Presenter's Biographies

Jeff Buhse is the Assistive Technologist for Student Accessibility Services at the University of Manitoba where he currently runs the Assistive Technology Lab and is responsible for alternate format resources on campus. He is completing his Learning Disability Assistive Technology Certificate through Cambrian College.

Dan Blair is a technology entrepreneur working with emerging technologies. A graduate of Red River College's BIT program, he received various awards including the CEM Coop Student of the year (2014) and was named a Future Leader of Manitoba, 2016.  Dan is founder of Bit Space Development Ltd and PanoPla. 
 
Bathelemy Bolivar is currently working as an instructor at both University of Manitoba and University of Saint-Boniface, he has regularly served as an Associate Editor at the Journal of Technology in Knowledge Sharing and The International Journal of Science, Mathematics and Technology Learning. His main research interests are in Cultural Studies in Education and Learning Environment Research methods. He has also co-authored several peer-reviewed articles in the field of social and academic integration of the immigrant/refugee student population within the French minority settings in Canada. He has founded and directed Haitian School without Borders, a unique initiative to provide a free high-quality online education for all Haitian students. He was invited as a jury member at the Canadian Council for the Arts to deliberate in French poetry contests. For his two decades of innovative teaching practices at both high school and University levels, the unending commitment to quality education for all and other numerous community services, Bolivar was named in March 2015, one of the Manitoba Future “Top 40 Under 40” by CBC and Metro News. 
 
Casey Burkholder is a course lecturer and PhD Candidate in the Department of Integrated Studies in Education at McGill University. Her research agenda at the intersection of Social Studies, DIY media making, participatory visual research, youth, gender, and inclusion builds from her teaching practices at the secondary and post-secondary level in Nova Scotia, Chongqing, Hong Kong, Quebec, and Prince Edward Island.
 
Carolyn Christie is the Coordinator of Student Accessibility Services at the University of Manitoba. She has completed the Association of Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD) Universal Design Institute. Carolyn received her PBDE at the University of Manitoba and is a graduate student at Yorkville University. 

​Alec Couros is a professor of educational technology and media at the Faculty of Education, University of Regina, in Saskatchewan.  An award-winning educator, Alec helps his undergraduate and graduate students take up the incredible affordances of our connected world through the integration of educational technology in teaching and learning.  Alec is also a well-recognized scholar and researcher who has given hundreds of keynotes and workshops around the globe on diverse topics such as digital citizenship, connected/networked learning, social media in education and critical media literacy, providing educators, students, and parents with the knowledge necessary to take advantage of and thrive in our new digital reality.
 
Finally, Alec is a passionate advocate of openness in education and demonstrates this commitment through his open access publications, considerable digital presence and contributions, and highly successful MOOCs and open boundary courses.
 
Ashley DeMartini is a course lecturer and PhD Candidate in the Department of Integrated Studies in Education at McGill University. Her research interests consider the relationships between participatory visual methodologies and teacher education.
 
Michael Farris is a former Director of Learning Technologies at Red River College and now is developing a Winnipeg startup called Geofy in conjunction with BIT Space Development. 
 
Kathleen Fehr is a Special Projects Coordinator at Campus Manitoba. She is the project lead on the Manitoba Open Textbook Initiative and she manages Campus Manitoba’s brand, communications and marketing strategies. Prior to joining Campus Manitoba in 2015, Kathleen spent 12 years leading communications projects specializing in web and digital content. 
 
Trent Gill has helped students through the Campus Manitoba Virtual Help Desk since 2014. He is also Campus Manitoba’s resident OER generalist and has been sharing his knowledge on Open Educational Resources for over a year. His background in education also includes sessional teaching. He holds an MA from Western University. 
 
John Finch is a coordinator for Manitoba Education and Advanced Learning and a member of the Copyright Steering Committee for the Council of Ministers of Education Canada.  
 
Donald Girouard is currently a consultant for Manitoba Education and Advanced Learning, working specifically on the development of high school online courses.  His past experiences include being a teacher, guidance counsellor, principal, as well as distance education and technology coordinator.  He has experience delivering and developing web-based courses including working with HTML5 and integrating accessibility standards.  Along with providing support to teachers, Donald also provides workshops for teachers using the provincial LMS and helps teachers integrate pedagogical and best practices into their online courses.
 
Dawn Dena Gordon works as a Virtual Help Desk Navigator with Campus Manitoba. She has been appointed as the Manitoba Student Advocate to assist students with questions and concerns about the assessment of transfer credit and the recognition of prior learning (RPL). As an employee of Campus Manitoba since 2007, she brings a wealth of experience to her roles.
 
Said Hassan is a Curriculum Consultant in the Program and Curriculum Department at Red River College. Prior to joining the department, Hassan had taught for 10 years at the College and 6 years at other vocational environments. He has a Master’s degree in Chemistry and has worked in the Life Sciences Industries. He is actively involved in Applied Research and study of Experiential Learning.  
 
Shannon Horne is the Web-Based Course Implementation Consultant with Manitoba Education and Advanced Learning. Her main focus is to support and train teachers in online and blended learning strategies and pedagogy using Manitoba’s Provincial LMS.  Previously, Shannon was a secondary school teacher with Lakehead Public Schools in Thunder Bay, Ontario.  Shannon also developed and taught the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Course online for the Canadian Online High School. 
 
Jim Hounslow is employed as a web communications specialist at the University of Manitoba. Prior to this, he was the E-Learning Specialist at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, the LMS administrator at UofM and an adult educator with over fifteen years experience. He has a passion for educational technologies.
 
Leonni Kavanagh is a Civil Engineer with a passion for Engineering Ethics. She is responsible for teaching engineering ethics and recently implemented e-learning modules to create a blended environment. Currently she is developing a video for Engineering students on the importance of ethics.
 
