Code of Conduct

The Educational Technology Committee (ETC) promotes respect, integrity, diversity, and accountability. We are dedicated to providing a harassment-free conference experience for everyone, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, or religion on behalf of DC. All participants (including attendees, presenters, sponsors, and volunteers) are expected to comply with this code of conduct to ensure a safe and welcoming conference environment for all in attendance. We do not tolerate harassment in any form.

Behavior that is expected and encouraged

• Be respectful, inclusive, and accepting of others. Actively seek to challenge your personal biases, assumptions, and preconceived stereotypes. Approach differences with openness and curiosity.
• Be conscious of how your words and actions might harm others (even unintentionally). Take time to educate yourself on how to be more inclusive, and listen when someone takes the time to educate you.
• Be aware of privilege and power dynamics. If you find you are talking or commenting a lot, consider stepping back to leave more space for others. If you share the work or ideas of others, give credit where it is due.
• Be considerate of privacy and personal boundaries. Give others a chance to “opt-in” to personal interactions, and respect limits when they are set.
• Be constructive in offering criticism, and be gracious in accepting it. Consider “calling in” rather than “calling out,” and direct critiques toward ideas rather than people.
• Be committed to maintaining an educational environment. If you are affiliated with a proprietary product or service, do not engage in advertising activities in conference spaces, except as explicitly permitted by a sponsor agreement.

Behavior that is strictly prohibited

• Discrimination, including unfavorable or disparate treatment to others because of any aspect of their identity, appearance, or protected class.
• Harassment and harassing behavior, including use of epithets and slurs, derogatory or hostile comments, repeated attempts to make contact, or any behavior that interferes with another person’s participation in the conference.
• Sexual harassment, including use of sexual images, jokes of a sexual or gendered nature, or any unwelcome contact of a sexual nature in any medium.

Participants in violation of this code of conduct may be expelled from the conference, without a refund, at the discretion of conference organizers and/or members of the Executive Educational Technology Committee (ETC).

We expect all participants to adhere to this code of conduct at all conference venues, conference-related social events, and online while interacting with conference related websites and social media accounts.

Acknowledgements

This Code of Conduct was created by members of the 2023 Advancing Learning Conference planning committee at Durham College. The committee includes members from the Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL), staff from other academic DC departments, and seconded DC faculty members.

Sections of this Code of Conduct were adapted from the FITC Code of Conduct, with sections and language used with permission from FITC, and the Open Education Conference Code of Conduct, which is under a CC BY 4.0 International License.

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to advancinglearning@durhamcollege.ca.