Welcome back to an new academic year. HR has been working hard to organize a variety of workshops for the Fall 2020 semester for our employees. Please read through the choices and register for the ones that you are interested in. We hope you will engage in these opportunities and that they help you navigate your way through the semester as we continue to work in a primarily remote environment. If you are interested in something that you don’t see listed, please contact us and we’ll do our best to provide the training.
Resilience in a Remote World
This virtual experience explores how to build personal resilience in this unprecedented global situation where we are striving to find new ways to collaborate and contribute to UFV’s success. Levels of stress are sometimes high, changes are often rapid, significant and uncertain leaving many of us feeling overwhelmed. Personal resilience is an essential factor in keeping ourselves well amidst the constant churn. Contrary to what many people think, resilience is not a trait people either have or do not have, rather it involves behaviours, thoughts and actions that can be learned and developed by anyone and anytime. Building resilience is a key human skill and adds both to personal effectiveness at work and to overall well-being. This one-hour session will:
- Explore 8 resilience factors that contribute to well-being,
- Help you to identify which factors are strengths
- Highlight the resilience factors that you can boost to enhance your personal well-being,
- Provide an opportunity to begin to build a personal resilience strategy.
This session will also include pre-work: a short e-learning module to help you review the essential elements that will be discussed in the session. This link will be sent prior to the session and takes approximately 10 minutes to review. Participants will also receive post-session resources on building a personal resilience strategy.
Date & Location: Wednesday, October 28, 2020 Online from 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Facilitator: Kim White
RSVP: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/resilience-in-a-remote-world-tickets-120644233149
Write to be Read
This course teaches ways to ensure your writing is read, understood, and acted on. The course is engaging, relevant and useful with lots of before and after examples, tips and best practices. It’s highly practical with lots of in-class exercises. Participants can also do the exercises using their own writing.
- Proven techniques that will enhance readability immediately
- Practical ways to engage the reader
- How to draw attention to your key messages
- How to clearly impart information and ideas
- How to significantly improve reader comprehension
- How to relationally compose written messages to convey intended tone
All the principles learned in this course apply to writing emails, documentation, web copy and basically any organizational communication.
Date & Location: Tuesday, October 20, 2020 Online from 9:00 am – 12:30 pm (Max 27 participants)
Facilitator: Sharon Habib, Kwela Leadership
RSVP: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/write-to-be-read-tickets-120644518001
High Impact Communication Skills
This workshop is about developing communication skills to advance your understanding of the communication process to improve your interpersonal relationships. This workshop is your opportunity to identify your dominant communication style and that of others, enabling you to communicate more effectively. Increase your knowledge and overcome self-limiting concepts and behaviours as well as learning how to respond to the aggressive, passive, and passive-aggressive behaviours of others. Knowing how and when to be persuasive in your communications helps achieve goals and enhance the self-esteem of yourself and your colleagues. In this workshop, you will learn how to:
- apply practical tips on verbal and non-verbal communication
- gain insight into your style to effectively remove barriers in your communication
- choose the most effective and appropriate communication style to deliver your
message – no matter what - ensure clarity of meaning, and learn methods to correct your ways for improved
communication - master the keys to excellent communication: observe, listen, analyze, and plan
Date & Location: Tuesday, November 24, 2020 Online (Zoom) from 9:00 am – 12:00 pm (Max 25 participants)
Facilitator: Diana Kawarsky, The Soft Skills Group
RSVP: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/high-impact-communication-skills-tickets-120644630337
Professional Communications in the Workplace
Effective communication is the foundation of positive working relationship and customer service excellence. In this interactive workshop, you will enhance your communication skills, recognize barriers to successful communication and learn practical tools you can implement to develop personal influence and manage difficult conversations.
Date & Location: Thursday, October 22nd, 2020 Online from 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm
Facilitator: Monica Affleck
RSVP: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/professional-communications-in-the-workplace-tickets-120644792823
Supporting Students in the Time of COVID-19
Many of our students are struggling with the various impacts of COVID-19 and physical distancing measures. In this session, we will discuss how to support students equitably and sustainably when our own capacity for empathy is limited. Participants will be asked to reflect upon and share their own experiences of supporting students during this time of uncertainty and anxiety.
Date & Location: Tuesday, September 29, 2020 Online from 10:00 am – 12:30 pm
Facilitators: Bryanna Anderson, Student Support Coordinator Greg Mather, Associate Director, Student Affairs
Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/supporting-students-in-the-time-of-covid-19-tickets-120644921207
Understanding Accommodate and Accommodation Letters
The Centre for Accessibility Services would like to invite faculty to join us in introducing our new online Accessibility platform, Accommodate, that launched this Fall. We will go over what to expect from Accommodate, and how to access Accommodation Letters for students in your courses. Moreover, we invite faculty to come to participate in a discussion about ‘why’ we provide accommodations, and what to do when you receive an accommodation letter from the CAS.
