Humber, you did it! Thanks to the hard work of staff and faculty over 83% of the courses running in winter became mobile-friendly, using Blackboard Ultra. Now most of our students can learn how they want, where they want.

Check out these celebratory videos from Humber Innovative Learning. Listen to your Humber colleagues share their stories. Hear what surprised them, what they learned, and what made them dance with joy!

• The Move to Ultra | The Faculty Journey (5:53)
• The Move to Ultra | Insights from Faculty (3:56)

Though the heavy lifting is over, Innovative Learning teams continue to support faculty with training events and self-directed resources:

• Pre-recorded sessions on Faculty Blackboard Training
• Move to Ultra Kit
• Faculty Blackboard Help
• Innovative Learning's Instructional Support Studio
• Blackboard's Help Website
• Youtube Playlist for Blackboard Ultra (1-2 minute videos, 51 titles!)

Dr. Juliet Daniel and Kaiso

"The primary epithelial cell-cell adhesion system involving E-cadherin and its catenin cofactors a-, b-, g- and p120ctn, is perturbed in ~50% of human metastatic tumours, and this correlates with the invasive phenotype. Interestingly, the catenins also function as transcriptional regulators of genes involved in tumourigenesis. My laboratory focuses on the transcription factor Kaiso that was first identified as a specific binding partner for the catenin p120ctn, which is aberrantly expressed or absent in human breast, colon and skin carcinomas. Kaiso is a novel member of the POZ-zinc finger family of transcription factors implicated as oncoproteins or tumor suppressors, and currently it is the only known POZ protein with bi-modal DNA-binding and transcriptional repression activity; Kaiso recognizes a sequence-specific consensus, TCCTGCNA, or methylated CpG-dinucleotides." (https://www.biology.mcmaster.ca/component/comprofiler/userprofile/danielj.html?Itemid=351)

Did you understand any of that? You don't have to, what you do need to understand is that the Black students on our campuses are all capable! 

To learn more about Dr. Juliet Daniel, please view her lecture. 

Thank you Errol Cyrus for suggesting this post. If you have Black/African histories you think we should all know, please email morris.beckford@humber.ca.

Enhancing Institutional EDI Knowledge of Disability and Academic Accessibility: 

• Students requesting extensions as a disability-related accommodation are provided extension guidelines from Accessible Learning Services. 

• There may, on occasion, be exceptions to these guidelines for specific disability-related reasons (for example, when a disability-related reason prevented the student from engaging in the accommodation process). 

• With increased efforts to embed accessibility in curriculum, applying the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) can reduce the need for extension requests. These include: breaking down large assignments into smaller components with respective due dates or implementing a “voucher” system allowing all students an opportunity or two to submit assignments late without penalty or rationale. 

• It is understood that there is value in structure, timelines and building responsibility in our students, but peer review supports pedagogical value in compassion and suggests rethinking deadline and late penalty policies.  

Visit our ALS Information for Faculty website to learn more about extension accommodations.

Please email us at accessible-learning@humber.ca with suggestions for key accessibility-related topics that you would like us to address through the Communiqué. 

Do you know a student who is interested in global learning? Have they expressed interest in completing a work placement or studying abroad? Inspire your students to experience the world while earning academic credit for their Humber credential!

Global Academic Opportunities are available for all full-time Humber students in good academic standing, both in-person and virtually. Eligible students will earn credits recognized as GNED; degree Breadth elective; or core academic courses.

As part of Humber’s 2018-2023 Internationalization Strategy, this programming reflects Humber’s mission to develop global citizens with the knowledge and skills to lead and innovate. Note that a Global Learning Bursary of up to $2,500 CAD is available to support all eligible students.

Applications are currently being accepted for:

• Summer 2022 Programs Abroad for elective credit in Austria, Croatia, Denmark, England, Finland, Italy and a virtual program in New Zealand.
• 2022-2023 Semester Exchange Abroad Program with academic partners around the globe.

Application deadline for Summer Programs Abroad: February 27, 2022
Application deadline for Semester Exchange Abroad: March 13, 2022

For more information, contact:

Erin Cole
International Mobility Coordinator
Email: studyabroad@humber.ca
Website: https://humber.ca/global-opportunities