Changes for FOCUS: Pardon our dust!

Dear FOCUS readers,

First, let me introduce myself as the new FOCUS editor, Kate Crane. As an educational developer of online pedagogies, I support Dalhousie faculty around the online, digital and virtual aspects of courses and programs, and the unique pedagogical challenges and opportunities these present. I am excited to take up the editorship of FOCUS.

Second, the blog and its site are undergoing a refresh— you’ll notice a few new things, including a top bar navigation that directs you to the different types of writing (How To, Articles, Reflections, Reviews), plus a new writing category, “That’s Nifty!” Nifty things are small, but potent, pedagogical interventions that satisfyingly, efficiently, or elegantly solve or achieve a teaching & learning problem or goal. Sometimes, one nifty thing is all we need to shake things up in our teaching.

Additionally, I’d like to draw your attention to a new blog feature, Symposia. These are bi-annual collections of writing from different voices across campus, published twice a year. In them, faculty, staff, and students contribute different forms of writing that attend to one theme or topic. Return to FOCUS in Fall 2024 to engage with contributions on the topic Hyflex. Would you like a reminder? Subscribe to our quarterly newsletter.

Please, “pardon our dust” as we complete the site refresh. The design or user experience may be a bit wobbly for a little while.

Last, something about FOCUS that has not changed: our vision for the blog. FOCUS contributions attend to the changing and definition-resistant nature of teaching and learning, reaching across disciplinary boundaries to engage one another with stories, problem-solving, inspirations and inquiries from our teaching and learning lives. Come to FOCUS for both practical take-aways and nourishing stimulus that hits deep.

I wish you happy reading and writing, teaching and learning,

Kate Crane, Editor

Kate crane

Educational Developer, Online Pedagogies

FOCUS Editor