With the support of the Directorate for Higher Education and Skills (HK-dir)’s NOTED program, the Faculty of Education and Arts at Nord University, Norway and the Faculty of Education at Queen’s University, Canada, in cooperation with local schools in the Nordland, Trøndelag, and Ontario regions, have joined to establish the CANOPY Project (Canada-Norway Pedagogy Partnership for Innovation and Inclusion in Education). This partnership aims to address, from a holistic and international perspective, the most pressing issues currently facing the education sector to better prepare the next generation of teachers. Connecting educational research, classroom experience, student mobility, and institutional management, CANOPY will develop global competencies in pedagogy, research, and training through international collaboration.
Innovation and Inclusion are the guiding principles of CANOPY, and the initiatives of each year of the project will focus on a different priority area comprehended by these principles
2020/21: Educational Leadership
2022: Digital Innovation and Educational Technology
2023: Indigenous Studies, Diversity, and Inclusion
2024: Exceptional Learners
CLAIRE AHN
Dr. Claire Ahn is an Assistant Professor of Multiliteracies and is interested in how (visual) information is mediated across different platforms and how this affects people’s understanding of issues, events, and of people. Her current research projects include: exploring the impacts of deceptive media (e.g., fake news) and the importance of critical digital literacy education; investigating how youth are understanding and learning about critical social justice issues via digital platforms; and multiliteracy approaches to teaching and learning about place-based poetry using a digital application, PhoneMe. More information about Dr. Ahn’s projects and publications can be found on her faculty profile page. Broadly speaking, her research interests also include: multimodality, visual literacy, visual rhetoric, genre and rhetorical genre studies, English Language Arts curriculum. Dr. Ahn also has over 20 years of teaching experience, including a decade of experience as a secondary English Language Arts (ELA) teacher, thus her research is strongly rooted in and considers secondary ELA curricula and pedagogical implications. As such, in relation to technology, Dr. Ahn is also interested in issues related to equity and accessibility, how educators implement technology to complement lessons and not simply as a means to an end, and how youth take up and engage with technology in formal and informal learning spaces.
CLAIRE AHN
Dr. Claire Ahn is an Assistant Professor of Multiliteracies and is interested in how (visual) information is mediated across different platforms and how this affects people’s understanding of issues, events, and of people. Her current research projects include: exploring the impacts of deceptive media (e.g., fake news) and the importance of critical digital literacy education; investigating how youth are understanding and learning about critical social justice issues via digital platforms; and multiliteracy approaches to teaching and learning about place-based poetry using a digital application, PhoneMe. More information about Dr. Ahn’s projects and publications can be found on her faculty profile page. Broadly speaking, her research interests also include: multimodality, visual literacy, visual rhetoric, genre and rhetorical genre studies, English Language Arts curriculum. Dr. Ahn also has over 20 years of teaching experience, including a decade of experience as a secondary English Language Arts (ELA) teacher, thus her research is strongly rooted in and considers secondary ELA curricula and pedagogical implications. As such, in relation to technology, Dr. Ahn is also interested in issues related to equity and accessibility, how educators implement technology to complement lessons and not simply as a means to an end, and how youth take up and engage with technology in formal and informal learning spaces.
PAUL ALLISON
Paul Allison is an elementary core French teacher with the Limestone District School Board and a Computer Science Term Adjunct Lecturer at the Queen’s University School of Computing. He holds a Bachelor of Computing (Honours), a Bachelor of Education, and a Master of Science in Computer Science, all awarded by Queen’s University.
Paul has a keen interest in finding ways to integrate technology into his French as a Second Language teaching and learning. He promotes student engagement and empowers students to innovate, through the use of various educational technologies including Minecraft, coding, virtual reality, game design, and augmented reality.
On many occasions, Paul has been invited to present at conferences and workshops to share ways in which educators can integrate digital technologies into their teaching. He is an advocate for the use of technology to empower students, allowing them to apply their learning in ways that positively impact and shape the communities in which they live.
