UNIVERSITY OF Uniersiy Learning Cente SASKATCHEWAN “he Gwenna Moss Conte" Teaching Efecveraes oom 80 Marey Burg, 8 Campus Bs Saat Se SIN Ske Coase Telephone: (806) 966-2231 Facsimile: (806) 966-2242 November 20, 2009 | have taken great interest in following the rise of Alec Couros’s career as an academic and leader in educational technology. Quite simply, he is one of the most innovative, creative, and intelligent scholars in our field. He has accomplished a remarkable amount in his relatively short career, and that is partially because he was participating fully in the academic community long before taking an academic position at the University of Regina. His curriculum vitae reveal a well-rounded and dedicated scholar. He contributes significantly to teaching, research and service, and he has developed a level of momentum one typically only sees in associate or full professors with decades of experience. One thing that impresses me about Alec’s approach to his work is how he combines teaching and research; they are seamless. Alec’s innovative work in open learning is reflected in his development of open courses at the University of Regina. Of course, he is best known for EC&1 831, and that course has become iconic in the field. Other universities and academics had made resources available, and some had even dabbled in opening their courses in collaborative ways, but Alec set a new standard by opening his course and inviting students and leaders in the field in equal numbers into his community of leamers. On any given night, one might be participating in the course and having conversations with ten top scholars in our field of study — all drawn to the flame of learning Alec has created in EC&! 831. | have attended several of these sessions, and I have been impressed with how the environment that Alec constructed is at once gracious, welcoming, rigorous and dynamic. Deep issues are considered, and participants engage in layered conversations about the topics at hand and in extensions of those conversations after class on social networking sites and personal blogs. All teachers want to get their students to engage content and other students deeply. Alec goes beyond this: students not only engage, the wider academic community also engages. When you track conversations during class, it is often difficult to tell where the lines between teaching and learning are drawn, and this is at once surprising and enlightening. In my own classes, | have begun to model what Alec does in this course because | admire the level of commitment to learning that his students exhibit. | often direct my own students to EC&l 831because | know they will experience an outstanding teacher in an exciting learning environment. Several refer to EC&! 831 as the best course, and the most transformative learning experience they have had during their programs. It is wonderful to be able to collaborate with colleagues at the U of R and offer this kind of learning opportunity to them. Alec Couros is an outstanding scholar and teacher. | wish | could steal him away to my own faculty, but | value having him as a trusted colleague at our sister university. Sincerely Richard A. Schwier, Ed.D. Acting Director, University Learning Centre and Gwenna Moss Centre for Teaching Effectiveness Professor, Educational Communications and Technology University of Saskatchewan