages of learning to use Zoom...

Categories Online Synchronous/Teaching/Tech for New Faculty/Tech For Teaching/Zoom or Teams

September 18, 2023

Uses of AI Chatbots in Education

Reading Time: 4 minutesIn this post, we’ll explore the potential applications of chatbots in educational contexts and consider some examples in use in different contexts. Visit my previous...

Categories AI and Teaching/Artificial Intelligence/Teaching/Tech For Teaching

June 26, 2023

Active Learning on Zoom: Whiteboards

Reading Time: 2 minutesMost of us are familiar with using whiteboards in classrooms to explain a topic, highlight key ideas, or to allow students to contribute collaboratively; much...

Categories Active Learning and Engagement/Online Synchronous/Teaching/Zoom or Teams

May 8, 2023

Open Educational Resources (OER): OER Support at Conestoga

Reading Time: 3 minutesWhat is OER? Open Educational Resources (OER) are one aspect of Open Educational Practices (OEP) underpinned by pedagogies like constructivism, critical digital pedagogy, and social...

Categories OERs and eTexts/Teaching/Tech For Teaching

May 1, 2023

Mentimeter

Reading Time: 3 minutesWhat is Mentimeter? An interactive presentation, polling and quizzing tool, with Mentimeter you can build engaging presentations right in your browser. Add questions, polls, quizzes,...

Categories Licensed Apps and Pilots/Teaching Materials/Tech For Teaching

April 20, 2023

Generative AI Applications and Tools

Reading Time: 5 minutesThe list of generative Artificial Intelligence (genAI) applications, tools and methods grows daily. This is a small selection of those more commonly accessed within each...

Categories Artificial Intelligence/Tech For Teaching

April 20, 2023

Assessment Proctoring Tools

Reading Time: 2 minutesConestoga licenses several assessment proctoring apps or software. In assessments using online quizzes built within eConestoga, one or more of these tools may be used...

Categories Assessment/Tech For Teaching

March 27, 2023

Active Learning on Zoom: Breakout Rooms

Reading Time: 4 minutesConestoga College encourages teamwork and collaboration in diverse groups where students can learn from each other. Small group discussions in person or virtually help promote...

Categories Active Learning and Engagement/Online Synchronous/Teaching/Tech For Teaching/Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

January 12, 2023

Active Reading Strategies for Digital Readers

Reading Time: 10 minutesLearners will score lower in a comprehension test of a digital text compared to a paper text. Why might this be? Often, digital readers do...

Categories OERs and eTexts/Tech For Teaching

January 10, 2023

Starting Teaching with Texidium

Reading Time: 4 minuteseTexts are digital textbooks provided by publishers, and are an integral component of many courses and programs at Conestoga. These digital textbooks are provided to...

Categories OERs and eTexts/Tech For Teaching

January 9, 2023

Pathway – Orienting to Technology at Conestoga

Reading Time: < 1 minuteWelcome to Conestoga! As part of your initial welcome to the college, you’ve likely received some information about the technical supports and services available to...

Categories Classroom Tech/New Faculty/Teaching/Tech For Teaching

January 6, 2023

Pathway – Access and Use eConestoga

Reading Time: 2 minutesAccess and learn about eConestoga, the LMS used to provide the Essential Elements for all courses.

Categories eConestoga/New Faculty/Teaching

December 5, 2022

Adding Video or Audio Feedback to Assignments

Reading Time: 5 minutesOn average, students will likely review the feedback you offer in your assignments as many as three times (Anson et al., 2016). Yet, to many...

Categories Assessing Learning/eConestoga/Rubrics and Marking/Student Focused Assessment/Teaching/Tech For Teaching

December 1, 2022

Flip Video Discussion Forums

Reading Time: 4 minutesFlip (formerly FlipGrid) is a Microsoft product that allows you to build engaging video discussion forums. Conestoga faculty have used this tool to invite students...

Categories eConestoga/Licensed Apps and Pilots/Teaching/Tech For Teaching

August 8, 2022

Finding Videos

Reading Time: 4 minutesVideo is an engaging way to draw learners in, diversify instruction and model skills. Finding and curating accessible, captioned videos for learning is becoming easier...

Categories Multimedia/Online Synchronous/Tech For Teaching

August 8, 2022

Boost your YouTube Use

Reading Time: 2 minutesYouTube is an excellent source of varied video materials, and much of it can be used for educational purposes. But sometimes, it can be a...

Categories Multimedia/Tech For Teaching

August 8, 2022

Finding Images

Reading Time: 2 minutesImages add relevance and interest to presentations and help diversify instruction. This page will connect you with a variety of sources to find images for teaching, and some tips for adding them to presentations.

Categories Multimedia/Online Synchronous/Tech For Teaching

August 8, 2022

The eCampusOntario H5P Studio

Reading Time: 4 minutesWhat is the eCampusOntario H5P Studio? Created by eCampusOntario for Ontario colleges and universities, the H5P Studio is a space where educators and students can...