PAUL ALLISON
Paul Allison is an elementary core French teacher with the Limestone District School Board and a Computer Science Term Adjunct Lecturer at the Queen’s University School of Computing. He holds a Bachelor of Computing (Honours), a Bachelor of Education, and a Master of Science in Computer Science, all awarded by Queen’s University.
Paul has a keen interest in finding ways to integrate technology into his French as a Second Language teaching and learning. He promotes student engagement and empowers students to innovate, through the use of various educational technologies including Minecraft, coding, virtual reality, game design, and augmented reality.
On many occasions, Paul has been invited to present at conferences and workshops to share ways in which educators can integrate digital technologies into their teaching. He is an advocate for the use of technology to empower students, allowing them to apply their learning in ways that positively impact and shape the communities in which they live.
VIKTOR BÅSSA
Viktor Båssa is a fourth-year student in the Lule Sámi Primary Teacher Education Programme at Nord University, specializing in Lule Sámi and special education. He is pursuing this particular vocation to help revitalize and preserve Lule Sámi, which is a severely endangered language on UNESCO's list of endangered languages. He learned Lule Sámi as an adult, which was a difficult process since there are limited educational materials and few teachers for this language.
Viktor attended high school in Kautokeino, a small village in Northern Norway where about 90% of the population speaks Northern Sámi as their mother tongue. For these three years, he received Lule Sámi language teaching -- half of the time via distance learning. This experience, which posed several challenges due to inadequate equipment, learning platforms, and materials, inspired him to pursue better methods for digital/remote language instruction.
Viktor was a member of the Sámi Parliament in Norway between 2013 and 2017, serving on the Committee for Education. He has continued his commitment to the Sámi community by training to be a Lule Sámi teacher. Prior to pursuing Teacher Education at Nord University, he enrolled in a one-year Psychology program at the University of Tromsø, with an interest in exploring suicide rates among young Sami men -- which are higher than the rest of the population in Norway.
VIKTOR BÅSSA
Viktor Båssa is a fourth-year student in the Lule Sámi Primary Teacher Education Programme at Nord University, specializing in Lule Sámi and special education. He is pursuing this particular vocation to help revitalize and preserve Lule Sámi, which is a severely endangered language on UNESCO's list of endangered languages. He learned Lule Sámi as an adult, which was a difficult process since there are limited educational materials and few teachers for this language.
Viktor attended high school in Kautokeino, a small village in Northern Norway where about 90% of the population speaks Northern Sámi as their mother tongue. For these three years, he received Lule Sámi language teaching -- half of the time via distance learning. This experience, which posed several challenges due to inadequate equipment, learning platforms, and materials, inspired him to pursue better methods for digital/remote language instruction.
Viktor was a member of the Sámi Parliament in Norway between 2013 and 2017, serving on the Committee for Education. He has continued his commitment to the Sámi community by training to be a Lule Sámi teacher. Prior to pursuing Teacher Education at Nord University, he enrolled in a one-year Psychology program at the University of Tromsø, with an interest in exploring suicide rates among young Sami men -- which are higher than the rest of the population in Norway.
JANELLE LEE
Janelle Lee (she/her) is a third-year Concurrent Education student at Queen's University specializing in Biology and Mathematics and is planning on teaching intermediate-senior mathematics and French. Throughout her undergraduate career, Janelle has been highly involved in the community, including volunteering as a "Big Buddy" through Kaleidoscope to support an at-risk elementary school student, facilitating conversation with ESL students through the Conversation Partner Program at the Queen's School of English, and participating in the CESA Equity Outreach Committee. She has been an active member of the Society for Conservation Biology (Kingston Chapter) throughout the years as a general member, Education Co-Lead, and currently as the Chapter Co-President, where she leads initiatives on campus and in the Kingston community that promote conservation biology and sustainability. She has also helped first-year students as an undergraduate teaching assistant at the Math Help Centre.
