Connecting online safely

Jan Hare is an Anishinaabe scholar and educator from the M’Chigeeng First Nation, located in northern Ontario. As an Indigenous scholar and educator, she has sought to transform education in ways that are more inclusive of Indigenous ways of knowing and languages. She is researching the improvement of educational outcomes for Aboriginal/Indigenous learners by centering Indigenous knowledge systems within educational reform from early childhood education to post-secondary. This work recognizes the holistic and multidisciplinary nature of Indigenous education.

In his fourth year, Ahmed Masood is majoring in Neuromechanical and Physiological Sciences in the School of Kinesiology at UBC, with a minor in Commerce. He is hoping to later enter the Faculty of Medicine. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he did community work at Surrey Memorial Hospital. He is currently pursuing research in spinal cord injury at the iCORD Lab, and volunteers in exercise rehabilitation with seniors. He serves as President of the Order of Omega, and has previously held positions of student governance, campus ambassadorship, and safety management at various organizations at UBC.

Dr. Jenna Shapka is a professor in Human Development, Learning, and Culture at UBC. As a developmental psychologist, Dr. Shapka is interested in identifying how contextual factors are contributing to developmental wellbeing for children and adolescents. She was one of the first researchers in Canada to examine the impact of the digital age upon kids. She is particularly interested in sociol-emotional and cognitive outcomes, and has published and presented on topics such as parenting and technology, cyberbullying, adolescents’ understanding of online privacy, and self-regulation of technology. She is a Killam award winner, and she earned her PhD at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto.

Dr. Johanna Sam is a proud citizen of Tŝilhqot’in Nation. She currently lives and works on the traditional lands of the Musqueam People. She is an assistant professor in the Faculty of Education at UBC. Realizing the importance of a strength-based approach, she is involved in creating youth-friendly educational and mental health resources. Her research explores the relationships among cyber-aggression, resiliency, academic achievement, and wellness. Her research and teaching not only utilizes digital technology, but also approaches those digital tools from Indigenous perspectives.

Natasha Parent is a doctoral candidate in Human Development, Learning, and Culture at UBC.  She investigates factors that influence human development and well-being in the modern world. Her current work focuses on adolescents and critically examines how their socio-technological contexts impact their healthy development and everyday lives, including how things like fear of missing out (FOMO) and habitual smartphone use impact the wellbeing of youths. She is well-published in this area, and is regularly invited to present on youth and technology.