Students, please check in on each other and talk on the phone. Staying connected to each other will help us to know we are doing well. Faculty should be contacting you soon if they have not already to let you know the expectations for next week. Being mindful of email is more important now than ever!
Don't be TOO inactive (thanks to Dr. Jackie Zera, Exercise Science)
Staying healthy during this time is central to our mission of reducing the spread of COVID-19. As such, it is important to remember that your immune system is significantly affected by diet, stress, sleep, and exercise. While we want you to be relatively "socially" inactive, it is very beneficial to keep your body moving to boost your immune system and reduce stress. The relationship between exercise and immunity is what we call a J-curve. On one end of the spectrum, being sedentary makes you vulnerable to infections like colds and flus, including the coronavirus. On the other end of the spectrum, running yourself down too much with too much high intensity exercise, stress, lack of sleep, etc., can make you vulnerable as well. However, exercising moderately, getting our 150 minutes of moderate to high physical activity a week that can be done in as little as ten minute bouts, will reduce your risk for these infections.
Therefore, over the next few weeks, as we transition our classes to an online format, remember to make time to get up and move your body every day. One important thing to keep in mind, given the recommendations to implement social distancing and avoid crowds, is WHERE you should be exercising. While you may be used to spending your winter and early spring months at the gym for exercise, consider getting outside and going for a walk, taking a bike ride, or trading the treadmill for the track. The combination of exercise, sunshine (optimistic, we know...), and fresh air can boost your immune system, combat stress, improve your mood and give you more positive energy to embrace this new challenge.
Online as opposed to face-to-face: tips (thanks to Brooke McQuinn, Academic Coach)
You have probably already given some consideration to how learning online will be different, but the attached guide has some quick tips to prepare yourself. Faculty cannot be online 24/7, so the expectations around communication may be different.
Writing Center (thanks to Maria Soriano Young):
The Writing Center will not be physically open, but its services will continue. The Center is available for all JCU students, faculty, and staff -- just as before. All consultations will take place online through Zoom and Google Docs, and staffers will give students the option to request synchronous sessions (video chat with a consultant over Zoom) or asynchronous (review of a paper through Google Docs where a consultant adds comments, but the student need not be online as well).
Students can request appointments as before, by emailing the Writing Center at writingcenter@jcu.edu) or filling out a Google Form. The director has made it a priority that the Writing Center will continue to provide support for students while they are working on papers remotely.
How to use Zoom and Canvas basics:
Students should familiarize themselves with Zoom and Canvas as soon as possible. This link contains resources and tutorials. You should be ready for Monday by having Zoom available in case your instructors use synchronous courses
Laboratories
Information from individual instructors should be showing up soon. Please see your Canvas course for announcements or your email.
Virtual Community Engagement for Students (thanks to Sr. Katherine Feely)
CSSA will continue to send out its weekly e-newsletter but will shift to providing creative ways students can stay connected, create virtual community with each other and their service sites, and continue to make a difference no matter where they are.
Virtual service opportunities will be included in each e-newsletter.
Stay tuned to the CSSA Instagram account for inspiring stories, updates, and uplift.
Watch for online meet-ups for discussion and reflection. Sign-ups will be linked from the e-newsletter.
A new Community Engagement web page is being created to provide students with Ted Talks connected to social justice topics, advocacy opportunities. Support, and connection. See jcu.edu/service for the link when it goes live.
Student Food Pantry (thanks to Sr. Katherine Feely)
The JCU Student Food Pantry will remain open M-F 8:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m. and available for any student who needs it. Stop in to Residence Life for the key and they will be happy to provide it.
Celebration of Scholarship
As you have probably heard by now, Celebration of Scholarship has been cancelled and will not be rescheduled. This includes the Poster and Panel sessions. We understand that many faculty include participation in Celebration as part of their course requirements. The Honors, Leadership and Arrupe programs, as well as the Colleran Weaver fellowship, also require participation. The Honors and Leadership programs have decided to waive this requirement given the circumstances this year. The Arrupe program is working directly with its students to meet program goals in other ways.
If you are enrolled for a course that requires you to present at Celebration, please be aware that there are virtual opportunities to fulfill that requirement. The first thing you should do is contact the course instructor to find out what that person wants to do at this point. If the instructor wants to retain the presentation requirement, you can use one of several free, online resources to create a video presentation that you can then send to your instructor. You can also post the presentation, along with an abstract, on the Celebration of Scholarship website and archived in Carroll Collected.
We know how much time you’ve already invested in your Celebration projects and would encourage you to share your work by virtual means. Possible tools for doing so include the following:
1. Loom (www.loom.com) – Capture, narrate and instantly share videos to communicate faster, clearer and friendlier. 100% free! With Loom, you can record your screen, voice, and face to create an instantly shareable video in less time than it would take to type an email.
2. Screencast-O-Matic (https://screencast-o-matic.com/) - Video creation for everyone. At Screencast-O-Matic, we don’t believe that video recording and editing should be difficult, or cost a fortune. Our simple and intuitive tools help you get the job done easily.
3. Zoom (www.zoom.com) – Host a meeting for one, share your desktop (if you are presenting a poster), use the “Annotation” tools, and record your presentation.
4. Google Meet (https://meet.google.com/_meet) – Start a meeting for one, share your desktop (if you are presenting a poster), and record your presentation.
Sincerely,
Dr. Mike Martin, Associate Dean of Sciences, Mathematics, & Health
Dr. Jim Krukones, Associate Academic Vice-President
Academic Continuity Working Group co-chairs