In August 2020, she joined the Student Educational Technology Assistant Team at the Queen's Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL), where she helped professors as they shifted to remote teaching and assisted them in building their courses on D2L. Her work with the CTL and the Department of Arts and Science Online gave her the opportunity to learn about different education models and strategies of implementing the UDL in remote courses. Moreover, her experience as a private virtual French teacher and tutor in Ryerson Diversity Institute's Study Buddy program inspired her to want to make a difference in our educational landscape with digital innovations and evidence-based strategies rooted in EDII.
JANELLE LEE
Janelle Lee (she/her) is a third-year Concurrent Education student at Queen's University specializing in Biology and Mathematics and is planning on teaching intermediate-senior mathematics and French. Throughout her undergraduate career, Janelle has been highly involved in the community, including volunteering as a "Big Buddy" through Kaleidoscope to support an at-risk elementary school student, facilitating conversation with ESL students through the Conversation Partner Program at the Queen's School of English, and participating in the CESA Equity Outreach Committee. She has been an active member of the Society for Conservation Biology (Kingston Chapter) throughout the years as a general member, Education Co-Lead, and currently as the Chapter Co-President, where she leads initiatives on campus and in the Kingston community that promote conservation biology and sustainability. She has also helped first-year students as an undergraduate teaching assistant at the Math Help Centre.
In August 2020, she joined the Student Educational Technology Assistant Team at the Queen's Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL), where she helped professors as they shifted to remote teaching and assisted them in building their courses on D2L. Her work with the CTL and the Department of Arts and Science Online gave her the opportunity to learn about different education models and strategies of implementing the UDL in remote courses. Moreover, her experience as a private virtual French teacher and tutor in Ryerson Diversity Institute's Study Buddy program inspired her to want to make a difference in our educational landscape with digital innovations and evidence-based strategies rooted in EDII.
THEODORE CHRISTOU
Dr. Theodore Christou is a Professor of Social Studies and History Education at Queen’s University as well as the Associate Dean of Graduate Studies in the Faculty of Education. Theodore is a poet, historian, and philosopher of education. As an interdisciplinary education scholar, Dr. Christou has edited journals including the Canadian Journal of Education and Antistasis, while publishing more than ten academic books, ranging from international handbooks of history to school textbooks used across the province of Ontario. His academic and professional work is rooted in a belief in education’s transformational potential and in the articulation of philosophy as a purposeful way of living in the world. Dr. Christou is a member of the Ontario College of Teachers and a Registered Early Childhood Educator. Along with his years of academic service at Queen’s University and at the University of New Brunswick, Dr. Christou has lectured and taught internationally, supporting Greek language education in particular.
THEODORE CHRISTOU
Dr. Theodore Christou is a Professor of Social Studies and History Education at Queen’s University as well as the Associate Dean of Graduate Studies in the Faculty of Education. Theodore is a poet, historian, and philosopher of education. As an interdisciplinary education scholar, Dr. Christou has edited journals including the Canadian Journal of Education and Antistasis, while publishing more than ten academic books, ranging from international handbooks of history to school textbooks used across the province of Ontario. His academic and professional work is rooted in a belief in education’s transformational potential and in the articulation of philosophy as a purposeful way of living in the world. Dr. Christou is a member of the Ontario College of Teachers and a Registered Early Childhood Educator. Along with his years of academic service at Queen’s University and at the University of New Brunswick, Dr. Christou has lectured and taught internationally, supporting Greek language education in particular.
ELLEN MARIE SÆTHRE-MCGUIRK
Dr. Prof. Ellen Marie Sæthre-McGuirk is Professor of Art and Design Education at Nord University, and is Head of Secretariat of the Norwegian Competency Network for Student Success in Higher Education. She has her PhD from the Katholieke Universiteit – Leuven (BE) in philosophical aesthetics and art history, having also completed an international research period at Harvard University (USA). She has her Master’s degree in European Studies, specializing in law and modern European cultural history, also from the K.U. Leuven. She is an active lecturer and program head of the on-line continuing education program Digital Art and Design Education. Dr. Prof. Sæthre-McGuirk has also designed a number of flexible and on-line higher education courses at all levels.
