SPEAKER: Welcome to the Indigenous Policy
and Administration program at Carleton University.
This is a tutorial that will help
you succeed in the online courses that
comprise the Indigenous Policy and Administration program.
You will have the opportunity to meet
some of the professors in the program,
as well as your classmates, by attending
the Summer Institute, which is held on Carleton's campus.
Following these summer courses, the rest
of your courses in the IPA program
will be taught entirely online.
Online learning can take some time getting used to,
but this tutorial will provide you
with some tips on how to prepare for and succeed
in the Indigenous Policy and Administration program.
First, let's consider some myths about online learning.
Some people might tell you that online courses are
easier than regular face-to-face courses
because you don't have to go to class.
The fact is, you will have to work
hard to keep up with online lectures, activities,
and assignments.
There is also a perception out there
that online courses are lonely.
This is not the case in the courses in the Indigenous
Policy and Administration program.
Your courses will involve a high degree of interaction
with other students and with your instructors.
You will regularly engage in online discussions
with other students and you will have plenty of opportunity
to communicate with your instructors.
Another myth about online courses
is that you won't get much feedback from your instructors.
While it's true that some types of online courses
offer few opportunities for feedback, in your courses,
you can expect to receive personalized audio or written
feedback on your assignments from your instructors.
Your instructors are also available to talk
on the phone, using online services such as Big Blue
Button, or in person if you happen to be on campus.
Finally, many people believe that online courses are
entirely flexible and that there are
no deadlines in online courses.
This is not the case in IPA courses.
While online courses offer some flexibility
and allow you to choose when you will study,
your courses will also feature regular deadlines.
Let's take a few minutes to learn about some benefits
of online learning.
Although online learning can be challenging,
there are some great benefits to learning online.
While your online courses are highly structured,
they also allow a high degree of flexibility.
You can take your courses when and where you want.
If it's convenient to do your coursework on Tuesdays
and Thursdays at 4:00 AM, that's fine
as long as it works for you and allows
you to keep up with the class.
You should be able to follow along with the courses
while you travel as well.
The online learning environment allows your instructors
to observe and monitor your progress in the course.
They'll know when you're downloading
readings or watching videos and when you are falling behind.
Finally, one of the greatest benefits of online learning
is the fact that it will give you
a chance to speak to a wide variety of students.
Students in the Indigenous Policy and Administration
program are often located all over the country
and many are taking this program while working
in their communities.
As a result, you'll find that you
get to hear a broader range of perspectives and experiences
than you might in a regular class.
This opportunity to hear a huge variety of perspectives
is one of the great benefits of online learning.
All of your courses will be delivered
through cuLearn, which is Carleton's online learning
platform.
Each course will have its own page.
One of the most important things for you
to do once you begin a course will
be to understand all the different navigation
elements of the course.
Each course has a number of important elements
that you should be aware of.
The Navigation bar on the left of your course page
shows the Table of Course Content section, which
will give you an idea of all the content within the course page.
On the Navigation bar, you can see that the course content
is divided into modules.
Many of your courses will be like this
and this is one place that you can see and navigate
to the modules.
For instance, you can access materials
for the different modules by clicking on Module 1, 2, or 3.
Like the table of contents in a book,
the tabs also show the sequence of content and course
progression.
On the right side of the course page,
there are other useful tools.
For instance, you'll see the Email tool,
which will allow you to send emails to your instructor
or to your classmates.
To send emails to your instructor
or classmates, click the Compose New Email link.
cuLearn will keep a record of emails you have sent.
You can view the history of your emails
by clicking on View History.
In the Recent Activities block, you
will also find a record of your activity in the course.
Check and track recent activities in the course
by clicking Recent Activities.
The course home page may be a bit different from course
to course.
On a course home page, you will find information
about the course, including the course outline, instructions
for assignments, as well as course news and announcements.
The Welcome section of the course home page
provides an overview of the main themes of the course.
For example, this is the home page for one
of the courses in the Indigenous Policy and Administration
program.
You'll find the course outline or the course syllabus
on the course home page as well.
The course outline or syllabus will provide you
with details on the course content, course assignments,
and due dates.
The course outline will also contain information
about important course policies, such as what
to do if you have to submit an assignment late
or if you need accommodations due to illness.
Your instructors will often send you
updates about things that are happening
in the course or other important information.
Most instructors will use the Course News and Announcements
tool to send you new information and important updates.
You can click on Course News and Announcements tool
to see a record of all announcements.
Most courses will be organized into weeks or modules.
Each module might last one or two weeks.
You can use the Navigation bar to move to different modules.
Some courses will use tabs, which
will allow you to move through different modules
by clicking on the appropriate tab.
For example, I can move from Module 1 to Module 7
just by clicking on the tab.
Each module will include a number of activities,
such as lectures and discussions or assignments.
In this module, the learning outcomes
for the module are listed, as well as
some of the main themes for the module.
