Centering a Critical Curriculum of Care During Crises

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Brief Abstract

This keynote calls for reimagining online education (and indeed education as a whole) in ways that move away from outcomes-based design approaches, and towards more critical curriculum design approaches that center care, empathy, equity and social justice. Away from single pathway pedagogies in for-credit education, and towards more open, connectivist, agentic, and culturally responsive pedagogies. None of these alone is new, but the COVID-19 crisis has forced us to question our priorities, and I suggest there has been a shift in the literacies required by teachers, students, and administrators to navigate these unprecedented circumstances. This keynote builds on the work of Virtually Connecting's Intentionally Equitable Hospitality, Equity Unbound, and previous work on critical digital pedagogy and social justice-oriented open educational practices. 

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Keynote Speaker: Maha Bali, American University in Cairo

Maha Bali is a passionate critical, open and connected educator, writeaholic and learnaholic. She is Associate Professor of Practice at the Center for Learning and Teaching at the American University in Cairo, where she has worked since 2003. She has a PhD in Education from the University of Sheffield, UK. She is co-founder of virtuallyconnecting.org and co-facilitator of Equity Unbound (https://unboundeq.creativitycourse.org). Her research interests include higher education, faculty development, critical pedagogy and critical thinking, open and online education, intercultural learning, and citizenship education. She teaches digital literacies in an intercultural context, and has taught educational game design, and educational technology for teachers. She is an editorial board member of 6 journals of educational technology and higher education, including Hybrid Pedagogy and OLC's Online Learning Journal. She was featured in the Uncommon Women Coloring Book 2018 alongside 15 others for her 'unparalleled dedication to connecting researchers, activists and practitioners around the globe' http://uncommonwomen.org/uncommon-women-2018 and was interviewed in the Leaders and Legends of Online Learning Podcast https://onlinelearninglegends.castos.com/podcasts/691/episodes/009-associate-professor-maha-bali. She blogs at http://blog.mahabali.me and tweets @bali_maha

Extended Abstract

Maha blogs at http://blog.mahabali.me and tweets @bali_maha.