November 26, 2002

Tuesday, November 26, 2002

Prof sees value in technology
Bank sees results of $2.5 million gift
Fair shows 'adaptive technology'
Other notes and events today

Editor:
Chris Redmond
credmond@uwaterloo.ca

'Casablanca' premiere 60 years ago today

Prof sees value in technology -- from the Centre for Learning and Teaching Through Technology

How to leverage your media assets

The LT3 centre has a special event today at 11:00, as Tanya Heins of Macromedia presents "Integrating MX to Support an Architecture for Learning Object Delivery" in the Flex Lab, Dana Porter Library room 329. Explanation: "While many instructors have online course content now to a degree (and probably some of it in Macromedia's Flash product), LT3 have invited Macromedia to talk about where the next steps in online course development will go with learning object creation."

And more: "Heins will outline a sample architecture that uses Flash as the user interface for leveraging media assets to support learning object creation. While Flash is the primary tool for the UI, Flash Remoting (integration between Flash and .Net or J2EE [Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition]), Flash Communication Server (collaborative learning applications) and ColdFusion/Dreamweaver (for leveraging databases or webservices) will also be discussed as part of this LO architecture."

RSVPs go to Peter Goldsworthy, peter@LT3 or phone ext. 7008.

Accountancy professor Grant Russell (left) is no stranger to teaching and learning with technology. His Accounting 131T, "Management 1", was the first distance education course created in an online form by Les Richards of DE's web development team and LT3.

Russell teaches between 700 and 800 students at a time in Accounting 131 and 131T. With that many students, he is on the lookout for ways of increasing his effectiveness as a teacher. He strives for methods to make learning better and richer for his students while at the same time increasing efficiency and effectiveness.

Accounting 131 is a first-year first term course. Students are not just learning the content of the course, they are learning about university and often, quite literally, about computers at Waterloo. Every year there is something new, so even the faculty, TAs, and course administrators have to stay on their toes.

As an example, one of the assignments involves creating a PowerPoint file with voice-over. Last year all of the students were scheduled into the audio-visual centre to do their voice-overs. This year they are doing it without the use of the A-V facility, and sending their files by e-mail attachment. However, file size is sometimes too large for e-mail attachments in certain conditions (specific locations). Russell shakes his head as he describes these problems.

He uses the metaphor of LT3 as an ice-breaker when describing new technology use. The problems don't disappear, but LT3 helps break through for instructors and students.

Currently Russell is entering new depths with LT3 as he moves a course into UWOnE (University of Waterloo's Online Environment). Using the T5 teaching model which attaches great importance to student-centred learning, feedback, and task-based learning, he is working with LT3's Jordan Premo, Diane Salter, and Les Richards in the creation of a new showcase course demonstrating the best of leading-edge learning technologies.

He points to dull lectures or notes on a page as a wholly inadequate mode for learning (and he is no slouch at lecturing, having won the Distinguished Teaching Award in 2000). He describes subtle changes as major benefits for students. As an example, for one course he suggests getting annual statements and highlighting materials in them as adding a dimension to the visual learner's benefit.

Russell talks about the "self-revealing" case study as an example of what he hopes for. Currently, students are handed a four-page case, and then they are given a series of questions to answer. With the self-revealing case, a small scenario would be set up with each student assuming the active, virtual role of a consultant. They would then begin asking the computer questions, with each question furnishing them with an answer which provides them with a little more information. Through the question and answer process they would be able to solve the consultant's problem. More importantly, their pattern of how they solve the problem can be analysed, providing a much more meaningful examination process.

[Screen shot]
The registrar's office has a new web site -- same URL as before, but a different look, matching UW's campus-wide design, and new organization of information. The old "scheduling" web site no longer exists, and the registrar's office site is the main gateway to information about schedules, statistics, exams, forms, pretty much everything except the self-service system on Quest.

Bank sees results of $2.5 million gift

An event today will celebrate a "partnership" between UW and Scotiabank that involves a $2.5 million gift to UW and the naming of what will now be called the Scotiabank Software Engineering Labs.

The official opening of the labs starts at 11:30 in room 2577 of the Davis Centre. "The labs," a news release explains, "are designed to support group work among students, enabling them to build software in teams -- an important aspect of UW's software engineering program. At the event, students will use equipment in the labs to demonstrate projects involving sophisticated robot programming."

Scotiabank contributed $1 million to build and equip the labs -- part of a $2.5 million gift, first announced in 1999, "allowing UW to create a software engineering degree program, establish a student scholarship endowment and fund two faculty research chair positions in software engineering". Today's event shows off some of the results of that funding.

The software engineering degree program is offered jointly by the school of computer science and the department of electrical and computer engineering. The first students entered first year in software engineering in September 2001.

Speakers at today's event will be Peggy Mulligan, executive vice-president, systems and operations, Scotiabank; David Johnston, UW president; Sujeet Chaudhuri, dean of engineering; Frank Tompa, director of the school of computer science; and Joanne Atlee, director of software engineering.

