! WELCOME BACK ! ! to UVIC ! ! September 2022 ! ! … and The CALL Facility too !
A full week has passed since classes started at UVIC! That would cover every day that has classes! It has been extremely busy on campus, especially outdoors with so many orientations, booths, tents and activities like Thunderfest for all students, especially new students! WELCOME TO UVIC!
The Computer Help Desk had tents up at Thunderfest as well as the day before classes started last week. CHD had a brand new PRIZE WHEEL to give away prizes! YAY CHD!
A couple of photos of the tents for all the activities and staffed by ALL kinds of CHD staff from new Coops to Consultants to Supers to Full Time Staff to our Associate Director too! GREAT TEAM EFFORT FROM EVERYONE! Those tents DO require team effort to setup and take down! YAY CHD!
CHD Thunderfest
Clearihue CHD
Clearihue CHD
All sorts of exciting stuff will be happening throughout September & all upcoming semesters!
Did you know you can reserve Student Study Spaces, including the desks at the back of The CALL Facility? There are Project Rooms in BEC, Group Study Tables in Clearihue (CALL), Virtual Reality (VR) Studio in BEC and a Digital Media Studio in HSD! ALL from THIS WEBSITE! Photos below!
A few more Dual Monitors
CALL now has DUAL MONITORS ON ALL COMPUTER WORKSTATIONS! And that is on all the Macs and WIN computers! I was able to re-purpose a bunch of monitors heading towards recycling and they now have a new lease on life in CALL! And it did not cost a penny! I used all available cables, monitors, dongles and power bars! BONUS FOR BEING A GREEN CALL FACILITY! Here are many UVIC Green Recycling Sites to check out too! These and the best of my Pages are always at the right hand side of each of my Bog Blog Posts.
I am always tinkering with my CALL Facility orientation, starting as a PowerPoint and with the goal to be under 5 minutes TOTAL as a presentation! I have tweaked my BETA version and now have what I think I will use as my file! And as a YouTube video as well!
CHD Jeopardy Greg’s Playlist II
AND I have the next CHD All Staff Training Jeopardy ready! Greg’s Playlist II and all new questions, answers, prizes and lyrics and CHD questions to try and answer! I even have NEW TYPES OF QUESTIONS TOO! But you will have to wait and .. also be staff at CHD to get the invite to the training! Come for the training … but stay for the food … and CHD JEOPARDY!
And huge HUGE NEWS THAT … I can’t really tell you about … but WILL! There are new computers coming! Wait, they are ALREADY HERE! But wait, they are not yet ready to deploy! YES NEW COMPUTERS! CHD staff unpacked them and we have to store them for now, as classes have started, so maybe by Reading Break I will let everyone know where they will be deployed! YAY NEW COMPUTERS! Stay glued to my Bog Blog for that and any other breaking Computer Help Desk news!
And how about a new feature every so often – a Throwback Link to topics … somewhat close to this one! LOL! And even some parting advice at the end of this blog, if you read that far! I sure hope you do!
CALL Layout I
CALL Layout II
CALL Layout III
The best feature of the CALL layout (thanks to rolling desks!) is distancing to make sure everyone has enough room, should they want it. There are lots of open workstations for students and of course, all new computers from last August 2021 too.
CALL has hosted many mid-terms, Finals and special workshops including a Chat Café with Korea! Really! So come on down and see what you have been missing out on as a study space for yourself and fellow students!
Thanks to EVERYONE for all your help and support over the past 2+ Covid years. Without my colleagues support and friendship, I have no idea how I would have fared! THANK YOU ALL! And hey, to quote one of my favourite TV shows of all time …. Hill Street Blues ….. and I have to mention St. Elsewhere too. AWESOME SHOWS! ENJOY!
To check the schedule for CALL, it is posted at the front entrance TO The CALL Facility. It is not online. A sample schedule for THIS week is to the right. I always post the following week too. There are ASL Final Exams scheduled in The CALL Facility once the term is over. Otherwise, regular hours for students throughout the entire Final Exam period.
