Plans in progress for filling BlackBerry space

By Beth Jewkes and Scott Nicoll.

On Friday, February 14 the deal to purchase the five buildings at the corner of Philip and Columbia closed. The University assumed immediate occupancy of three of these five buildings, complete with existing furnishings. These buildings are: BlackBerry 1, at the corner of Philip and Columbia), BlackBerry 16 (for those with long memories, that's the former BF Goodrich building), and BlackBerry 3, the building closest to the General Services Complex.

Since the news of purchase there has been great interest in the next steps regarding space allocation.

Associate Provost, Resources Beth Jewkes and Manager of Space Planning Scott Nicoll will make recommendations to the Vice President, Academic & Provost as to how to optimize our expanded facilities. The process involves a thorough survey of the buildings, a review of our strategic space priorities and extensive consultation of both the academic and academic support sides of the University.

The principles guiding the use of these buildings are to consolidate academic activity in the centre of campus, to consider units that have previously been spread across several places or off campus. Consideration is being given to uses that are compatible with the present layout of the buildings to keep the need for renovation to a minimum. 

Space allocation details and move planning will be communicated in partnership with each unit’s management structure.  Questions or concerns may be relayed through the same path. The timing of any moves will depend upon a number of factors, not the least of which is each unit’s annual activity cycle. 

Parking Services reports that all permit holders from all lots that requested reassignment to Lot Q by March 3 have now been reassigned. Lot Q permit requests from permit holders will be reopened only after move decisions are announced. It is anticipated that all requests can be accommodated.

In the meantime, immediate and ongoing activities since closing include the integration of the IT infrastructure, assessment and completion of any essential repairs and general preparation of the facilities for occupancy. 

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Tales of a Teacher - Owen Gallupe

This is the first of three Centre for Teaching Excellence Teaching Stories that will appear in the Daily Bulletin this week. The full versions of each piece first appeared on the Centre for Teaching Excellence's website. Interview by Gowsi Gowribalan.

Lack of participation in the classroom is a problem many instructors face. The composition of students in a course is variable: one term a class might be full of extroverts who thrive on discussion, but next term there might be a preponderance of introverts. The latter was a situation Dr. Owen Gallupe encountered – and successfully overcame – in the Fall Term of 2013.

Now in his second year of teaching at Waterloo, Gallupe – an Assistant Professor in Legal Studies and Sociology – strives to adapt his teaching methods to address the needs of his learners. Gallupe understands the importance of early feedback in his classes and relies on it to enhance his teaching: “I use it as a method to inform, and it gives me useful tips on how I can help students succeed.” After soliciting student feedback within the first few weeks of his Social Statistics class, he realized that students were finding the pace of the class too fast. This surprised Gallupe, who had assumed that his students’ lack of questions was an indication that they understood the material. In fact, the students had many questions, but were reluctant to voice them in class. After some brainstorming, Gallupe decided to provide his students with an alternative means of asking questions: he created an online chat room that students could use during class.

This technology solution initially met with some skepticism. Some students feared that it might be a barrier that would further deter participation. However, the online chat room worked perfectly. It was a welcoming forum where students could anonymously ask questions during class. Teaching Assistant David Hoffman monitored the chat room while a class was proceeding, answering many of the queries himself and directing others to the instructor. If students typed “please slow down” or “please repeat,” then Hoffman conveyed that to Gallupe. “It was a hit,” says Hoffman. “It gave shyer students a chance to ask questions, and for students to get answers to minor questions that they would have never normally thought to ask in class.” Thanks to the online, in-class chat room, not only did the number of student questions increase, but a sense of mutual engagement developed among students who were previously not communicating.

In addition to the online chat room, Gallupe also uses other educational technologies in his courses, including videotaping classes and posting them in the LMS. “The more resources I give my students,” says Gallupe, “and the more I give them what they need, the more chance they have to succeed.”

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Architecture showcase on Wednesday

Graduate Students at the School of Architecture have organized a symposium entitled RePoST: Exhibition Architecture - Opportunities for Invention set to take place on Wednesday, March 12.

The event is a forum for discussing creative approaches to curating exhibitions and installations.

The symposium features two related panels: [INSIDE] OUTSIDE

[INSIDE] examines the cross-disciplinary issues of designing exhibitions and generating vibrant discourse on current issues. Speakers include Ila Berman, Larry Richards, and Christine Shaw.

OUTSIDE explores how exhibitions and installations can reach out to the wider community, to engage the public in important conversations. Speakers include Lisa Hirmer, Maiko Tanaka, and Annabel Vaughan.

Following the panels, an evening keynote address will take place. The featured speaker is Felicity Scott, director of the Program in Critical, Curational and Conceptual Practices in Architecture at Columbia University.

RePoST, which stands for Regarding Exhibition Publication Opportunities, is an annual Waterloo Architecture event that explores opportunities for disseminating architectural design and research.

This year's symposium aims to jumpstart a wider discussion around BRIDGE, a new student-run gallery in Cambridge, as a tangible opportunity for the School of Architecture to generate a local design culture.

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Get the facts about the new fax server

An information session is being held on Tuesday, March 11 about the rollout of a new fax server for campus.

Before you send me a fax telling me that the 90s called and they want their office communication solution back, bear with me. Some 88 departments on campus are still equipped for sending and receiving faxes, with at least one fax machine in operation.

The seminar, led by Joe Allen of telephone services, aims to explain why the new server is being installed (there's a cost saving and increased ease of use), provide a demonstration of the new system that includes sending faxes directly from Outlook, receiving a confirmation page, and a review of incoming faxes, and will answer any questions you may have.

The information session takes place from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. in DC 1302. A second, smaller session will be held on Friday, March 14 at 9:00 a.m. in MC 2009 as part of IST's regular Friday morning seminar series.

On the other hand, anyone who would like to send their fax machine to the big toner reservoir in the sky should contact Brian Forler in Central Stores to arrange a pickup.

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Monday's notes

This week, Waterloo Unlimited will be hosting its Grade 11 enrichment program on campus. From engineering and the environment to science fiction and virtual reality, students will spend a week exploring the theme of Design with a community of like-minded peers. The program runs from Monday, March 10 to Friday, March 14.

The Food Bank of Waterloo Region's Canstruction event will be taking place from Saturday, March 8 to Sunday, March 16.

Human Resources is reporting that a number of retired staff members have died recently:

• Julie Vincent died February 28. Julie began working at the University in January 1986 and held the position of booking clerk in the Audio Visual Department. She retired under the Special Early Retirement Program in July 1996. She is survived by her husband, John, also a Waterloo retiree.
• Jack Henshaw died February 28. Jack started his career at Waterloo in August 1986. He was a Co-ordinator in the Co-operative Education and Career Action department until he retired in November 1995. Jack is survived by his spouse, Alice Foster.
• Lorraine Ruthenbury died March 2. Lorraine held the position of Food Services Assistant in Food Services prior to retiring in April 1994.

Here's the latest Nutrition Month "myth vs. fact" from Health Services dietician Sandra Ace:

Myth: Coming up with healthy meal ideas take too much time, thought and effort.

Fact: Cookspiration to the rescue! To celebrate Nutrition Month 2014, Dietitians of Canada is serving up inspiration to get Canadians cooking with their new Cookspiration website, also accessible via a free iPhone and iPad app (Android version is coming March 15). Cookspiration is full of unique of meal and snack ideas to make any day or time of the week and provides access to a wide array of recipes, each of which includes a mouth-watering picture, description, ingredient list, easy to follow step-by-step instructions, variation suggestions as well as a nutrition analysis. Check it out today!

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