Tim.Maciag

Explorer of Technology, Art, Music, & The Everyday

Category: Learning

  • CEEA 2022, Summer Vacay, & the Future

    Me presenting @ CEEA 2022 (York University)

    This past month (in June 2022) I was able to present both my papers at the annual/2022 Canadian Engineering education Association (CEEA) conference @ York University in Toronto. Below are links to my papers.

    The first paper above, “Facilitating Cross & Beyond Course Project-Based Software Engineering Learning Experiences,” details a process I have been exploring since being hired as a lecturer in the Software Systems Engineering (SSE) program, the general premise is the exploration of a process for educators, students, and industry collaborators to build on and continue iterating on the good work students produce within project-based courses. The paper discusses a learning experience that took place in 2018 with my graduate and undergraduate students, and my previous place of work, eHealth Saskatchewan. I’ve since been exploring the use of the process in other courses as well throughout the years, facilitating successful and/or interesting collaborations between students and industry partners (particularly with the Regina Fire & Protective Services, Internation Association of Business Communicators (Regina branch), the Regina Food Bank, and most recently the Regina Mandolin Orchestra so far). I hope to continue exploring this process this Winter as I engage in a new collaboration with Luther College’s Nonprofit & Voluntary Studies Network in future class offerings

    The second paper above, “An Exploration in Facilitating Learning Experiences Towards Inspiring Responsible Software Engineers,” details a learning experience I facilitated for undergraduate and graduate SSE students throughout 2021 that had students immerse themselves in exploring (and software engineering) solutions in support of education for sustainable development towards one (or many) of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. It is my hope to continue exploring this in future course offerings as well.

    The 2022 CEEA conference was really amazing. It was my first time attending the conference. I learned so much and connected with so many excellent folks from all across Canada doing great work in Engineering (and STEAM – Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) education. Plans are currently underway for a paper(s) submission to the CEEA 2023 event which will be at UBC/Kelowna. Super excited!

    With that, it is my plan over the next month and a bit to take some time off to recoup and rest up, coming back strong in mid-to-late August 2022 to prep for the Fall 2022 term! I am looking forward to taking a much-needed break as I reflect on the past couple of years, being thrust into COVID response back in March 2020, seemingly working non-stop until now (Summer 2022) trying to keep my head above water and trying my best to evolve my teaching while providing the best possible learning experiences to my students. I’ve learned a lot over the last little bit and hope to continue to explore, as although COVID wasn’t really a great thing that happened to us all and it really was a reactive “fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants” response, I do think some good emerged from all of my crazy explorations and experiences (and this just might be the premise of my next CEEA paper #hint …haha 😉

    Have a great summer all. If you do reach out please know I will be taking a break from it all and will respond when I can!

  • Software Engineers exploring the UN SDGs

    Over the past year and a bit, I have been facilitating a learning experience for both my undergraduate and graduate software systems engineering (SSE) students. The learning experience involves an in-depth, independent exploration of solutions in support of the United Nation’s (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

    The general questions I am exploring is can the now-and-future (software) engineer be inspired to contribute to positive local and global change? Can this be accomplished by immersing learners in a “safe-fall”, guided learning exploration on the engineering of computer technologies in support of the UN’s SDGs? My wife would tell me these are all run-on sentences, and for surely they are. My writing is a work-in-progress- HA! That all being said, I want to share with you brief 1-3 minute solution commercials on my students’ creations from the Fall 2021 (undergraduate class) and Spring 2021 (graduate class) where students explored exactly this. I, for one, have been inspired by the outcomes of my students’ explorations. I hope you are as well.

    As an aside: Look for a supporting publication as part of the 2022 Canadian Engineering Education Association (CEEA) event.

    Fall 2021

    (Undergraduate SSEers. Alphabetical by project codename)

    Mason’s “aeS” app. A game to teach children about ocean pollution
    Roxanne’s “Cope” app. An iOS watch app supporting mental health
    Rishabh’s “GreenScreen” app to support recycling efforts. This project will continue to be explored in the 2021-2022 SSE Capstone class in the Winter 2022
    MJ’s “CURL” app to help learners learn
    Abraham’s “Eatable” app to help tackle food waste and hunger
    Aina’s “Find” app in support of aiding vulnerable people

    Krupal’s “HealthHack” app to support people’s quest for healthy lives (Link leads to his commercial in GitHub)

    Carter’s “In Our City” app to help local teachers support their educational efforts
    Arika’s “No More Waste” app to help tackle food waste
    Shane’s “RageQuit” app to help tackle video game addiction and toxicity. This project will continue to be explored in the 2021-2022 SSE Capstone class in the Winter 2022
    Joe’s “SAS” app to help raise awareness of sexism and harassment and educate on their elimination
    Jon’s “Shared” app to help homosexual men learn, via stories, how to navigate their world
    Kaila’s “SolarShare” app to help citizen learn about solar energy

    Spring 2021

    (Graduate SSEers. Alphabetical by student first name)

    Bipin’s “Say No To Hunger” app to help reduce food waste
    Brandon’s “User-Friendly Jukebox” to support good health and well-being
    Dhaval’s “ProjectPosidon” to help support water infrastructure efforts in Tanzania
    Dhruval’s “Food For All” app to help tackle hunger in India and beyond

    Helly’s “Covid-Support” app to help companies manage COVID exposures (Link leads to his commercial in GitHub).

    Ho’s “Covid-19 Awareness” app to help citizens better understand Covid-19
    Nidhi’s “Motive Green” app to help citizens understand their carbon footprint
    Priya’s “WorryNot” app to help support mental health
    Reema’s “MHCare” app to help support mental health
    Sangeeta’s “Yield Prediction” app to help support agriculture efforts around the globe
    Shreyans’s “Connecting Humanity” app in support of hunger and poverty relief
    Tejal’s “Land Locator” app to help support small and large agricultural efforts
    Trevor’s “VoiceCare” app to help support good health and well-being

    I know there is a lot to unpack here. That said, all of these projects and student explorations give me hope! I also know that many students learned a lot about the UN SDGs and were/are inspired to go forth and be awesome – positively advancing society for us all!

  • 2021 Adobe Max Conference

    As with last year, my favourite conference event of the year is happening online and for free registration. Fellow creatives, register and set up your schedule now!

    https://max.adobe.com/