Dr. Prof. Sæthre-McGuirk has extensive experience in higher education, in addition to having been the Director of the Rogaland Museum of Fine Arts (NO) and Head of Research and Centre Leader of the Norwegian National Centre for Art and Culture in Education (NO). She has previously been Board Member, Vice-Chairman of the Board and Chairman of the Board at institutions such as the Nordic Institute of Contemporary Art (FI), Nordisk Art Centre Dalsåsen (NO), Voksenåsen Culture og Conference Hotel (the National Gift to Sweden) (SE/NO), and the Bodø Art Association (NO). She was recently voted in as Member of the Board at Nord University by the academic community. Dr. Prof. Sæthre-McGuirk is an active curator of art in public space, as well as having her own artistic research practice.
In many of these positions, Dr. Prof. Sæthre-McGuirk has served as a Project Manager for national, regional, and institutional initiatives. She is a specialist in quality assurance in higher education, having completed accreditation assessments of higher education programs and institutions for national agencies such as NOKUT in Norway and the SKVC in Lithuania. She has also been Committee Head assessing applications for the Directorate of Internationalisation and Quality Development in Higher Education’s national program for developing flexible and on-line higher education programs (in 2020 and 2021), in addition to have been an EU expert assessing applications for Horizon 2020 and the Erasmus+ programs.
Dr. Prof. Sæthre-McGuirk’s research interests include: art and design education; digitalization processes in higher education; digitalization processes in museums and cultural institutions; the implications of digital communities on youths; and leadership and strategic development in cultural and educational institutions.
ELLEN MARIE SÆTHRE-MCGUIRK
Dr. Prof. Ellen Marie Sæthre-McGuirk is Professor of Art and Design Education at Nord University, and is Head of Secretariat of the Norwegian Competency Network for Student Success in Higher Education. She has her PhD from the Katholieke Universiteit – Leuven (BE) in philosophical aesthetics and art history, having also completed an international research period at Harvard University (USA). She has her Master’s degree in European Studies, specializing in law and modern European cultural history, also from the K.U. Leuven. She is an active lecturer and program head of the on-line continuing education program Digital Art and Design Education. Dr. Prof. Sæthre-McGuirk has also designed a number of flexible and on-line higher education courses at all levels.
Dr. Prof. Sæthre-McGuirk has extensive experience in higher education, in addition to having been the Director of the Rogaland Museum of Fine Arts (NO) and Head of Research and Centre Leader of the Norwegian National Centre for Art and Culture in Education (NO). She has previously been Board Member, Vice-Chairman of the Board and Chairman of the Board at institutions such as the Nordic Institute of Contemporary Art (FI), Nordisk Art Centre Dalsåsen (NO), Voksenåsen Culture og Conference Hotel (the National Gift to Sweden) (SE/NO), and the Bodø Art Association (NO). She was recently voted in as Member of the Board at Nord University by the academic community. Dr. Prof. Sæthre-McGuirk is an active curator of art in public space, as well as having her own artistic research practice.
In many of these positions, Dr. Prof. Sæthre-McGuirk has served as a Project Manager for national, regional, and institutional initiatives. She is a specialist in quality assurance in higher education, having completed accreditation assessments of higher education programs and institutions for national agencies such as NOKUT in Norway and the SKVC in Lithuania. She has also been Committee Head assessing applications for the Directorate of Internationalisation and Quality Development in Higher Education’s national program for developing flexible and on-line higher education programs (in 2020 and 2021), in addition to have been an EU expert assessing applications for Horizon 2020 and the Erasmus+ programs.
Dr. Prof. Sæthre-McGuirk’s research interests include: art and design education; digitalization processes in higher education; digitalization processes in museums and cultural institutions; the implications of digital communities on youths; and leadership and strategic development in cultural and educational institutions.
