Innovator / Educator
A series on innovators in blended and online learning.
Introducing Innovator/Educator
Innovator/Educator is a series of videos featuring educators who embraced innovation and creativity in blended and online learning as a result of the challenges faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. The fundamental shift in the way educators teach continues to inform and modify post-secondary classrooms moving forward.
Each Innovator/Educator in the series showcases a creative solution to a challenge presented by online and blended learning — whether that's an innovative use of a tool or new ways of thinking about teaching and learning.
Use these videos as inspiration to be creative and innovative in your own teaching practice.
Explore the videos and resources >>
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Meet the Innovators
Dr. Lora Oehlberg, PhD
Dr. Lora Oehlberg, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Computer Science at the University of Calgary. Her research addresses how technology can better support creativity, collaboration, and curiosity in a range of domains, including interaction design, electronic fashion, improvised digital fabrication, physical data representations, improvised theatre, and healthcare innovation.
She leads the Curio Lab and is one of the faculty leaders of the Interactions Lab, a human-computer interaction research collective. She is faculty in the Computational Media Design program and part of the University of Calgary’s Makerspace community of practice group. In 2018 she was awarded a Peak Scholar of Entrepreneurship, Innovation, & Knowledge Engagement from the University of Calgary for her work in “People-Centred Technology for Creativity and Collaboration”. She was an Inria Silicon Valley postdoctoral fellow with InSitu group at Inria Saclay. She has a PhD and MSc in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley, and a BSc in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University.
In this video, Dr. Oehlberg demonstrates how she utilized Miro — an online whiteboard platform — to create a collaborative, studio-based online learning space for students.
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Dr. John Holash, PhD
Dr. John Holash is a recognized expert in the fields of Exercise Physiology, Muscle Physiology, and Computational Biology, currently serving as an assistant professor at the University of Calgary in the Faculty of Kinesiology's Human Performance Lab. His commitment to understanding and optimizing human performance is deeply rooted in both his academic pursuits and personal experiences as an athlete an adventurer and a researcher.
After honing his passion as an amateur competitive cyclist, Dr. Holash pursued a rigorous academic path, earning his Master's degree in Exercise Physiology and Biomechanics, followed by his doctorate in Muscle Physiology and Computational biology. This blend of practical and theoretical knowledge allows him to bridge the gap between academic theory and real-world application, bringing a unique perspective to his work.
In this video, Dr. Holash talks through using OBS — Open Broadcaster Software — to engage students in online lectures with dynamic video and content.
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More resources
Agile student feedback through the Five-Question Summary >>
Example student interests survey form >>
Related learning modules
Managing Student Team Projects >>
Dr. Nicole Sandblom, PhD
Nicole Sandblom is a professor (teaching) in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Calgary. As a scholar of teaching and learning, her research centres on how students reflect on learning and how skills developed in one class can impact a student more broadly than they might expect. Her research is typically connected to student learning in courses that she teaches or has taught in the past. Nicole’s teaching responsibilities include undergraduate introductory chemistry courses along with the Faculty of Science's writing course. Lately, she teaches chemistry to non-majors.
She values discussions about academic integrity with students in her class and aims to create assessments that encourage integrity. In her classes, she tries to encourage student curiosity and to focus on effective scientific communication. Her interests include encouraging students to reflect on their learning and to act on their feedback. She likes to tell students that everything is chemistry — but that it is so important to look at other disciplines to put the chemistry in context. So many discoveries are even more exciting when you can understand the history affecting the scientists or the social implications of an issue. The more you know about other sciences, the more questions you can ask about chemistry!
Nicole earned a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Calgary and a BSc (Honours) degree from Dalhousie University in Halifax. She is currently the Director of the Natural Sciences Program.
In this video, Dr. Sandblom discusses the challenges and successes of implementing group work when teaching introductory chemistry courses during COVID and beyond.
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Mike Tan
Dr. Derritt Mason, PhD
Derritt Mason (they/he) is the acting senior director at the Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning and an associate professor in the Department of English at the University of Calgary. Derritt is the author of Queer Anxieties of Young Adult Literature and Culture (2021) and their essays on teaching and learning have appeared in Pedagogy and Teaching & Learning Inquiry.
In this video, Dr. Mason speaks about his efforts to rethink grading practices and embrace the "ungrading" movement within higher education.
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Our Team
Dr. Corey Flynn, PhD
Executive Producer & Director
Dr. Corey Flynn, PhD, is an Associate Professor (Teaching) in the Department of Biological Sciences and the BSc Neuroscience program. He is also an Educational Leader in Residence for Blended and Online Learning with the Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning.
Dr. Flynn has always had a strong interest in technology-assisted teaching and learning practices. The transition to emergency remote delivery due to the COVID-19 pandemic allowed him to utilize the tools and the skills he had gained to help improve online and blended learning.
C. Blake Evernden, PhD student
Senior Editor
C. Blake Evernden is a PhD student at the University of Calgary with research interests in analogue cinema practices, genre and paracinema, and media reception studies, as well as being an award-winning filmmaker of over 15 years and university lecturer for eight years. He’s worked professionally as a filmmaker, production designer, and makeup FX artist and as a writer, director, and editor.
He’s completed two feature films and multiple short films of his own, collectively screening at over 120 international film festivals and winning over 40 awards.
Neil Christensen, PhD student
Editor
Neil Christensen is a PhD student at the University of Calgary in the Computational Media Design program. His research relates to interactive 3D space, visual storytelling, and sensorial experience. He's creating experiences in extended reality (XR) that incorporate user experiences in new and unimagined ways. He seeks to intertwine natural user interfaces with information visualization, animation, hi-resolution video, and audio in spatial computing.
Neil holds a BFA in photography and a MSc in CMD with an art specialization. Find samples of his work at nacinteractive.com.
Berenice Cancino, PhD candidate
Sound Editor
Berenice Cancino is a PhD candidate at the University of Calgary. Her research focuses on the dynamics of the film sound industry in Mexico, investigating the intersections between film sound labour, practices, industry, and aesthetics. She is also a sound editor, working in the sound of feature and short films in Canada and the United States, and producing sound art in collaboration with artists in Calgary. In addition, she has worked as a video editor, director, and script supervisor in Mexico, participating in feature films, music videos, and institutional productions.
Brennan Chaudhry, MA student
Research Assistant
Brennan Chaudhry is a master's student at the University of Calgary, current studying Communications and Media Studies. His research focuses on digital media, the internet, and artificial intelligence as it impacts our society and culture. He is the host of an award winning radio program on CJSW 90.9 FM, Prisoner's Dilemma, a runner and a drummer. As a teaching assistant in the Department of Communications, he's passionate about preserving and transmitting knowledge and innovating in pedagogy.