January Events, 2007
Paul Kates, Mathematics & Engineering Faculty LT3 Liaison
LT3 Events
Seeking Views on Classrooms
LT3 is gathering information on UW classrooms to assist in identifying locations and types of upgrades for future classroom improvements. If you would like to help by offering suggestions for alterations or appraisals of rooms, labs or other teaching areas, please send me your comments.
Thursday, January 11, 2007, 2-3pm
- Stay or Switch?
A Learning Object to Promote Understanding of the Monty Hall Dilemma
Presented by Prof. David DiBattista, PhD., Psychology Professor, Associate Dean of Social Sciences, and Chancellor's Chair for Teaching Excellence, Brock University.
Location: FLEX Lab, Dana Porter Library room 329 The Monty Hall Dilemma is especially interesting because many people - including some mathematics professors - struggle mightily to understand the probabilities behind the correct solution, and many highly intelligent people never do so at all. Furthermore, people are often resistant when the correct solution is explained, continuing to insist that staying and switching are equally likely to result in winning the car. Why is the Monty Hall Dilemma so challenging? And why are so many people so resistant when the correct answer is explained? The Monty Hall Dilemma learning object displays an animated, set-based explanation of the probabilities underlying the problem and lets users actively participate in games to increase their understanding of these probabilities.
Thursday, February 15, 2007, 12-12:30pm
- E-Merging Learning Workshop: Meet and Greet Session (Introduction)
Presented by Dr. Mark Morton.
Location: FLEX Lab, Lib 329, Dana Porter Library The E-Merging Learning Workshop is a professional development program that guides instructors toward designing learning activities that will effectively engage students in an online environment. To date, about 150 UW faculty members have completed the E-Merging Learning Workshop. The workshop has also been delivered to faculty at universities and colleges in Ontario, California, Hong Kong, and Thailand. Participants need to devote about 18 hours to the workshop over the course of a month; three of those hours are for face-to-face coaching sessions, and the rest for online modules. The facilitator of the E-Merging Learning Workshop is Dr. Mark Morton. After the introductory session the remaining two meeting times are Thursdays, 11:30-1 at LIB 329 on March 1st and 15th, or March 5th and 19th (your choice).
TRACE Events
- Distinguished Teacher Awards, Deadline: Feb 2(F)
- Exceptional Teaching by a Student Awards, Deadline: Feb 9(F)
3rd Annual Teaching Excellence Academy
An annual retreat for UW faculty members for course re-design.
Faculty members nominated by their Chair or Dean will be invited to attend.
Please speak to your Department Chair or Faculty Dean.
April 25-30, 2007
UW-ACE news
UW-ACE Winter 2007 Course Requests
Request a UW-ACE course for the winter 2007 term by sending a note to Paul Kates or to uwacehelp@ist.uwaterloo.ca. Please give the course abbreviation (e.g. MATH 199), your preference for a new, blank course or one copied from a previous term, and if known, the names of additional instructors and TAs.
Pre-scheduled UW-ACE sessions by IST are no longer being offered. Individuals, department and faculty groups can contact me to arrange times for sessions on their topics of interest, e.g. gradebook and Quest mark handling, communication via email, forums and calendar, and writing LaTeX-quality math in UW-ACE pages and quizzes without using postscript or PDF documents.
Using UW-ACE
See the Welcome to UW-ACE page for information about
- configuring UW-ACE courses for first-time and experienced users
- online grade submission via Quest
- setting up a marking scheme in the Gradebook
- full user documentation of the current UW-ACE/ANGEL 7.1 system
IE7 Arriving Now
IST has lifted their earlier recommendation about delaying the installation of the Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 browser (IE7) for Windows XP. It now says
IST has been testing IE7 for a while and is now ready to deploy it.
Managed computers in academic support departments will be receiving Internet Explorer Version 7 (IE7) sometime during the week of January 15th. As well, any XP computer using the campus WSUS server will receive IE7 during the week of January 15th.
Visit the page to read about security and features. When you see IE7 for the first time, it goes through a short series of configuration questions. Accepting the default choices is recommended. By default, the File/Edit/View menu bar is hidden, replaced by a Tools pull-down menu on the right side of the page. The File/... menu bar can be retrieved by selecting the option Menu Bar within Tools. A Links bar (page top)and a Status bar (page bottom) can also be added through the Tools menu. Right next to Tools, is the Home, RSS, Print and Page icon buttons. Page opens a copy of the current web page in Word in the browser window. IE7 also has tabbed browsing and Save As PDF features.
