Meet the Team

I initiated the Scarfe Digital Sandbox in 2013 and am thrilled to be continuing my work on this and other projects in the Faculty of Education! In Teacher Education, I act as a mentor to both instructors and teacher candidates in the Bachelor of Education Program as they work to infuse digital technologies into their pedagogical practices. As a classroom teacher in the Surrey School District for almost 25 years, a faculty advisor and instructor in the BEd program and as a graduate of the Masters of Educational Technology Program, I am able to look at digital technology integration from a critical perspective. As an avid camper, environmentalist & outdoors enthusiast, I recognize that teaching and learning isn’t ‘all tech all the time’ but a balance that involves careful evaluation and critical decision making on the part of the teacher and the student.

My educational background includes a BA (Anthropology) from UBC and a BEd from the University of Ottawa. Currently, I live and work in a rural town of southern Quebec where I have been teaching the arts at an elementary school for the past 6 years. As an arts teacher, I am especially interested in STEAM education. I have a real passion for lifelong learning which led me to pursue the Master of Educational Technology at UBC. As a mentor, I look forward to participating in collaborative opportunities to assist the teacher candidates as they get ready to enter a challenging but rewarding career. Outside of the classroom, I am an avid hiker and hope to complete the Appalachian Trail in the near future.

I am delighted to be joining the Scarfe team as Peer Tutor from May 2021. My background is in Physical and Health Education (PHE) and French. I have worked for 9 years as an educator in Ireland, Spain, and Canada and for 3 seasons as an Outdoor Education Instructor. I thoroughly enjoy many of the extra-curricular opportunities that schools present for students. During this time, I have gained experience working with students with different learning needs, and learned to deliver creative lessons, adapt materials based on individual learning needs and promote classroom environments inclusive of all learning styles.

I have worked closely with school administration and community partners to implement different whole school initiatives such as international trips to France, Italy and Honduras as part of cultural and scientific programs, ‘Bike to School week’, and multi-day trips to outdoor education centers. I have also coached track and field, soccer, cross-country, and many other sports during the school year. I believe extra-curricular activities, whatever they may be, are important to the teacher-student relationship.

I am currently on an educational journey as I complete a Masters in Counselling Psychology at UBC. I hope I can bring some of the knowledge I have acquired to help teacher candidates (TCs) implement better classroom management, support students, and plan with assessment in mind. This past academic year I have worked regularly as a substitute teacher at different schools in Vancouver, as well as filling the position of Teaching Assistant (TA) for EPSE 310 Assessment and Learning in the Classroom. This summer, I’ll be a TA in two sections of EPSE 317 (Exceptionalities). I hope that I can use my experiences as teacher, coach, TA, and as a fellow student to help teacher candidates navigate the BEd program and successfully implement engaging, current units and lesson plans that meet the needs of students.

Maryam is a Harvard Global Women’s Empowerment Award winner. She is currently a second year student at the University of British Columbia. Her main responsibilities on the Scarfe Digital Sandbox include maintaining the Scarfe Digital Sandbox website, managing its social media platforms, writing weekly e-newsletters, and being a virtual peer mentor for BEd teacher candidates. Maryam has always been an advocate for women’s rights through her art, poetry, and writings at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan. She is also passionate about Economics, Mathematics, Art, Literature, Information and Communications Technology. She loves interacting with people from different backgrounds, and she looks forward to supporting the teacher candidates.

Jacqueline has an educational background in biochemistry and biology, up to the post-baccalaureate level from SFU. In addition, she is currently attending UBC as a BA student, working towards completing a major in music. She has always had a strong interest in both music and science, and has also participated in various dance styles where she has learned about how different cultures approach learning and community. She believes that there is a seamless way to integrate the study of both art and science-based subjects. As part of her work as a technical writer in various industries (eHealth, engineering, manufacturing and forestry), she has learned several digital technologies and is interested in how they can be applied to help and supplement the learning process. For her role as a Researcher Professional STEAM Learning, she will be gathering resources on interdisciplinary learning in support of the STEAM project.

Naomi is a first-year student in the Faculty of Arts, intending on majoring in Economics and Math. Naomi has done research into the inclusion of Black Canadian history into Canadian Social Studies classes through the use of Black History Month activities and, in June 2020 she published an op-ed in CBC News Vancouver surrounding this topic. Naomi is currently working alongside the Delta School District in the development of anti-racism resources and is very passionate about inclusivity in education. Her role one the Scarfe Sandbox team includes responding to teacher candidate inquiries through the use of both synchronous and asynchronous resources.

