University is not for the weak: Student communication of mental health on Twitter. Journal of Digital Life and Learning, 2(2), 27-51. https://ojs.scholarsportal.info/ontariotechu/index.php/dll/article/view/204/132

Well before the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated postsecondary students' mental health challenges, students were already struggling with issues that were pervasive in higher education, including anxiety, depression, overwhelm, burnout, and difficulty accessing mental health supports. This paper examines 1007 Twitter posts pertaining to higher education students' mental health between February 2019 and March 2021. Students expressed feelings that their institutions did not care about sound mental health and that higher education is an environment primed for anxiety and depression. Students also expressed a desire for timely, online counselling and closer contact and communication with their instructors. Online/virtual therapy/counsellingwas particularly valuable for students, and they appreciated accommodations that faculty made for them during the pandemic. Students also used Twitter to offer support and encouragement to one another. This study has implications for pedagogical developments and revisions to mental health supports available to college and university students in both online and face-to-face environments.

Ludic Pedagogy: Taking a serious look at fun in the COVID-19 classroom and beyond. Educational Considerations, 48(1). https://newprairiepress.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2324&context=edconsiderations

​The COVID-19 pandemic has affected deep reflection in higher education classrooms: how do we attract and retain students to (temporary but nevertheless increasing) online learning experiences, how do we keep them at our universities and colleges, and how do we give students a learning experience from which they will remember meaningful information? In this paper, we introduce a new pedagogical framework that we call Ludic Pedagogy. We address the four elements of this model: fun, positivity, play, and playfulness. Each of the elements is described in turn, together with literature outlining how each contributes to a positive classroom environment that helps students engage with and learn course content. Examples of how the authors have used this pedagogical model are included and described. We suggest that instructors consider using the Ludic Pedagogy model so as to improve engagement, learning outcomes, and retention in their classes and broader university/college contexts.

Ludic pedagogy online: Fun, play, playfulness, and positivity. In, R. H. Kay, & W. J. Hunter (Eds.), Thriving online: A guide for busy educators (pp. 205-216). Ontario Tech University. https://doi.org/10.51357/HGJK8068

Online teaching and learning provides a unique environment for fun and play -- and it is indeed possible to have some fun in virtual environments. This chapter gives readers specific suggestions for how to make your online classes more fun, embrace more play, engage with a spirit of playfulness, and how to approach the online teaching and learning environment with a sense of positivity.

Fair and formative feedback in online learning. In, R. H. Kay, & W. J. Hunter (Eds.), Thriving online: A guide for busy educators (pp. 236-247). Ontario Tech University. https://doi.org/10.51357/DLSC5521

​Undergraduate assessment can mean a lot more than exams, quizzes and boring essays. This chapter provides clear and accessible opportunities for providing feedback to students with an aim toward encouragement and improvement -- and even some enjoyment!

Equitable assessment in online environments. In, R. H. Kay, & W. J. Hunter (Eds.), Thriving online: A guide for busy educators (pp. 248-256). Ontario Tech University. https://doi.org/10.51357/CEFD2689

This chapter addresses assessment in online environments, with creative strategies to ensure equity, particularly in online teaching and learning.

Alternative grading in online learning. In, R. H. Kay, & W. J. Hunter (Eds.), Thriving online: A guide for busy educators (pp. 257-265). Ontario Tech University. https://doi.org/10.51357/VBAS3039

This chapter provides practical guidance on how to reconsider, restructure, and reassess how students can demonstrate learning in online environments.

The not-interview: Social media’s role in student suitability for work. In L. Forbes & D. Thomas (Eds.), Professors at Play Playbook (pp. 145-147). ETC Press.

This invited pedagogical contribution outlines a fun activity that instructors can use to teach the impact of social media and job preparedness.

Interactive online lectures. In, R. H. Kay, & W. J. Hunter (Eds.), Thriving online: A guide for busy educators (pp. 193-204). Ontario Tech University. https://doi.org/10.51357/PCPH7148

This chapter outlines how instructors can approach online "lectures" with creativity and enthusiasm. Practical strategies and advice are provided.

