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Thursday, May. 15, 2025

Creating Powerful Learning Experiences through Virtual Reality Pedagogy

A student can read about autism in a textbook or they can have a transformative learning experience that builds empathy by putting on a virtual reality headset and stepping into the world of someone living with autism.

Dawson College teachers Selma Hamdani and Annie-Hélène Samson are leading a Virtual Pedagogies project, supported by ECQ funding, to bring more of these immersive, embodied learning experiences to students.

Visit the link to read the homepage news story.

Read More - Creating Powerful Learning Experiences through Virtual Reality Pedagogy

Environmental award for Dawson team at Science, on tourne!

Dawson Enriched Science students Liam Ali-Tse, Veronica Chneerov, and George Alshami say they “learned countless things that a classroom environment cannot teach” by participating in Science, on tourne!, a unique intercollegiate science and technology competition held annually in Quebec. They also won the environmental responsibility award, which was $1,000, and did very well overall.

“Physics in reality is different than what we see on paper,” they said in a team interview about the competition. “There are often many more factors and variables in a real scenario than one may expect. In addition, we learnt the importance of thorough planning.”

Visit the link for the homepage story.

Read More - Environmental award for Dawson team at Science, on tourne!

Dawson winners of local Forces Avenir ceremony

On May 8, some remarkable individuals and teams were celebrated at the Dawson College local Forces Avenir celebration.

The 2025 Dawson winners of Forces Avenir were:

  • Pure & Applied Science student Judy Phuong Trinh Le won the perseverance award
  • Community, Recreation and Leadership Training faculty member Heather Martin won the Committed Staff Member award
  • Hope & Care, an independent student group that is dedicated to showing solidarity through organizing volunteers and donation drives for local organizations, won the Mutual Aid, Peace and Justice award
  • Dawson Mini Fauna, a student-led initiative to mobilize peers for conservation efforts, won the Environment award
  • The Resilience and Achievement Initiative, a student-led project to raise funds for assistive technologies for students living with disabilities and to raise awareness about the barriers they face, won the Society, Communication and Education award

Congrats to our 2025 Dawson Forces Avenir winners!

Photo: (from left to right) Forces Avenir winners CRLT teacher Heather Martin, who was recognized as a Committed Staff Member, CRLT student Aisha Akram, who was part of the Resilience and Achievement Initiative, which was recognized with an award and CRLT faculty members Myka Taylor and Debbie Resurreccion. Photo by Christine Layne

New service for faculty offered by Student Services

As of June 1, faculty will be able to book colleagues in Student Services as guest speakers and to run workshops in their classes.

The booklet entitled "Student Services Workshop Guide" can be found on Omnivox under the Student Services tab. Some examples you can expect to find are brief descriptions of workshops, five learning objectives for each workshop and staff contact information.

There are two goals: educating students on relevant topics and building bridges between Student Services and faculty to benefit students. Rhea Gurnagul, a frontline worker from Dawson’s Mental Health Services explains:

"The idea is to educate students on relevant topics, expand their skillset and/or simply inform them of support services available to them on campus depending on which workshop you choose. Our mission is to target a wider audience of students by visiting classroom settings as it's a less intimidating way for our students to meet staff, acquire helpful skills or knowledge. Ideally, we want to look at the big picture and also build a stronger community within our establishment, which was the second goal of this project.

"We want to bridge the gap between student services and faculty and have opportunities to form meaningful relationships which will in turn better our students’ experiences at the college, school is a big part of their lives. Be sure to think about us when writing your syllabus for the coming semesters. Happy Summer everyone!"

Support Staff Training Day is May 30

Support Staff will have their annual Training Day on Friday, May 30 starting at 8:45 AM. The program offers various workshops throughout the day, focusing on interests expressed by the support staff community.

Keynote speaker Mylène Deneault will speak to staff about Enriching the Dawson Experience Through Effective Communication. We will be actively involved in a workshop that shows how effective communication can transform everyday interactions into opportunities for stronger relationships with managers, colleagues, and students — our clients. Discover how choosing the right words, listening actively, and communicating with purpose can boost collaboration, solve problems faster, and energize the work environment.

To register for the keynote and any of the workshops, look for an invitation via email from Pascahl Scott, Director of Human Resources.

Interview with Chris Adam on the occasion of his retirement

Chris Adam, founder and first manager of Dawson's Office of Sustainability, will be retiring this July. The Communications Office interviewed him about his career, his challenges and what he loved best about Dawson.

Visit the link for the Q & A.

Read More - Interview with Chris Adam on the occasion of his retirement

Dawson students going to Canada-Wide Science Fair

Health & Life Sciences student Arielle Benarroch and Continuing Education Science student Nathan Aruna represented Dawson at the Super Expo-sciences Hydro-Québec provincials last month winning a silver medal and are now headed to the Canada-Wide Science Fair, May 31 - June 7.

The Communications Office interviewed Arielle and Nathan about their experience. Visit the link to read the Q & A.

