Good morning, everyone! Welcome to the lab, or, if you are a returning student, welcome back.
Taking classes online is a learning curve for all of us – I empathize with the student perspective as I am currently doing a graduate degree. I appreciate your efforts and your patience. Please read through this post and its links carefully as it contains everything you need for your time in lab class. Remember, this site is the primary location for your course material and for updates from me, so please bookmark it and take time to familiarize yourself with it.
Please note that, as covered in your welcome documents found on the tab "The Lab", there are multiple courses running simultaneously each week in the lab. I will do my best to reduce confusion. Your course material and relevant meetings will be labeled with your course code. Meetings specific for your course will be in the course channels on Teams.
If you have not joined my Teams classroom, please do so by clicking here. If you are asked for a code, use 9s7yl7a. Note you need to use your college email account to access full functionality. Once you are a member of the Team, the meetings scheduled for the week will show on your Calendar. Please use the Meetings page for direct links to all scheduled meetings.
Please be aware that, with all the updates and changes to college accounts, softwares, etc, some items on this site may be out of date. If you are ever unsure, please email me or message me on Teams. You can assume that this blog will be the most up-to-date information available.
Today's schedule
8.30am - 9am: attendance and announcements meeting - all students
independant and small group learning time
11am - noon: office hour - optional, drop-ins
noon - end of class - send progress email
4pm – deadline for extensions granted last week
Please follow the instructions below and come prepared with your questions. The structure is typically as follows: I go through any important announcements, take attendance, then answer your questions from the chat, then open it up to conversation.
Okay, so what do you do until 8.30? Well -
If you are new:
watch the four welcome/tour videos on the Lectures tab: https://caitlinbaird1.wixsite.com/thelab/lectures
read through the welcome documents on the tab "The Lab" including your Daily Schedule and Lab Policies: https://caitlinbaird1.wixsite.com/thelab/the-lab
sign in on ECampus for attendance, as per the instructions linked in number 2 above.
check out the FAQs for lab courses: https://caitlinbaird1.wixsite.com/thelab/blog/categories/faqs
Some important terms:
ECampus = MyCampus = your college LMS
the lab site = this green site
Courses page(s) = on this site, click Courses > your course
a tab = a page on this site accessible from the green menu (Welcome, The Lab, ...)
program = the subject you are studying at college, the name of the qualification you will receive – examples: ECE, EA, APA, SSW
course = a class, part of your program – examples: CES, ITC, OSK
BC-PRD students, please read this post: https://caitlinbaird1.wixsite.com/thelab/post/important-re-bc-prd-bc-orient-bc-itc-bc-ea-itc
If you are returning:
if you finished a course last week, fill out the Feedback form: https://caitlinbaird1.wixsite.com/thelab/feedback
continue as usual if you're in a two-week course
Everyone:
watch the "Monday" video on the Lectures tab, paying attention to your own course
come to the 8.30 meeting prepared with your questions
make note of all scheduled meetings for your course as per the Meetings page:
click "Courses" at the top of this page and select your course from the menu. Watch the video labelled "Tour: *Course Resources" - these are sometimes at the bottom of the page, so scroll down - and/or read the embedded course outline
check out other videos on the Lectures tab as appropriate - these are labeled per course
make sure you're up to date with information posted on this tab, Announcements
if you haven't yet, read through the FAQs: https://caitlinbaird1.wixsite.com/thelab/blog/categories/faqs
Overview by course:
SSS/BC-PRD: Pass/fail, one week.
The course has two halves: the first is the Enriched Academy videos, accessed through ECampus. Use the link on your SSS4 ECampus page under Student Resources - "Click for Enriched Academy Money Myths Module." This will open a new window. There is a survey/quiz first - this is just a survey to see your pre-course knowledge. You can skip right through it.
Once you've completed the survey, you will see a picture of a pot of gold and a rainbow. Next to this will be a button that says "Continue." You can use this button to begin the videos wherever you left off. You can also click "Course List" to see all of the video modules you will be completing and to track your progress.
You have until Friday at 4pm to watch all the videos (ending with the 11th set, Career Mastery) and submit your certificate. I have a video demo on your Courses page to show you how to download it.
Note there are quizzes between the video sets; these are not for marks, just for your own review. I don't need your results from these.
The other half of the course is a citation assignment, wherein you will learn how to find and evaluate resources, integrate source material into your writing, and properly cite your sources. Like your Enriched Academy certificate, this is due via email Friday at 4pm. I would like you to prioritize this Tuesday, as we will discuss the material together in a meeting.
To begin, watch the lectures: Citation Lecture 1, Source Evaluation and Quote Integration, Lecture 3. Details about the assignment itself are in the videos SSS and BC-PRD and Citation Assignment Overview; they are also listed on your Courses page. You should also look at the example assignment on the Citations tab.
From now until Friday, it's up to you how you divide your time between completing Enriched Academy and the citation assignment. Please check the week's meeting schedule and come prepared to all SSS/BC-PRD meetings with your questions.
CES: Pass/fail, one week.
Access the Courses page on this site for Career and Employment. At the top of the page is a link to the DropBox. Please access the DropBox today and read through the instructional documents in the main folder. I will upload your documents into the DropBox throughout the week so that you can provide each other with feedback.
