Today's meetings
8.30am - 9am: attendance and announcements meeting
9am - noon: independent and peer study time
9.30am: ITC Quizzes 3+4 Review - use this meeting; return to study group after; if writing quizzes early do so in the quiz room
10am: CES feedback workshop
10.15am: ITC Quizzes 1+2 Review - use this meeting; return to study group after; ; if writing quizzes early do so in the quiz room
11am: noon: office hour - MSW students prioritized today
Quick note: all scheduled meetings can be accessed here
Don't forget to send me a progress email!
Happy December!
Make sure to read through this month's schedule of events, days off, etc. for details including winter break and on-campus availability
Progress email answers etc:
Today's drop-in hour will be focused on Microsoft Word students. Please join at 11 so we can look over any steps unclear from the demos, etc.
I cannot pre-mark your work. If you have sent me assignments via email to look at, please read this post. If you are in ITC, join me tomorrow in office hour or you can use the two hours of drop-in time Friday. MSW, we'll do this today.
ITC: Your study guides do not contribute to your grade. If you are ready to check your answers for exams, the review videos are on the Lectures tab. The quiz study guides, which will be reviewed today, are located on the ITC tag of the blog.
OSK: You need to cite your sources for all assignments (especially 4) including the presentation. This simply means including the title, author, and publication info of any resources you used for research. You need a bibliography (also called a Reference page or the Citation page) for your final slide - see the presentation rubric and demo. If you are new to formal referencing, please start by accessing my Citations page; on the Lectures tab, you can find video lectures corresponding to the PowerPoint slides. OSK requires APA citation style, which is one of many academic styles available for citation (example: literary research uses MLA; humanities uses MHRA...). The differences between the styles are the order of information and its formatting, which you can see on the Citations page.
If you need access to desktop Office applications, click here for instructions. The college provides you with a license to the full commercial app for a year/the duration of your program. If you can only access the browser version, please see this post about the freeware limitations. I have highlighted curriculum criteria so that you can make informed decisions regarding which assignments can be completed.
If you will be away Friday, tests must be taken a day early. For ITC, the tests will become available on ECampus after our review meetings midmorning. If I am not informed in advance in writing, you will not be excused.
Reminders:
I have added a short survey to my Feedback tab asking for input on how easily you could access and utilize resources on the lab site. Please take a few minutes to fill it out - it's anonymous. I really appreciate your detailed responses.
If you need to download, install, and/or sign in to the Office applications, please refer to the instructional handouts on the tab The Lab.
Midweek is a good time to check your schedules (and the Monday post) to confirm if your course lasts one or two weeks. As per the Lab Policies document, all of your assignments are due the final Friday of your course at 4pm. Refer to the Policies document and the welcome video for my policies regarding late submissions, extensions, and academic integrity. I have resources for writing, citing, etc which do not violate integrity - these are linked at the bottom of the Citations tab.
If you are experiencing any issues with accounts, software, etc, please let me know with screenshots. See this post if you need further instruction: https://caitlinbaird1.wixsite.com/thelab/post/technical-difficulties-what-to-do
Please watch the Wednesday video and come prepared with your questions to the morning meeting at 8.30.
Read this post if you haven't before: https://caitlinbaird1.wixsite.com/thelab/post/how-do-i-know-what-to-do-today
I strongly encourage you to connect with your classmates, be it those in your program cohort or simply in your course this week. If you request membership to this site, you can use the Forums for this purpose. Otherwise I suggest exchanging emails or handles for whichever apps you like - Whatsapp is popular for study groups, as are Facebook Groups. Further, Teams allows you to connect via chat or call. Today, Wednesday, is mandatory group work day.
If you would like a Keyboarding account to improve your speed and accuracy, let me know so I can create an account for you. The links etc are on the Keyboarding Courses page. Click "Typing Club" to get started - sign in with your personal email; leave the password space blank. If you requested an account in your progress email, your account is ready.