Fair shows 'adaptive technology'

An "adaptive technology fair" today in the Davis Centre will show off hardware and software "designed to foster learning", especially for people with special problems. It's organized by the office for persons with disabilities, in partnership with the information systems and technology department.

The "fair", titled "Bridging the Gap", runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the DC main lounge.

Says Susan Shifflett from the disabilities office: "The fair seeks to show how to partner people's strengths and abilities with technology. An important theme of the event will be to highlight applications of technology in research and barrier-free curriculum design.

"Faculty, staff and students can check out specialized products designed to foster learning, such as wireless access on campus, voice recognition software, advancements in adaptive technologies, hardware and software solutions, and adaptive technology applications in research and curriculum design, as well as campus and community support services.

"We have an exciting list of participating companies and organizations from on campus, the community, and the business world, on hand to showcase their products and services."

Other notes and events today

The fall meeting of the Waterloo Advisory Council, representing co-op employers, continues today. It's a long day of meetings and panels in Needles Hall, with the focus on marketing and priority-setting for the co-op program. One session is titled Co-op as an Experience", as the executives will hear the perspectives of an employer, a student, a faculty member and someone from the co-op department. There will also be a briefing from James Downey, former president of UW who's now director of the fledgling Waterloo Centre for Co-operative Education.

Students in the Certificate in University Teaching program have to write a research paper and present it, and three students who have done that this term will be making their presentations today, starting at 1:30 in Math and Computer room 5158. Scheduled are Tom Perks on "The Appropriateness of Advocacy in the Classroom", Jenelle Boucher on "The Use and Importance of Generic Learning Activity Models", and Mohamed Soliman on "E-Learning: Aspects, Challenges and Perspectives". Anyone interested is welcome to attend.

Some 100 people from across campus have been invited to a presentation today about myHRinfo, the planned on-line human resources system that will let staff and faculty members do such things as look at their pay statements. The people behind the project -- headed by Sandra Hurlburt, assistant director of human resources -- are looking for comments on the system before it's rolled out to the campus as a whole next month. Today's meeting is scheduled for 2:00 in Davis Centre room 1302.

The civics research group, part of the faculty of environmental studies, offers "an evening of discussion" tonight under the title "The Healthy Self". Specifically, it's

an informal discussion around self-empowerment and self-esteem and their connections to healthy communities. How do each of us, as individuals, learn to develop ourselves as healthy people and community members? How do we find resources that facilitate self-empowerment and cultivate self-esteem? How do we build communities that facilitate self-empowerment and cultivate self-esteem? This is the third in a series of dialogues focused on interconnections among healthy individuals and healthy communities. Each dialogue offers an opportunity to share thoughts and concerns among other interested people. We welcome participation and insights from all. We see value in respectful disagreement and in discussion without closure.

The talk starts at 7:00 at the research centre's downtown home, 70 King Street East in Kitchener.

Exam season must be getting close, as the libraries will be open for extended hours from now through December 19. The Dana Porter Library is open until 2 a.m. each night; the Davis Centre library, until 3 a.m.

UW Graphics is holding an open house tomorrow, and no, it's not happening in one of the theatres, as some people have thought because of the design of the invitation, shaped and numbered like theatre tickets. The event is, in fact, at the Graphics headquarters, in the Commissary wing of the General Services Complex (along the ring road north of the Davis Centre). There will be "demonstrations, giveaways, light refreshments" tomorrow from 11:00 to 3:00.

A workshop on "Writing CVs and Cover Letters" -- aimed at graduate students and, I suppose, anybody else trying to apply for academic jobs -- is scheduled for tomorrow at 12 noon. It's part of the professional development workshop series that's sponsored by the teaching resources and continuing education office, and TRACE, at ext. 3132, is taking registrations and can supply more information.

Thursday, the Employee Assistance Program offers a session under the beguiling title "How to Get Everything You Want". Nancy Mann, long-time counsellor, promises an "informative and interactive presentation" about assertive communication. The session starts at noon in Davis Centre room 1302, and preregistrations go to Johan Reis in health services.

I can't remember the staff association ever being as busy with social events as it's been this fall. Verna Keller of the social committee sends word of two more events: an excursion to see "Amahl and the Night Visitors" at the Church Theatre in St. Jacobs on December 13 (ticket sale deadline is this Friday) and a viewing of "The Wizard of Oz" at the Princess Cinema on December 29 (ticket deadline December 5). Keller, e-mail vkeller@watserv1, has more information and the tickets.

The Legal Resource Office, sponsored by the Federation of Students, will offer a mock LSAT prep test this Saturday at 9:00. "It's beneficial," I'm told, "to anyone who is considering writing the LSAT in the future. It's only $2 (to cover photocopy costs) for UW students if registered." For registration or enquiries, e-mail lro@feds.

CAR

TODAY IN UW HISTORY
November 26, 1996: UW holds its "first annual general meeting" in the Theatre of the Arts.