Read More - Dawson students going to Canada-Wide Science Fair

A W/GS grad like no other!

Please join W/GS students for dinner and a celebration of Dawson’s longest running certificate!

In addition to our banner dedication, we welcome special guest, Sabeena Shaikh!

Sabeena is a Faculty Lecturer of the Urdu-Hindi Language Program at the Institute of Islamic Studies at McGill University. She is also a PhD Candidate in Islamic Studies, finishing a dissertation titled: Reconstructing the Voice and World of Lutf un-nissa Imtiyaz: An Analysis of the Kulliyat of an 18th- Century Urdu Poetess.

Sabeena will introduce us to the interconnectivity of Bollywood dance and early feminine voices in Urdu poetry.

Wednesday, May 21
2-5 PM in Oliver’s (2C.17)
Dinner & Drinks will be served

Help us plan! Use this link to RSVP by May 15

https://forms.office.com/r/Qtp5cz8RWm

For more about the banner, visit the link.

Read More - A W/GS grad like no other!

Do “Future-You” a Favour – Plan Next Year’s Courses IN French Now

Summer hasn’t even started, but we know August will be here in what feels like no time. If you are teaching courses IN French next year, do “future-you” a favor and lay the groundwork for next year’s teaching now. Browse the program and choose among the 12 events that the Teaching in French Task Force has designed to help teachers get ready to teach courses IN French at Dawson.

Visit the link for all the info.

Read More - Do “Future-You” a Favour – Plan Next Year’s Courses IN French Now

Vernissage Season begins next week

Vernissage Season 2025 begins on May 21 with an exhibit by graduating students in the Illustration program and concludes on May 29 with the vernissage of graduating students in Interior Design.

Visit the link for all the dates and times for the Creative and Applied Arts programs' year-end shows.

Artwork by Illustration student Nicolas Gagnon-Fee.

Read More - Vernissage Season begins next week

The weird and the Golden Square mile: publication topics of Dawson researchers

The research community has been busy, with the release of not one, but two manuscripts!

Elizabeth Kirkland (History) co-edited a collection, Montreal's Square Mile

The Making and Transformation of a Colonial Metropole, published by University of Toronto Press. Elizabeth also has a chapter in the collection.

For release info, please click here, and for the podcast about the collection, please click here.

Kristopher Woofter (English) co-edited The Weird: A Companion, which is a collection of 31 essays, published by Peter Lang. For release info, please click here.

Employees are invited to join our Summer Sustainabili-Team voluntering program

Do you enjoy being outdoors, or want to meet like-minded people who enjoy NATURE?

Join our Summer Sustainabili-team volunteers and help us maintain the multiple vegetable gardens, fruit trees, pollinator gardens, and biodiversity zones, or inspect beehives, help with composting, bird feeders, vermi-composts and more! In addition, we will take field trips to other organizations who have gardens, and will offer several workshops (examples include jam workshop, pest control, tea making)

It is thanks to our dedicated volunteers that our gardens thrive! We will contact you by email once you complete the form. The bees, butterflies, worms, birds, plants THANK YOU IN ADVANCE!

Employees can use their weekly one hour of well-being time!

Sign-Up Form

Congrats to colleagues who completed Sustainable Happiness

Another group of colleagues has completed the Sustainable Happiness non-credit course. Congratulations to Antoine Bergeron, Marilou Berlow, Eva Helms, Raisa Palencia, Carmen Saileanu and Kayla Smith! 

Participants in the certificate are introduced to the concept of sustainable happiness and explore its implications, both personally and professionally. Topics covered include sustainability, connecting with Nature, positive psychology, well-being, happiness, and healthy/sustainable lifestyles. The course is offered regularly and is free to employees. The College gives work time to take it. To complete the certificate, participants have to create and complete a final project related to sustainable happiness and submit a reflection on it.

Visit the link to read about the final projects and to learn more about the experience.

Read More - Congrats to colleagues who completed Sustainable Happiness

Salina Haynes named first recipient of Troy Cornford Team Player Award

A new award celebrating exceptional team spirit has been presented for the first time to Dawson women’s basketball player Salina Haynes. The Troy Cornford Team Player Award honours the memory of Troy Cornford, who passed away in December 2024 after a courageous battle with ALS. It is funded by donations in his memory to the Dawson College Foundation.

Visit the link for the homepage news story.

Read More - Salina Haynes named first recipient of Troy Cornford Team Player Award

Best of the Dawson Blues 2025

Dawson College student athletes who go above and beyond both at school and on the field/court/ice were honoured at the annual Athletics Awards evening on May 2.

Noteworthy award recipients include hockey player Noémie Bastien who received the Rob Springer Memorial Award, basketball players Isaiah Graham-Roache and Regan Cornford who each received the Adele Ivy McDonald Walton Award, basketball player and cross-country runner Mia Simpson who received Female Athlete of the Year, basketball player Raphael Joseph who was named Male Athlete of the Year, rower Nicole Motta who was named Female Academic Athlete of the Year and cross-country runner Tian Yi Xia who was named Male Academic Athlete of the Year.

