ABEL Research Initiatives

Learn more about our research projects:

IDI

The ABEL Program is participating in an exciting project as part of the Inclusive Design Institute (IDI). The IDI is Canada’s first research hub to focus on the inclusive design of emerging, mainstream information and communication technologies (ICT), providing leadership in addressing the critical and timely question: “How do we design and develop our ICT systems and practices such that they are inclusive of people with varying abilities, languages and cultural preferences?” Working with York University’s Institute for Research in Learning Technologies, ABEL will work in the areas of accessible video conferencing and innovative e-learning.

Wind Energy 

The ABEL Program is partnering with the  Canadian Foundation for Climate and Atmospheric Sciences  (CFCAS) and Professor Peter Taylor of York University on their Wind Energy in Canada: the basics, the resource and the opportunity project. ABEL will help the CFCAS reach its goals for the project by providing outreach opportunities to ABEL members in Ontario and across Canada; curriculum context for the video; a video streaming server so the video can be access over the Internet; promotion of the video; and learning and interactions that optimize the goals of the project.

RAC Project

ABEL is working with York University’s Knowledge Mobilization Unit (KMb), the Ministry of Environment and the Toronto Regional Conservation Authority on the Regional Adaptation Collaborative (RAC) project, an initiative that will help to build a framework for climate change science, source water protection and research. ABEL will provide support and expertise on blended learning to develop innovative online and interactive professional learning opportunities to Water Source Protection Agencies throughout Ontario based on content on water protection provided by the Toronto Regional Conservation Authority.

Centre for Refugee Studies

The ABEL Program is working with  Canadian Refugee Studies  (CRS) cluster project, funded by the Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). As a partner in SSHRC, ABEL will provide access to a set of collaborative tools and implementation strategies that ensure the effective use of networks and networked learning and provide opportunities to extend education, learning and research.

Knowledge Mobilization

ABEL works with the  Knowledge Mobilization  (KMb) unit at York University to support community outreach by linking the university and its researchers to the ABEL network and K-12 schools on Ontario. ABEL’s videography also captures and streams KMb events and has been involved in KMb’s community outreach, the Data Symposium, the KMb Expo, and other KMb hosted events. ABEL is also on the KMb advisory committee.