I begin my musing this month on a sad note. Remembering Barry Nicolle an eLearning Pioneer, friend and colleague of CeLEA. It is with deep sadness that we mourn the sudden passing of our friend and colleague, Barry Nicolle. As Co-chairman of the Canadian eLearning Enterprise Alliance (CeLEA), I had the good fortune of collaborating with Barry for the past decade. He was a mentor, colleague and friend, who leaves an indelible mark on the eLearning industry in Canada and beyond.
Barry was the founding co-chair of CeLEA, who shared a vision to lead Canada into a 21st century eLearning powerhouse. “Barry was much more than a colleague; he was a friend, a confident and a partner in crime. It was with him that over 12 years ago, we planned to create a Canada-wide association for eLearning producers that became CeLEA. Though good times, rough times and even through health issues, Barry remained dedicated through the cause online learning in Canada,” says Dr. Claude Martel, founding CeLEA Co-chairman and professor at Concordia University. Click here to read more about Barry.
Continuing on the CeLEA front, we hosted a very successful webinar recently on The Changing World of Education and Training. Click here to view the recorded webinar.
When we talk of post-secondary, we don’t give enough credit to the excellence in innovation and research happening at the College level in Canada. We have the good fortune of collaborating with Dr. Dawn Mercer, Lead Researcher for the Centre for the Development of OpenTechnology (CDOT). They put on an fabulous Open House recently showcasing their innovative project. Check out the centre’s website here to learning more!
From left to right: Andrew Benner, Kenny Nguyen, Prof. David Humphrey, Kieran Sedwick, and Klever Lozavega
Congrats to our friends at Edsby. Winners of the prestigious Edtech Digest Award in the LMS category. Edsby was also further honoured in their own back backyard by the Richmond Hill Chamber of Commerce. This is a company on the move! More great news, congratulations to our friend Charlene Blohm, founder and president of C. Blohm & Associates, Inc., who has been recognized for her dedication to serving the special needs industry, earning the 2015 Trendsetter Award from EdTech Digest.
Please join me in welcoming Award Winning teacher, Ian Fogarty to the MindShare Learning Advisory Board team. Ian is a master high school science teacher in N.B., who is the first Canadian to win the NSTA PASCO STEM Educator Award. He is a highly sought after presenter and a past MindShare Learning Video Challenge Winner.
Amplifying a cause! Petitioning Government Film Commissioner, The National Film Board of Canada Claude Joli-Coeur and 1 other Reinstate the Education Specialists On the move! Tom Metuzals, MindShare’s longtime friend landed at Apple Canada education. Congrats Tom! I’m envious of his move to Vancouver. It was great to see CosN CEO, Keith Kruger at SXSWedu last month. His organization put on a recent leadership conference which I unfortunately missed. Check out their prestigious CosN Awards recognizing leadership and technology innovation. I always enjoy hearing news from friends and colleagues in our EdTech space. Please don’t hesitate to drop me a note! Until next time, keep the digital learning curve steep!
R.M.