The Communications Office interviewed some of the recipients about balancing athletics and academics, teamwork and more. Visit the link to read the Q & A.

Read More - Best of the Dawson Blues 2025

Drag show benefit May 28

Join the Dawson Student Union and the Peace Centre to celebrate the end of the year with a Drag Show Fundraiser! We want to celebrate the joy as the ultimate act of resistance to hate. Be joyful with us!  All tickets include a free vegetarian meal.

Tickets are $15 for employees and pay as you can for students. All funds raised will go to the SOS Fund, used by the 2SIALBGTQ+ Resource centre to support students in precarity and the Dawson Student Union's The HIVE.

Tickets can be purchased at: The DSU Offices 2F.2, The Hive 2C hallway, or The Office of Sustainability (ask for Diana Rice) 4B.3A. 

When: Wednesday, May 28, 6 PM
Where: Room 5B.16
Tickets: $15 for employees; pay as you can for students

15th edition of the Dawson English Journal out May 15

Join us in celebrating our 15th anniversary! We're launching this year's edition of the Dawson English Journal, featuring amazing writing by student authors, selected and edited by student editors. There'll be short readings of the works, food, drinks, and lively conversation. All are welcome!! Thursday, May 15 at 5 PM in the Warren G. Flowers art gallery, room 2G-0.

The issue is available online: www.dawsonenglishjournal.ca

Addressing Food Insecurity at Dawson College

Food insecurity affects over 50 per cent of youth in Quebec attending CEGEPs and universities, according to several recent surveys in the province. In response, Dawson College has expanded the once a week Dawson Dinin', run by the Dawson Student Union, to a robust food justice initiative to support its community. Collaborating with the Dawson Student Union (DSU), the Office of Sustainability, Student Services, the Dawson Foundation, and Chef Jamal of Xpensive Cuisine, the college offers a free vegetarian and vegan food service four days a week. This month, the College reached a milestone in number of meals served.

Visit the link for the story by Diana Rice.

Read More - Addressing Food Insecurity at Dawson College

New issue of Subtext is out

Subtext is Dawson College’s online journal dedicated to showcasing outstanding student work about film and media. With each issue, Subtext highlights the work of Dawson students engaging critically with moving images.
The new issue features a wide range of video essays and written pieces that explore topics such as Ai and genderfilm censorship in communist Polandhorror tropes in contemporary filmLatin American cinema, Hong Kong exploitation films, video game analysis through an ecocinema lense and many more
Read the new issue here: https://subtextjournal.ca/winter-2025/

Justine McLellan is the faculty advisor, and the student team is composed of Philippe Beauchemin (editorial), Peggy Ethier (editorial),  Élise Léger (editorial + administrative coordinator), Alina Sudarikova (editorial), Minola Grent (editorial), Joséphine Savard (editorial), Kayliya Phongsavath Sananikone (webmaster), Sara El Alami Saidi (promotion coordinator), Romane Randria (graphic designer), and Jiane Keizha Pau (graphic designer)

Classroom Management Workshop: Proactive Strategies for a Positive Learning Environment

Monday, May 26, 2025 - 9:30-12:30pm

Presented by Tannia Ditchburn, Pedagogical Counsellor, OAD and Aurelie Leblanc-Florent, Student Services

Join us to refresh and strengthen your classroom management toolkit. Whether you’re a seasoned educator looking to refine your approach or a new teacher seeking practical guidance, this interactive workshop will equip you with tools to prevent disruptions, foster positive relationships, establish a structured learning environment, and apply appropriate interventions when necessary.

Visit the link for more information and the link to register.

Read More - Classroom Management Workshop: Proactive Strategies for a Positive Learning Environment

The 2025 Dawson Humanities & Public Life Conference Call for Speakers

The Dawson College Humanities & Public Life conference is an annual event that introduces CEGEP students to the ambiance, culture, and discovery of academic conferences. We provide a bridge between great ideas, new research, and exciting debates, as well as showcasing how the questions we tackle in the humanities are relevant to concrete, real-world situations. We invite presentations from all disciplines. This year, the conference will take place from October 20 to October 24, 2025, and the theme will be Hope and Despair: How and Why We Map out the Future.

For all the details, please visit the link.

Read More - The 2025 Dawson Humanities & Public Life Conference Call for Speakers

DawsonITE Newsletter # 670

DawsonITE is your curated news related to IST and Education prepared by Dawson's Rafael Scapin.

In this issue:

  • AI Agents Are Coming to a Classroom Near You
  • This Free AI Presentation Tool Beat PowerPoint (And Took 5 Minutes)
  • Ransomware Is Rampant in 2025: 6 Quick Tips That'll Protect Your Data

Read More - DawsonITE Newsletter # 670

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Last Modified: May 14, 2025

 

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