Daily Bulletin

E-books: the next courseware solution

Mumby says e-books are actually hardware devices, not just text in an electronic form, as most people assume. The devices can hold up to 40 novel-sized texts at any time, which can be purchased and downloaded from publishers' websites.

While no university in North America is currently using the technology to deliver courseware, Mumby is hoping UW could be the site of a pilot project. She says e-books will make it possible for professors to design course notes in a whole new way, linking relevant materials, and providing definitions and further information at the click of a stylus.

E-books could also be of great advantage to students, who could download course notes and textbooks, while adding in their own personal notes with a stylus. "Certainly students would save money -- books cost much less to publish this way," she says. Students would potentially buy their e-book unit, and then purchase texts as they need them, at a much reduced price than hard copy. In addition, Mumby says graphics courseware solutions could offer courseware at a significantly reduced price.

Students, staff and faculty are all welcome at today's brown bag session. More information about e-books is available by contacting Mumby directly at ext. 6593 or by email.

Water quality experts gather on campus

From the Upper Yangtze to the Lokna River basin in Russia, from watersheds of Prince Edward Island and the Canagagigue Creek in Elmira to the River Murray in Australia, symposium participants will be examining the impact of various pollutants on waterways.

Urban and regional planning professor Mike Stone, who has been organizing the conference for the past year and a half, believes the symposium is "quite timely with respect to the issue in Walkerton."

Sponsored by the International Association of Hydrological Sciences, the symposium will highlight variability in nutrient, contaminant and sediment transfer and terrestrial transfer processes today, suspended sediment characteristics and transport processes on Tuesday, sinks and sources of nutrients and contaminants on Wednesday, and modeling nutrient and contaminant transfer on Thursday. On Friday, a workshop will focus on the Methods Standardization Task Force.

Visitors will have an opportunity to visit some of Ontario's more scenic water resources through excursions to Niagara Falls, the Elora Gorge, and Georgian Bay.

Preparing for the first day of class
-- from a "tip sheet" issued by the teaching resources and continuing education office

General Strategies:

• Visit the classroom before the first meeting. Get comfortable speaking in the room and see how well your voice carries. Check any audiovisual equipment you will be using and make sure your handwriting is legible from the back of the classroom.
• Build a sense of community in the classroom. Make an effort to get to know your students and express your interest in working with them during the semester.
• Address students' concerns. Use the first day to help your students understand how the class will serve their needs and demonstrate your commitment to helping them learn.
• Set a positive tone for the term. Greet students when they enter the classroom, encourage questions, give students the opportunity to talk, and stay after class to answer questions.
• Make the time worthwhile. Once administrative tasks are completed, plunge into substantive material so that your students know you are serious about making progress at each session.

• Write the course name and number on the board. This message will alert any students who are in the wrong classroom to leave before you begin.
• Mention departmental course policies. Explain procedures for waiting lists, adding and dropping courses, and so on. Know where to refer students with such problems.
• Explain the procedures for the course's sections. If your course consists of multiple tutorial sections, describe the relationship between the course and its tutorial, and how tutorials will be run. It is also beneficial to have the teaching assistants introduce themselves.
• Review any prerequisites for the course. Let students know what skills or knowledge they are expected to have and whether alternative experience or course work will be accepted. Is help available for those who do not possess all the prerequisites?
• Define your expectations for student participation. Besides submitting written assignments and taking exams, what do you expect of students during class?
• Tell students about campus policies on academic honesty. State your expectations, and let students know what you regard as cheating and impermissible collaboration.
• Hand out and discuss the course syllabus. Hearing questions about the course or the instructor on the first day identifies the concerns that are uppermost in the students' minds.
• Invite students to attend your office hours. Be sure students know where your office is located and encourage them to stop by with questions and course-related problems.
• Review safety precautions and emergency procedures. If your course requires lab work or fieldwork, review safe practices for using equipment and supplies and discuss emergency procedures.
• Bring copies of the required texts to the first class meeting. Know which stores besides the campus bookstore carry the texts. Are used copies available? Is the textbook on reserve in the library?

• Discuss the objectives of the course. As specifically as possible, tell your students what you wish to accomplish and why, but also inquire what they wish to learn and what problems they would like to tackle. Ask students, in small groups or individually, to list the goals they hope to achieve by taking the course. Use these lists to identify your class's interests and anticipated problem areas.
• Describe how you propose to spend class time. How will sessions be structured and how will discussions be organized? When is it appropriate to ask questions?
• Give your students ideas about how to study and prepare for class. Tell your students how much time they will need to study for the course and let them know about campus academic support services.
• Ask students to do a group exercise. Select a key word from the course title and have students generate word associations or related ideas. Put their responses on the board and use the list to give a thematic overview of the course.
• Work through a problem or piece of material that illustrates the course content. Engaging students in actual work during the first class session gives them an idea of what your class will be like.
• Give an assignment for the next class session. By moving immediately into the first topic, you are indicating to students that the course is worthwhile, well organized, and well paced. Make sure that the assignment is ungraded, however, because students may be adding or dropping your course during the first weeks.
• Ask students to write their reactions to the first day. Take two minutes at the end of class to have students jot down unsigned comments about what went well and what questions they have about the course.

Just another manic Monday

Those looking for work may be interested in today's career development workshop titled Successfully negotiating job offers. It's being presented by the career services office from 1:30 - 3 p.m. in NH 1020.

Also, NORTEL Networks is conducting an employer information session today at 5:30 p.m. in the multi-purpose room of the Student Life Centre. Both co-op and graduating students from mathematics, engineering, and science are invited to attend.

Looking ahead to tomorrow, there will be an information session for new and returning part-time students held at the part-time studies office at 156 Columbia St. The meeting is scheduled from 7 - 8:30 p.m., and will cover such topics as getting help defining your educational goals, and finding out where and how to start at UW. Returning students may also use the session as a chance to pre-register for the fall and winter terms.

Finally, it's not too late to sign up to donate blood at the Canadian Blood Services clinic that begins tomorrow and runs through Friday in the Student Life Centre. Sign-up sheets are available at the Turnkey Desk.

Avvey Peters
alpeters@uwaterloo.ca

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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