Passion for sustainability, technology, and community:

A volunteer, conservationist, and proud owner of a 1972 Volkswagen VW, Yvonne Dawydiak has worked as a teacher in B.C. for the past twenty-three years. As a recent graduate of the Masters of Education in Educational Technology program, Yvonne is currently offering a new program for Education faculty, staff, teacher candidates, and alumni called the “Digital Sandbox”, which coaches educators on effectively incorporating technology into the classroom.

After initially studying journalism, Yvonne Dawydiak discovered her love of education while travelling and teaching English in Madrid, Spain. Upon returning to Canada, Yvonne began her career as an educator by enrolling at UBC and starting work as a “Fun with French” teacher for pre-schoolers.

Yvonne advises fellow teachers to pursue a varied and life-long educational experience. “It’s about following your passions”, she says. “Find what gets you excited about the world. Students can tell when you are inspired and excited”.

Yvonne’s own passion is in providing science and environmental education to children. For the past ten years, she has worked as a director with the “Friends of Semiahmoo Bay Society”. In this role, Yvonne develops conservation education programs and leads volunteers in conservation education outreach for children in Surrey, Delta, and White Rock.

As a recent graduate of the UBC Masters of Educational Technology program, Yvonne is also passionate about the connection between technology and education. “Digital technologies can support good teaching in the classroom by helping teachers to motivate students, differentiate instruction, facilitate collaborative learning and support personalized learning,” she says.

Still, Yvonne emphasizes that while classroom technology has huge potential, it is also “a continuing debate we need to participate in […] We need to be mindful and deliberate in how we move forward.”

To that end, Yvonne is currently offering a workshop to staff and faculty called the “Digital Sandbox”, which will provide coaching on how to successfully integrate technology into teaching practices. Topics will include using iPads as a tool for formative assessment, and using SmartBoards to facilitate engagement with students.

The workshop will be offered on Wednesdays and Fridays at noon in Scarfe, room 155. Teacher candidates, staff, faculty, and alumni are invited to come drop in and play! For information, please visit: https://blogs.ubc.ca/scarfesandbox/

From:  http://educ.ubc.ca/yvonne-dawydiak/  

An interview in the Faculty of Ed Alumni news when upon beginning my new position here as Adjunct Teacher Professor and cohort coordinator of the Personalized Learning and Technology Cohort. A small part of this work (10% of my current contract) will be helping infuse digital technologies across the program through workshops and consults with faculty and teacher candidates. I am thrilled (and a wee bit intimidated) to be joining the team at UBC Vancouver and look forward to learning from all of my colleagues (in particular, Dr. Don Krug, my ‘partner’ in PLTech – our new BEd elementary cohort).

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