Popular Université de Montréal instructor innovates with tools such as iTunes U

The innovative teaching methods of Sorel Friedman, a Université de Montréal language instructor since 1985, have been recognized with a 3M National Teaching Fellowship. As Canada's only national interdisciplinary teaching prize, the 3M award is given to university instructors who lead and excel as educators.

René Durocher, dean of the UdeM’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences, lauded Friedman for her 3M National Teaching Fellowship. “Sorel Friedman is the third Université de Montréal professor to be distinguished as a 3M Fellow,” he said. “Her teaching methods have already been recognized on campus, where she won the Prix d’excellence en enseignement in 2001 and in 2005. On behalf of the entire UdeM community, I commend Sorel on her latest and remarkable distinction.”

Friedman, who teaches English as a second language and American culture, has also coordinated English language courses at the UdeM’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences since 1991. In recent years, she has actively experimented with online tools to keep her courses fresh and challenging for students.

“I incorporate blogs, chats, course management systems such as WebCT,” she said. “Most recently, I began using podcasts as a new teaching tool, since the Université de Montréal is the world’s first francophone university to join the iTunes U network.”

About Sorel Friedman

• Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba,1957
• BA, French literature and Russian language, University of Manitoba
• MA, PhD, comparative literature, McGill University
• Book review editor of TESL-EJ, an online educational journal with over 50,000 readers from 2001-2005

About 3M Fellowship The 3M National Teaching Fellowship is sponsored by 3M Canada Company and the Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (STLHE). Created in 1986, the 3M Fellowship Award has been received by 228 Canadian university educators. The award includes a lifetime membership in STHLE, a citation and an invitation to participate in a three-day retreat to share teaching experiences and discuss new ideas, which will be held at the Chateau Montebello, Outaouais, in November 2008. 

For more information: 
Sorel Friedman 
Instructor, English Studies Department 
Université de Montréal 
Telephone: 514 343-7189 
Email: sorel.friedman@umontreal.ca

Sylvain-Jacques Desjardins 
International press attaché 
Université de Montréal 
Telephone: 514-343-7593 
Email: sylvain-jacques.desjardins@umontreal.ca