Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Making exam marking easier

By Karen Anderson.

The Faculty of Mathematics has contracted with Crowdmark Inc. to provide campus-wide on-line midterm/exam marking and results distribution starting in Fall 2015 for all course instructors who are interested.

Students write exam papers with Crowdmark-generated QR codes on each page, and exams are later scanned and uploaded to Crowdmark for marking.

Benefits include faster marking (no paper handling/shuffling!), no mark transcription errors, faster feedback to students, no class time for hand-back and the ability to mark from anywhere at anytime. 

All Waterloo instructors are welcome to attend a Crowdmark demonstration and workshop on Wednesday, August 19 at 1:00-2:00 p.m. in QNC 1502.  

To actively participate in the live Crowdmark grading session, please bring a laptop, tablet or smartphone to the workshop and register by sending your Waterloo email address to cmadmin@uwaterloo.ca by Monday, August 17. 

Registration is not required to attend the demonstration. 

Social innovators showcase their startups

Three members of the St. Paul’s GreenHouse social innovation community presented their startup ideas at the Spring Social Innovation Showcase on Thursday, July 30, and received a total of $5,000 in grants for their early-stage, high-potential ideas:

• Marlena Books, founded by Rachel Thompson, is providing meaningful leisure in the form of reading to older adults with cognitive deficits.
• Node, founded by Benny Hua, is creating compression garments to improve the lifestyle of people suffering from lymphedema.
• PASS Kit, founded by Tina Chan, is working on a mental health first aid kit to prevent destructive behaviour and empower students to better manage their stress.

Also featured at the Showcase was GreenHouse alumna Elle Crevits, whose startup, Food Not Waste, is redistributing food from small businesses to community organizations, putting food into the bellies of those most in need.

Putting the button on Orientation

As the Orientation Team gears up for September and the arrival of thousands of new undergraduate, transfer, exchange, and graduate students, they’re looking to Waterloo faculty and staff to help show support to these brand new Waterloo Warriors.

Would you like to wear a button during Orientation Week that indicates you’re "Here to Help?" Take a moment to fill out this form, and expect e-communication closer to Orientation Week about where to find the information you need to answer any questions you get.

Tuesday's notes

“The Bombshelter Pub will be open from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. during the week," writes Jacqueline Martinz. "Owned and operated by the Federation of Students, it has a special deal for large parties! Bring your friends and coworkers for breakfast and lunch because a table of eight or more will receive two free appetizers.”

Quest will be down and unavailable during an application maintenance period from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday, August 12.

The University of Waterloo Staff Association's 11^th Annual Erie Shopping Trip has been scheduled to take place from Friday, November 6 to Sunday, November 8. "Christmas is just around the corner," says a note from UWSA. "Come and stock up with your UWSA as we venture out to Erie Pennsylvania for a weekend of laughs, friends and shopping."