Categories Multimedia/Tech For Teaching

July 17, 2022

Teaching on Campus

Reading Time: 3 minutesWhat can I expect in before coming on campus to teach? What does a typical classroom look like? What tech can I expect when I...

Categories Classroom Tech/In-person/Tech for New Faculty/Tech For Teaching

July 9, 2022

Informed Student Participation in Class Recordings

Reading Time: 4 minutesThis teaching tip offers suggestions for helping students understand the way a course may use and distribute recordings.  It explains the recording features of Zoom and Teams...

Categories Online Synchronous/Tech For Teaching/Zoom or Teams

May 12, 2022

What’s New in Zoom?

Reading Time: 3 minutesZoom is constantly updating and adding new features. Consider allowing automatic updates to your Zoom client to take advantage of new features and maximize your...

Categories Zoom or Teams

May 10, 2022

Options for Delivering Feedback

Reading Time: 3 minutesBy Joel Beaupre and Jesslyn Wilkinson Try some of these strategies to effectively create and share feedback online. Many of these strategies can be used...

Categories Assessing Learning/eConestoga/Giving Feedback/Rubrics and Marking/Teaching/Tech For Teaching

May 3, 2022

Collaborative Docs and Folders in the OneDrive

Reading Time: 6 minutesA hallmark of modern technology, cloud based and collaborative document storage, like the OneDrive or Google Drive, might just redefine how you facilitate collaborative work in your classroom.

Categories Collaboration/Online Synchronous/Tech For Teaching

May 2, 2022

Getting Started with Breakout Rooms

Reading Time: 7 minutesWhether you’re new to the idea of using breakout rooms, or you’ve been using them for a while and are looking for new ways to...

Categories Active Learning and Engagement/Teaching/Zoom or Teams

May 2, 2022

HyFlex Rooms

Reading Time: 2 minutesWhat is HyFlex? Hybrid Flexible (commonly known as HyFlex) is a course delivery mode where students can choose to participate in classes either synchronously or...

Categories Classroom Tech/Tech For Teaching

May 1, 2022

Polls in Zoom

Reading Time: < 1 minuteOne way to improve students’ participation in synchronous learning activities can be to use polls in Zoom. Using single and multiple choice questions, you can...

Categories Tech For Teaching/Zoom or Teams

April 4, 2022

Creating Videos with Panopto

Reading Time: 3 minutesWhat is Panopto? Panopto is your one-stop video shop! This YouTube-like video platform lets you create, edit, share and organize any course-related videos you create....

Categories Licensed Apps and Pilots/Multimedia/Tech For Teaching

April 3, 2022

Screen Recording

Reading Time: 2 minutesOften, people like to make videos showing how to do something on a device or laptop. Most devices make it easy to do short screen recordings, in a variety of ways.

Categories Multimedia/Tech For Teaching

April 2, 2022

Live Action Video

Reading Time: 2 minutesGet started with building your own live action videos, with your own phone, tablet, laptop or camera. These tips were compiled collaboratively by the Online Learning Centre, Library Services and Teaching and Learning.

Categories Multimedia/Tech For Teaching

November 30, 2021

Two Stories of Testing in the Cloud

Reading Time: 4 minutesThis Faculty Story was co-written by Mariam Raza (Office Administration, Administrative Business Management) and Trish Stevenson (Public Relations). Mariam Raza has 15+ years of business...

Categories Collaboration/Faculty Stories/Teaching

September 21, 2021

Removing a Participant from a Live Zoom Class

Reading Time: 3 minutesThings to Consider Students may be joining a live Zoom class from a variety of locations, devices, and living situations. Many international students may be...

Categories Tech For Teaching/Zoom or Teams

August 26, 2021

Cybersecurity for Teaching

Reading Time: 4 minutesBy Baljeet Bilkhu, Faculty in Applied Computer Science and Information Technology Programs Having worked in the IT industry for the past 30 years after graduating...

Categories Faculty Stories/Online Synchronous/Teaching/Tech For Teaching

August 26, 2021

HyFlex FAQ

Reading Time: 4 minutesHow do I start the HyFlex classroom up? Visit our HyFlex Rooms post to learn about these innovative new teaching and learning spaces. Is every classroom a HyFlex classroom?   Currently...

Categories Classroom Tech/Tech For Teaching

August 13, 2021

 Open At Conestoga: Library Q&A 

Reading Time: 4 minutesHolly Ashbourne, eLearning Liaison, answers questions about the Library’s OER Toolkit and open at Conestoga College. Select the link to read an introduction to Open Educational Resources at Conestoga. ...

Categories Faculty Services/Library Services/OERs and eTexts

July 12, 2021

Empower Your Teaching with Ontario Extend

Reading Time: 2 minutesOffered by eCampusOntario, Ontario Extend is a free micro-credentialed learning program exploring emerging technologies and pedagogical practices. It includes six modules that equip educators with...

Categories Educational Development Opportunities/Online Synchronous/Teaching/Tech For Teaching

June 14, 2021

Headed Towards Hybrid

Reading Time: 2 minutesPost by Rachel Schultz, OLC, and Elan Paulson, Teaching & Learning Explore the benefits of hybrid learning, and reflect on how a hybrid model could apply to your...

