ZSR’s digital publishing administrator Bill Kane is offering “Wake the eBooks: Audio Books, Ad Hoc” through the the PDC on Tuesday, Dec. 2, from 2-4 p.m.

The course will cover how Digital Publishing @ Wake can turn digital documents into highly accessible, highly consumable, and highly mobile-friendly “listen-able” texts — enhancing teaching, learning, and reading across the classroom, campus and community.

Audio samples are available online: “Talking Text: A Readspeaker + Tizra Test Document Collection.”

For more information, contact Bill Kane at kanewp@nullwfu.edu or 336-758-6181.

Wake Forest offers the following collaborative tools to all faculty, staff and students. 

• WebEx
• Google Apps (Chat, Drive, Slides, Docs, etc.)
• Show and Share
• VoiceThread

To learn more about any of these topics, check out the Professional Development Center (PDC) for classes and webinars. If you have any questions about collaborative technologies at WFU, let us know. Visit us at The Bridge, or contact us at help@nullwfu.edu or 336-758-4357.

Multiple learning opportunities are available here and there and everywhere from the Information Systems Learning Team. Classes are available at various locations to accommodate busy schedules. Webinars make learning easy and convenient, and IS is offering several 15-minute online classes this month.

The IS Learning Team updates their class offerings regularly. Use the IS Learning Calendar for an at-a-glance look at educational opportunities or visit the Professional Development Center. If you have a question, email is-learning@nullwfu.edu.

Below are the classes offered in November.

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A message from Kris Shelton, instructional designer, Center for Leadership and Character at the Wake Forest School of Business

Snow days are coming! Last winter, Wake Forest University had 10 days where classes were either delayed or cancelled due to snow and ice. To help faculty and staff across the University be prepared to use technology to run a virtual class during a snow day, the Center for Leadership & Character is co-sponsoring with the Collaborative Technologies Team and the Instructional Technologies Group the “Build an Extra Class Day! Web Tools Workshop Series.”

The “Choose Your Snow Day Adventure” workshop, the first in the Web Tools Workshop Series, will be held on Thursday, Oct. 30 from 3:30 to 5 p.m. in Farrell Hall, Room 108.

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Andrea Ellis, director of recruitment and organizational development, and John Champlin, manager of recruitment and organizational development, presented “An Unusual Cross-Utilization of HR Resources” at the 2014 College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR) National Conference in San Antonio, Texas, in September.

The session outlined the “Career Planning” series that was launched in the fall of 2012 and the collaboration between the recruiting function and the professional development function within the Wake Forest Human Resources Office. The series has been extremely successful and has grown to include five different career-oriented classes and a number of small-group career coaching events.

Additionally, Ellis and Champlin detailed the “Facilitator-Expert Model” and the roles of each contributor. The approximately 35 attendees were engaged in the discussion and remarked how applicable this model could be at their institutions.

This marks the third year in a row that a member of the Wake Forest Professional Development Center has presented at the National CUPA-HR Conference.

The Office of the Provost is sponsoring a Staff Appreciation Night at the Winston-Salem Dash on July 16. The evening is complimentary to Wake Forest University staff and their immediate families. Parking will be available for $5. More details will follow.

Doors open at 6 p.m. Game starts at 7 p.m.

To reserve tickets, register with the PDC. Contact the Office of the Provost at provostevent@nullwfu.edu with any questions. Space is limited.

On Saturday, July 5, 2014, between 7:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., Information Systems will upgrade Sakai, Wake Forest’s learning management system.  Sakai will not be available during this time.

Previously created courses and sites and their content will be retained. Sakai will have new functionality as well as an updated look and feel. Upgrades include improved features to the Resources, Gradebook, and Section Info tools as well as major additions and improvements to Lessons (which is now turned on by default), Test and Quizzes, Profile 2, Forums and Messages.

Visit http://pprd.sakai.wfu.edu to preview the new look and feel. Note that this pre-production environment is only accessible on-campus or by VPN off-campus. More information about improvements, new features, and learning opportunities will be forthcoming. PDC classes will also be available.  We are sending this information now to help you plan for the upcoming semester.

If you have any questions, please contact Information Systems at help@nullwfu.edu or 336-758-4357.

The University has expanded the PAD (Public Access Defibrillator) program on campus. AED’s (Automated External Defibrillators) have been upgraded and installed in highly trafficked public areas for use in the event that a person in cardiac arrest may be helped immediately. There are 38 AEDs in various locations across campus.

Training has been provided on AED awareness to faculty and staff who work in a building that houses an AED.

CPR/AED Certification is being offered through the PDC for $45 fee. You will be asked to provide your budget code when you register. The 3.5 hour course prepares the layperson to respond to choking, breathing and cardiac emergencies and provides instruction on how to use an automated external defibrillator in conjunction with CPR.This National Safety Council course meets the current CPR and ECC guidelines using a combination of instructor, video-self-instruction and hands-on training.

The first class of several class sessions will be held on Thursday, May 22.

The Professional Development Center hosted representatives from higher education from across North America for the 4th Annual Professional and Organizational Development Conference. The event, held Feb. 16 – 18, was attended by 20 different universities. Participants attended sessions, networked and shared best practices related to staff and faculty development in higher education.

Session topics included:
· Successful Succession Planning
· Leadership Development Programs: Staying Fresh
· Online Education: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
· Partnering for Success
· Oh No. . . Not Another Boring New Employee Orientation!

Institutions in Attendance included: Bucknell, Case Western Reserve, Colorado College, Colorado State, Elon, Forsyth Technical Community College, Guilford Technical Community College, N.C. State, South Piedmont Community College, Texas A&M, University of Arkansas, University of Guelph, UNC (Chapel Hill), University of North Dakota, University of Richmond, University of South Carolina, University of Virginia, Wake Technical Community College, Wilfred Laurier University, Wor-Wic Community College

Spring 2014 Safe Zone training sessions are open for registration.

The Safe Zone program is an in-depth, interactive presentation designed to educate Wake Forest faculty, staff and students about the LGBTQ community. Anti-LGBTQ bias and prejudice affects all members of a community, and we all have the opportunity to work against it. Participants learn what it means to be an ally—a person who supports and stands up for the rights of LGBTQ people—as well as how to create a Safe Zone. Allies who have completed the training program will be given a Safe Zone sticker, identifiable to the entire campus, which may be displayed on the ally’s door to designate it as a safe place for all members of the community.

To sign up for a Safe Zone training session, register on the PDC website.

Available sessions:
Feb. 28, 2014 – 9 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
March 18, 2014 – 6 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.
April 16, 2014 – 1 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Follow Wake Forest’s LGBTQ Center on Twitter @wfu_lgbtq