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Alternative Delivery Lemonade – the fruit of our COVID efforts in Accounting classes
Full text linkBefore COVID, the Accounting Department had increased the level of technological competency in our course offerings through providing students relevant experience in current software applications, asynchronous videos and utilizing moodle resources for student evaluations and submissions. After the transition to alternative delivery starting in March 2020, these initiatives suddenly expanded to be our primary means of providing student evaluations as well. Despite numerous challenges, the Winter 2020 semester was successfully completed and provided an understanding of how to move forward in future for student evaluations. Through the Summer and Fall 2020 semesters, the focus shifted to completing all aspects of a term using alternative delivery only. Accounting curriculum is fast paced and challenging, requiring both creative and innovative ways of delivering course materials. Evaluations must be maintained at appropriate levels to maintain appropriate standards required for entrance to the CPA program after graduation. However, some of these changes have not been as effective in maintaining the level of student engagement and level of support we can provide in a face-to-face environment. In this presentation, we plan to highlight how we have adapted to date and continue to work towards maintaining the best learning environment possible under the current circumstances
Online Accessibility
No full textWe will pick up from last year’s speed session about Basic Online Accessibility. Little did we know then, but campus courses around the world would soon move online due to COVID-19. Now the topic of online accessibility is more important than ever. Last year we created the TRU Accessibility Quick Guide as a resource to help you to build your files so they are accessible and to check if they are accessible. This year we will take this TRU Quick Guide further and through a variety of scenarios we will teach you questions to ask to identify accessibility issues, and we will demonstrate how to make your files more accessible. Often, we exclude students without even knowing it. Would you know? In this session, we will go Beyond Exclusion and towards inclusion. Come to our session to learn to spot and fix most accessibility issues. You will not see a document the same way again. Looking forward to seeing your questions and comments in the discussion
Engaging Students with Intercultural and Anti-racism Resources
No full textRacism and discrimination exist on Canadian campuses, as they do at TRU. Students are eager for educational resources and strategies to mitigate the harms that are caused by ignorance and oppression. In this session students involved with several of the Faculty of Student Development’s Peer Mentor Programs (Intercultural Ambassadors, Indigenous Mentors, and Story Telling Squad) will share how they have been working to promote various resources for students to learn and unlearn about cultural diversity, racism, and systemic oppression. From fun information to serious dialogues, these students are pushing out information on social media that offers other students resources to understand and stand against discrimination and racism. The students will describe why these resources are important, how they have been sharing them and the responses they have been getting. Participants attending this session will be able to ask questions and take away resources they can use with their own students
Role-playing Revamped!: An Innovative Teacher Education Practice for Pandemic Learning
No full textModelling great teaching strategies by instructors and role-playing by students are practices that are nothing new in teacher education programs. In fact, modelling and role-playing are core instructional approaches used in training teacher candidates. But what do modelling and role-playing look like in a virtual and pandemic course delivery? How does an instructor model teaching strategies for students, alone from behind a screen? How do students then practice those teaching strategies, on their own? Great teaching and learning require creativity and taking risks. Reconceptualizing pedagogies to reflect pandemic times has presented an opportunity to do just that. Join me, Ms. Unicorn, and her class of stuffies for an adventure into an imaginative pedagogical approach for teacher education – Role-playing Revamped – where you will learn that with great risk comes great reward, especially during a pandemic
Teaching ESL Students to Write Concisely
No full textConcision is a key feature of academic writing. However, many English-as-a-second-language (ESL) students have difficulty writing concise language. On the other hand, in responding to student writing, teachers generally pay attention to grammatical accuracy and meaning clarity rather than language conciseness. This workshop demonstrates how to help ESL students to recognize wordy language and edit to achieve concision. First, I present a rationale for the workshop, explain key concepts and terms, outline a four-step pedagogical approach, and summarise common problems and solutions affecting concision. The problems include literal and semantic repetition; omnibus words; circumlocution; redundant information; choppy sentences; and overuse of phrases, finite clauses, nominalization, expletive “there be,” and the passive voice. Then I share with the audience example sentences illustrating the problems. The audience work in pairs to identify the problems and edit the texts. Finally, I interact with the audience in discussing the problems in the examples and suggesting solutions. Through this workshop, the audience should be able to understand common types of unconcise writing and how to help students write concisely. The workshop is a revised version of a session presented earlier at a conference for Canadian Association of Applied Linguistics
Asynchronous: Coming to the Fire: Tinder, Kindling and Sparks
Full text linkComing to the Fire: Tinder, Kindling, and Sparks We all come from different backgrounds~ in time immemorial, our nations regarded this as coming from different fires to denote not only the geographical location but also the nations\u27 culture, language, traditions and practices. Thus, when we met as a class, to learn about Indigenous health through a virtual teaching and learning environment, we gathered, around a common fire. ‘Coming to a fire is used as a metaphor to acknowledge each other and respect each of our backgrounds to learn, share and gather. My metaphor for teaching and learning often centers around being in the outdoors-the land, waters, trees, Indigenous culture, and the importance of campfires. Campfires are the root of sharing, learning, feasting, storytelling and ceremonies. Fire represents the heat generated through sharing in a circle that is supportive, and participants feel safe to explore and learn about topics to improve their understanding of their role in working in partnership with communities. Participants will learn about the lessons I learnt as a Gitxsan, associate teaching professor in the delivery of the course online and that the greatest learning, understanding and appreciation occurs through engaging with humility and the extending of invitations to others to come to the fire.
