Learning Resources

Abstract: The Myhal Centre for Engineering Innovation and Entrepreneurship, located in the heart of University of Toronto’s St. George campus, heralds a new era in engineering education with dynamic, flexible environments that bring students, faculty, researchers, alumni, and industry partners together to foster collaboration, encourage active learning, and accelerate innovation. This tour will lead attendees through the eight-story building that features a 500-seat lecture theatre, state-of-the-art collaborative classrooms, workshops, lab spaces, and fabrication facilities as well as several large multidisciplinary research centers and institutes.

Occupying the last unbuilt site on the campus’s main thoroughfare, we will discuss how the Myhal Centre has been designed to have a positive, transformative impact on both the streetscape and the campus at large.

Abstract: This session focuses on the unique financial challenges facing community colleges due to the pandemic. In addition to a brief overview of the range of financial challenges being experienced by the sector, two campus-based leaders will describe the reality at their respective institutions. The session will highlight the role integrated planning, aligned with resource management, plays in establishing financial stability that can support enhanced institutional effectiveness.

Abstract: HBCUs have a tradition of providing affordable, culturally accessible higher education to minority and first-generation students as they support disadvantaged communities. The evolution of planning, partnerships, and pedagogy at HBCUs provides lessons for any stressed institution. United Negro College Fund and HBCU college leaders will examine enrollment, instruction, student success, historic preservation, and fundraising in a post-pandemic world and explore how we can transform these challenges into successes. Join the panel for an engaging discussion about physical, academic, financial, and operational strategies for reshaping and strengthening HBCUs and apply lessons learned to address diversity, equity, and inclusion at your institution.

Abstract: The Valley Land Trail at the University of Toronto connects the main upper campus to its ravine and valley lands below. This gently sloping trail winds past trees before climbing above the ravine floor to reveal dramatic views and then ultimately negotiating a 19 meter drop to the forest floor where it meets a city-maintained path. The trail was conceived as a truly accessible pathway that brings our community of all abilities closer to nature and opens up options for teaching and research directly within the lands we occupy.

Abstract: Students’ support networks are strained due to disruptive current events and students are looking to their universities for help. Providing support for students is a growing concern for campuses nationwide as staff are already stretched thin. With mental health stressors at an all-time high, we'll bring you institutional perspectives from across the country regarding programs they've implemented to improve mental health and wellness on campus. We'll share approaches and resources—including virtual reality—that you can use to meaningfully design healthier spaces and implement mental health and wellness programs on your campus.

Abstract: Educational technology units must continually monitor their strategic plans to ensure that they are aligned with the evolving realities of their institutions. Strategic dissonance occurs when previously successful strategies are no longer achieving the same results. This article uses the Virtual Retina project as an example of strategic dissonance for the Academic Technologies for Learning at the University of Alberta. A number of methods for analyzing the strategies used by educational technology units are presented. These methods provide a means for units within institutions of higher education to conduct the ongoing task of renewing their strategic plans.