Also on your Courses page, please watch the videos CES assignments per day and Notes on CES. As well as the resources on your Courses page, please read through the CES tag on this blog: https://caitlinbaird1.wixsite.com/thelab/blog/categories/ces
Your first assignment is the "master ad." This is an in-class exercise. You are to find ads for jobs in your field, then use the key information to create your master ad. There is a document in the DropBox which goes over the exercise in more detail, including some examples. Make sure you've read this through. I want your master ad submitted via email by the end of class today.
When you're done the master ad exercise, go back to your Courses page. Watch the video Cover Letter Guide (scroll down); this corresponds to a document in the DropBox. Using the videos on the Courses page and the documents in the DropBox, write a cover letter for your field. Respond to your master ad with your content. All the resources on your Courses page are clearly labeled so you know which ones to use today. Note: please read the article on patchwriting; my integrity policies are very strict.
Submit your cover letter draft tomorrow by the end of class, alongside an up-to-date resume. Please ensure your VaCC education is listed.
B1075R: Percentage grade, two weeks unless done as repeat. Check your schedule on ECampus to confirm.
The course is split into three "assignments." The first is your Mystery Shopper Assignment. The instructions are on your Courses page. Because we are in an online world right now, you may modify the assignment to be about online shopping experiences. You don't need to make any purchases, but ideally you would interact with a staff member. Maybe this is on the phone or via a chat option on their site. Remember you need to type up your impressions afterwards.
The second is your responses to the videos and articles as listed on your Courses page. Each one is labeled. Submit these as one or two Word documents by 4pm on the last day of your course.
Finally, you take an exam on the last day of your course. There is a study guide available on your Courses page labeled "Practice Exam." On the penultimate day of your course, we will have a meeting to discuss the answers and make sure you're prepped. Also on the Courses page, you will find a review video in which I go over the Practice Exam.
ITC: Percentage grade, two weeks.
Please download the document from your Courses page called "Suggested Daily Schedule" - this lists which resources to access each day of the course.
To study for your tests, download the study guides from your Courses page on this site. There is one for each of your two exams. Find the answers in the downloadable PDFs and the corresponding talkthrough videos. As you progress through the chapters, write down your questions. We will have a review meeting Thursday. Please also email me any lecture requests for topics on which you would like further elaboration.
The PDFs also have helpful information for your assignments. Instructions are on ECampus under "Assignments." You have the freedom to do your three assignments in any order, so I suggest starting with the program(s) with which you are most familiar (usually Word). Please note I have a full walkthrough of the Excel assignment (Assignment 2, Case Study 2) and many, many example assignments available on the lab site on the Courses pages for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. For the Word (Assignment 1, Case Study 1 or 2) and PowerPoint (Assignment 3, Case Study 1, 2, or 3) assignments I have demo videos which show how to perform all the functions listed as criteria.
ITC week two: Continue with assignments. Begin Study Guide 2.
KBD: Percentage grade, one week in class, flexible extensions; 60% passing minimum, which is a minimum of 30WPM adjusted for errors. You will record your exam speeds on a Tracker Form available to download from your Courses page. Please see your Courses page for a more detailed outline including grading information, links, resources, and instructions. This is a pretty chill course - you are only being graded on your final typing scores. The rest of the week is yours to schedule for practice.
OSK: Percentage grade, two weeks.
Your course is made up of the daily assignment package/booklet, a presentation (done at the end of a morning meeting any day up to and including the penultimate Thursday of your course), and an exam (the final Friday of your course on ECampus).
On your Courses page, read through the outline and the linked documents, including the "Presentation Grading Rubric." Note: regarding presentation length, it should be 5-10 minutes. You will be using PowerPoint, so I suggest checking out some of the resources on my PowerPoint Courses page. Toward the bottom of your Courses page, you'll see a button labeled "OSK Resources from other courses."
You can begin filling out your Study Guides (labelled "Practice Midterm" and "Practice Final") with the chapter slides (downloadable PPTs) on the Courses page and the corresponding talkthrough videos (I will be filming chapters 8-17 this week/end!). These PowerPoints summarize the chapters of your textbook, which is available on ECampus. If you cannot see the textbook, please email me right away so I can ask IT to activate it. Use these chapters also to start your research for your presentation and to learn more about your assignments.
OSK week 2: As you prep for your presentation, check out the resources available on the PowerPoint and Professional Skills Courses pages and on the Writing Resource page (sub-linked under Citations). I've listed the resources I suggest via the button "OSK Resources from other courses" on your Courses page.
MSE, MSP, MSW: Percentage grade, two weeks.
Start with the videos "How to get started with Pearson courses" and "How to check your grades in Pearson" on the Lectures page. Note: I have already activated the new Pearson courses; you should gain access after attendance.
Until you have access, look through the resources compiled on your Courses page. I have demos from YouTube as well as walkthroughs of many of your assignments.
Access Pearson through ECampus and begin the material at Module 1. You'll find Simulation activities which are equivalent to lectures - complete them, but don't worry about the marks. I will only be grading you on the items listed on your Grades Tracker sheet - download this from your Courses page to record the scores for the Grader assignments and Exams.
IMPORTANT: note that MSE and MSP cover four chapters and therefore have four assignments and four tests which are for marks; MSW only covers three chapters and therefore has three assignments and three tests. If you are taking MSW and you are not familiar with PowerPoint, please begin at Module 2. If you are familiar with PowerPoint, Module 1 explores their common features. This module is not for marks and is optional.
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