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Simultaneous Separation and Identification of Bisphenol Analogues by Capillary Electrophoresis
Full text linkBisphenols are a group of compounds containing two hydroxyphenyl functional groups joined together by a differently substituted bridging atom. Bisphenol A (BPA) is the best known of the bisphenol analogues. BPA is commonly used as the base chemical in polycarbonate plastic production; and has been found to leach out of different products in both acidic and basic conditions and most environmental matrices. BPA is an endocrine disrupting chemical (EDC) and due to BPA’s toxic affects regulatory measures have been put into effect in an effort to limit the use of BPA. Commercialization of BPA-free products is increasing, with the substitution of BPA with its analogues. However, certain analogues have been shown to have nearly identical endocrine disrupting effects (BPS and BPF), while others cause increased concern due to their unstudied effects on health and the environment. The aim of this project is to optimize a method for the separation and identification of 13 bisphenol analogues (BPA, BPAF, BPB, BPBP, BPC, BPE, BPF, BPFL, BPG, BPM, BPP, BPS and BPZ) using the analytical technique of capillary electrophoresis (CE). This method can become a valuable resource in monitoring bisphenol contamination in food and the environment
Characterization of Bacterial Communities in Arctic Soil
Full text linkEnvironmental pollutants are found throughout the Arctic, but particularly in regions of recent human activity. These pollutants break down more slowly in the Arctic than in more temperate ecosystems as cold temperatures restrict microbial metabolism. Characterizing the microorganisms present in polluted Arctic soils will help us understand which microorganisms are involved in metabolizing these pollutants, and may help to inform strategies to remediate polluted sites. The aim of this project is to characterize and compare the composition of microbial communities in potentially contaminated Arctic soil samples. Soil samples were collected from several locations around Cambridge Bay, Nunavut in 2019. Total community DNA will be extracted from soil samples and the success of DNA extraction will be evaluated by agarose gel electrophoresis and quantification using the Qubit fluorometer. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeting the bacterial 16sRNA gene will be completed on DNA extracts, and amplicons will be sequenced to characterize the bacterial community composition of samples. The sequence data will be processed in QIIME2 and statistical analyses comparing microbial community competition between samples will be completed in R. This research will provide information on the relative abundances of the types of bacteria present in samples from different contaminated Arctic soils. The results of the study will provide a baseline database of microbial diversity, and will improve our understanding of the diversity of the region and potential for microbial remediation of contaminated Arctic soils
Investigating the Potential for High-CBD Cannabis Sativa and Nitric Oxide to Modulate SARS-CoV-2 Spike-ACE2 Binding
Full text linkA critical step of the SARS-CoV-2 infection is interaction between the SARS-CoV-2 Spike (S) protein’s receptor binding domain on the surface of the viral particle and the ACE2 receptor on the surface of human cells. Thus, the identification of small molecules, antibodies, or other biological molecules that interfere with the formation of the S-ACE2 complex, could help to develop drugs to prevent or treat COVID-19.(1) High-CBD Cannabis treatments show modulation of ACE2 gene expression and ACE2 protein levels in human tissues, but it is unclear if the many cannabimimetic molecules also directly interact with the S-ACE2 binding or if it is merely due to the cannabinoid receptor mediated affects.(2) Additionally, NO likely causes conformational changes on surface glycoproteins that can interfere with host cell fusion, preventing infection and release of virions from already infected host cells, like neuraminidase inhibitors.(3) We will use a RayBio COVID-19 Spike-ACE2 binding assay kit, which is an in vitro enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, to determine if cannabinoids and terpenes can interfere directly with the S-ACE2 binding, independent of cannabinoid receptors. Additionally, we will determine if NO interferes directly with the RBD of the Spike protein, and if there is a synergistic effect with a formulation of cannabinoids, terpenes, and NO, to give an enhanced interference
The Post-harvest Effects on the Growth of Lodgepole pine \u3ci\u3e(Pinus contorta var. latifolia)\u3c/i\u3e on the Perimeter of Harvested Strips
Full text linkLodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. latifolia) was harvested by Tolko on a site near Kelowna, located in the Montane Spruce biogeoclimatic zone, in 2018 using a strip-selection method leaving tree reserves. Previously, the area was harvested in 1975 and planted with Lodgepole pine. Each block consists of strips that are 10, 15, and 20 m widths, and all varying lengths. Two blocks were used in this project, one with strips laid out North to South and one with strips laid out East to West. This research determines if growth of trees on the edges have been stimulated by the canopy opening, and whether varying strip widths and orientations have an effect. Growth was determined by measuring diameter at breast height (DBH) and tree height for volume and by measuring annual growth using tree cores. These measurements will be compared to measurements taken pre-harvest in January 2017. Given the relatively increased light availability in trees that are South-facing and in 20 m strips, it was predicted that those trees will have the most growth since harvest. The results of this study could alter silviculture plans made by foresters to include trees on the edge of openings and potentially increase their harvest volume