Oleksandr Kondrashov loves teaching. He has designed and delivered 22 unique Bachelor of Social Work and Family Social Sciences undergraduate and graduate degree courses. Many courses have been developed and taught through the Extended Education and Aboriginal Focus Programs at the University of Manitoba in different settings, including Split Lake, Little Grand Rapids, Portage La Prairie, Nelson House, Long Plains, Thompson, Dauphin and Brandon. He is currently teaching at the Dalhousie University School of Social Work.
 
Michael Krywy is a Senior Research and Planning Analyst at Red River College. He is involved in many facets of research and evaluation at the College, including survey design and administration, data analysis, and strategic planning.
 
Kim Laberinto is an Engineering student and lead developer of the ethics e-learning project. He is insightful about the experiences students want and how to connect with them.
 
Claude Laflamme is Professor of Mathematics at the University of Calgary. Besides remaining active in research, Claude is a dedicated instructor and has often been involved in software projects. It was natural to blend this expertise in creating tools to better support students and instructors; from which Lyryx was born.
 
Jim Mackey is an Instructor in the Electrical Math and Science Department at Red River College. An Aerospace Engineering Technician with a Masters from the U of Manitoba, and Bachelors in Technical education, he has carried out applied research in the development of e-Learning and remote delivery. He is a subject matter expert in Blackboard and EADDI and has been a welcomed presenter at  National and International conferences. He is currently investigating real time 3d printing applications for the classroom
3-D Classroom Revolution: Printing Science Into Art
 
Matt Miles is the Digital Learning Supervisor at RRC’s Teaching Learning Technology Centre. He has a Master’s Degree in Education and has worked in educational technology since 1999. He oversees the College’s Learning Management System, Brightspace.
 
Kim Grenier Mintenko is the Manager - eCampus at Campus Manitoba. Kim joined Campus Manitoba in 2003 as Centre Coordinator and transitioned to her current role in 2014. She holds an MA from the University of Manitoba and has worked in higher education for over 15 years.
 
Dave Neale is the Executive Director of Campus Manitoba. He holds a PhD from Sheffield University and is professor emeritus of Ambrose University in Calgary. He has been a teaching professor and senior academic administrator for over 25 years. 
 
Tamsyn Murnaghan is a highly driven individual, and her management and organizational expertise contribute toward several aspects at Lyryx, from human resources to client services and sales and marketing. She holds a Bachelor of Management degree from the University of Lethbridge and a Master of Leadership degree from the University of Guelph.
 
Theresa Papp is a Ph.D. Candidate from the University of Saskatchewan. Her dissertation is Teacher practices that promote educational successes for Aboriginal students.  She has completed research in New Zealand on the same topic with the manuscript under final review at a peer-reviewed journal. Her research has collaborated with Drs. Kayseas, Moroz, and Foley on the report Attitudes, knowledge and intentions of Aboriginal students enrolled in K-12 entrepreneurship education courses. Theresa is an educator that has gamified a number of her own classes and is currently conducting research on the effects of gamification and improved education outcomes for Aboriginal students.
 
Steven Potter is an accomplished instructor in the Electrical, Math and Sciences department at RRC, Steve excels in bringing BYOD to the classroom with trans platform integration of Laptops, Tablets, iDevices and 3d printers to blend technology with reality. Steve has a passion for technology, with both his CAE and TVTE he has been involved in technology training and implementation since completing his diploma in Computer Engineering and Technology in 2001. 
 
Don Presant is President of Learning Agents, award-winning provider of edtech solutions specializing in ePortfolios and Open Badges. Don brought Mozilla Open Badges to the international ePortfolio and Identity Conference (ePIC 2012) in the UK, igniting a surge of innovation there. He is currently developing Open Badge systems in Canada.
 
Anita Ratnam is the project lead on the MB Transfer Credit initiative and has spent 11 years in various administration roles in higher education, most recently as Registrar at Booth University College. Anita started her career in teaching and holds a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology and a Bachelor of Education. 
 
Andrew Rocin has over twenty years of public speaking and teaching experience. With a focus on experiential learning and self directed learning in the classroom, Andrew enjoys getting the participants to laugh, think and be engaged in the learning experience.
 
Marni Russell is the Strategic Enrolment Management (SEM) Project Manager at RRC. She has Bachelor’s Degrees in Business and Education and is currently working towards her Master of Science Degree in Project Management. Her focus is on SEM student success initiatives that foster college-wide engagement.
 
Lisa Snider has worked with document accessibility since 1999 in various North American settings, including the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. She is a member of the W3C Accessible Online Learning Community Group. Lisa’s passion in life is to educate others about accessibility for people with disabilities. 

Nora Sobel is a communication and education specialist with 17 years of experience in journalism, program and project management. Since 2008, Nora has been working at Red River College where she developed and led the College-wide LGBTT* Initiative, advancing the understanding of diversity among students, staff and the community at-large. 
 
Mark Torchia is the Director of the Centre for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning (CATL) at the University of Manitoba as well as an Associate Professor of Surgery in the Faculty of Medicine. Mark has been an active participant in health profession education for over 30 years.
 
Jean Vouillon has taught web design and coding at the University of St-Boniface, Multimedia Communication program for the past 12 years. Fond of new technologies, he continuously integrates cutting edge applications to his teaching, such as : augmented reality, virtual reaity, 3D printing, etc.
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Bradley West is a gender and sexuality educational specialist who has worked in learning communities in Australia, New Zealand, parts of south east Asia, the United States and Canada. He has presented and keynoted at numerous conferences and workshops. He co-developed and delivered the Gender and Sexual Diversity Awareness Course as part of his role at Red River College, leading now the LGBTT* Initiative.