 |
Student Services - Home |
|
Learning and Teaching Resources |
Teaching Your Classhttp://www.algonquincollege.com/lts/ Learning and Teaching Services (LTS) helps the college fulfill its commitment to student-centred, flexible learning, and top-quality instruction. It is a support centre that promotes and facilitates learning for teachers and students at the college. The support services include the Learning Resource Centre (Library) at each campus, online course delivery through Blackboard, student learning and faculty support through the Online Learning Centres, Prior Learning Assessment, professional development workshops, curriculum planning for courses and programs, and support for the use of eclassrooms and Audio-Visual equipment. LTS also maintains a pool of general education courses, and a generic skills map for all funded programs. Individual or group coaching is available for teachers who would like assistance with course design, instructional techniques, or the use of technology. Contact LTS at 613 - 727-4723, ext. 5465 to set up an appointment Instructional Delivery ModesAlgonquin College offers various learning environments to encourage the most effective acquisition of specific skills and knowledge. These include face-to-face classes and elearning, and they may also involve clinical and field placements for applied learning in a real workplace. As a part-time teacher, you may find that you are required to operate in different instructional modes as the college strives to offer courses that best suit learner needs. Standard (Classroom) Courses use a traditional approach of face-to-face meetings that may be scheduled in a classroom or lab. Students and teachers are expected to attend all sessions listed on their timetables. Each assigned teaching contact hour should be 50 minutes long. The additional ten minutes per hour is needed to ensure a smooth transition between classes and to give everyone time to travel between locations. Online Courses are defined as those courses that are offered entirely online but may require booking of space at the beginning of the semester and/or for tests and exams. The online instructional mode gives learners the flexibility of accessing course materials, assignments, and online support at their own computers at their own convenience. Blackboard and email are the main tools used for facilitating online courses. Students are expected to complete all online assignments and to maintain contact with the teacher and class through discussion boards and email. Hybrid Online Courses are courses that offer online and scheduled in-class hours on a weekly basis (e.g. 1 hour in-class and 2 hours online every week for 16 weeks). This mode is becoming increasingly popular because it blends the advantages of face-to-face meetings with the convenience of online features. It gives students more flexibility over their study schedules and encourages them to develop independent learning skills. Experiential Learning involves the application of in-school learning in real world situations, such as labs, work and clinical placements, and coop work experiences. This mode is an important feature of College education that helps students get hands-on experience in their chosen fields. Blackboardhttp://online.algonquincollege.com Blackboard is an online course management system accessed through a web browser which allows students and faculty to communicate and exchange information in a “Virtual Classroom” type of environment. You can post announcements, staff information, course outlines and learning materials. You can also administer tests and surveys as well as get statistics on how your online course is being used. All daytime course sections are assigned a Blackboard space. Use your network username and password to log in to your Blackboard environment, including the courses you are teaching. Blackboard technical support is offered primarily through the following email address: elearninghttp://www.algonquincollege.com/lts Elearning is the collective name for various electronic tools and environments that facilitate learning anytime and anywhere. Algonquin’s elearning initiative supports online and hybrid online course delivery and assists faculty members to build and update their technology skills. Learning and Teaching Services (LTS) maintains communication links within the college through its extensive elearning website. For elearning support at Woodroffe, go to C102. General Education (Directive E41)http://www.algonquincollege.com/gened/ Published standards for post-secondary programs require that colleges provide general education courses. Although some general education courses may be mandated by the College, students must have the opportunity to exercise choice amongst general education electives and must experience breadth by taking courses in different topic areas, identified by five themes. Algonquin College offers general education electives in an online format. If you require Blackboard training to teach a general elective online elective, contact: Professional Developmenthttp://www.algonquincollege.com/employee-pd/ The College offers Professional Development Workshops for faculty each term. There is no charge for the sessions if you are teaching at the College. Check the url for the latest workshop offerings. Individual coaching sessions are also available at no charge if you are teaching at the College. To book a session for yourself or for small groups of faculty from your department, call (613) 727-4723, ext. 5356. Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) (Directive E35)http://www.algonquincollege.com/pla/ Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) is a process that assists adult learners to identify and to demonstrate relevant learning acquired through life and work experiences and to translate this learning into college credit. Woodroffe Room C102c: 613 - 727-4723, ext. 7027 Staff Websiteshttp://academic.algonquincollege.com As a faculty member you be eligible to have a staff website on the College Server. Visit the above link to request web space. Softwarehttp://www.algonquincollege.com/its/support/algonquinapps/ Software that is currently installed in College Access Labs is described on this web page. As a teacher, you are eligible to participate in the College Microsoft Agreement, which distributes selected Microsoft software such as Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access). Faculty are able to sign-out an installation disk from the main desk of the Learning Resource Centre for 3 days. For further details, contact the Learning Resource Centre at (613) 727-4723 ext. 5834 For technical support related to installing Microsoft software, contact the ITS Service Desk at (613) 727-4723 ext. 5555 or email 5555@algonquincollege.com. http://www.algonquincollege.com/its/support/algonquinapps/faq.htm Algonquin Applications allows you to use software over the network when it is not installed in your lab or eclassroom. Support Areas for Learning and TeachingAudio-Visual Equipment (Directive G3)http://www.algonquincollege.com/its/services/audioVisualLanding.htm A wide variety of equipment is available on campus for use by faculty and students in the classroom or for completing projects. The procedure for booking equipment varies from campus to campus. Please contact the appropriate campus for more information.
AV Equipment is booked through the Learning Resource Centre eClassroomshttp://www.algonquincollege.com/its/eclass The College has 100 eclassrooms and each is equipped with a networked desktop computer, a laptop connection, a VCR, a multi-media projector, sound, and a telephone. Instructions for using the equipment are posted on the instructor’s console and on the web page.
Information Technology Services (ITS) Service Deskhttp://www.algonquincollege.com/its Information Technology Services (ITS) provides technical support services for computer labs, eclassrooms, Open Access Centres, pc maintenance, software applications, the college network (internet and intranet), email, telephones, off-site network dial-in, and high speed remote access to the college. It also runs a Service Desk that offers assistance to drop-in visitors, and to email and telephone requests.
The Learning Resource Centre (LRC) (Directive G1)The Algonquin College Learning Resource Centre (LRC) offers a variety of services to support faculty teaching and student learning.
The library contains extensive collections of print materials, videos, CDs, and access to inter-library loans and online databases. Knowledgeable staff will assist you in your information searches and they will develop online pathfinders for your students to find web-based materials quickly. You can search the online catalogues from your own computer. All Learning Resource Centres are closed on statutory holidays. Check the web page for current opening times as schedules may vary according to the semester. Student Support Labhttp://www.algonquincollege.com/lts/ssl The Student Support Lab provides one-on-one coaching help! While it is not a proof-reading service, coaches help students to identify solutions to the difficulties they experience with English and Math studies, as well as with basic software operations. Students can book appointments by dropping by the Student Support Lab help desk in C102 (Woodroffe Campus) or by visiting their campus Learning Resource Centre. Open Access Labs (Directive A16)The ITS Department maintains and supports four Open Access Labs where students can login and print using their network usernames and passwords.
|