Good morning one and all! 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.
As of today, our college Zoom accounts have been deactivated. Instead, we will be using MS Teams to host our meetings. If you have not already, please use your 5042*****@vacc.college account to join my Teams classroom. If you do not have an active @vacc.college account, please follow the instructions from the document "Student Account Creation" on the tab of this site called The Lab.
Please note that, as covered in your welcome documents sent by email, there are multiple courses running simultaneously each week in the lab. I will do my best to reduce confusion. Please be sure to access the resources listed each day so you are aware of the assignments etc for your current course. You are responsible for knowing the content of all resources for your course listed in these daily posts as well as all welcome documents.
Today's schedule
8.30am - morning meeting - all students
11am - office hours - drop-in
noon - end of class - send progress email
4pm - due date for granted extensions from last week
We will have our morning meeting at 8.30am - the meetings are already scheduled on Teams. 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:
1. watch the "Welcome to the lab" video and the site tour videos on the Recorded Lectures tab: https://caitlinbaird1.wixsite.com/thelab/lectures
2. read through the welcome documents on this page (these were sent via email) including your Daily Schedule and Lab Policies: https://caitlinbaird1.wixsite.com/thelab/the-lab
3. sign in on ECampus for attendance, as per the instructions linked in number 2 above.
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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:
1. fill out the Feedback form for last week's course: https://caitlinbaird1.wixsite.com/thelab/feedback
2. continue as usual if you're in a two-week course
Everyone:
1. watch the "Monday" video on the Recorded Lectures tab, paying attention to your own course
2. come to the 8.30 meeting prepared with your questions
3. 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
4. check out other videos on the Recorded Lectures tab as appropriate
5. make sure you're up to date with information posted on this tab, Announcements
6. if you haven't yet, read through the FAQs: https://caitlinbaird1.wixsite.com/thelab/blog/categories/faqs
7. read this post for more details about the mandatory daily progress email: https://caitlinbaird1.wixsite.com/thelab/post/progress-email-faq
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 Zoom 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 read through the outline on the Courses page of this site. Note some small updates since being online: your tests will be done on ECampus; because of this, the bonus quizzes are now worth 2.5% each. You can see the marking breakdown on ECampus itself.
On your Courses page, you will find a document called "Suggested Daily Schedule" which lists the lectures and other resources (plus their locations) which will lead you through 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. 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). I will film short lectures on the topics on which you would like elaboration. 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.
ITC week two: Continue with assignments and lectures. Begin Study Guide 2. Tomorrow we will have meetings to work together on your assignments. If you wish to discuss your exam results, please join office hour.
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.
Read through the outline on the Courses page. You need to collect your textbook from campus. Please email our receptionist, Gislene, to set up a time: gislene.wetmore@career.college
Follow the link on the Courses page to download the Paradigm software.
Paradigm often crashes on home computers, unfortunately. Please try installing the software first before you bother picking up the textbook. I have a document, "Keyboarding without Paradigm," which outlines the alternative exams in the event that Paradigm doesn’t work on your device.
For practice, I have made you each an account on Typing Club. The link is on your Courses page. Sign in with your email. I have used the emails attached to your attendance record. I really like this resource; it begins with a placement exam so you don't waste time on exercises that don't challenge you.
OSK: Percentage grade, two weeks.
Your course is made up of the daily assignment 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).
Begin on the Lectures tab with the video "OSK booklet and presentation info." You'll see some OSK Review videos there as well - these are used later in your course. [The booklet itself is downloadable from your Courses page. The activities therein should be treated as in-class exercises. All fifteen are due on the final Friday of your course. Some of them can be completed directly in the booklet (either by hand or digitally) while others will require use of Office programs and/or internet research. You will submit via email - please try to keep everything to one document, or as few as you are able.]
On your Courses page, read through the outline there (note that it is meant for in-class so there are some small changes, all of which are addressed here) and the document "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.
You can begin filling out your Study Guides (labelled "Practice Midterm" and "Practice Final") with the chapter slides (downloadable PPTs) on the Courses page. 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).
MSE, MSP, MSW: Percentage grade, two weeks.
You need the Grades Tracker sheet from your Courses page. Note for MSW: The tracker sheet is correct - do not do Grader #4 or Final #2.
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. Note for MSW: You do not need to do Module 1's Grader assignment, which is a PowerPoint. You may begin at Module 2.
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