Using media to teach media: How the scholarship of teaching and learning slayed the online scene. Flow TV. https://www.flowjournal.org/2021/03/using-media-to-teach-media/

This lively piece outlines how social media came to the rescue for communication scholars teaching in “emergency online” context in 2020.

Ancient text, modern context: Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras and the twenty-first century veg(etari)an. In C. Haganu-Bresch and K. Kondrlik (Eds.), Rhetorics of Vegetarianism. The Palgrave Macmillan Animal Ethics Series. 119- 139. doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53280-2_5

An increase in the popularity of yoga in the west runs concurrent with an increase in self-declared vegans and vegetarians. The conviction for and adherence to an animal-free diet can be identified as following the core principles of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. An ancient text which provides an instruction to yoga practitioners regarding their personal and moral conduct, the Yoga Sutras are laid out in a series of “chapters” known as the yama and niyamas. These prescribed behaviors and practices serve as a guide for yoga practitioners seeking a fulfilling life. This chapter outlines the precepts of each of the yamas and niyamas, together with how their interpretation in modern western yoga culture points to a clear prescription toward vegetarianism and veganism in the yoga community. Interpretations of the yamas and niyamas are applied to contemporary issues, and give modern relevance to an ancient text, together with an explanation for how and why many in the yoga community have a conviction to a vegetarian/vegan diet.

Taking a student-centred approach to alternative digital credentials: Multiple pathways toward the acquisition of microcredentials. In D. Piedra (Ed.), Handbook of research on innovations in the use of alternative digital credentials. IGI Global.

This bold chapter describes how microcredentials outght not be a cash grab for universities but should rather serve students in their objectives to learn, grow, and explore.

A feminist autoethography of academic performance on Twitter: Community, creativity, and comedy. Critical Reflections and Politics on Advancing Women in the Academy. Edited by S. Cote-Meek, T. Moeke-Pickering, & A. Pegoraro. Hershey, PA: IGI Global.

​The online arena is rife with mansplaining, harassment, and intimidation of women. Similarly, women in academia operate in a traditionally patriarchal, misogynistic environment. What happens when a female academic creates a vibrant online presence? This chapter is an autoethnographic account of my experiences managing the public, online performance of a female scholar (@AcademicBatgirl) with the objective to create and cultivate community. I argue that in the online landscape, prosocial behaviour is essential in creating community and sustaining cohesion. I address the prosocial effects of humour, including examples of memes that I created and posted on Twitter. I also address pitfalls relative to student shaming that I recommend academics avoid in any online or offline forum.

Dirty John [Television series]. Cunningham, A. & Goffard, C. (Writers). Women’s Studies in Communication, 43(3), 320-322, doi: 10.1080/07491409.2020.1803653

This comprehensive review of true docuseries Dirty John outlines the feminist issues addressed in this series, and in particular the inability of many contemporary structures to acknowledge abuse that is not physical.

The practice of nonviolence: Teaching an undergraduate course in nonviolent communication. Journal of Communication Pedagogy, 2, 103-110. doi: 10.31446/JCP.2019.19

This Best Practices article outlines 10 tips relative to teaching a course in Nonviolent Communication (NVC). It outlines suggestions for readings, activities, and projects throughout a semester-long undergraduate course. The article addresses how students can learn both the theory and practice of nonviolence by means of readings and activities that address social problems such as sexism, racism, bias, and violence against oneself

and the earth. Specific suggestions are provided for creative ways in which students can be engaged with readings so that they have ownership of their in-class experience. Details regarding an independent long-term project providing freedom of creativity in out-of-class work are included, as well as suggestions for interactive,face-to-face activities in class.

Darkness as the frenemy: Social media, student shaming, and building academic culture. Communication Education, 68(3), 396-393. doi: 10.1080/03634523.2019.1609055

This is a meme-filled, fun, visually-rich piece on why faculty should stop shaming students online.