The module also includes a list of tasks for the module,
as well as important dates.
There are also links to lecture videos, course readings,
and assignments within the module.
So everything you need for that module
is placed together in one spot.
This module includes a discussion activity.
You can click on the Discussion tool
in order to participate in the discussion.
Here's an example from another course.
You can see that the instructor has
included two videos, a discussion activity,
as well as an exercise.
Again, all the resources and instructions
necessary to complete the assigned tasks
can be found in the module, so you'll
find that the links, icons, and tabs within the modules
are really important.
In some cases, all the instructions for assignments
are gathered into one folder.
Clicking on this icon will open the folder
and you can see assignments as well as rubrics.
Rubrics are guides for grading assignments
that some of your instructors might use.
Looking at the rubric will give you a good idea of what exactly
the instructor is looking for when grading your assignments,
so understanding the rubric will help
you to understand the expectations of the assignment.
It's a good idea to take a look at the rubrics
if they are provided.
However, not all instructors will use rubrics.
In each of your courses, you'll need to submit assignments.
You can see the assignments in the Activities block.
Click on the icon to upload your assignments.
Your instructors might provide other instructions
on what to submit with your assignment
or the specific format they would like.
Information about course evaluation and grading
is usually outlined in the course syllabus or course
outline.
You can check your grades by clicking
on the Grades icon in the Navigation bar
on the right-hand side of the page.
Clicking on this icon will take you
to a summary of your grades earned in the course.
After you submit your assignments,
your instructors will provide you with feedback.
This can take the form of written or audio feedback.
Most instructors will send you an email
once the feedback is available.
You can also check for feedback by clicking on the Assignments
icon on the left-hand Navigation bar.
The Library for Indigenous Policy and Administration
contains useful information and resources that
can help you with your studies.
If you need help navigating cuLearn,
help is always available.
You can always contact your instructor or TAs.
In addition, you can contact cuLearn Support
or Computing and Communications Services for help.
Online learning can be challenging,
but with the right preparation, it
will be a rewarding experience.
Your success in online courses will depend on a few factors.
First, time management is extremely important.
You can expect to spend at least five
to seven hours per week or more working
on each of your online courses.
Many of you will be working, taking care of family,
or fulfilling other responsibilities
while taking these courses.
Finding a way to balance your coursework
with other commitments will be key to your success.
Second, in order to keep up with course assignments
and readings, it is important that you
work on your online courses on a regular basis.
Ideally, you will set aside time during the same time each week
in order to work on your online courses.
We recommend that you log into your online courses at least
three times a week to participate
in learning activities, discussions,
and to see if new information has been added.
Third, many of your courses will have an online discussion
component.
Your active participation is expected
and will make the course more interesting and enjoyable
for both you and your classmates.
Fourth, communication is very important.
It's important to stay in touch with your instructor
and to let them know if you are experiencing difficulties,
if you have questions, or if you need
to submit an assignment late or are taken away
from your studies due to a family
emergency or other issue.
If for some reason you are unable to complete
your assignments on time or participate
in online discussions, it's important
that you communicate this to your instructor.
Finally, at the beginning of each course,
your professors will provide you with information
on the expectations, assignments,
and grading for each course.
It's your responsibility to make sure
that you understand what is expected
and to ask questions if the expectations are not clear.
Even if you are well organized and well prepared,
there may still be times during your studies
when you feel overwhelmed.
Balancing school, work, and life can be challenging.
Here is some advice from previous students.
KATHLEEN LAROQUE: Engaging with the professors and the TAs,
very helpful.
Always willing to help out and help you understand.
Sharing with the students and just making sure
that I had the time to really read through those things
and understand them.
I think that was, for me, the challenges.
So just reach out to those people.
It really helps.
I enjoyed the diversity of the program.
And what that means is, there were several diversifications.
There was the ways of learning.
So we were able to go to communities and learn hands-on.
We were able to share in lectures with prominent lawyers
like Val Napoleon.
We were able to join in the Institute for Ethics--
the Research Council-- and we were
able to engage with other students
at the very beginning of the program,
so that gave us a base.
And so I really enjoyed that part of it.
The second part of that diversification
is, because it's online, we have many people
from different places, so you have many perspectives
to be able to share while you're learning.
And I suppose a third diversification
is the amount of material or all of the learning that you did.
So you were not just touching on policy
but you were touching on financial management
and how to manage communities and law and just all
of the different areas of study that was really diversified
in the whole program.
MARCIE PORTELANCE: So I definitely
like the flexibility of the online program--
that you're able to do your assignments and readings when
you needed or when you wanted to and how
it fit into your schedule.
But also, I really found this course different in the fact
that you're learning about more current indigenous
issues within Canada.
So to me, that was the most interesting aspect
of the program.
As opposed to other university courses,
where it's more focused on history or the past.
A lot of the courses focus on the present, if not the future.
KATHLEEN LAROQUE: Going to community.
Going to [INAUDIBLE].
