The academic world has lost a remarkable educator and mentor with the passing of J. Tim Goddard, former University of Calgary professor and administrator who then went on to serve as Dean of Education at the University of Prince Edward Island. Tim’s impact on higher education extended far beyond his administrative roles – he was a transformative figure in the lives of countless graduate students, myself included.
As my PhD supervisor from 2005 to 2009, Tim demonstrated an extraordinary ability to balance academic rigour with compassionate mentorship. He took a chance on my research into revenue-generating programs in higher education, recognizing the importance of examining how such initiatives could be administered ethically in an era of government funding cuts.
Tim’s dedication to his students was unwavering, even in the face of profound personal tragedy. In 2006, his daughter Captain Nicola Goddard was the first Canadian female soldier to be killed in combat during her time in Afghanistan. Despite this devastating loss, Tim continued to guide and support his graduate students with remarkable strength and grace.
What set Tim apart was his practical wisdom, delivered through memorable maxims that still guide many of us today. “This isn’t your magnum opus!” and “A good thesis is a finished thesis!” were frequent reminders to stay focused on completion rather than perfection. He had an uncanny ability to guide students back to their research path whenever they strayed too far into tangential explorations.
His mentorship extended beyond the academic realm. When I traveled to Charlottetown to write my thesis, Tim and his wife Sally opened their home to me – a gesture typical of how Tim viewed his students as extended family. Yet this warmth never compromised his high standards; his insistence on impeccable writing, citations, and APA formatting shaped many of us into better scholars.
After retiring in 2018, Tim embraced new creative pursuits in painting and novel writing, approaching these endeavours with the same passion he brought to academia. His legacy lives on through the countless educators and researchers he mentored, who continue to apply his teachings in their own work and supervision of the next generation.
Tim Goddard understood that a PhD journey was not just about producing research, but about preparing for a career. He showed us how to be not just scholars, but mentors, teachers, and advocates for our own students. His influence will continue to ripple through generations of educators, researchers, and leaders in higher education.
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Sarah Elaine Eaton, PhD, is a Professor and Research Chair in the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary, Canada. Opinions are my own and do not represent those of my employer.
Starting the year with a brief reflection inspired by the OECD Social and Emotional Skills for Better Lives report:
How can we, as educators, create systems and circumstances to help students thrive? How do we create opportunities for them? If there are doors that have been closed to them, how do we open those doors?
Or better yet, how do we break down the walls that hold up those doors in the first place?
These are some big questions I am contemplating for this year. How about you?
This blog has had over 3 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!
Sarah Elaine Eaton, PhD, is a Professor and Research Chair in the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary, Canada. Opinions are my own and do not represent those of my employer.
In 2002, I published the first edition of 101 Ways to Market Your Language Program. I have just re-released the book as a free open access resource under a Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). The full book is now available as a free download.
How to cite this work: Eaton, S. E. (2002/2024). 101 Ways to Market Your Language Program: A Practical Guide for Language Schools and Programs (2024 OA ed.). Eaton International Consulting Inc. https://hdl.handle.net/1880/120145
Abstract
2024 Re-release of the 2002 first edition of this book. The author and copyright holder has released this work under a Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) license.
This book provides 101 ideas and strategies to empower overall marketing efforts: (1) “Put On Your Thinking Cap” (e.g., define the problem before marketing it, set reasonable goals, and create a niche); (2) “Secrets to Boost Your Marketing Power” (e.g., emphasize the benefits, check out the competition, and sell oneself in as many languages as possible); (3) “Marketing Materials: Tools and Tips to Do the Job Better” (e.g., make a brochure, get mentioned in other brochures, and make it easy to phone for information); (4) “Going Beyond the Basics to Increase Enrollment” (e.g, offer volume discounts and guarantees and give away tuition); (5) “Specialty Tips for Programs at Large Institutions” (e.g., make sure the Web site is easy to find, partner with other educational programs, and get the program mentioned in the calendar); (6) “The Power of People: A Human Touch to Increase Enrollment and Polish Your Image” (e.g., build loyalty with host families, establish win-win relationships, and follow exceptional service standards); (7) “Continue Marketing While Your Students are Enrolled” (e.g., meet students at the airport, partner with local businesses, and create happy memories); and (8) “How to Keep Marketing Once Your Program is Finished” (e.g., create an alumni network, review successes and failures, and plan ahead for next year).