Categories Hybrid/Teaching/Zoom or Teams

May 27, 2021

Making the Essential Elements Work for Students

Reading Time: 3 minutesBy Sherri Steele and Joel Beaupré, Teaching & Learning Consultants At Conestoga, students are supported in their courses through the use of a Learning Management...

Categories eConestoga/Online Synchronous/Teaching

May 5, 2021

Read&Write for Studying and Research

Reading Time: 2 minutesThe following is a message from Conestoga College’s Library Services department. Read&Write is a literacy toolbar that helps students enhance their reading, writing, studying, and...

Categories Accessible Learning/Classroom Tech

April 20, 2021

Teaching Software, Hardware, and Cybersecurity

Reading Time: 2 minutesApply these tips in your teaching to engage students and to monitor their progress during lessons.  1. Show students the Big Picture Always start with the big picture for a new unit of learning....

Categories Lesson and Course Planning/Tech For Teaching

March 8, 2021

Encouraging Online Group Work Management with Microsoft Planner

Reading Time: < 1 minuteOnline Group Work Students’ ability to organize tasks and manage time can affect their online group work experiences. In online team situations, Hurst and Thomas...

Categories Collaboration/Group Work/Tech For Teaching

January 15, 2021

Bring Your Best: Advice from Faculty on Online Synchronous Teaching

Reading Time: 3 minutesTips suggested by faculty in a workshop, “Bring Your Best to Remote Teaching”

Categories Faculty Stories/Hybrid/Online Synchronous/Reflective Practice/Zoom or Teams

January 13, 2021

Boost Engagement with Zoom Text Chat

Reading Time: 2 minutesIdeas and tips for using text chat to boost engagement and clear communication during remote synchronous meetings

Categories Active Learning and Engagement/Hybrid/Online Synchronous/Zoom or Teams

September 9, 2020

The Power of PowerPoint

Reading Time: 2 minutesMany studies have investigated the value of using PowerPoint as a lecture tool. PowerPoint’s strength is often the comfort we have as educators and learners...

Categories Teaching Materials/Tech For Teaching

September 8, 2020

Building Accessible PowerPoint Slides

Reading Time: 6 minutesTried and true, PowerPoint has been the best known presentation software for the last 30 years. Its strength is often the familiarity we have with using it, and many other apps and services are based on its look and feel.

Categories Teaching Materials/Tech for New Faculty/Tech For Teaching

September 4, 2020

Using PowerPoint to Create Videos

Reading Time: < 1 minuteAlthough we think of PowerPoint as being best suited to building slides, in reality, it has evolved into a video creation tool, as well. Easily...

Categories Multimedia/Tech For Teaching

September 3, 2020

Create a Screen Recording with PowerPoint

Reading Time: < 1 minuteThis tip will show you how to use PowerPoint to record your desktop. Start by opening up a new, blank PowerPoint. In case you missed...

Categories Multimedia/Online Synchronous/Tech For Teaching

August 27, 2020

The Benefits of Concept Mapping

Reading Time: 4 minutesA globally used teaching and learning strategy, concept mapping has a measurably positive impact on learning across cultures, age ranges and topics of study (Schroeder...

Categories Concept Mapping/Teaching/Tech For Teaching

August 26, 2020

Open Educational Resources

Reading Time: 2 minutesFind out about OER available through Library Services.

Categories Faculty Services/Library Services/OERs and eTexts/Online Asynchronous/Online Synchronous

August 17, 2020

Concept and Mind Mapping

Reading Time: 5 minutesWhat is it? Concept and mind mapping are graphical ways to represent knowledge, concepts and ideas. The maps are hierarchical in nature that expands on...

Categories Active Learning and Engagement/Concept Mapping/Teaching

August 7, 2020

Touch Interaction and Learning

Reading Time: 5 minutesThink back to 2006. What were you doing at that point in your life? What was a typical day like? What technology did you have...

Categories Tech For Teaching

August 3, 2020

Padlet

Reading Time: 3 minutesLong beloved by educators, Padlet has been on the ed tech scene for years. This easy to use creative tool lets users brainstorm, organize, categorize,...

Categories Collaboration/Concept Mapping/Licensed Apps and Pilots/Tech For Teaching

July 3, 2020

O365 Forms

Reading Time: 2 minutesForms lets you build and deliver formative surveys and self-grading quizzes. Because it comes with your enterprise email, it’s always free, and you get the full range of features available.

Categories Licensed Apps and Pilots/Tech For Teaching

June 25, 2020

Managing Zoom Fatigue

Reading Time: 3 minutesTips on avoiding and managing Zoom fatigue while working remotely.

Categories Online Synchronous/Zoom or Teams

June 4, 2020

Virtual Whiteboards in an Online Synchronous Classroom

Reading Time: 5 minutesMany of us use whiteboards when we’re teaching, but the move to an online synchronous classroom has made that a little more difficult. Fortunately, there...

Categories Multimedia/Teaching Materials/Tech For Teaching