I had never been there.
Learning what they're doing.
That was very highlight for me.
I think, actually, they're helpful.
It's great to be able to come into the class
and share with students in that way,
but when you're thinking about if you're working and family,
it's actually a good way to be able to allot
your time because you know the readings you
have for that week.
You know the questions that you're
going to be looking at at the beginning of the week.
So you can really formulate your time around that and so
I found that helpful.
MARCIE PORTELANCE: It is very challenging,
and my preference is to learn in class,
so taking a course or a program that was 90% online
was a bit scary to me.
But I found that by working through it
and just going slowly, everything's there.
So if you want to move ahead, you can,
or if you kind of want to slow down, you can.
So I found that to be interesting,
but that being said, in my last semester,
I took one course in class just for my own--
for time management.
I was able to easily come to school as opposed
to take two courses online.
KATHLEEN LAROQUE: I don't know.
I honestly don't know.
I mean, you just--
you do it, right?
It's something I wanted to do.
The material is very interesting so I just made time for it.
I don't know, I just plugged through.
Kind of a blur, like we were discussing earlier.
Determination, I guess.
That I wanted to get through this.
I wanted to have this under my belt to go forward.
MARCIE PORTELANCE: Since, for the past six years,
I've done university part time-- that's how I got my BA--
so it was something that I was just already accustomed to.
But that being said, definitely having
a support system in place.
So my support system was actually my husband.
So he took on many roles.
He took on cooking and cleaning and taking care of the kids
in the home setting but he also took on--
he was my editor and my adviser and my support.
And at nights when I felt like, at some points,
oh, this is just too hard, I can't do this,
he was there to always say, you can do it.
And by taking things slowly and one day at a time--
everything is temporary, right?
So it all comes to an end.
And that's it.
So definitely having a support system and keeping your kids--
making them understand how important
it is to just carve out time to do homework.
So if that means giving up certain things,
then that's just what you have to do.
So for example, I used to always tell myself--
so I quit watching TV when I was in the program.
I actually love watching TV.
I used to tell myself, I can watch that show any time
but I really have to get this assignment done.
So, for a year, I did not watch any TV.
KATHLEEN LAROQUE: It's difficult in the other respect
that you're not engaging with other students all the time,
but because of the way the program is
set up so that you meet the other people in the program
at the beginning of the program, you're able to form alliances
and you can share some of the readings,
share some of your perspective with those other students
and kind of just gauge that you're understanding what
you're hoping to understand.
So I think the setup of it helped in that challenge,
because for me, some of the readings were quite scholarly.
And I needed to take out the dictionary
and just bounce off somebody else
that I understood what was really being said in that.
So I think that was challenging, but helpful that we made
that alliance at the beginning.
MARCIE PORTELANCE: So definitely understanding why--
like, reminding yourself why you're in the program.
Because life happens, things get hard, school gets hard,
but if you can ground yourself and remind yourself
why you took this program--
or any program, for that matter--
it gives you the strength to continue.
And knowing that, in 12 weeks or 2 weeks,
it will be all finished is--
you just have to keep your eye on the end game
and that's kind of what gets you through.
And sometimes you get through and you're like,
I don't even know how I did that, but you make it through.
I built friendships with a few other people
in the first two weeks of the course in the Summer Institute.
And so they were my, I guess, academic peer support.
So we would share that information on Facebook,
like, oh, we're having a trouble with this assignment,
so we kind of all just worked together to get it done.
But yeah, definitely having that in place makes you successful.
My advice to students is just to continue and remember
why you applied for this program,
and by moving forward and keeping your eye on the end
game and graduating is what's going to make you successful.
And just remember that you didn't make it here by chance.
You made it here because of your will and your drive
to be part of this program because not just anyone could
get into this program.
SPEAKER: When taking online courses,
you will spend a lot of time using
your computer and the internet.
In order to complete these courses,
you will need access to a reliable internet connection.
If you do not have reliable, high-speed internet at home,
you should locate a place such as a library or your workplace
where you can access reliable internet.
Remember that many public internet access
points are somewhat unreliable.
It's your responsibility to make sure
that you have a reliable internet connection that
will allow you to fully participate in your courses.
Beyond having access to the internet,
you will need to be familiar with the functions
of your computer.
In some courses, you might be asked
to create video presentations or engage with other new software.
You do not need any special equipment for this.
A webcam will be useful but not necessary.
Most computers and laptops today come with built-in webcams.
Being familiar with your computer
will help you complete assignments.
You may be asked to use programs that are unfamiliar.
Be assured that you will always be provided with instruction
on how to use these tools, but it's important
that you come with a willingness to learn
and it's your responsibility to ask for help when something
is not clear.
This concludes our tutorial introducing you
to the online features of the Indigenous Policy
and Administration program.
If you have any questions, please get in touch
with your instructors.
Your instructors are looking forward to getting to know you
and are ready to help you succeed in this program.
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét