Editor:
Brandon Sweet
University Communications
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James Skidmore wins teaching innovation award
James Skidmore, a faculty member in Germanic and Slavic Studies and director of the Waterloo Centre for German Studies, won a national award for innovative teaching. He received the Innovate German Award at the 2018 Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences.
The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the Canadian Association of University Teachers of German sponsor the award. It recognizes new courses, curriculum and program development, and the implementation of new approaches to teaching and learning. The award winner receives $1,000, a reimbursement for all travel costs to Congress, and an opportunity to present a detailed overview of the winning course.
Skidmore was honoured for GER 271 (German Thought and Culture - Objects). The jury recognized this online course for its “truly interdisciplinary and innovative” methodologies that contextualize student learning within larger frameworks, such as material culture and engaged learning. “(His) expertise in structuring this authentic inquiry with an online platform, readings, and meaningful assignments that draw attention to the students’ commitment to their own performance and curiosity for the world is exemplary.” The course’s online framework, including its extensive use of online discussion forums for content delivery and critical analysis, was singled out for its easily intuitive structure and its potential for training and inspiring other instructors.
GER 271 is one of a suite of three online courses Skidmore authored that use a modular approach in their course design. Unlike most online courses that require significant budget resources whenever content needs updating, modules in these courses can be added or deleted from term to term, ensuring that the courses won’t require significant investment to remain current.
The Department of Germanic and Slavic Studies has been heavily involved in online course design and delivery for well over a decade. The department currently offers 14 online courses in both language acquisition and cultural studies.
Hallman Lecture examines female sex tourism and whiteness
Join the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies for a public talk by Professor Donna Chambers from the Faculty of Business, Law and Tourism at the University of Sunderland in the U.K. as she speaks on “Whiteness, Women and Sex Tourism.”
Chambers is recognized internationally as a leading critical tourism and leisure scholar whose work has contributed to advancing social justice perspectives. The Hallman Lectures attract distinguished visiting researchers to the University to give academic presentations to students, faculty and community members, and to establish research collaborations with Waterloo professors.
The free public lecture will take place July 24 at 3:30 p.m. in room AHS 1686, with a cash bar reception to follow. Please register on the Recreation and Leisure Studies website.
Upcoming office closure
University Relations in EC5 will be closed on Wednesday, July 25 from 2:30 to 4;00 p.m. for an all-staff meeting.
Link of the day
20 years ago: Saving Private Ryan
When and where
Celebrate Canada's Diversity at the University Club, Tuesday, July 3 to Friday, August 10, 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., University Club.
safeTALK training, Tuesday, July 24, 9:00 a.m., NH 2447.
WISE Public Lecture: Biogas - Resource Recovery & Clean Tech, Tuesday, July 24, 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., DC 1304.
Waterloo FileMaker Database Workshop presented by CoreSolutions, Tuesday, July 24, 1:00 p.m., DC1304.
Engineering Seminar: Improving human-centered robots by model-based optimization, Prof. Katja Mombaur, Heidelberg University, Tuesday, July 24, 2018, 2:30 to 3:30 p.m., DC 1302. Refreshments will be provided.
Food Services Recruitment Fair, Tuesday, July 24, 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., Fed Hall.
Hallman Lecture: Whiteness, Women and Sex Tourism, Tuesday, July 24, 3:30 p.m., AHS 1686.
Lectures and classes end, Wednesday, July 25.
More Feet on the Ground - Mental Health Training, Wednesday, July 25, 9:00 a.m., NH 2447.
Successfully Negotiating Job Offers, Wednesday, July 25, 10:30 a.m., TC 1208.
Velocity Fund Finals, “20 startups compete for $130,000,” Wednesday, July 25, 11:00 a.m., SLC Great Hall.
Waterloo Women's Wednesdays: Lunchtime Yoga, Wednesday, July 25, 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 pm., NH 3407.
Part Time Master of Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology (MBET) Info Session, Wednesday, July 25, 5:30 p.m., Online Webinar.
Pre-examination study days, Thursday, July 26 and Friday, July 27.
Environment 101 Day, Thursday, July 26.
SHAD Waterloo 2018 Open Day Exhibits, Thursday, July 26, 1:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., Conrad Grebel Great Hall.
NEW - Survey Research Data Analysis: 101 and Beyond, Thursday, July 26 to Friday, July 27, 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
#BeInTheMoment Zumba, Friday, July 27, 12:00 p.m., AHS 1686.
Chemistry Seminar Series featuring Ernesto Rivera Professor Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Mexico, “Luminescent grafted polymers containing pyrene and other photoactive chromophores,” Friday, July 27, 2:00 p.m., C2 361.
Examinations begin, Saturday, July 28.
Online examination days, Saturday, July 28 and Friday, August 3.
Coping Skills Seminar - Cultivating Resiliency, Monday, July 30, 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., NH 2302.
Lobsterlicious at the University Club, Tuesday, July 31 to Friday, August 10, 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., University Club.
CrySP Speaker Series on Privacy featuring Vern Paxson, University of California, Berkeley, Tuesday, July 31, 11:00 a.m., DC 1304.
ECE Seminar: Inverter-based Control for Low Inertia Power Systems: Scale-free Analysis, Performance Trade-offs, and Controller Design, Tuesday, July 31, 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., EIT 3142.
Multi-Year Accessibility Plan information session, Tuesday, July 31, 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m., BMH 1016.
Coping Skills Seminar - Cultivating Resiliency, Tuesday, July 31, 4:00 p.m., HS 2302.
Waterloo Science Outreach at Discovery Square, Tuesday, July 31, 5:00 p.m., Kitchener City Hall.
Pop-Up HR session, Wednesday, August 1, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., outdoor quad between EC1 and EC5.
Part Time Master of Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology (MBET) Info Session, Wednesday, August 1, 12:30 p.m., Online Webinar.
Alleviating Anxiety Seminar, Thursday, August 2, 5:00 p.m., NH 2447.
Civic holiday, Monday, August 6, most University operations closed.
Seminar featuring Daniel Berry, Software Engineering — A rerun of "The Prehistory and History of RE (+SE) as Seen by Me", Tuesday, August 7, 10:30 a.m., DC 2310.
Coping Skills Seminar - Strengthening Motivation, Tuesday, August 7, 4:00 p.m., HS 2302.
LGBTQ+ Making Spaces workshop, Wednesday, August 8, 12:30 p.m., NH 3318.
Quantum Cryptography School for Young Students (QCSYS), Friday, August 10 to Friday, August 17, Institute for Quantum Computing.
Examinations end, Saturday, August 11.
Perseids Sky-watching Party and lecture: "Mapping the Universe", Sunday, August 12, 7:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., OPT 347.
Food Services Recruitment Fair, Tuesday, August 14, 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., Fed Hall.
More Feet on the Ground - Mental Health Training, Thursday, August 16, 9:00 a.m., NH 2447.