More information about IE7 (installing, uninstalling and reviews) is available in the November 2006 Events listing under UW-ACE News.
Student Awards Banquet
The Twentieth Annual Math Faculty Awards Banquet will be held on Thursday, January 25, 2007 in the Festival Room, South Campus Hall. A brief reception will begin at 5:30 p.m. followed by dinner at 6:00 p.m.
At the Banquet, we will recognize students who have established outstanding academic records in a number of areas. During the evening, we will recognize first year entrance award winners, upper-year Senate Scholarship winners, students who have done well in university competitions, and recipients of numerous one-time awards.
Registration and other details are given at the site above.
Seminars and Talks
This term, Adel Sedra and Brian Dixon will be opening their classrooms. Please register at the link above. Space is limited.
- Adel Sedra, Dean of Engineering
ECE 332 - Electronic Circuits
Jan 31(W), 1:30-2:30 (lecture), EIT 1015, 2:30-3:30 (discussion), EIT 3142.
What does the Dean do in his classroom? Now you can find out! Dean Sedra will open his classroom to share his approach to teaching and learning. The Dean, who has spent nearly half a century at universities, is passionate about teaching and models what he calls .the fully functioning faculty member. as he combines teaching, research and service in his work. This event will consist of some pre-observation material (some context about the lecture provided by the Dean), observation of his lecture, and a post-observation discussion of the event to discuss with the Dean what was observed. Please plan to attend to observe a veteran teacher in action and discuss teaching strategies! - Brian Dixon, Associate Professor and Associate Chair, Biology Department
Time to be announced.
- Assessing Your Teaching - Jan 23(T), 12-1:30, MC 5136
- Assessing Your Teaching - Jan 24(W), 12-1:30, MC 5158
- Teaching Dossiers Workshop - Jan 25(Th), 12:30-2:30, MC 4068
- Research Projects Workshop - Jan 29(M), 1-3, FLEX Lab(LIB 329)
- Understanding the Learner - Jan 31(W), 9:30-12:30, FLEX Lab (LIB 329)
- more in Feb and March Registration for TRACE Events is usually activated two weeks before the workshop.
- Voice Development for the Lecturing Professor: Protecting Our Most Important Asset
Dr. Leslie O.Dell, Professor, Department of English and Film Studies, WLU
Jan 23(T), 10-11:30, Paul Martin Centre, WLU.
Please register for this workshop.
Hobbyist Game Development Session
Mark Zielinski is organizing an afternoon about computer game development on Friday, January 19th, 12-4 pm, at the SLC. Please attend if interested in artwork, sound, AI and other areas of game design. For programmers,
- bring samples of your games,
- hear Jean-Luc David (Microsoft) talk about the new free XNA Game Studio Express design and development environment for Windows and Xbox 360.
Perimeter Institute Public Lectures
- Fundamental Physics in 2010
Will big questions be answered when the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) switches on in 2007?
Nima Arkani-Hamed, Harvard
Feb 7(W), 7:00 pm, Tickets available starting January 22, 2007. - Life, the Universe, and SETI In a Nutshell
Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence
Dr. Jill C. Tarter, Director, Center for SETI Research
Mar 7(W), 7:00 pm, Tickets available starting February 19, 2007. Background from a 2005 conference press release:
In 2004, Dr. Tarter was selected by TIME magazine as one of the world's 100 most "influential and powerful people". She was chosen in the "Scientist and Thinker" category for her leadership role in the scientific search for evidence of life on other worlds, and for her efforts to promote scientific literacy among youth, particularly girls and young women.
Her work was used as the basis of the 1997 blockbuster film "Contact", starring Jodie Foster. - The K-T Impact that Extinguished the Dinosaurs
Jay Melosh, University of Arizona
Apr 4(W), 7:00 pm, Tickets available starting March 19, 2007.
Outreach
At Explorations 2007 about 1000 grades 6, 7 and 8 students and their parents are taken on tours (lasting about an hour and a half) of Engineering displays. Each visitor sees a mix of displays from each of the many departments within Engineering. Tours start at either 5:00 p.m. or 6:45 p.m.
