If you’re adept at computer programs, specifically coding with the Python program, then this fascinating Research Assistant job might be for you.  Dr.  Michael Lithgow is researching “international comparative study of pedagogical approaches to user-generated content and open-source intelligence in journalism schools in France, UK and Canada.” The idea here is to contrast different teaching methods as the labile boundaries between teacher and student, tutor and pupil, break down – at least enough for more feedback and interaction to occur.  Other tasks will include “literature reviews, annotated bibliographies, interview scheduling, journalism school curriculum research, interview participation, interview data analysis and summaries, hypertext markup data analysis, drafting of papers for conference presentation and publication, among other responsibilities.”

If, like me, you’ve enjoyed lively forum discussions in past AU courses you can imagine where this road is leading.  Soon, augmented by Zoom and other as-yet-unknown methods, teaching will be more open and inclusive to pupils – whether we live in Kimmirut, Kitimat, Kitchener, Kalamazoo or Timbuktu! But different nations do things differently and that’s the subject of this Research Assistant job.

The very global nature of our school means we at Athabasca are uniquely situated at the front line of new, and sometimes quite divergent, digital learning methods.  So by all means send Dr.  Lithgow your resume, transcript (you need an undergraduate degree in a relevant field and “at least one year” at the Graduate level), cover letter, and one or two references – his email is michael.lithgow@athabascau.ca