Monday, September 28, 2020

Help protect Waterloo with safety messaging

A message from Sandra Banks, vice-president, University Relations

Over the last several weeks, we have continued to expand controlled access to the campus for some students and employees. As COVID-19 cases begin to rise again it is as important as ever that all of us in our University community play a part in limiting the spread of the virus, whether we are on campus or not.

We have learned from global public health experts that as the pandemic continues, it is important to move to messaging that reinforces the need to protect the safety of our communities, not just ourselves. Please consider how you can play a role in sharing information and reinforcing safety messaging to our students – and to one another – about ways in which we can protect our community.

To help you, we are sharing some resources that you can use in classes, meetings, in your workspaces, virtual or in person to reinforce safety steps

We will continue to send messages to students on social media and directly by email from central and faculty teams to reinforce the ideas that we are all Waterloo Warriors, and Warriors protect each other.

Please consider using these messages and documents in your own communications. We’re making these resources available for future reference on the COVID-19 website.

Resources available

• Welcome Back Waterloo – online guide: our comprehensive online guide for students and employees on safety protocols for COVID-19
• Welcome Back Waterloo – safety video: a two-minute video you can share with students and employees on our safety protocols
• Safety messaging: this document gives you a comprehensive list of safety messages that you can use at any time covering:
  • General safety
  • Coming to campus
  • Study spaces
  • Information resources
  • Detailed safety messages
  • Campus check-in and COVID-Alert
• COVID-19 Safety slide deck: this presentation covers the key safety protocols that you can use in class or meetings
• Safety video script: you can use this script in your own video messages to teams and classes. Please feel free to adapt this script to your needs
• Warriors protect Warriors social media assets: you can use these images in your UWaterloo personal social media accounts to reinforce our safety messages.
  • Instagram/Facebook story assets
  • Twitter/Facebook image asset

Waterloo joins National Dialogues on anti-Black racism in Canadian higher education

A message from Human Rights, Equity and Inclusion.

Waterloo is joining other Canadian universities and colleges across Canada to facilitate national conversations to develop concrete actions for change in higher education and in our communities. The first in the series of these National Dialogues takes place October 1 and 2, 12 noon to 4:00 p.m. and will focus on anti-Black racism and Black inclusion in Canadian higher education.

This year’s Dialogues and Action will focus on sharing experiences and ideas, exploring and learning best practices, and contributing to the formulation and implementation of concrete actions that resolutely reject anti-Black racism and drive meaningful, enduring Black inclusion within individual universities and colleges; the higher education sector, in general; and our communities.

Further to Waterloo’s actions and commitments to address systemic anti-Black racism on our campus, students, faculty members, and staff are encouraged to register at no cost and attend any or all of these sessions. Learn more and register.

LinkedIn Learning continues to be available to University employees and students

A message from Information Systems & Technology.

LinkedIn Learning (LiL, formerly known as Lynda.com) has been in use on campus since approximately 2014. LiL is a web-based service that offers over 130,000 video training courses taught by experts in software, creative, IT, and business skills. At the end of 2016, Microsoft purchased Lynda.com, and in May 2018 the provincial government provided funding to extend access to all students and employees at Ontario colleges and universities. In July 2019, Lynda.com online training moved to LinkedIn Learning and University students and employees were invited to activate or create their new LiL accounts to get started. 

The provincially funded LinkedIn Learning (LiL) agreement will not continue beyond the original contract date of September 25, 2020. However, the University of Waterloo has committed to a new three-year agreement with LiL to continue our full access to the content our campus has come to rely upon and benefit from. This stability will allow academic courses and training programs to continue to draw upon and expand use of the resources that come with LiL. 

Your current LiL access will remain the same; it will not change as a result of this new agreement. The license continues to be accessible in China, but as before, mobile access is not available. Learners in China can still access LinkedIn Learning via the desktop and mobile web browser.

Some of the benefits of LiL include: 

• Courses available for all skill and technical levels 
• Watch from your computer, tablet or mobile device and switch back and forth as you choose 
• Create and save lists of courses you want to watch, and share them with friends or colleagues 
• Unlimited access, 24/7 
• Ability to build playlists for yourself, your courses, or training programs 
• Flexibility to add custom materials 

Information about LiL and accessing/creating your account, and an expanded FAQ section, is available at https://uwaterloo.ca/information-systems-technology/services/linkedin-learning.