As part of the lead-up to the lecture, I have decided to make as much of my work as I can available as free, open access resources. This is recognition is a once-in-a-career kind of award and I’m working hard to make sure I can deliver. It is a hybrid public event and you can attend in person or online on March 20, 2025. If you’re interested, you can register here.
Since I am both the author and the copyright holder for this book, I can share it however I want. I am more committed now than ever to make as much of my work as possible freely available to others. Over the coming weeks, I’ll be sharing more links to more freely downloadable resources.
I am super grateful to the University of Calgary digital resources team who are helping me to archive these works.
If you know of someone working in second languages who could use a resource on marketing and recruitment for their program, feel free to share this with them.
This blog has had over 3 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!
Sarah Elaine Eaton, PhD, is a Professor and Research Chair in the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary, Canada. Opinions are my own and do not represent those of my employer.
Next week is Academic Integrity Week at the Univeristy of Calgary. This year, I have the honour of moderating a fireside chat with one of my very own Werklund School of Education Doctor of Education (EdD) students, Colleen Fleming.
Join us for a thought-provoking discussion during Academic Integrity Week 2024!
Discover the crucial link between academic integrity and inclusion in higher education with our distinguished speaker, Colleen Fleming, EdD student, Werklund School of Education.
Moderated by Dr. Sarah Elaine Eaton, this conversation will explore:
Defining academic integrity in an inclusive context
Challenges in maintaining integrity across diverse student populations
Practical strategies for educators to promote both integrity and inclusion
Don’t miss this opportunity to gain insights from Colleen’s extensive experience as a K-12 practitioner and her cutting-edge doctoral research. Engage in a live Q&A session and contribute to this important conversation.
A bit about Colleen…
Colleen Fleming (she/her/hers) is a K-12 practitioner at a designated special education school in Calgary. She has a keen interest in developing a culture of integrity among learners through the promotion of equity, diversity, and inclusion. As a Doctor of Education student at Werklund, her research involves proactively educating students about academic integrity in preparation for higher education.
Event details
Date: October 16, 2024
Time: 12:00 – 1:00 p.m.
Location: University of Calgary, Taylor Family Digital Library, Gallery Hall
This blog has had over 3 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!
Sarah Elaine Eaton, PhD, is a Professor and Research Chair in the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary, Canada. Opinions are my own and do not represent those of my employer.
It’s the start of a new school year here in North America. We are into the second week of classes and already I am hearing from administrators in both K-12 and higher education institutions who are frustrated with educators who have turned to ChatGPT and other publicly-available Gen AI apps to help them assess student learning.
Although customized AI apps designed specifically to assist with the assessment of student learning already exist, many educators do not yet have access to such tools. Instead, I am hearing about educators turning to large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT to help them provide formative or summative assessment of students’ work. There are some good reasons not to avoid using ChatGPT or other LLMs to assess student learning.
I expect that not everyone will agree with these points, please take them with the spirit in which they are intended, which to provide guidance on ethical ways to teach, learn, and assess students’ work.
8 Tips on Why Educators Should Avoid Using AI Apps to Help with Assessment of Student Learning
Intellectual Property
In Canada at least, a student’s work is their intellectual property. Unless you have permission to use it outside of class, then avoid doing so. The bottom line here is that student’s intellectual work is not yours to share to a large-language model (LLM) or any other third party application, with out their knowledge and consent.
Privacy
A student’s personal data, including their name, ID number and other details should never be uploaded to an external app without consent. One reason for this blog post is to respond to stories I am hearing about educators uploading entire student essays or assignments, including the cover page with all the identifying information, to a third-party GenAI app.
