Daily Bulletin hits 5,000 issues today

Today's issue of the Daily Bulletin is number 5,000.

That's about 10 million words, give or take, for a publication that averages about 2,000 words an issue and has been produced between 246 and 248 times a year since being introduced in May 1993.

As they say, it adds up. Pictured above is a portion of the 51-volume hard copy archive of the Daily Bulletin, which takes up a couple of shelves in the Communications & Public Affairs office. A year's worth of printed Daily Bulletins makes a stack of paper 13 cm high.

The Daily Bulletin's history was recently summarized in a three part series in May to commemorate its 20th anniversary, but here's the Coles Notes version:

Originally the Daily Bulletin was distributed via gopher, an early Internet protocol that delivered text files to a network of "dumb terminals." In the spring of 1995, the first Web versions of the Daily Bulletin (still text-based) were given a test run. In 1997, to help mark the institution's 40th anniversary, a "Today in UW History" feature appeared daily. The Link of the Day debuted in 1998, and photos became commonplace in 1999. The Daily Bulletin's "When and Where" event listing, a companion to the university's own events calendar, was introduced in 2003, and the current design elements of the Daily Bulletin date to June 2006.

The Daily Bulletin's back issues are all available in the archive.

What goes into the Daily Bulletin? A little bit of this, that, and the other thing. The Daily Bulletin has been described as "a combination of breaking news, facts, highlights and a modest amount of literary comment". Readers will find announcements and news of campus-wide importance, brief mentions of events taking place in the next day or so, information intended to be of widespread use to people on campus, and links to even more information. Announcements that come from the university's administration, Communications & Public Affairs, and from individual departments, institutes, associations and clubs are regularly featured, as are observations of campus life, interesting photographs, videos, and other items of interest. At least, that's the theory.

The Daily Bulletin was edited by Chris Redmond from its inception in May 1993 to early November 2011. I've been at the helm for the last 435 issues. However, the Daily Bulletin has never really been a one-person operation. Aside from staff members in Communications & Public Affairs who lend a hand generating content and performing editorial duties in my absence, there are many, many talented people on campus whose contributions help make the Daily Bulletin what it is today.

The Daily Bulletin's readers deserve a shout-out as well - you are never shy in suggesting improvements. As work begins on issue 5,001, there's not much else to say but this: thank you for reading.

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What the heck is a student portal?

A message from the Student Portal Project Team.

Imagine a common, online space where Waterloo students can easily access the information and tools they need to be successful in and out of the classroom. That’s what the student portal project team (staff from the Student Success Office (SSO) and Information Systems and Technology (IST)) has been working on, and they are getting closer to making it a reality. 

The project team is developing a portal to act as a gateway for just-enough, just-in-time information for current Waterloo students.

The single sign-on portal will direct students to on campus resources, tools and information to make their experience at Waterloo easier. They’ll be able to customize widgets that appear in their portal, so they can get the information that is most relevant to them.

A few examples of widgets currently being worked on include:

• Route mapping from a student’s current location to their next class, highlighting the places for coffee along the way,
• Real-time data of campus parking lot space availability,
• A list of books needed for upcoming courses and their availability,
• A calendar with registrarial important dates and events, and
• Notifications alerting students when the fees arranged deadline is near and when marks are released.

Want to know more? Watch this video to get an overview of the project, how students and campus partners are being engaged and how you can be kept up-to-date on the portal’s progress.

There is still consultation and development work to do, but the project team is planning for beta testing in the fall term and optimistically, there will be a beta version to roll out in winter 2014. You can follow the portal’s progress on the IST blog and the collaborate site (your WatIAM credentials are required), where you can also make comments. We’ll continue to communicate via the Daily Bulletin with regular updates to keep the campus community informed.

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CTE to tell teachers' stories

The Centre for Teaching Excellence "is pleased to announce that we have published our first three "teaching stories" on our website," writes Mark Morton, Senior Instructional Developer at the Centre for Teaching Excellence. "These teaching stories are profiles of Waterloo instructors whose teaching practice is exemplary or otherwise noteworthy."

The purpose of these teaching stories is to honour excellent teaching in its own right, and to share good practices that can inspire or benefit other Waterloo instructors.

According to Morton, three more stories will be published before the close of the Spring term, with plans in the works for six stories every term thereafter. "It's great to be highlighting and sharing the excellent teaching that's happening at Waterloo!" he writes. Morton is also accepting suggestions and nominations for future story candidates.

The first three of these profiles will be appearing here in installments next week in abbreviated form under the series title "Tales of a Teacher."

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Friday's final thoughts

And now, a message from Retail Services: "Media.Doc Davis Centre is closed for renovations and will be reopening in September for the fall 2013 term. For 3D Printing or Project Printing & Binding please visit Media.Doc EIT.  All other inquiries can be directed at Laurie Weiler." A full list of Media.Doc locations and services is available online. The Davis Centre location is closed effective Monday, August 12.

Co-operative Education and Career Action (CECA) is reporting that JobMine will be unavailable on Monday, August 12 while the system undergoes routine maintenance. The downtime will begin at 6:00 a.m.

The following staff members retired as of August 1, 2013:

• Rosemary Dickson, Food Services Assistant in Food Services, who started at the university in January 1995;
• Anna Gerrard, Clinic Assistant in Health Services, who started in September 1986;
• James Schurter, MathFrog Co-ordinator in the Office of the Dean of Mathematics and Centre for Education in Mathematics and Computing who started in September 2006;
• Ana Hohbaum, Kitchen Porter in Food Services, who began working at the university in September 2005;
• Carol Stewart, Housekeeper in Housing and Residences, who started work in October 1996;
• Gail Hansen Cunningham, Director of Organizational Services in Housing and Residences, who started work at the university in March of 1987; and
• Lois Clifford, Librarian at Renison University College, who began working at the university in July 2000.

Congratulations folks!

Finally, I will be away on vacation for the week of August 12 to 16, but I am leaving the Daily Bulletin in the capable hands of my colleagues in Communications & Public Affairs. Please continue to send story ideas and comments to bulletin@uwaterloo.ca directly. See you on Monday the 19th!

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