When switching from in-person to online teaching, a question instructors often ask is: “How can my current method of teaching be adapted to teaching online?”

English professor Dale Jacobs has varied his approach depending on the class.

In his fourth-year course on the Booker Prize, this adaptation has been relatively easy. With only 11 students in the class, face-to-face discussions have been easy to maintain, and the ongoing journal assignments that would normally be in a paper format have now moved to Blackboard’s journal tool.

The change from in-person to online teaching has been more challenging for Dr. Jacobs’ second-year class Intro to Rhetoric. With 65 students, it is conducted using Blackboard’s Virtual Classroom.

There is a core of about 20 to 25 students who attend the live lecture regularly, says Jacobs, the rest view recordings. Of those that attend live, none show their face and fewer ask questions using their mic; most choose to interact through the chatbox. While the chat section has been successful, the lack of face-to-face contact has made it difficult to gauge how well students are understanding the content.

In response, Jacobs has used Blackboard’s breakout groups to practise skills of rhetoric and the discussion board to measure students’ understanding, and to encourage participation, he has increased its percentage in grading.

Jacobs also requests that students talk to him: “If you have issues, make sure you open a line of communication.”

—Bridget Heuvel

The University of Windsor Alumni Association is inviting its members to sign on to a life-saving cause by partnering with Canadian Blood Services.

The association has pledged to contribute 50 blood donations this year at the organization’s Windsor location, 3909 Grand Marais Rd. E.

To help reach that goal, it has scheduled a blood drive Jan. 18 to 23. Alumni and friends of the University can book an appointment online, call 1-888-2DONATE (1-888-236-6283), or download the GiveBlood App. Learn more on the blood donation website.

To have a donation included in the Alumni Association’s pledge:

• Complete the Partners for Life Registration Form prior to using the Alumni Association’s partner ID: UNIV0092223.
• Tell clinic staff upon arrival that you would like your donation to count towards the Alumni Association’s pledge.

Those who can’t make it during the Jan. 18 to 23 blood drive or who are living outside of Windsor can donate at any Canadian Blood Services’ clinic. Visit Blood.ca to book an appointment and be sure to use the Alumni Association’s partner ID.

Canadian Blood Services is recognized as an essential service during the COVID-19 pandemic, says territory manager Marisa Gatfield.

“Blood donations at this time will be essential to collect platelets, a vital blood component with a short expiry of seven days that many patients living with cancer or a blood disorder may need for treatment,” she says. “The demand for blood never stops.”

The partnership is part of the association’s new Alumni Cares program, which will engage volunteers in giving back on campus and in the community to help those in need.

Do you plan on hiring a student for summer 2021? The federal government’s Canada Summer Jobs (CSJ) program is an initiative of the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy, which aims to help young Canadians develop skills and gain paid work experience to successfully transition into the labour market.

“In 2020, we were approved for 23 CSJ positions which helped supervisors stretch their budgets a little further while providing students with an opportunity to gain valuable work experience,” says Kerri Zold, manager of Career Development & Experiential Learning. “It’s great to see the temporary flexibilities introduced in 2020 in response to COVID-19 offered again in the 2021 program cycle.”

These flexibilities include an increased subsidy amount, an option for part-time employment, an expanded employment period, and an opportunity to amend project and job activities if those proposed are impacted by COVID-19 restrictions after an agreement is signed.

As a public sector employer, the University of Windsor is eligible to receive funding for up to $10.69 an hour or 75 per cent of the minimum hourly wage, for positions of 12 to 40 hours per week for six to 23 consecutive weeks. In 2020, the average funded job duration was eight weeks at 35 hours per week.

The University of Windsor will submit one coordinated application in that will include all the individual job proposals received by the internal deadline. The application process will be co-ordinated by Career Development & Experiential Learning in partnership with the Department of Finance.

The deadline to submit proposals for inclusion in the University of Windsor application is 10 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 22. Faculty and staff interested in hiring through CSJ may apply online to request funding.

All applications for positions at the University of Windsor must follow this process so that they are submitted by someone with the authority to enter an agreement on behalf of the University and provide the financial details required to claim the funding at the end of the summer.

Visit Career Development & Experiential Learning for more information: http://www.uwindsor.ca/career-development-experiential/551/canada-summer-jobs.

Microsoft Power Automate helps you create automated workflows between your favorite apps and services to synchronize files, get notifications, collect data, and more. Its aim is to make your life easier by helping you automate any repetitive, low effort, but time-consuming task.

Watch Office of Open Learning’s student online learning assistant Mohamed Eldabagh as he demonstrates Power Automate in this 150-second Tech Talk video.

If you want more information about using Power Automate, click on the links in the Comments section below the video.

Tech Talk is a presentation of Information Technology Services. More Tech Talks are available at www.uwindsor.ca/its/tech-talk.