[community] Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario Research Initiative for Accessibility and Remote Learning

[Ali Hasnain Kazmi]

Good morning IDRC Community,

I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy heading into the weekend.

Would any staff, students or faculty be interested in being interviewees for the study outlined below?

Staff from The Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario<http://www.heqco.ca/en-CA/Pages/Home.aspx> are putting together a research initiative on accessibility and support tools for remote learning. As it is in the preliminary stages, they are looking for interviewees from Ontario post-secondary schools to gather insight.

I was listening in on the DEEP community meeting on May 19th and thought this would be a great opportunity to share lived experiences on remote learning (COVID or otherwise), as well as considerations for in-person and online accommodation. Their report is expected to be completed in time for the fall term.

Their summary is as follows:

“The sudden disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed colleges and universities to move courses and content online in a hurry. As institutions work to enable remote learning, all students will have to adapt, and some will find that process more challenging than others.
The purpose of this project is to share practical advice with Ontario’s colleges and universities looking to support student success in a remote learning context during the pandemic and recovery. We will engage stakeholders including students, faculty and staff at Ontario institutions to learn about the types of supports that students need to succeed in an online learning environment, and how those needs may be different from the supports students rely on when taking in-person classes.
This research is being conducted by staff at the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO)<http://www.heqco.ca/en-CA/Pages/Home.aspx>. HEQCO is an arms-length agency of the Government of Ontario, with a mandate to conduct research and provide evidence-based policy advice towards the continued improvement of postsecondary education in Ontario.”
As HEQCO does not have a project webpage set up for this initiative, I would appreciate it if any interested parties forwarded their emails to me (akazmi at faculty.ocadu.ca<mailto:akazmi at faculty.ocadu.ca>). I would pass on the contact information to HEQCO, who would then reach out to schedule a 30-45 minute interview on lived experiences and perspectives for this topic.

Contact preferences and accessibility considerations will be accommodated by HEQCO when they initiate correspondence for scheduling.

Please do let me know if anyone requires further clarification.

Sincerely,

Ali H. Kazmi<https://www.linkedin.com/in/alihkazmi93/>
Graduate Research Assistant
Project We Count
Inclusive Design Research Centre (OCAD U)
205 Richmond St. W., Second Floor
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
M5V 1V3
E: akazmi at faculty.ocadu.ca
OCAD University acknowledges the ancestral and traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Haudenosaunee, the Anishnaabe and the Huron-Wendat, who are the original owners and custodians of the land on which we live, work and create.

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