Good morning, everyone! Welcome, or welcome back.
Please note that, as covered in your welcome documents, 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.
We will have our morning meeting at 8.30am - the Zoom link will be posted as the meeting begins.
Please follow the instructions below and come prepared with your questions. The structure is typically as follows: I go through any important announcements, 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 to the lab" video on the Recorded Lectures tab: https://caitlinbaird1.wixsite.com/thelab/lectures
read through the welcome documents on this page, including your Daily Schedule and Lab Policies: https://caitlinbaird1.wixsite.com/thelab/the-lab
sign in on ECampus, as per the instructions linked in number 2 above.
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
course = a class, part of your program
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:
fill out the Feedback form for last week's course: https://caitlinbaird1.wixsite.com/thelab/feedback
continue as usual if you're in a two week course
Everyone:
watch the "Monday" video on the Recorded Lectures tab, paying attention to your own course
come to the 8.30 meeting prepared with your questions
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
on the Lectures tab, scroll all the way down to watch the videos "Tour: lab site" and "Tour: writing resources"
check out other videos on the Recorded Lectures tab as appropriate
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
Remember the link for the meeting will be posted when it begins and only remains active while the meeting is in session. I try to keep our morning meetings under an hour. Please refer to the Daily Schedule to see your own assignments in context with the other lab courses.
Overview by course:
SSS, BC-PRD: Pass/fail, one week.
Use the document "Welcome Instructions" (on the tab "The Lab") to access Enriched Academy via ECampus. Begin the videos. There are 11 sets of videos in all; the last one is called "Career Mastery." When you finish this set, you will be able to download a certificate of completion. You have until Friday at 4pm to watch the videos and email me a copy of your certificate. Note: there is a workbook and various other study materials available on Enriched Academy but, as this is a pass/fail course, you do not need to complete these unless you wish to do so. There are also little quizzes between the video sets. I do not need you to submit your marks 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. To begin, watch the lectures: Citation Lecture 1, Source Evaluation and Quote Integration, Lecture 3 - these are assigned for tomorrow. 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. We will discuss the citation lecture material together on Wednesday. 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. We will be using the DropBox throughout the week to share work and feedback. Note: you will not be uploading directly to the DropBox; please submit all assignments as email attachments. Also note: though I remove past folders after a few weeks, do not include any contact information you are uncomfortable sharing with your classmates.
Also on your Courses page, please watch the videos CES assignments per day and Notes on 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. Submit your cover letter draft tomorrow morning alongside an up-to-date resume. Please ensure your VaCC education is listed. Wednesday you will be giving and receiving feedback, both written and in a Zoom meeting.
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.
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. If you need more information, you have a full textbook on ECampus which expands on the PDFs. Let me know if you have difficulty accessing it. As you progress through the chapters, write down your questions. We will have a review meeting Thursday.
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). All three documents are due the final Friday of your course at 4pm. 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. 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 see your Courses page for more detail.
Read through the outline on the Courses page. You need to collect your textbook from campus. Please email our new receptionist, Gislene, to set up a time: gislene.wetmore@career.college
Follow the link on the Courses page to download the Paradigm software. Note: if Paradigm doesn't work, use the document "Keyboarding without Paradigm." Also, I strongly suggest "Typing Club" for your practice. Email me if you need an account created.
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.
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 will activate your Pearson course after attendance, so you will not be able to access it until after our meeting.
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.
Looking forward to getting to know you all in the coming week/s. See you at 8.30.
Comments