Date and Time: Thursday, October 29, 2020 Online from 10:30am to 11:30am
Facilitator: Rebecca Wassef
Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/understanding-accommodate-and-accommodation-letters-tickets-123404184237
SAFETY TRAINING SERIES
Working Alone/In Isolation
The purpose of UFV’s Working Alone Program is to provide for measures to protect the health and safety of, and minimize risk to, any employees and students who work alone or in isolation. This training will:
- Discuss the meaning of working alone/in isolation
- Identify the risks of working alone/in isolation
- Identify the expectations of supervisors in implementing working alone/in isolation programs
- Identify the expectations of workers within this program
Date & Location: Wednesday, October 21, 2020 Online from 12:00 pm – 12:30 pm
Facilitator: Shane Veenstra, Manager, Environmental Health & Safety, UFV
Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/working-alone-in-isolation-tickets-121239836615
Work from Home Ergonomics
As many faculty and staff members have the flexibility to work remotely, it is important to have a proper workstation set up to avoid awkward posture(s) which can increase the risk of an ergonomic injury. This training session will:
- Identify key ergonomic risks associated with working from home
- Discuss strategies for improving ergonomics at home
- Discuss resources available to improve work from home ergonomics
Date & Location: Wednesday, October 28, 2020 Online from 12:00 pm – 12:30 pm
Facilitators: Shane Veenstra
Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/work-from-home-ergonomics-tickets-121240183653
Preventing Slips, Trips and Falls
Slips, trips and falls results in over 42,000 injuries to Canadian worker’s each year. This risk becomes heightened in winter months. This training will:
- Identify common cause factors
- Discuss mitigation strategies at the university
- Discuss what individuals can do to protect themselves
Date & Location: Wednesday, November 4, 2020 Online from 12:00 pm – 12:30 pm
Facilitator: Shane Veenstra
Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/preventing-slips-trips-falls-tickets-121241190665
Advanced Excel
Learn advanced skills in Microsoft Excel through Blackboard Collaborate. Topics may include financial functions, table creating and manipulation, PivotTables and PivotCharts, custom formatting, and consolidating data. Contact the instructor at Courtney.Boisvert@ufv.ca by November 16th. if you have specific topics you’d like covered.
Date & Location: Wednesday, November 18th, 2020 on Blackbaord Collaborate from 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm
Facilitator: Courtney Boisvert
Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/advanced-excel-tickets-120645039561
Advanced Word
Learn advanced Microsoft Word skills through Blackboard Collaborate. Topics may include form, index, table of contents, and tab stop creation. Review and revising documents and document protection. Contact the instructor at Courtney.Boisvert@ufv.ca by November 2nd if you have specific topics you’d like covered.
Date & Location: Wednesday, November 4th, 2020 on Blackboard Collaborate from 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm
Facilitator: Courtney Boisvert
Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/advanced-word-tickets-120645133843
Outlook Basics & MS Teams
This course will re-familiarize you with Outlook basics and discuss the benefits of the new MS Teams integration. Find out how these two softwares fit together and optimize your use of them. Contact the instructor at Courtney.Boisvert@ufv.ca if you have specific topics you’d like covered.
Date & Location: Monday, October 5th, 2020 on Blackboard Collaborate from 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Facilitator: Courtney Boisvert
Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/outlook-basics-ms-teams-tickets-120645192017
Adobe Pro
Now that Adobe Acrobat Pro has been made available to UFV Employees, you may have some questions on what you can do with it. Join us for a workshop that will cover creating forms and editing pdfs. We will also go over certificate-based signatures, filling and signing forms and collecting signatures from others. Please contact the instructor at Courtney.Boisvert@ufv.ca by October 9th if you have any specific topics you’d like to learn more about.
Date & Location: Wednesday, October 14th, 2020 on Blackboard Collaborate from 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm
Facilitator: Courtney Boisvert
Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/adobe-pro-tickets-120645356509
Minute Taking
This workshop provides introductory minute-taking skills in a digital environment. Participants will learn the steps in the minute-taking process including agenda, pre-meeting minutes, and minute template skills. The workshop will also focus on iCompass, an agenda and meeting management software.
Date & Location: Friday, October 2nd, 2020 on Blackboard Collaborate from 10:00 am – 11:30 am
Facilitator: Lisa McMartin
Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/minute-taking-tickets-120645454803
Social Media Basics
This workshop is an overview of the social media landscape. We will dive into Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Google with a focus on content and management for each. Participants will have time to practice their new skills in a short exercise.
Date & Location: Tuesday, September 29th, 2020 on Blackboard Collaborate from 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Facilitator: Breanna Willock
Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/social-media-basics-tickets-120645535043
I just realized that the course description for the Branding workshop is incorrect in the UFV blog: https://blogs.ufv.ca/ufv-at-work/2020/09/18/fall-2020-online-workshops/. The titles of a couple classes is also incorrect. Can you please make these changes
Fundamentals of Brand
We hear a lot about how building a strong brand is critical to marketing success. But what does that really mean? This workshop provides an overview of some of the big questions of brand:
- How much influence do you actually have on your brand?
- What is brand strategy and positioning?
- How important is visual identity to brand?
In additional mastering the fundamental concepts, participants will learn more about how UFV’s brand works.
