home

=media type="youtube" key="Vhuc5x24d_Y" height="315" width="420"= = = =Residence Assistant Training Wiki= The purpose of this Wiki has changed: until now it was a place where I could learn about this resource and I could experiment using it. Now, it will become a resource for the Residence Assistants (and the aspiring Residence Assistants) at Brandon University. I will post informative articles, training materials, residence rules and regulations, policies and procedures on this wiki: it will become the "place to go" for Residence Assistant related information.

For those of you who are not familiar with a wiki, let me tell you just a few things for which they are useful. First of all, they are a place to check, wherever you are (as long as you have access to the internet), for the most recent news regarding anything that affects your job as a Residence Assistant. For example: if we cancel a meeting, or if the University has closed down due to a blizzard, or if there is an important press release: all of this information will be available on the wiki. More noteworthy however, wiki's are collaborative: our RA group will be able to work together, via the wiki, from geographically separated locations. This will allow us to use the wiki for several important functions.

Specifically, we will use this wiki for:
 * Residence Assistant Application Information: document important to applying for the position of RA will be available on this wiki commencing at least eight weeks before the application deadline. This will include the position description, the application form, frequently asked questions regarding the process, information on the Selection Committee, articles that should be read to help prepare for the interview.
 * Residence Assistant Training: We will engaging in some pre-training via the wiki. I will post articles to the wiki and assign tasks that you will complete via the wiki. You will collaborate with each other on some of these tasks, while others you will do separately.
 * Post Important Information: There are a number of documents such as the Residence Handbook, and our Emergency Procedures, that you should alway have easy access to. These documents will be made available on the wiki.
 * Post Ideas and Interesting Articles: There is a tremendous amount of good information available on the web that will help you do a great job: everything from discipline pointers to programming ideas and a thousand other things. We will all be able to post such articles to the wiki.
 * Link to Other Resources: Did you know there are over 10,000 RAs doing approximately the same job as you world-wide? Some of them have had some really interesting ideas, and we'll look at them as well as hopefully share some of our ideas with them.

There are a lot of things that can be added to this wiki and I hope each year's RA team will embrace this resource. Just as an example of some of the things that can be done, I've left a few of my earlier pieces of work for you to view: a mindmap, a podcast, a videocast, and a video taken around campus during the faculty strike. Take a look: and then open up some of the files located at the left margin.

While you are poking around the internet, please take a look at my first mind map. It's located at [] and I'd really appreciate your comments. Take a look!

I've also uploaded an introduction to an interesting book, by Nicholas Carr, entitled "The Shallows". Check it out: its only a couple of minutes. media type="file" key="The Shallows, by Nicholas Carr.mp3" width="240" height="20" align="center"

media type="custom" key="11643892" It's also easy to post recordings of digitally recorded conversations: the recording above is an excerpt from a conversation between a classmate and I as we were trying to figure out where a file was hidden.

I'm an amateur (VERY amateur) videotographer and video editor. I mostly do this for my own purposes: I enjoy the process and occasionally even like the finished product. I'll post these amateur productions to this wiki: keep an eye on the sidebar. The first video is a training video: how to record a Skype call. The second video was one I created during the faculty strike. I received a lot of positive feedback from people who watched it. I think it makes a strong statement that without faculty, and without students, all we have is bricks and mortar.
 * Videos:**

media type="youtube" key="zClMnyNxEv4" height="315" width="420"

media type="youtube" key="A3aFfoB09P8" height="315" width="420" media type="custom" key="11814430"