Welcome to the D2L Master Class Series

NEW! – AI Empowerment for Educators: Transforming Teaching & Learning

Artificial Intelligence is not going anywhere, and educators must gain skills in AI to impact their teaching practice and ensure readiness for their students. This Master Class focuses on AI in the context of teaching and learning. Participants will learn why Large Language Models matter to educators and practical ways to integrate AI into their teaching. Ethical considerations will also be explored. Participants will spend time learning from other faculty through the Idea Lab, and they will be encouraged to reflect on their learning and share their ideas on teaching with AI.

Quality Learning with Quality Matters

In this D2L Master Class, join us as we explore how to build high quality online courses!

Course design is the foundation of successful online learning, and high quality courses are vital for student achievement, retention, and engagement. But how sure are you that your online courses reflect a high standard? In partnership with Quality Matters, D2L presents an exclusive opportunity to learn directly from QM experts to explore the crucial role of course design in promoting high quality online learning.

In this Master Class, you will be guided by QM expert Dr. Bethany Simunich, Vice President of Innovation and Research at Quality Matters, as she shares valuable insights and real-life examples of how to incorporate Quality Matters standards to support your online learning needs.

Quality Matters (QM) is an international non-profit organization providing certification of courses and programs, support for implementing quality practices, and professional development and credentials for quality assurance in digital learning. QM serves over 1,500 institutions and organizations in over 30 countries, and hosts a community of educators, administrators, instructional designers, and staff from higher education, K-12, publishing, and continuing and professional education. Through a robust, integrated system utilizing research-supported QM Rubrics, the QM community implements quality assurance processes that ensure their courses and programs meet QM standards and criteria and provide students with quality learning environments.

Engaging and Inclusive Learning Environments

Creating engaging and inclusive learning environments is both a science and an art. In this D2L Master Class, host Dr. Cristi Ford (VP, Academic Affairs at D2L) is joined by Dr. Morris Thomas (Assistant Provost, Center for Excellence in Teaching, Learning & Assessment at Howard University) to explore ways that educators can build upon and expand the inclusive practices they already have in place in their blended and online classrooms. Dr. Thomas will dive deep into his ENHANCE learning model for supporting the academic and social aspects of learning environments, and participants will have the chance to experience best practices for teaching for inclusion before applying concepts to their own work.

Learning Frameworks

As educators, learning frameworks are the foundation of everything we do, and effective use of learning frameworks can truly make a master teacher. But understanding when to use learning frameworks, and how to truly ensure they support your learners, can be a challenge.

Join your hosts (Dr. Jeff Borden, Chief Academic at D2L, and Kassia Ghandi, Academic Affairs Director at D2L), as they unpack the power and importance of learning frameworks and share a model you can use to analyze how to best apply them in the classroom.

Mindset & Mindfulness

Mindset and mindfulness are two separate – but interconnected – concepts often explored in education because of their positive impacts on academic and social learning. In this class, Dr. Cristi Ford, D2L’s VP of Academic Affairs, and Kassia Gandhi, the Director of Academic Affairs, discuss all things mindset and mindfulness. What is the difference between mindset and mindfulness in education, and can growth mindset exist without mindfulness? What are some practical ways to employ mindfulness and mindset strategies in teaching and learning? And what are the pitfalls associated with employing these strategies in the classroom? Along the way, we’ll explore new research, practice mindfulness ourselves, and reflect on the true impact of “the 2 M’s” on education.

Social Emotional Learning

If you work in education, you may have heard the term Social Emotional Learning (SEL) used more frequently in recent conversation, as educators grapple with ways to support the sometimes-forgotten elements of learning: self-regulation, social and self-awareness, and collaborative skills. We know that Social Emotional Learning is critical for academic success but applying it practically in the classroom or lecture hall can be challenging.

In this class, David McGeary – former K-12 principal, SEL expert, and Solutions Engineer at D2L – will join your hosts Dr. Jeff Borden (Chief Academic, D2L) and Kassia Ghandi (Academic Affairs Director, D2L) to discuss all things Social Emotional Learning. David will provide some vital grounding, research and, most importantly, practical ideas for implementing SEL tactics in the classroom.