The BCcampus Book Club Small Teaching Online Guest Facilitator

Mirabelle Tinio is an EdTech advisor, instructor, and chair of modern languages at snəw̓eyəɬ leləm̓-Langara College, in Vancouver, B.C. She has a master of arts in French literature from UBC and a Maîtrise de lettres modernes from the Sorbonne Nouvelle – Paris III. In addition to teaching, she offers workshops on learning technologies, supports instructors with online course development, and facilitates book clubs. She particularly enjoys book clubs as a place where synergy occurs: drawing together the community of teachers/learners to share ideas and brainstorm solutions to challenges. She facilitated two book clubs on Small Teaching Online in 2020 at Langara College shortly after instructors in B.C. were forced to pivot courses online due to the pandemic. She considers students, support staff, and fellow instructors as partners in building a supportive learning community and looks forward to having meaningful and inspired discussions with Small Teaching Online book-club participants.  

We are so thankful that she is willing to be our guest facilitator, joining BCcampus co-facilitators Leva and Helena.

Here are some of Mirabelle’s thoughts on the upcoming book club:

1) Why is this book a good choice for our sector? 

Small Teaching Online provides small, practical, actionable strategies for instructors to keep improving and updating their online teaching skills. Instructors are busy people, and now, more than ever, we are feeling overwhelmed with responsibilities and uncertainty. Focusing on small, impactful changes is a sustainable and effective approach to course development. 

2) With some institutions now planning to go back to campus in the fall, how is this book still relevant? Even though we will no longer need to teach completely online in the fall, having an online component provides students with additional means to access content and engage with the instructor and students. I think this experience of being forced to use online tools and adapt to remote learning will have a lasting impact, making them more a part of our daily lives. Instructors may still consider mixed-mode formats if suitable to their programs or provide additional online tutorials and workshops outside of scheduled class time. I believe the lessons from our experience and from Small Teaching Online will remain relevant post-COVID. 

3) What would participants gain from joining? The book club is a chance to meet fellow post-secondary instructors throughout B.C. and delve deeper into online teaching strategies together. We’ll have opportunities to test some of Darby’s tips and reflect on our own individual teaching practices. Participants would become part of a supportive community of teachers/learners, sharing their challenges and successes, and learning from and with each other.  

4) What do you do when you are not behind your computer? At the moment, that would be sleeping, although sometimes I do fall asleep in front of my computer. In the rare moments that I’m not in front of my computer, I like to get out of the city and enjoy running in the trails; taking in babbling brooks, chirping birds, budding flowers … being one with nature. I’m also involved in grassroots J.E.D.I. (justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion) organizing and remain a lifelong learner, enrolled in UBC’s MEd in Adult Learning and Global Change program. 

If you would like to join, it is not too late. Register here!

The feature image for this post (viewable in the BCcampus News section at the bottom of our homepage) is by Burst from Pexels