You are invited to direct related questions to the IST Service Desk, helpdesk@uwaterloo.ca.

Q and A with the experts: scientific literacy and COVID-19

The University of Waterloo has a number of experts available for comment on various aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic, click here to see the up-to-date list.

As we navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, Waterloo science professor Jozef Nissimov has been working to fight misinformation, and share accurate scientific resources. We asked Professor Nissimov to explain science literacy, and why it is even more important as the world deals with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

What is science literacy?

Science literacy is the ability to critically assess and evaluate scientific information and its credibility without the need to be an expert. A scientifically literate individual should be able to think critically about what they read or hear about, in order to evaluate the information’s source and accuracy. Don’t just repost something, but spend the extra time and find out first if it’s reliable.

Importantly, scientific literacy means that one should understand that science doesn’t always have all the answers. And the answers that science does have at its disposal are subject to the best knowledge and tools that it has at a given moment in time. The beauty of science is that it is flexible and open to new ideas. It is open to be challenged and to shifts in common scientific principles.

Why is it important to promote science literacy?

The importance of scientific literacy is evident now more than ever. We live in times when everyone has access to scientific information. Most of this information is reliable, and credible news agencies usually do a good job of reporting the facts. However, there are also cases when scientific information is reported in a skewed manner, where scientific facts or the result of a study are “cherry-picked” in order to provide a “twist” to a story. This is dangerous and can compromise the credibility of scientists and their discoveries. This is not how science works, and scientific literate individuals should be able to detect such cases of “cherry-picking”.

We live in a digital age, bombarded constantly with breaking news and stories. Many young people receive their news solely via social media and when the news comes from a celebrity (or even an elected public figure) with millions of followers, people are more inclined to listen to them rather than an expert who has had hundreds of peer-reviewed articles, has authored dozens of books, and had attended the best schools. This is exactly when scientific literacy comes at play, because it provides us with the ability to critically evaluate information and to trust expert advice.

How has COVID impacted the public’s perception of science?

I believe that now more than ever, people are looking to science for answers. They want answers, they want information, and they want to know when a vaccine will be ready so that life can get back to normal. I don’t think that there has been a time in history when so many people in the world knew what a virus is.

Having said that, because COVID-19 is caused by a new virus, science still looks for the answers, and the answers we currently have may change as we learn more. Scientific literacy means accepting and understanding this fact. 

Scientific literacy varies between countries and within countries. Canadians seem to be more inclined to listen to expert advice and follow COVID-19 related guidelines more than in other countries. A possible reason for this is perhaps the fact that scientists are in the public eye a large amount of the time. We have seen doctors, epidemiologists, and virologists give interviews from their living rooms, bedrooms and even their cars on almost every major news program. This is exactly what scientists with knowledge of this pandemic should be doing. They help as much as they can, and explain to the best of their ability the complicated situation we all find ourselves in.

Reminders if you're coming to campus, and other notes

As we continue to gradually resume on-campus operations, many academic and service buildings have reopened for fall term. You can find a list of which buildings are open and their operating hours on the What’s open on campus page and through the WatSAFE app.

Several administrative buildings remain locked and must be accessed with a key or a fob. Employees must obtain approval  from their department/faculty  to access buildings on campus.  

Help limit the spread of COVID-19 by limiting your time on campus to necessary visits, and by following public health guidance and the University’s safety recommendations. Don’t forget to:

• Review the Welcome Back Waterloo guide
• Check in by connecting to the eduroam Wi-Fi network or by completing the Campus Check-in form every day you visit campus and for every building you visit
• Complete the COVID-19 self-assessment each day before you arrive on campus
• Verify that you’ve completed the self-assessment via the “Welcome to Campus” email you’ll receive after arriving on campus
• Wear a face covering in common indoor areas
• Wash or sanitize your hands frequently
• Download the WatSAFE app to receive campus and emergency communication alerts

The Department of Music is hosting a Noon Hour Concert, IY IO SO HOT, on Wednesday, September 30 at 12:30 p.m. Exploring sonic possibilities, and afro-futurist cosmologies through improvisation, Clifton Joey Guidry III (bassoon), Lisa E. Harris (voice/theremin), Olivia J. P. Harris (cello), seek the answer to the question, IY IS IO SO HOT?  The concert is free to attend and will take place on online. The concert will be released on September 30th and will remain on the Grebel You-tube Channel.