Registration ends Feb 23, 2007.
Campus Day is UW's March Break open house for applicants and their families.
International education fairs
UW reps are visiting education fairs in Russia, China, Mexico and South America this year.
CUTC Conference 2007
UW participation in the Canadian Undergradate Technology Conference CUTC in Toronto last week (January 11-13th):
- S.Keshav
Very Low Cost Internet Access for Rural Kiosks.
Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair in Tetherless Computing in the Cheriton School of Computer Science. - David Wang
Haptics - a new frontier in communications.
Professor, Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
There is a haptic device on campus, loaned by local company Handshake. For a demonstration, please contact Paul Kates. - Gregory Brill
CUTC 2007 TechShow host.
General Partner and co-founder of Infusion Angels, an angel investment firm based out of the Accelerator Center at the University of Waterloo. Additionally, Greg is the author and creator of the Random House book series, CodeNotesTM, which is launched in every major book chain in the US and Canada
Library Events
Library workshops about building research skills for graduate and undergraduate students are held throughout the winter 2007 term. Learn how web apps like as Flickr, del.icio.us. and Bloglines fit into the picture.
E-journal articles subscribed to by the library can quickly be made available to a class through eReserves, the library's online course resource system. In these cases no further copyright permissions are needed. See these library sites for more information:
Course Development Funds
To enhance student learning, three funds are offering financial assistance for project and course development. Deadlines are
The Mathematics Endowment Fund (MEF) finances projects that benefit undergraduate math students at the of Waterloo. Proposals, accepted from students, faculty, staff and student clubs, are to be of an educational nature, providing teaching resources, equipment and services that improve student learning.
Examples include:
- student, course or instructor projects,
- lab & studio equipment,
- classroom upgrades,
- course development,
- teaching resources,
- conference expenses,
- education studies,
- student club projects
Total available funds each term are approximately $45K. Contact me for more information or assistance. Examples of funded projects, request forms/procedures and presentation details are available at the link above.
The Waterloo Engineering Endowment Foundation (WEEF) provides funds each term specifically for improving undergraduate engineering education at UW. Proposals considered fall into any area where engineering student education will benefit. Proposals are accepted from Engineering (including the School of Architecture) students, staff, faculty and Alumni.
Examples include:
- student, course or instructor projects,
- lab & studio equipment,
- classroom upgrades,
- course development
Contact me for more information or assistance. Examples of funded projects, request forms/procedures and presentation details are available at the link above.
Instructional Development (ID) Grants of up to $1,000 are administered twice a year (Spring and Fall) through the TRACE Office. ID Grants are designed to help instructors improve teaching effectiveness. Information and the application form can be obtained from the above link. Also, see page 5 of the TRACE NewsletterTRACE for the Spring 2007 deadline.
Grants will be made in support of both on-campus and distance education teaching.
Examples include:
- development of a training manual for teaching assistants,
- sponsorship of a conference on methods of teaching foreign languages,
- a study of independent learning methods in environmental studies
Contact me for more information or assistance. Examples of funded projects, request forms/procedures and report details are available at the link above.
Teaching with Maple, MapleTA
Maple and MapleTA upgrades
This month Maplesoft announced upgrades to both Maple and MapleTA which will arrive in March. Live web seminars for Maple 11, MapleTA 3 (including connections to MATLAB and Simulink and teaching with Maple and MapleTA) begin January 16 at 9 am and run throughout the month. Also available is a video demonstration of Maple 11 with cameos by U of Guelph Mathematics Professor Jack Weiner and Dr. Robert J. Lopez, Emeritus Professor of Mathematics at the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Indiana, USA and author of several books including Advanced Engineering Mathematics (Addison-Wesley 2001).
One student writes in the recent MaplePrimes online newsletter how useful Maple is in Number Theory and Topology courses:
I've got to say, I am super-excited by the announcement of Maple 11. Is there anything I need to do now in order to purchase a student copy in March, or will I be able to simply buy the upgrade for Maple 10 when it becomes available?
