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 appreciate your efforts and your patience.
Please carefully review this entire post, its embedded videos, and its links 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. If you're new, start with the Welcome video.
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. I have added all of you using your school credentials (5042******@vacc.college). Let me know immediately if you cannot access Teams or your
student account. If you are asked for a code, use uz8or6x. 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 reference the Meetings page for direct links to all scheduled meetings; weekly schedules are available here.
Click here for Teams resources.
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be aware that, with all the updates and changes to college accounts, softwares, etc, some items on this site may be out of date. Please let me know if you find any errors, deadlinks, etc. 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
8am - 8.30am: grace period; read daily post, watch videos, and generally prepare for day
8.30am - 9am: all students attendance and announcements meeting ~9am - noon: independant and small group learning time: course-specific study group links
Keyboarding (KBD)
Microsoft Excel (MSE)
Microsoft Word (MSW)
9am: KBD welcome + software login
9.30am: ITC midterm in the exam room
~10am: Pearson set-up/check-in - in the Word meeting
followed by: MSW chapter 1 "review" (ITC students welcome!)
~11am - noon: office hour - optional, drop-ins
noon - end of class - send daily progress email 4pm – deadline for extensions granted last week
*Please refer to this post for the full week's schedule and attendance breakdown
Stay in your study group for the duration of class for attendance tracking, group work where possible, and easy connection with me. Reach out when you need my assistance by, in Teams, clicking the Participants button (two people's heads and shoulders) and typing my name in the Invite field. You can also send me private chats. Join me in office hour if you need/want one-on-one instruction, to look over assignments before submitting, for technical support, etc - it's optional, drop-in, and student-led, first-come-first-serve. At the end of class, send me an email letting me know how you spent your time, questions about your course, the type of device and operating system you are using from home, any absence requests, and any desired accommodations.
Please follow the instructions below and come prepared with your questions. The structure is typically as follows: I go through any important announcements and questions from the previous day's progress emails, 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 Welcome video above; there are three other welcome/tour videos on the Lectures tab which guide you around the site and Teams
watch the "Monday" video (also on the Lectures tab) paying attention to your own course
read through the welcome documents on the tab "The Lab" including Lab Policies
click "Courses" at the top of this page and select your course from the menu to locate your course outline, schedule, handouts, videos, etc etc
on your Courses page, locate the Daily Schedule document (not relevant for Pearson students)
also on your Courses page, watch the Welcome video for your course, OR
if you are a Word, PowerPoint, or Excel student, watch the Pearson Welcome video
sign in on ECampus for back-up attendance tracking
make note of all scheduled meetings for your course as per the week's schedule to ensure you're present for reviews, demos, exams, etc
check out the FAQs for your course
after attendance, join your study group for digital attendance tracking and (enrolment-dependant) group work
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.
If you are returning:
if you finished a course last week, fill out the Feedback form
don't forget the ECampus feedback as well!
if you're starting a new course, access the Courses page, Daily Schedule, and Welcome video
continue as usual if you're in a two-week course; watch week 2's Monday video
if you need a refresher on policy or your course outline, please refer to the points for new students above
Overview by course:
B1075R
Percentage graded, one week. Start by checking out your Courses page, daily schedule, and the welcome video for the course.
CES
Pass/fail, one week. We will be creating a resume and cover letter, as well as activities for finding ads, applying, and interviewing for jobs. This course is heavily based on participation and has daily assignments (due before class begins the next morning).