No food or beverages have been a policy in our computing facilities in CLE, BEC and HSD for literally years, so that will not be going away. And until someone can show me how they can eat or drink WITH THEIR MASK ON, it is a great policy. I have seen too many computers, desks, keyboards, mice, monitors and carpets ruined from spills. Not to mention textbooks, mousepads, peripherals and .. guess who gets to clean the mess up!
It makes even MORE sense during Covid too. Let’s be safe and sound. I even go outside, OUTDOORS, to have even a jelly bean, granola bar or a sip of tea. Hey, it’s Victoria, not Northern Alberta – you are not going to suffer frostbite anytime soon!
And UVic is offering free Covid-19 Rapid Test kits. You can GET YOUR COVID TEST KIT! through thrive.uvic.ca, and I did, but you can just as easily just head over to the concessions booth area at the stadium, present your OneCard and get a free kit – SUPER FAST AND SUPER EASY! And I think this Friday, March 4th is the last day, so get going!!
No doubt, there will be more updates, changes and continuation of Covid-19 updates. I will post them as they change for using our computing facilities and how life will slowly return to a ‘new normal’ at UVic. Stay safe. Stay healthy. EVERYONE!
Masks will be required to be worn by students at all times in classrooms and study spaces except where exempt for a medical reason. Consuming food and beverages will not be permitted in classrooms, labs, study spaces or libraries.
Masks must be worn in common areas of buildings, including in on-campus housing and office buildings (e.g., lobbies, hallways, bathrooms).
So ………… Back to Campus January 2022 … but on-line for a couple of weeks!
UVic is back to remote learning but only until Monday January 24th, when it is expected that in person classes will resume. Make sure you keep up to date with every UVic notification about returning to campus safely.
Photos of recent FMIS request to remove recyclables from CALL .
– A great variety of cables, power bars, computers (HDs removed), paper (text, manuals), peripherals (keyboards, mice, headsets, ethernet, etc.) and various miscellaeous other recyclables.
December 7, 2021
This is basically a sequel post to my last one ‘What’s Next for September?‘ as I have not had time to post ANYTHINGsince returning to work on campus, full time, face to face, as everyone else did too!
BUT the exception is TODAY, my first scheduled RWA (Working Remotely) to .. work remotely once a week. Working with my amazing colleagues at CHD, we each submitted our RWA to our Asscciate Director, making sure we cover each other on our respective RWA days. We have been doing that anyways for years, this merely formalizes it for specific days for each of us. AND if I am needed on campus that day for an orientation, demo or something … I just come to campus that day! Thanks to all of M, T, H and G for working together on this! Teamwork and communication!
And so NOW, the ultimate question is … What IS Next for 2022?
I have absolutely no idea! I can only reflect on this past semester – the challenges and successes I encountered returning to The Computer Help Desk and The CALL Facility … in a nutshell!
The biggest change was of course, full face to face with students, staff, faculty and … SO MANY PEOPLE ON CAMPUS! Mask wearing was mandated and basically, we were all back into the swing of things … instantly!
I fielded so many requests for CALL bookings, resources, hours of operation and … bewildered 1st AND 2nd Year students being on campus for the FIRST TIME! And new Instructors, new pedagogy based on technology (Brightspace, Zoom, Teams, OAC, Echo 360, … you name it!). AND many, many regulars of CALL returned if they had not graduated already! Thank you all for your patience and for returning to The CALL Facility!
I even changed the configuration of my desk so that there would be social distancing between CHD Consultants and myself in CALL! Okay, just switched sides, but that is an important change – and now I can see people when they come into CALL!
CALL had a marked increase in usage for American Sign Language, Korean (Chat Cafe!), French, Spanish and Italian! With the need for distancing and masking, I had to modify my approach AND content to everyone, even the Instructors! That was actually SO MUCH FUN and basically I was re-learning my duties and job .. ON THE FLY!
I literally was hosting a 3 minute ‘demo’ of what CALL is, how to use the NEW computers and even a super fast demo of Audacity at one point, using both WIN and MAC on the VDP!
Anytime you are dealing with new equipment, new computers and new students and expectations from new Instructors …. be afraid! But I was thrilled that ALL THE COMPUTERS AND TECHNOLOGY WORKED FLAWLESSLY!
The WiFi worked flawlessly even for upwards of 40+ students and their own laptops! The ‘Korean Chat Cafe’ with Zoom worked instantly, Brightspace was in high demand and students could CHOOSE WIN OR MAC! That was VERY welcome amongst students! And ASL mid-terms and Finals just … WORKED! CALL will be hosting the ASL Final exams which make use of webcams, Brightspace, Macs and Windows, recording and … CALL is the only facility that can offer that .. okay, CLE A103 has a room of iMacs, and they work flawlessly too! YAY TKAT!
Korean Chat Cafe
ASL American Sign Language
One of my favourite tasks was creating a new Keynote for each new semester, with all the new ‘stuff’ in CALL. But it was not worth the time to do that, considering I was able to do quick demos, as the class came in, with a minimum of fuss. But, the last ‘5-ish Magic Words” lives on as a downloadable file and at YouTube too!
Oh yes, NEW COMPUTERS and NEW FURNITURE! Just click on those links and you will see previous posts about all the new stuff, now all installed in CALL! MANY thanks to everyone at CHD who helped moving a literal ‘Mountain of Tech‘ that came in during the summer! And it would be remiss of me to again mention that CHD recycles as much as possible – plastics (hard and soft), cardboard and paper.
The ‘NEW STUFF‘, EACH computer (Mac Minis & DELL WIN) makes CALL quite unique! CALL is the ONLY computing facility on campus to offer: a blend of MAC and WIN computers, webcams on each computer, 24″ monitors, ethernet and solid WiFi, external optical media drives (Mac only), USB headphones with stereo microphones, private booths (with and without computers), table space, 55″ monitors at 2- ‘office/desk’ locations, 4 rolling whiteboards (2 big, 2 small) for use anywhere in CALL – AND DROP-
New CALL Furniture
IN USE, unless CALL is scheduled!! Yeah, that makes CALL very, very unique! Oh and lots of new furniture too … hint, hint!
I have even been returning as much media and resources TO each Humanities Department, for their own decisions about what to do with old CDs, DVDs, software, VHS tapes, etc. The CALL Facility, under the umbrella of Systems, has never ‘owned’ or ‘bought’ any language resources. That was always based on Departmental needs and their syllabus for each language course. So, returning it frees up much needed room.
And a ‘Not-So-Hidden-Agenda Item’ is to re-introduce myself, The Computer Help Desk and of course, The CALL Facility to all the new staff in each Department, usually beginning with their Office Manager! Yes, there IS a method to my madness!
I have kept a few very, VERY unique software packages, including McMaster French, the very FIRST software ever installed in CALL .. and needs MS:DOS to run! THANK YOU Patrickfor keeping it going for so many years, I did not have the heart to return it for shredding! So, it lives on in 3.5″ floppy disk format in the CALL closet! The last group to use it was LMF 23 summers ago, pre-Covid.
And instead of returning to in-person training, CHD is scheduling separate 1-hour afternoon sessions on specific topics for all new and returning staff, including Coops. So that does not give me an opportunity to do a full Jeopardy. BUT, at the end of our CHD Reviews (2-3 times a week) I am hosting a ‘Blast From Your Past‘ Jeopardy! I have about 9 previous Jeopardy training sessions, 180+ ‘Questions’ and going through them all to give a sense of history and .. whimsy .. to CHD, CALL and training! A nice way to end each session too – 2 or 3 questions and have some fun at the end of some training.
What else … I decided to buy my own new PURPLE IMAC too, although it is more of a … Lavendar! My computers at home were too old to really be secure, so .. NEW COMPUTER! 1TB SSD, 16GB RAM, extended keyboard and …. PURPLE(Lavendar!)
And that is about it for now! A longer post, but catching up on the most important changes and improvements in The CALL Facility.
Challenges remain – we are still in the Covid Pandemic and everyone should keep wearing your masks, social distancing, wash your hands and stay as safe and healthy as possible. I am including Covid information below as well. I hope to do more Bog Blogs in the future, especially on RWA Wednesdays! And who knows what new Tech is around the corner for us at CHD, The CALL Facility and UVic in general!
Who ya gonna CALL? THE COMPUTER HELP DESK!Stay safe everyone!
What an exhausting and long year since last August – my last full vacation!
And exhausting … for ALL OF US! I am so fortunate to have been able to work with such amazing and incredible colleagues at The Computer Help Desk over the past … 500+ DAYS! Yes, it has been that long since we started working remotely, late in March of 2020!
Without ALL of their support, humour, leadership, imagination, guidance and every single possible ‘intangible‘ that each and every single one of them, ALL BRING to our Teams meetings, emails, texts, GIFs, Emojis, Jeopardy, Quote Contests, it would have been impossible to accomplish a fraction of what WE ALL DID AS A TEAM!
THANK YOU ALL!
A few key UVic and BC websites for returning to campus in September for everyone!
52 iMacs (circa 2012-2013), Dual-Boot (WIN and iOS) that served students, staff, Instructors and Faculty SO WELL … and don’t owe us anything, are now on the way to their Forever Recycle Home!
And The CALL Facility is back to … mostly normal, as you can see the ‘Before‘ all the iMacs (& other miscellaneous recyclables!) were picked up and the … ‘After‘! And yes, those are NEW DESKS, TABLES AND FURNITURE! More presents are coming for September!
CALL Before iMacs Recycled
CALL Before iMacs Recycled
CALL After iMacs Recycled
And the huge mountain of tech has now been moved to their Forever (for now!) homes across campus! Thanks to ALLISON for organizing everything so we all knew … what would go where! YAY ALLISON!
Each workstation in CALL now has either a NEW DELL or a NEW MAC MINI! They will all be ready for September – so much ‘Behind the Scenes‘ is going on, so that we are ready for September!
And HSD was added to the mix for recycling cardboard, plastic and paper too!
HSD and more cardboard!
HSD Cardboard Pancakes
HSD Cardboard Sandwich
HSD Hallway of Cardboard
Thanks to Sage and Keanu for helping out make mountains out of cardboard molehills! YAY SAGE AND KEANU!
We are not done yet and there are more presents to unwrap and recycle the wrapping over the summer, in preparation for September! Stay tuned!
I did a previous post about Recycling in CALL, and have also included the same Gallery of photos here, to show HOW MUCH CARDBOARD is used when purchasing technology! One computer is lots … DOZENS ADDS UP TO ?QUITE A BIT OF CARDBOARD!
! WELCOME BACK !
A full week has passed since classes started at UVIC! That would cover every day that has classes! It has been extremely busy on campus, especially outdoors with so many orientations, booths, tents and activities like Thunderfest for all students, especially new students! WELCOME TO UVIC!
Did you know you can reserve Student Study Spaces, including the desks at the back of The CALL Facility? There are Project Rooms in BEC, Group Study Tables in Clearihue (CALL), Virtual Reality (VR) Studio in BEC and a Digital Media Studio in HSD! ALL from THIS WEBSITE! Photos below!
FOR BEING A GREEN CALL FACILITY! Here are many UVIC Green Recycling Sites to check out too! These and the best of my Pages are always at the right hand side of each of my Bog Blog Posts. 
CALL Towering Tech Arrivals
CALL Computer Refresh Deja Vu .. All Over Again
with such amazing and incredible colleagues at The Computer Help Desk over the past … 500+ DAYS! Yes, it has been that long since we started working remotely, late in March of 2020!
Whatever CAN be recycled 
52 iMacs (circa 2012-2013), Dual-Boot (WIN and iOS) that served students, staff, Instructors and Faculty SO WELL … and don’t owe us anything, are now on the way to their Forever 