Reminder: send me daily progress emails. Click here for details.
Course-specific instructions:
CES - Please submit your cover letter and resume drafts if you have not already. Remember this course is pass/fail and based on participation/completion - if you have not sent your drafts, they are overdue. Everything I've received is in the DropBox for you. At 10am, you will be working with your peers to edit your work. Read through each cover letter and resume. Use the examples in the DropBox and resources on the Courses page to guide your feedback.
Read this post about how to workshop. I will join you at 10 to help set you up and provide my own feedback.
If needed, watch the video on digital editing in Word and the video on resume formatting in Word.
With your classmates, if you haven't already, please watch the video Cover Letter Guide (on your Courses page) and read its corresponding document in the DropBox. Also read through the tips in this post and this post. These should be your primary guides. Further resources are available in the DropBox and on your Courses page in both written and video formats; see the Suggested Daily Resource Schedule. Watching the videos will give you some perspectives from professionals on what to do or avoid. In particular, I like the advice from Dr Amina Yonis (at the very bottom of your Courses page).
ITC week 1 - Today we will review for tomorrow's quizzes.
As per the suggested daily schedule, continue using the chapters (1-5) linked on your Courses page to fill in your week 1 study guide. Use the talkthrough videos to help focus your attention, as the PDF chapters are quite long. When you've found the answers, watch the ITC Review 1 video on the Lectures tab. At 10 tomorrow, we will have a meeting to discuss the exam material during which I will answer any questions you had, so please write down your questions as you progress through the material.
If you haven't yet, download the Assignment instructions from ECampus. Remember you can complete the three assignments in any order. Use the walkthrough demo videos on your Courses page to complete the assignments. If you want to try the Inventory case study (Excel), click here for the demo.
I've had a couple questions about the activities in the pdf modules. These are optional, but if you are new to using these programs, please do try them out! They are not for marks. I am only grading the documents you create and your tests.
ITC week 2 - continue with study guide 2 and your assignments. Check the blog for the bonus quiz study guide; the answers are embedded in the Talkthrough 6+7 and 8+9 videos. Remember there is a Review video on the Lectures tab which I will assign tomorrow.
KBD - continue with Typing Club and other practice. You do not need to complete all activities in Typing Club - start with the placement exam. Take the tests tomorrow to check your scores. Please include your speed and accuracy results in today's progress email so I have an idea of what's needed to help you achieve your goal.
MSE, MSW, MSP - continue with Pearson. Please join me in office hour if you have any activities for which you'd like to discuss the template grade so I can pull up your account and we can go through your file together. Remember the simulations are not for marks and are often fussy. If you are having trouble accessing Pearson, please send me a screenshot. I will be updating your settings today if they are not yet set - you will have unlimited attempts for the simulations, five for graders, and three for grader "exams."
OSK week 1 - continue with your assignment booklet, downloadable from your Courses page. These are in-class exercises, and do not need to be as perfect as a project for which you are given more time. I suggest you begin filling in your study guide as you progress through the material, making notes of any questions or confusion. You can send these queries as emails, chat with me during office hours, and/or wait as we will discuss everything the Thursday before your exam.
Remember you take the exam in your second week of OSK. It's your choice whether you present in your first or second week, but typically students choose the penultimate day of class.
OSK week 2 - if you are presenting tomorrow, use today to finish your slides and practice. If you haven't already, check out some of the resources on the PowerPoint Courses page - particularly, there's a video called "How to avoid death by PowerPoint" which I strongly suggest. Remember the grading rubric is on your Courses page to download as is a video demo and example slides.
If you have already presented, focus on the study guides for Friday's exam. To fill them in, read through the PPT files on the OSK Courses page. If you need more information on a subject, refer to your textbook (upper right corner of your Course page on ECampus). Today and tomorrow, use the Practice Midterm and Practice Final to see what sort of mark you'll get on the exam; check your answers with the Review videos on the Lectures tab.
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