Hi Applied Arts,
I can’t think of a better time to get back to sending out monthly (or perhaps even more frequent) Dean’s Updates than now. My last update was a year ago. Yikes!
In present circumstances, I will not use Dean’s Updates to relay offical Yukon College COVID-19 response items—the College’s daily bulletins will provide the most accurate information, so please keep reading them.
This space is better used to highlight as much of the good work and creative thinking you folks are doing during this challenging set of circumstances as well as other divisional news once things settle down. So, feel free to send me notes, via whatever platform, about how you’re supporting students, getting work done from home, staying connected with colleagues, etc., and I’ll try my best to tell those stories here.
This situation is bound to make some of us feel, well, lonely, so we need as many venues for connection as we can find. For my own part, I have 3 kids under 10, so I’m never allowed to be alone, let alone lonely.
Here are some stories from around Applied Arts:
The Art of Isolation
If you want to see some creative takes on overcoming social distancing (without undoing the health benefits of social distancing), check out #artofisolation on Instagram. Our friends at YSOVA are prominently featured.
Health Care Students & Screening
It looks like students in our Health Care Assistant and Practical Nurse programs will be asked to help Health and Social Services implement screening measures at the airport. #experientiallearning
Academic Support Centre
The ASC has plenty of experience delivering its services in distance formats, so I think Janna and her team are well positioned to continue to provide academic support to students. I just want to thank everyone involved with the ASC for sorting out the logistics on such a short timeline. To Applied Arts faculty: now more than ever it is crucial that you familiarize yourself with the range of services the ASC provides, so that you can direct students when they come back to modes of online delivery that may unfamiliar to them next week.
Teaching and Learning
Earlier today, I heard from Rhonda Wildeman, with the Teaching and Learning Team, that she would like to see more instructors reaching out to T&L for support, advice, and training—particularly around the variety of education technology available. Don’t be shy folks. Rhonda, Jane and Kayleigh want to help.
Office365 – Teams & Yammer
I realize many of you might not want any more software platforms in your lives right now, but if you’re not connected to fellow College staff on social media platforms and want to chat informally with them (i.e., have “hallway” conversations not necessarily about work), you might want to check out the Yammer app in Office365. I haven’t used Yammer in a long while. It’s like a Facebook for workplaces. If you need to work collaboratively on projects, you might be interested in Office365’s Teams app. It has a social dynamic to it, too, but is more geared towards group collaboration on tasks and projects.
That’s all I can think of for now. As I said earlier this week, I am amazed by the can-do approach I’m seeing across the whole division. If at any time you want to connect with me directly, feel free to phone or text 867.332.5405 or send me an email.
Take care,
Andrew