Date & Location: Thursday, October 8th, 2020 Online from 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Facilitator: Laura Authier
Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/fundamentals-of-brand-tickets-120645733637
Fundamentals of Adobe InDesign
Learn how to create and modify collateral for print and web using Adobe InDesign. UFV Branding and design basics are baked into the lesson plan. Participants will get a full set of InDesign marketing templates after the course so that they can start creating right away. Workshop includes tutorials on setting up your page, adding images, typography and typesetting basics, shapes and colours, and exporting for print or web.
Date & Location: Tuesday, October 27th, 2020 Online from 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Facilitator: Camilla Coates
Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/fundamentals-of-adobe-indesign-tickets-121241868693
MINDFULNESS SERIES
Self-care as Stewardship: Sustaining Wellness through Challenge, Uncertainty & Change
This workshop addresses the needs we all have in relation to the development of self and self-care practices. Excellent self-care needs to be integrated into our lives to be able to sustain a quality of professional functioning over time. We will explore self-care as stewardship, managing personal resources during difficult times, and how to integrate wellness practices and increase equanimity personally and professionally.
Date & Location: Thursday, October 1, 2020 Online from 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Facilitator: Christine Slavik
Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/self-care-as-stewardship-tickets-120645988399
Incorporating Mindfulness into Your Personal and Professional Life
This session will introduce participants to the concept of mindfulness and how this can be incorporated into their professional and personal lives. The benefits of mindfulness will be shared, along with specific mindfulness-based practices for body scan, yoga and meditation that can be done anywhere, anytime! Resources for continuing a practice will be provided.
Date & Location: Thursday, October 15, 2020 Online from 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Facilitator: Christine Slavik
Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/incorporating-mindfulness-into-your-personal-and-professional-life-tickets-120646164927
Understanding Self-Regulation: Strategies to Return to Calm
Self-regulation refers to how quickly and effectively one manages a stressor and then can recover. The ability to self-regulate contributes to overall functioning and well-being. This session explores the foundations of self-regulation in, how to recognize dysregulation, and provides strategies to support return to calm.
Date & Location: Thursday, October 29, 2020 Online from 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Facilitator: Christine Slavik
Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/understanding-self-regulation-strategies-to-return-to-calm-tickets-120646391605
Embodying Self-care: Why Mindfulness Matters
This presentation addresses the personal and professional development of self. The process of understanding what mindfulness is begins with firsthand experience. Engaging in mindfulness-based practices gives you the practical opportunity to get to know and explore the landscape of your own being. This includes awareness of your thoughts, emotions and of body sensations. Going further it includes social awareness, the environment of being in relationship with others and learning how to foster connection deeply. We are better for this practice and so are those we relate to. Mindfulness invites us into the preciousness of each moment. Come and share the chance to reconnect to self-care, wellness and increased attunement personally and professionally.
Date & Location: Thursday, November 12, 2020 Online from 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Facilitator: Christine Slavik
Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/embodying-self-care-why-mindfulness-matters-tickets-120646636337
How to Remain Relationally Vibrant when Working Remotely
In response to uncertainties with COVID-19 many employees are being asked to work remotely. There can be benefits and challenges to working away from the familiarity of your work space on campus. This workshop will explore how to remain relationally vibrant when facing distractions, social isolation, interpersonal challenges of working remotely.
Date & Location: Thursday, November 26, 2020 Online from 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Facilitator: Christine Slavik
Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/how-to-remain-relationally-vibrant-when-working-remotely-tickets-120646780769
Somatics Series for Low Back Issues
Well with all the zooms and skypes that this Covid pandemic has forced us into there is a good chance your low back is feeling a little tight and painful. Join Kinesiology faculty and Somatic Movement Coach Brian Justin as he takes you through a 5-part series of gentle movements that will help relax your back and provide you a movement practice you can use after the series is done. Each class will build upon another so it’s important to attend the whole series. The first class will be a 15-minute PowerPoint to introduce Somatics followed by a 45-minute class. The rest of the series will be just classes. So come on out (to your computer screens!) and have a movement massage. (You will need a yoga mat and some space around your computer).
Date & Location:
Monday, October 5th, 2020
Monday, October 19th, 2020
Monday, October 26th, 2020
Monday, November 2nd, 2020
Monday, November 9th, 2020
Online from 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM
Facilitator: Brian Justin, CSEP-Clinical Exercise Physiologist/BCAK Kinesiologist/Movement Specialist
Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/somatics-series-for-low-back-issues-tickets-120646963315
Understanding Accommodate and Accommodation Letters
The Centre for Accessibility Services would like to invite faculty to join us in introducing our new online Accessibility platform, Accommodate, that launched this Fall. We will go over what to expect from Accommodate, and how to access Accommodation Letters for students in your courses. Moreover, we invite faculty to come to participate in a discussion about ‘why’ we provide accommodations, and what to do when you receive an accommodation letter from the CAS.
Date and Time: October 29, 2020 at 10:30am to 11:30am
Facilitator: Rebecca Wassef
Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/understanding-accommodate-and-accommodation-letters-tickets-123404184237
Please submit questions to Rebeca Wassef beforehand if you wish.