Daily Bulletin

Looking for love, first-year arts and business student Tin-an Chen checks out the Valentine's messages on a wall in Mudie's cafeteria. Food services staff provide the Valentines and students post the messages in what is becoming a seasonal tradition in Village I.

Computing courses for academic work

They start from the ground up -- "Why Should I Use Learning Technologies?" -- and move on to courses on "reference management software", data analysis packages, PowerPoint, Matlab, Mathcad, Scientific Workplace, and the sure-to-be-popular "Creating Web Pages for Academic Courses". Other courses are coming by spring, a brochure promises.

The Skills for the Academic e-Workplace (SAW) program hasn't been officially announced yet, but it's under way, and it's described as "an attempt to document the electronic skills required by researchers and course instructors, and to deliver an educational program to help academics acquire the needed skills".

The SAW web page from the information systems and technology department notes that "Everyone learns in a different fashion, and academics have little time to spare to attend traditional classroom-style educational programs. IST is attempting to provide the kind of educational program instructors and researchers need, when they need it." That includes regular IST courses, the existing Skills for the Electronic Workplace program (slanted mostly toward staff members), on-line courses, and now SAW.

Staff from IST, the library and the Centre for Learning and Teaching Through Technology (LT3) will lead the SAW sessions this month. "A brochure has been mailed to all faculty," says Carol Vogt of IST, "but graduate students and staff involved in either teaching or research are also welcome." A copy of the brochure can be viewed online, and has a registration form on the back panel.

And now, why should anybody use learning technologies? The SAW brochure describes the introductory course in this way:

Vivian Rossner-Merrill of LT3 will talk about why faculty should consider using learning technologies in their courses and, perhaps, why not. She introduces the idea of a developmental continuum for integrating technologies into campus or distance courses. Using the continuum as a framework, you'll see examples from across campus of how fellow faculty use technologies to a greater or lesser extent, depending on their pedagogical needs and on the objectives of the course in question. Some faculty are experimenting with instructional design features informed by models of learning and these will also be discussed in their presentations. Vivian will conclude with a brief discussion on ways to evaluate the efficacy of using learning technologies in your courses and relatedly, conducting research on faculty and student experiences using new multimedia/hypermedia modes for instruction. The session will wrap up with a description of campus support for Learning Technologies. Examples of support include: this IST SAW program, Distance Education course development, the Centre for LT3, etc. Another type of support comes through an Independent Studies course that matches instructors to a group of students. The student team works to design a solution to instructional "bottlenecks" to augment parts of course content that students seem to have difficulty learning. Products designed through this method will be demonstrated.

New grad president is named

The new president is Bill Bishop, a PhD candidate in electrical and computer engineering and a long-time UW student: he earned his BASc (computer engineering, 1994) and MASc (electrical, 1996) at Waterloo.

McLean said he was announcing the changeover "with pleasure" , adding that Bishop "has been a GSA Council member for several years, and this past year has served as a Director on the GSA Board of Directors. Mr. Bishop has also been involved with several university committees including Senate Graduate Council, Graduate Student Support Advisory Committee, and the current Working Group for Tuition Fee Policy. "

Also at the council meeting on Wednesday, Vladmir Bantseev, chief returning officer for the GSA election, announced that all the positions on the society's board have been filled by acclamation. Besides Bishop, they are Tim Lahey of systems design engineering as vice-president (operations); Angela Kyveris of optometry as VP (student affairs); Sabesh Kangalingam of chemistry as corporate secretary; and Derek Louie of optometry, Barry Pekilis and Matt Thompson of E&CE, Joni Bugden of geography, Diego Hernandez of statistics and actuarial science, and Mike Cinelli of kinesiology as directors.

Said McLean: "The GSA has gone through tremendous and positive change these past few years. The Graduate House has shown continual and steady improvement, with a noticeable increase in patronage. The GSA fees have been changed and matched with new financial accountability. A new staff member, Catherine Bohonos, has been hired to assist our GSA Administrator to improve GSA activities and services. And Rose Vogt and Bob Sproule have done a sound job in managing the day to day affairs of GSA."

