User:Gmorong

My Profile
My name is Gail Morong. I am originally from Trinidad and Tobago, but I now live in Kamloops, BC, Canada. I did my first degree in Winnipeg, Canada, taught high school math and science to very bright students in Trinidad from 1980 to 1993, and have taught many different courses to various types of learners (e.g. adult, at-risk, learning-disabled, ESL) in Canada since then. To me, good education is all about individualizing teaching and learning approaches, using the toolbox of skills and knowledge accumulated over time, to match the needs of various target audiences. I have experimented with many various strategies over the years, including using the arts in all types of teaching, even science e.g. making students dance as if they were solid, liquid or gas atoms or molecules. I also strongly believe that education can be the way out of poverty for many people (as in my case). I returned to Canada in 1993 with my husband and three daughters and lived in Winnipeg and Prince George before moving to Kamloops in 2008. I am now a happy grandmother of a sweet granddaughter who lives close to me, and I am amazed to see how easily she learned to use a computer by herself, and how much she loves learning on the whole.

I am now an instructional designer at Thompson Rivers University Open Learning and that has opened up a whole new world of learning and opportunities for me. Things are changing so rapidly in the world of distributed learning that it is hard to keep up, but I am trying. For now, my greatest challenge is to find a focus and keep life manageable.

Professional Background

 * Instructional Designer at Thompson Rivers University Open Learning in Kamloops, BC, Canada.
 * Teacher at many secondary schools in Trinidad and Tobago and Canada.

Education
Thompson Rivers University - Graduate Certificate in Online Teaching and Learning

Thompson Rivers University - TESL

University of West Indies - Masters of Arts in Education

University of West Indies - Diploma in Education

Professional

 * Completed the Thompson Rivers University online Graduate Certificate in Online Teaching and Learning (EDDL) program.
 * Enjoying working with subject matter experts on course development projects from various subject areas. Working on online MBA and MEd programs.
 * Hoping to become more involved with WikiEducator and sharing my teaching and instructional design expertise.
 * Learning more about OER, open courses, open software, open design, universal design - member of OER University Google Group.
 * Experimenting with new technologies, especially for open collaboration among students at a distance e.g. VoiceThread.
 * Learning about best practice in use of media in online courses.
 * Interested in blended learning models.

Personal

 * I am chair of a faculty Status of Women Committee and an Equity Committee because I am passionate about diversity and equity issues.I see open initiatives as a great way to help women and other equity-seeking groups.
 * I give anti-discrimination workshops.
 * I love dance (I used to teach various types of dance for many years).
 * I love to travel and see various parts of the world.

My Projects

 * Worked on adapting and wikifying an Art Appreciation and Techniques from Saylor.org for OERu.
 * I worked with my colleagues from TRU-OL on an online course developer's resource.
 * Currently working on an open textbook project with Tulo (First Nation economic educational institution)

My Sandbox
/My sandbox/

My Reflection
"Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass. It's about learning to dance in the rain." (Vivian Greene)