Vannini's class is a beach (or at least it can be if you want).

Learn more about the Master of Arts in Professional Communication. 

Students are often surprised to learn that Dr. Phillip Vannini really does mean anywhere when he says they can attend class from wherever they are. 

The gym. The beach. While walking the dog. During their morning commute. Even in the airport after watching a World Cup soccer game. 

And it’s not just that they can attend from these places. He encourages it. 

“I say, ‘as long as you’re within Wi-Fi reach, be sure you’re in a virtual classroom anywhere you’d like because I will be too,’” he says. 

Not your traditional virtual classroom 

Vannini is a professor in the School of Communication and Culture, and one of the instructors for the Master of Arts in Professional Communication program, which recently wrapped up a two-week virtual residency. 

Unlike many remote learning models that replicate the traditional classroom online, Vannini's approach allows students to learn asynchronously from wherever they are in the world. By eliminating the need for scheduled video lectures, the model reduces Zoom fatigue while transforming students' diverse locations into an academic advantage through place-based learning. 

Here’s how it works. He pre-records a downloadable lecture. Students listen to it from anywhere (home office desks discouraged), and can pause, rewind and relisten as needed. As they do so, Vannini challenges them to reflect how the place where they are informs their way of being in this world. 

“Where we are shapes how we view the world” 

“What I want to do as much as possible is to de-computerize and de-officeize the notion of the virtual classroom because it is so often our default and we go into a habit-based mode, and every time we go into a habit-based mode, we’re not very reflective,” he says. 

And in his class on research methodologies, reflection is a big part of the content, he explains. Because it’s not about how to conduct a survey or do interviews. It’s more about ‘how do we know what we know?’ he says. 

“We have exercises that get them to go out and about and learn by reflecting on their place, which is also what Indigenous teachers teach us, to develop knowledge that is based in, inspired by and rooted in place,” he says. “Where we are shapes who we are and how we view the world.” 

When they come together as a class again, students are encouraged to bring their place-based perspectives, and to learn from others’ as well, he says. 

And, Vannini leads by example, often facilitating classes from outdoor spaces like Dallas Road beach in Victoria’s Fairfield neighborhood.  

“There is something about writing or reading to the sound of waves and to the stories that are in this place and in this body of water and this shore,” he says. “We don’t think about it enough.” 

Letting go of go-go-go mentality 

MAPC student Aurélie Lundja says her biggest ‘aha’ moment during her residency was realizing she could go to school and enjoy her life at the same time. 

“Philip’s class (especially his videos) really opened my eyes to how much we get caught up in the constant “go-go-go” culture,” she says. “I didn’t even realize how stressed I was because I rarely took the time to either work outside, or hit pause, step outside, and just breathe.” 

Lundja, a senior officer of communications and marketing at the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation, says even five minutes of fresh air away from responsibilities can go a long way.  

“It’s a simple lesson, but one that has had a big impact on me since I started the program. It’s definitely something I want to keep reminding myself of, share with others, and integrate into my kids’ lives as well, so they grow up knowing that, yes working hard is important, but so is rest and balance.” 

Classmate Ben Cejvan says he’s really appreciated the way his professors have encouraged balance between school and his personal life, too. While the program has just begun, he says he’s excited to start implementing lessons into his work as he heads communication and marketing at Trinsic, a digital identity acceptance network. 

The online format even gave him time to catch the Bosnia vs. Canada World Cup match in Toronto right before residency began — score! 

Vannini emphasizes, there’s nothing wrong with traditional in-person classrooms or online ones.  

But being in place, even when learning remotely, allows students to reimagine their place in the world. 

“I just always want students, researchers, thinkers, to ask, ‘what else? How else? And where else?’ because that to me is the foundation of all learning.”