He added his thanks to four executive members who are leaving their GSA roles: Dan Piche, Stephanie Faint, Lori Vallis and Jennifer Sullivan. "Without the dedication and leadership displayed by those graduate students involved with the GSA, the GSA would not be in the position it is today. I am sure the university community will find that the new GSA Board will continue to show the same commitment to not only strengthening the GSA, but also participating in improving the quality of life for graduate students at the University of Waterloo."

And the athletic glory continues There's basketball action Saturday and a special invitation for kids to attend "Warrior Basketball Autograph Day", sponsored by the athletics department, Rogers Television (which will carry both men's and women's games live), and Domino's Pizza. "Free team photo autograph sheets will be provided," says Bob Copeland, marketing manager in athletics, "plus free Warrior megaphones to the first 1,000 fans at the game." The Warriors are facing the Western Mustangs in the main gym of the PAC: the women's game at 12 noon, the men's at 2 p.m. Rogers will carry the action on cable channel 20. Says Copeland: "This is probably the best community event on our promotional calendar, and the involvement of Rogers and Domino's adds tremendous value for our fans." Admission is free for children 11 and under; adult tickets are $7 at the door. (A coupon for an adult ticket discount appeared in Monday's K-W Record.) Cross-country skiers from universities across Ontario will compete tomorrow and Sunday for the OUA championships, hosted by UW but being held at Haliburton near Algonquin Park. The Waterloo men's team is a contender for first place, I'm told, after outracing the previously dominant Carleton skiers in competition last weekend. And UW's Ian Murray is one of five or six possible winners in individual competition. On the women's side, the UW entry is also a contender. Other sports this weekend: The hockey Warriors host Windsor at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Columbia Icefield. The indoor hockey team is in a tournament in Toronto over the weekend; the men's volleyball team plays at Western tomorrow afternoon.

Joining the athletics hall of fame

These are the new members of the Hall of Fame, according to the department of athletics and recreational services:

• Jack Pearse, coach of the golf program from 1968 to 1975, a founder of the UW "golf school" and the first person to teach golf in the kinesiology skills program.
• Dave Hollinger, a key member of the golf team from 1969 to 1974, who continues to take an active role in the development of Warrior golf.
• Faye Blackwood, winner of six league gold medals and eight silver medals in track and field between 1976 and 1981, athlete in the Commonwealth Games and now a professional coach.
• Frank Kosec, described as perhaps the best outside linebacker ever to play at UW. Kosec played three seasons of Warrior football (1978 to 1980) and was drafted by the Calgary Stampeders.
• Matt Wever, an active participant, leader, administrator and innovator in UW's campus recreation program in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and later director of campus recreation at Saint Louis University.

What's happening on the weekend

Also from the Math Grad Committee, who seem to be a pretty active bunch, comes Movie Night starting at 7:00 this evening in Davis Centre room 1302. Tonight's flicks: "Fight Club" and "Mickey Blue Eyes".

The monthly Kiwanis Travelogue event starts at 8:00 this evening in the Humanities Theatre.

And the drama department's production of "Suburban Motel" starts at 8:00 tonight in Studio 180 in the Humanities building. Final performance of the play will be tomorrow night, also at 8:00.

The Jewish Students Association presents a Bagel Brunch on Sunday, starting at noon, in Student Life Centre room 2134. "We will be serving bagels, cream cheese and lox (smoked salmon)," says Dan Pollock (well, what else would you serve at a bagel brunch anyway?). "The event is open to members of the JSA and anyone interested in all things Jewish."

A seminar on "Human Rights -- and Responsibilities" is scheduled for Sunday evening (7:00 to 9:30) in the science building courtyard at Wilfrid Laurier University. Speakers include Francisco Rico-Martinez, president of the Canadian Council of Refugees.

And finally, this note from the local Volunteer Action Centre: "Volunteers are always needed to assist with childcare and/or transportation for Live and Learn groups on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday afternoons. A few hours of your time will help low-income mothers and their preschool children receive support and personal development opportunities in this House of Friendship program. Scheduling can be flexible." For information, the VAC can be reached at 742-8610.

CAR

Editor of the Daily Bulletin: Chris Redmond
Information and Public Affairs, University of Waterloo
credmond@uwaterloo.ca | (519) 888-4567 ext. 3004
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