What is the EdMedia Protégé (EMP) program?

The EdMedia Protege (EMP) program has successfully supported university educators, since April 2013 and the Teaching Commons, at Lakehead U, is very excited to have made this training available to our faculty starting Oct 12 2021. The EMP program is designed to support faculty members who are interested in being better media creators, enhance their learners experiences with effective resources, and distribute media in ways that work for both faculty and learner.

The EdMedia Protégé (EMP) program will improve your capacity to design and deliver media assets – such as infographics, video, graphic organizers, etc. - as an embedded part of teaching and learning. In the first three weeks of the program faculty will work together to better understand how to effectively embed media in activity and assessment, and throughout the remaining time in the program faculty receive one-on-one support from media and learning developers to design media for learning, and develop assets using common tools and techniques. The program will wrap up with a showcase that celebrates the works of EMP participants.

Phase one – Workshop outcomes

• Analyze the ecology of media in educational contexts
• Redesign a course module to incorporate media with purpose and impact
• Identify potential sources of open educational resources (OERs) well suited to your curriculum
• Create media-enhanced curriculum
• Map learner-centred options, for your course, for distributing/accessing media effectively

Phase two – Development outcomes

• Develop media assets/content for impact
• Distribute media in ways that ensure assets are accessible
• Embed media assets in the curriculum in thoughtful ways

Key dates and duration

The EMP program lasts for 8 weeks and will require (on average) 3 hours of your time each week. The EMP program starts on January 24th with a series of short workshops where you will investigate aspects of media that support learning. Only during the first 3 weeks of the program will you be required to meet together as a cohort, at the same time [via Zoom]. However, the remote delivery approach allows for flexibility. A draft schedule has been shared (below) though some of these times may be adjusted based on cohort schedules (where possible).

Your mycourselink EMP Companion (in D2L) will connect you to the program and each other, and will be use to deliver parts of workshops one, two, and four (at times most convenient to your schedule). All program resources will be shared with participants through your EMP Companion also.

Winter 2023 EMP schedule

Worth taking?

“For me the strongest part of the EdMedia Protege program was that it focused more on the WHY, as opposed to how and what. We may very easily get lost in the idea of creating something that looks really good but serves no educational purpose. The EdMedia team was very careful to help us understand that the why question comes first. "Why are we introducing this material, this visual material into the curriculum, and what learning outcome does it cater to?" Efe Peker; Urban Sociology Faculty; Simon Fraser University

“In my courses it is sometimes complicated to show the big picture to students in a simplified way. For example in my course “Separation Technology” when explaining how thermodynamic laws, different solution models, phase equilibria and separation processes are related to each other. I wanted to find out how the use of media could help me show the students how everything is connected.... there are many YouTube movies that show a more intuitive conceptual understanding of entropy, but none of chemical potential. The programme offered one-on-one support from experts and that appealed to me greatly. This resulted in a mind map, a video overview for learners to use the Prezi effectively during their studies, and a lesson plan that describes how to embed the media into teaching." Monique van der Veen; Department of chemical engineering; Delft University of Technology 

How to submit your expression of interest

Please review the following information carefully to ensure that you understand expectations of EMP program participants, and to ensure that your application is complete.

• Your expression of interest must arrive by the deadline date stated above to assure it can be considered. The EdMedia Protege (EMP) program will select a maximum of 7 participants for each Lakehead U cohort to assure each participant receives appropriate one-on-one support throughout their design and development phase. Expression of Interest applications received after the deadline will be considered only if there is space available in the program.

• It is very important, if you want to improve your capacity to develop and deliver media as an embedded part of teaching and learning, to have thought about a few ways that media may improve your course. Please respond to both questions in the EMP Expression of Interest form. Although the application is brief, sharing the types of media you would like to learn to develop on your own (e.g. infographics, podcast, graphic discussion summaries, etc.) and why you think they will help, will aid the EMP delivery team in the selection process.

• All submitted applications will receive a reply confirming receipt. All applicants who apply by the deadline will be notified 48 hours after the deadline has passed of their program status.

• The Teaching Commons will deliver this training program to accepted participants free of change in recognition/reward for (i) attendees’ active participation in both components of the program, and (ii) the educational media assets developed by the EMP cohort shared* with others in the Lakehead University academic community through the Teaching Commons Faculty resource share (a subsection of the Teaching Commons website).

*All assets developed within the EMP program will be licensed as open educational resources through creative commons licensing (creativecommons.org/licenses/).

Steps to submit your Expression of Interest application

• Download the Expression on Interest template in WORD or PDF format
• Provide your Name and employment details, and thoughtful answers to the two questions asked
• Email (in either Word, or PDF format) your completed application to Lisa O’Neill at moneill4@lakeheadu.ca

CONTACT

For more information and if you have any specific question regarding this program or the application form, please contact Lisa O’Neill, Learning Developer, at moneill4@lakeheadu.ca.