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 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 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 use the Meetings page for direct links to all scheduled meetings. 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.
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be aware that, with all the updates and changes to college accounts, softwares, etc, some items on this site may be out of date. 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 and prepare for day
8.30am - 9am: attendance and announcements meeting - all students independant and small group learning time: study group links
11am - noon: office hour - optional, drop-ins
noon - end of class - send progress email 4pm – deadline for extensions granted last week
*Please refer to this post for the full week's schedule.
*Please read this post for upcoming holidays etc and on-campus appointment times.
During your study group time today, I will be marking last week's assignments and tests - as always, I will update this blog as grades go live on ECampus. 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.
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
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
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
Overview by 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. 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. Also from your Courses page, please download the "Suggested Daily Resource Schedule." This document 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: https://caitlinbaird1.wixsite.com/thelab/blog/categories/ces 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. 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. Please download the document from your Courses page called "Suggested Daily Schedule" - this lists which resources to access each day of the course.
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 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 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. Assignment instructions are on ECampus under "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 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 using the linked resources.
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. 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. 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. 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. You will complete an assignment booklet of 15 in-class activities ranging from filling in cheques to creating agendas to basic research. This booklet is due the final day of your course. I mark these as in-class activities, so I'm looking for legible and serviceable, not beautiful and perfect.
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 - examples are available on your Courses page.
Finally, you have an exam on the final day of class. This is quite a chunky exam, so I have provided two study guides. We will have multiple review meetings to ensure progress and clarity.
Today, download the "Suggested Daily Schedule" document and read over the material on the OSK tag of the blog.
Comments