Data security
Content uploaded to an AI tool may be added to its database and used to train the tool. Uploading student assignments to GenAI apps for feedback poses several data security risks. These include potential breaches of data storage systems, privacy violations through sharing sensitive student information, and intellectual property concerns. Inadequate access controls or encryption could allow unauthorized access to student work.
AI model vulnerabilities might enable data extraction, while unintended leakage could occur through the AI app’s responses. If the educator’s account is compromised, it could expose all of the uploaded assignments. The app’s policies may permit third-party data sharing, and long-term data persistence in backups or training sets could extend the risk timeline. Also, there may be legal and regulatory issues around sharing student data, especially for minors, without proper consent.
Bias
AI apps are known to be biased. Feedback generated by an AI app can be biased, unfair, and even racist. To learn more check out this article published in Nature. AI models can perpetuate existing biases present in their training data, which may not represent diverse student populations adequately. Apps might favour certain writing styles (e.g., standard American English), cultural references, or modes of expression, disadvantaging students from different backgrounds.
Furthermore, the AI’s feedback could be inconsistent across similar submissions or fail to account for individual student progress and needs. Additionally, the app may not fully grasp nuanced or creative approaches, leading to standardized feedback that discourages unique thinking.
Lack of context
An AI app does not know your student like you do. Although GenAI tools can offer quick assessments and feedback, they often lack the nuanced understanding of a student’s unique context, learning style, and emotional or physical well-being. Overreliance on AI-generated feedback might lead to generic responses, diminishing the personal connection and meaningful interaction that educators provide, which are vital for effective learning.
Impersonal
AI apps can provide generic feedback, but as an educator, you can personalize feedback to help the student grow. AI apps can provide generic feedback but may not help to scaffold a student’s learning. Personalized feedback is crucial, as it fosters individual student growth, enhances understanding, and encourages engagement with the material. Tailoring feedback to specific strengths and weaknesses helps students recognize their progress and areas needing improvement. In turn, this helps to build their confidence and motivation.
Academic Integrity
Educators model ethical behaviour, this includes transparent and fair assessment. If you are using tech tools to assess student learning, it is important to be transparent about it. In this post, I write more about how and why deceptive and covert assessment tactics are unacceptable.
Your Employee Responsibilities
If your job description includes assessing student work , you may be violating your employment contract if you offload assessment to an AI app.
Concluding Thoughts
Unless your employer has explicitly given you permission to use AI apps for assessing student work then, at least for now, consider providing feedback and assessment in the ways expected by your employer. If we do not want students to use AI apps to take shortcuts, then it is up to us as educators to model the behavior we expect from students.
I understand that educators have excessive and exhausting workloads. I appreciate that we have more items on our To Do Lists than is reasonable. I totally get it that we may look for shortcuts and ways to reduce our workload. The reality is that although Gen AI may have the capability to help with certain tasks, not all employers have endorsed their use in same way.
Not all institutions or schools have artificial intelligence policies or guideline, so when in doubt, ask your supervisor if you are not sure about the expectations. Again, there is a parallel here with student conduct. If we expect students to avoid using AI apps unless we make it explicit that it is OK, then the same goes for educators. Avoid using unauthorized tech tools for assessment without the boss knowing about it.
I am not suggesting that Gen AI apps don’t have the capability to assist with AI, but I am suggesting that many educational institutions have not yet approved the use of such apps for use in the workplace. Trust me, when there are Gen AI apps to help with the heaviest aspects of our workload as educators, I’ll be at the front of the line to use them. In the meantime, there’s a balance to be struck between what AI can do and what one’s employer may permit us to use AI for. It’s important to know the difference — and to protect your livelihood.
This blog has had over 3.6 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!
Sarah Elaine Eaton, PhD, is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary, Canada. Opinions are my own and do not represent those of my employer.
Sarah Elaine Eaton, PhD, Editor-in-Chief, International Journal for Educational Integrity
Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D. 
Learning, Teaching and Leadership 
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