I haven't even gotten to use all the features of Maple 10 yet...although this semester I'll be giving the numtheory package a workout. I'm a student at Arizona State University, and there are lots of professors who make extensive use of Maple in their advanced courses. Dr. Matthias Kawski (my instructor for general topology this semester) has an incredibly extensive library of Maple worksheets that I think may be hyperlinked on this site, and Dr. John Jones (a professor of algebra, number theory, and their applications) has a set of Maple labs that go with a book which he co-authored, Discovering Number Theory.
I'm particularly interested in the new theoretical physics and differential geometry packages, as I hope to do research in the latter field and I'm immensely enthusiastic about the former (primarily general relativity).
...
Read about teaching mathematics using the computer algebra system Maple and the computer algebra assignment and quiz system MapleTA.
In addition to MapleTA, June Lowe (x33888) in Engineering uses a quiz system based on Adobe's AuthorWare software to conduct CDTs - Computer Delivered Tutorials. Typically, students work in pairs on short problems based on the concepts and techniques discussed in class.
This quiz system is similar to the UW-ACE quiz system in question types, and doesn't incorporate a computer algebra engine like MapleTA, but unique among the three quiz systems is its flow-chart style construction method and its ability to include control logic (like a program) within a quiz. A demonstration can be arranged by calling June at x33888.
UW 50th Anniversary Events
Details are available for all events.
Jan 11(Th) UW's 50th anniversary launch event
Feb 3(Sa) FASS 45th Anniversary Celebration
Feb 17(Sa) 50th Anniversary: fantastic alumni, faculty and staff day
Feb 19(M) Ottawa 50th anniversary alumni celebration
Feb 27(T) FASS 45th Anniversary Celebration
Feb 27(T) TD Canada Trust/Walter Bean visiting professor in the Environment
Mar 1(Th) Waterloo Engineering 50th anniversary celebration
Mar 7(W) GradFest 2007
May 24(Th) Toronto 50th anniversary alumni celebration
May 15(T) UW Staff Association 50th Anniversary BBQ Celebration
May 30(W) Graphics 50th anniversary open house
Sep 28(F) 50th Anniversary alumni awards dinner
TVO Best Lecturer Competition
From 100 nominated professors , 10 have been selected to give lectures on TV channel TVO in the TVO sponsored The 2007 Best Lecturer Competition. Viewers are asked to watch and grade a lecture on
- clarity and coherence
- energy and performance
- confidence and authority
There are prizes and regulations for grading entries. None of the 100 professors is from UW.
Lecture Podcasting
Read about how and why to podcast lectures.
Read about podcasting in the December 2006 LT3 Spotlight.
And more podcasting information will be appearing at UW WatITis 2006 - see above.
MathFrog and WiredMath
Two sites for playing and learning about mathematics, for grades 4 to 9. Very popular (10s of thousands of hits per month) with kids, parents and teachers.
Term Dates
Jan 3(W) Lectures Begin Jan 9(T) Distance Education Open Class Enrollment Ends Jan 16(T) On-Campus Open Class Enrollment Ends Jan 23(T) Deadline to Drop or Withdraw from Courses with 100% Tuition Refund Jan 23(T) Drop, No Penalty Period Ends Jan 24(W) Drop, Penalty 1 Period Begins, official grades available from Quest Jan 31(W) Final Date for Fee Arrangements Feb 20(F) Deadline for 50% Tuition Refund Feb 19-23(M-F) Reading Week Feb 27(T) Drop, Penalty 1 Period Ends Feb 28(W) Drop, Penalty 2 Period Begins Apr 3(T) Lectures End Apr 8(M) On-Campus Examinations Begin Apr 21(S) On-Campus Examinations End Apr 13-14(F-S) Distance Education Examination Days April 30(M) Grades Due Apr 22(Sun) Unofficial Grades Begin to Appear in Quest May 22(T) Standings Available in Quest
Past Events
Liaison Information
Paul Kates,
Mathematics & Engineering Faculty LT3 Liaison,
pkates@uwaterloo.ca, x37047
This page is located at www.math.uwaterloo.ca/~pkates/LT3/events.html.
More information about the services of the Centre for Learning and Teaching through Technology - LT3 is available at lt3.uwaterloo.ca/.
More information about learning and teaching Mathematics, Computer Science and Engineering, plus a description of the services I provide as Mathematics & Engineering Faculty LT3 Liaison is available here.