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. Throughout the week, you will submit daily documents via email which I will upload into the DropBox so that you can provide each other with feedback. Keeping this in mind, please do not include any personal information (example, phone number) that you are uncomfortable sharing with your classmates. For more detail, please read this post. To progress through the course, follow the Daily Schedule. This post is your primary schedule for the week; it lists which resources to access each day, submission deadlines, etc. As well as the resources on your Courses page, you will be using the CES tag on this blog. I will be referencing particular posts throughout the week and in the below instructions for today. I suggest you watch these videos together in your study group, though you may also work alone. Your first assignment is the "master ad." This is an in-class exercise. You are to find ads for jobs in your chosen field, then use the key information to create a document which contains all of the most common and best-phrased parts of the ads. Sometimes people prefer to think of this as a "Franken-ad" or a "super 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 document through. I also suggest you utilize the NOC code for your profession as a guideline. This activity does not require references/citations, fancy formatting, or paraphrasing - copy+paste is totally acceptable here as we will use this "ad" as notes and criteria for application content. I want your master ad submitted via email by the end of class today. Using the study group, you may work with peers, particularly if they are entering the same field. For tomorrow's assignment, which you may begin today if you complete your ad early, go back to your Courses page to begin your cover letter and resume drafts. Watch the video Cover Letter Guide (scroll down); this corresponds to a document in the DropBox. Use this to write a cover letter for your field. Supplement the Guide with the videos on the Courses page, the documents in the DropBox, and my written advice on the blog (advice for students changing or starting new careers; top tips etc; my most common feedback). I suggest you read these posts as a group.
Remember, when creating your letterhead, to only include contact info you are comfortable sharing with your classmates!). Be sure to send them as one or two Word documents (.docx) so they can be edited. Include your name in the file name. Wednesday is dedicated workshop time to read each other's work and provide feedback; for now, you should focus on your own writing and formatting. I will also provide detailed feedback.
For tips on formatting your resume, please read this post.
If you need assistance using Word, please refer to this page.
Respond to your master ad with your cover letter content. Note: please read the article on patchwriting; my integrity policies are very strict. Don't worry about making it perfect, just authentic to you - we will be doing several rounds of editing to make sure your best traits are well communicated. Submit your cover letter draft and an up-to-date resume via email before class begins Wednesday. See here for submission guidelines. Please ensure your VaCC education is listed.
ITC
Percentage grade, two weeks. Begin by accessing the ITC Daily Schedule, which contains links to all resources. Start with the Welcome to ITC video.
Please read through the course outline on your Courses page and the FAQ post; let me know if you have any further questions via email or chat. I suggest that you begin today's study group by reading through the material together.
Use the study group to track your attendance and work with your peers. 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 lectures. 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 go in depth about Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Windows 10, and the Internet. As well as filling in your study guides, the PDFs have extra practice exercises and ideas for your assignments.
You have the freedom to do your three assignments in any order (all are due the final day of your course), 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. Please note that some programs have higher passing minimums or WPM requirements; please check with your program instructor.
You need to collect your hardcopy textbook from campus to access the software. 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 using the linked resources.
MSE, MSP, MSW, and BCA
Percentage grade, two weeks. Four weeks for BCA.
Start with the videos "Welcome to Pearson" and "How to check your grades in Pearson" (also on the Lectures page). I have compiled all your first-day resources into a Pearson success starter kit.
Note: I have already activated the new Pearson courses; you should gain access after attendance. Especially if you have not taken a course using Pearson before, please read through some of the resources on the Pearson FAQ tag prioritizing the Glossary, the Pearson and Office FAQs, and How to turn on pop-ups for the simulation activities. 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.
Use the study group to track attendance and work with your peers. I suggest you begin by reading through the Glossary together. 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 and Windows 10, 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. MSE and MSP start at Module 1.
OSK
Percentage grade, two weeks.
Office Skills is a dense course designed to give you a broad overview of the various administrative tasks which occur regularly in office environments. Use the Daily Schedule document to proceed through the material. Be sure to access the textbook (10th edition) on ECampus - let me know if you have any issues.
You will complete an assignment booklet of 'in-class' activities ranging from filling in cheques to creating agendas to basic research. This booklet is due the final day of your course.
Alongside the assignment booklet, you have a presentation. You will make the slides in PowerPoint and present on the penultimate day of your course. You may choose any topic related to office work - ideas are available on your Courses page, as are two example PowerPoints, a criteria list, and a video demo.
Finally, you have an exam on the final day of class. On your Courses page you will find a study guide and two practice tests for self-assessment. We will have multiple review meetings (Tuesdays and Thursdays) to ensure progress and clarity.
PSK
This course is one week, pass/fail. You have two main assignments: a group presentation and a visual resume. Please begin with the Daily Schedule. We'll go through it together to begin the day.
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