DECEMBER 2006
Dec. 7, 2006
TRU welcomes fourth Canada Research Chair
KAMLOOPS-
Joining Thompson Rivers University’s growing research team will be
Norman P. Friesen, whose five-year renewable position as a Tier 2
Canada Research Chair in E-Learning Practices was announced this
morning by federal industry minister Maxime Bernier.
"The
Government of Canada recognizes the importance of investing in
university research," said Mme. Bernier, who is also the minister
responsible for the Canada Research Chairs (CRC) Program, which will
support Friesen’s position with a half-million dollar grant. "This
investment will enable our universities to develop the expertise and
innovative ideas that fuel economic competitiveness and create new jobs
for Canadians."
An example is technical e-learning standards,
which provide ways of ensuring e-learning technologies meet Canadians'
needs, and work together effectively. The potential proportional cost
savings from the standardization work to which Friesen, a delegate to
ISO (International Standards Organization) contributes, is conceivably
in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
The advancement of
e-learning technologies also holds major implications for the
university, mandated by government in April 2005 to serve the
some-10,000 distance and on-line learners formerly served by the
now-disbanded BC Open University, but the value of Friesen’s work at
TRU is expected to have many benefits for students and the research
community.
“Having such an accomplished research chair with an
e-learning focus on campus will definitely help us to develop more
effective teaching and technology applications and practices,” noted
TRU-OL VP Judith Murray. “The e-learning process is led by technology,
but both the process and users prompt new uses of technology and new
combinations of new and old, which is what open learning is all about.
Dr. Friesen will definitely help us to lead the way in open learning,
here and around the globe.”
Friesen, who noted that, for
instance, e-learning presented an enormous opportunity for disabled
learners, explained how he would boost TRU-OL’s ability to help open
learners get the education they need in the best possible way. Besides
his work on the technical, standardization side, Friesen plans to do
this by restoring to the study of e-learning an emphasis on human
culture, action and meaning by employing approaches to which human
interpretation, experience and everyday activity are central.
“As
Canada Research Chair in E-learning Practices, I will use a range of
interdisciplinary methods to illuminate the human aspects of
e-learning, and to improve e-learning from the perspectives of both
technology and practice. I will integrate my own research program with
the priorities identified in TRU’s strategic plan in order to study
existing and exemplary teaching practices incorporating new
technologies as they relate to TRU-OL’s curriculum of courses and to
e-learning concerns generally,” he said.
“On a wider scale, Dr.
Friesen joins three other Canada Research Chairs at Thompson Rivers
University who are bringing new expertise to the university and
engaging with others to expand our capacity for world-class research
and graduate studies,” said TRU research AVP Dr. Nancy Van Wagoner.
“Dr. Friesen's work is really exciting for us because Thompson Rivers
University will be leading the way in best practices in the use of
technology for teaching and learning. Through research collaborations
internally and around the world, Dr. Friesen and his colleagues will be
evaluating and redefining the value of technology for education. TRU
has a dynamic research environment and his contribution is important to
our continued and growing success."
Dr. Friesen will establish a
centre for studying e-learning technologies and practices which will
function as an international network of those studying e-learning
technology design and use, aid the development of technical e-learning
standards, and help with research and development of best practices in
e-learning activities and applications employed at TRU, in the Kamloops
area, and beyond.
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For more information, please see
backgrounder or contact:
Dr. Norm Friesen at 250-377-6256 or
by email. Dr. Nancy Van Wagoner at 250-828-5410 or
by email.
Ms. Judith Murray at 250-852-6286 or
by email.Photo available
on request.
Dec. 18, 2006
TRU students off to Toronto in New Year
KAMLOOPS-A group of TRU tourism students will head east in early
January to attend an international convention to be held in Canada for
the first time.
The student group successfully raised funds to send fourteen students to the
Professional Convention Managers Association (PCMA) conference, to be held Jan. 7 to 10 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.
“We expect to learn about the latest market trends and to network with
professionals from various organizations within the global tourism
industry,” said tourism student Shahzyah Keshani. “Since this is the
first time the conference will be held in Canada, it’s a perfect
opportunity for us to attend.”
The students are members of the student chapter of the PCMA, created by
the PCMA in recognition of students as future industry leaders. The
PSMA itself is an international non-profit association with a mission
to deliver breakthrough education and promote the value of professional
convention management.
TRU has offered an events and conventions management diploma program since 1992, with the opportunity to ladder into the
Bachelor of Tourism Management degree program.
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December 20, 2006
TRU Holiday Hours
Thompson Rivers University will officially close at 12 noon on Friday,
December 22nd and does not reopen until Tuesday, January 2nd,
2007. All regular business operations, in all locations, will
resume at 8:30 am on January 2nd, and some students in vocational
programs will also return. The majority of students, in semesterized
programs, return to classes on Monday, January 8, 2007 for the start of
the Winter Semester.
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