Cindy is currently an undergraduate student at UBC completing her BA in English. She has previously worked as an Undergraduate Program Assistant at PDCE and is experienced in providing support for students, faculty, and staff. Passionate about education, she has enjoyed assisting classroom teachers and working with children in after-school and recreational settings. As well, she has experience in online teaching and virtual facilitation. Her role on the Scarfe Digital Sandbox team includes developing multimedia resources and providing educational technology support for teacher candidates.

Yousra is a current sophomore Cognitive Systems student at UBC. She had received her IB Diploma from Pearson College UWC in Vancouver Island, BC in 2018. Yousra is passionate about understanding people’s diversity in order to create inclusive and accessible designs. She is a Virtual Reality Experience Design Intern at the UBC Emerging Media Lab, and a Web Experience Designer for the Scarfe Digital Box. Yousra aims to create interactive content and to revamp the website by considering potential accessibility issues our BEd candidates might have or ability barriers whether it be incidental or environmental.
“As someone who came from the Middle East to Canada alone at age 17 to further my education, I have personal experience with the need for inclusive designs, and I have a real passion to pursue it further.”

I’m a EDCP grad student, completing an MEd in Art Education, with a BA in psychology and a minor in Art. A passionate advocate for outdoor play, inquiry-based teaching, and storytelling through art. I love learning! Especially on socio-emotional development, eco-pedagogies, and art-based lesson planning. Currently working as at the Gearing Up sessions held to mentor teacher candidates, through one-on-one sessions supplying students with art-based, interdisciplinary, and technological resources for their pedagogical practices. I am also working on digital resources documenting UBC professors narrate their own experience with interdisciplinary teaching. Before moving to Canada to complete my masters, I lived in Mexico and worked in early childhood under a Regio Emilia inspired setting. Working with the Regio Emilia approach allowed me to develop a critical perspective on the importance of interdisciplinary teaching, which enables students to achieve a new readiness in their learning process.

I am a PhD student in Curriculum Studies at the EDCP program, with a MSc in Pharmacy and MA in International & Comparative Education. My undergraduate study was in pharmacy, I then shifted to education as I became passionate about personal development and social change. Before moving to Canada for my graduate study, I worked in non-formal educational settings in science, character and citizenship education programs in Egypt. I also worked as a curriculum designer and teacher educator in various
contexts in Egypt; international schools, community schools, inquiry-based science program, Education for Sustainable Development program, and as an instructor at a teaching effectiveness unit at a university in Egypt.Throughout my work in this project, I enjoyed working with teacher candidates at the
‘Gearing- Up for Practicum’ sessions, as we explored possibilities for interdisciplinary learning
across the various disciplines, and creatively crafted lessons based on the big ideas of the BC
curriculum. I was also involved in interviewing educators and professors from the Faulty of
Education at UBC, on their understandings and implementations of interdisciplinary learning.
This experience has been thought-provoking and inspiring showing new possibilities for learning in our daily lives.

Eric is a Cognitive Systems (Mind, Language & Computation stream) student at UBC. He works as the primary developer of all digital media for the Scarfe Digital Sandbox. This includes the redesign of the website, creation of videos, and the development of marketing/branding materials. Owing from his previous work as a Learning Technology Rover at ETS, Eric is also experienced in providing support for EdTech tools. Using this experience, he works to understand the demand among Teacher Candidates & MET students for EdTech tool support, and creates resources that would be valuable for enhancing their digital competencies.

Janis is a Technology Integration Mentor at UBC who works with Teacher Candidates and Instructors to assist in the facilitation of embedding digital technologies into pedagogical practice. She was seconded from the Langley School District where she works as the District Teacher of ELL and Technology-Implementation Teacher. She has previously worked as Digital Literacy Coach and assisted classroom teachers with technology integration through app exploration and device basics for students or teachers through professional development workshops, sessions, and in-class teaching or collaboration. She was a graduate of UBC’s Teacher-Ed cohort, Personalized Learning & Technology and credits this program with sparking her passion for EdTech tools and desire to inspire others.

