Interim Dean Community Update - January 14, 2022

Date:

Dear OISE Faculty, Staff and Students,

Happy new year and hope you are having a very good start to the new term. After my last Deans community update in which I had expressed the optimism of a gradual increase to in-person activities, the public health situation changed resulting in modifications to those plans. We continue to look forward to opportunities in the near future where we can be together in-person.

In the meantime, I want to share a few updates including several from our OISE administrative and service units that are important for our faculty, staff and students to keep in mind at this time.

 
Welcome to our new Registrar’s Office and Student Experience: January 28, 10:00am

Previously known as the Office of the Registrar and Student Services, the ORSS has been renamed and is now the Registrar's Office and Student Experience (ROSE). Faculty and staff are invited to join the ROSE team on Jan 28th for a virtual meet and greet.

Join us to learn more about the name and role changes, meet new team members and get a better understanding of how ROSE supports the OISE student experience. You’ll also walk away with an updated internal contact list. 

While the Jan 28th event is for faculty and staff, communication and initiatives for students are also being planned and will be announced shortly. More event information will be shared closer to the date.
 

OISE Library hours and services

The OISE Library is open as of January 10, 2022 to UofT students, faculty, and staff. Please check the OISE Library Services Winter 2022 page for up-to-date information about hours and services. As the entrance to the OISE building is locked, please call 416-978-3636 or use your fob to enter.

Masks and COVID-19 health screening self-assessment (via UCheck or a paper-based self-assessment log) are required by all UofT libraries. You will also need to scan a QR code or complete a form for the purpose of contact tracing. 

To return library materials outside of OISE building hours, please visit the Robarts Library. There is a drop-box located outside, next to the ground floor entrance of the Robarts Library at 130 St. George St.

 

OISE Library hours and services

The University of Toronto Libraries have acquired two new e-resources of interest: 

Research Methods Primary Sources collection includes approximately 200 essays, videos, "How to" guides, and over 300 digitized primary sources. The platform is organized into three categories: Learning Tools, Case Studies, and Practice Sources. The Learning Tools section contains essays, videos, and "How to" guides that introduce the key concepts of conducting research and analyzing primary sources. The Case Studies section contains 120+ case studies that demonstrate how to evaluate primary sources. The Practical Sources section contain historical documents, including newspapers, correspondence, advertisements, and oral histories from 50+ archives. 


Faculti.net includes audio and video recordings of experts providing professional and research insights from their respective fields. It is a media library of news, analysis, facts, and figures and includes insights from various universities and research institutions, The United Nations, and more. Of interest to scholars in Education, Psychology, Social Science, Art, Medicine, Law, Business and Management, Science, Social Science, Art, and the Humanities. 

 

Education Commons Supporting your digital success in 2022!

The Education Commons has just updated their Virtual Drop-in Sessions page so you can book a private consultation to learn more about the most requested topics, or join a weekly drop-in.

One of the OISE communities top requests is Quercus. Do you want to know:

  • How to get access to Quercus (HRIS/ROSI)?
  • How to add graded discussions to your Quercus course?
  • How to create a group assignment?
  • How to set up a gradebook in Quercus?
  • How to have graded discussions with rubrics?
  • How to embed videos and PowerPoints into Quercus?
  • You’re new to Quercus and want to know where to start?

Join a weekly drop-in session for Quercus and Teaching Tools Thursdays from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm, or book a private consultation. You can also get quick tips on our YouTube channel including our Quercus Crash Course.

 

Implementing OISE's Sustainability and Climate Action Plan

OISE’s Sustainability and Climate Action Plan was launched a year ago in response to the climate crisis and you may be wondering what progress has been made.  OISE students, staff and faculty are invited to join in an interactive webinar on Monday January 31 from 4-5pm EST to connect with one another, learn more about the Plan’s implementation, and share ideas for how to further embed this work at OISE. An exciting new opportunity to engage OISE community members in this work will be announced! Hosted by the Climate Action Advisory Committee. Register in advance for this webinar.

 

Reminder about COVID Reporting

Consistent with University policy, students, staff, and faculty who think they may have COVID-19 symptoms (e.g. fever, cough, difficulty breathing, etc.) should stay home, self-isolate and complete the province’s self-assessment tool to determine next steps.

If you test positive for COVID-19 on a rapid or PCR test, you should immediately take the following actions:

  • Report this result directly to U of T’s Occupational Health Nurse by email at ehs.occhealth@utoronto.ca. This information will be kept confidential. 
  • Staff and faculty should report their sickness to their manager/chair in accordance with departmental processes.
  • Students should complete the self-declaration form on ACORN.

For the most current information, please visit the EHS COVID-19 webpage.

 

Thank you,

 

Normand Labrie, Ph.D., FRSC
Professor and Interim Dean