Nick is currently a Masters student in the French, Hispanic and Italian Studies department here at UBC. His MA thesis research focuses on Jean de La Fontaine’s Fables choisies and the nature of his fables complexes, using linguistic and textual analysis to define the gamut that La Fontaine’s fables run with respect to these types of fables. Nick holds a BA in French Language and Literature from UBC, a Culinary Arts diploma from Conestoga College, and a BA in Music Performance from Wilfrid Laurier University. In addition to his academic pursuits, Nick is an active orchestral musician, currently holding the post of principal horn of the New Westminster Symphony Orchestra, and playing regularly with the West Coast Symphony Orchestra and other groups in the Lower Mainland. He also works as a tutor in French and English. When not playing his horn or studying for his 8000th degree, Nick can be found trying to master sourdough bread, traveling as much as his schedule and bank account will let him, or having good food and great wine with his chosen family here in Vancouver.

Was a French Immersion IB PYP teacher in Prince George’s County, Maryland. She is working towards a Masters in Education with a focus on bringing in Drama Strategies to reinforce communicative competence in French Immersion (FI) at the primary level. As a teacher, she quickly discovered that there can be a lack of resources available within the FI program. She’s had to find resources or create activities to engage her students. Her role on the Scarfe Digital Sandbox Team is to continue looking for engaging learning tools and to find or create French resources that are accessible for teachers (French BEd candidates). By working with this project she’s discovered the importance of Open Educational Resources (OER) and licensing/copyrights (CC). Alix-Anne looks forward to returning to the classroom soon. She plans to continue contributing to and advocating for OER.

Mary is a Ph.D. Candidate in Educational Studies (EDST) at UBC. She received her MA in International and Comparative Education and her BSc in Computer Science both from the American University in Cairo (AUC), Egypt. Mary has worked as a K-12 Computer teacher in Egypt teaching web-design and web 2.0 tools. She also worked as an Instructor in the Professional Educator Diploma at AUC focusing on integrating technology in the classroom. In Summer 2017, as part of a TLEF grant, Mary was involved in planning and teaching classroom sessions & research & creating resources related to assistive technologies, open educational resources and virtual reality. In Summer 2018, in a pilot project supported by the Worklearn program, she developed resources and video tutorials for TCs and Master of Educational Technology (MET) students to help them find, create and curate VR content. This included creating 360 Virtual Reality tours using Google Tour Creator and shooting 360 Videos using the Ricoh Theta Camera as part of the MET VR Summer Institute. Mary also created an EdTech concept map to map EdTech resources on the Scarfe Digital Sandbox and beyond.

Working with Yvonne Dawydiak on the Scarfe Digital Sandbox as part of a TLEF project was my second Co-op term and it was an amazing experience for me. Not only did I get the opportunity to explore various areas, from website development and maintenance, to helping with workshops and conferences, as well as creating and editing videos and posters. As a student majored in Library and Information Studies, I learned so much from working on a diverse range of tasks, and from my conversations with Yvonne and all ETS staff members (they were very helpful and supportive although they all have very busy schedules). Last but not least, I learned so much about the different emerging technologies to use in libraries and education, which I believe will be invaluable for my future career development as well.

Working with Yvonne Dawydiak on the Scarfe Digital Sandbox was a critical starting point to my career as a programmer. Entering the professional sphere can be a scary transition from being a student, but I feel that my work on this TLEF project made that transition seamless for me. Developing the Scarfe Digital Sandbox with the support and advice of ETS staff was a fantastic learning experience in terms of both technical and soft skills. Moving forward I will miss the friendly, supportive, and especially innovative environment the team perpetuated. Building amiable yet professional relationships is probably the most important skill I picked up working in the Faculty of Education. It is a skill I hope to apply in my future workplaces, wherever those may be.

What I found most surprising about working with Yvonne Dawydiak on the Scarfe Digital Sandbox was just how friendly and welcoming is the whole team. As this was my first co-op term, I was filled with anxiety during the first days of work. However, we had many ice breaking activities throughout the term and I realized how genuinely open and caring everyone is. I also felt that my opinions had value and that I was encouraged to voice them. I will remember this term as a remarkable learning experience with colleagues who were not only co-workers but knowledgeable mentors in their areas of expertise.

Working with Yvonne Dawydiak on the Scarfe Digital Sandbox was my first co-op term and my first real work experience. Needless to say I was quite anxious going in, but my transition was made very smooth thanks to the openness and friendliness of the staff. I was able to adjust to my role fairly quickly and became comfortable taking on new tasks knowing that I had the support of the team. I was involved with a diverse range of tasks from media production and blogging to research and website management, which allowed me to apply my previous skills as well as explore exciting new areas. I was clear on what my role was and was happy to receive constructive feedback on my performance that helped me grow.