Professional Development Day for instructors

Please click here for agenda

Snow Days

In the event of inclement, Continuing Studies will close only in the event that UWO’s main campus makes the decision to close. If a class is cancelled due to inclement weather, we will make every effort to contact you by email to advise – we also recommend checking out UWO’s main web page for updates www.uwo.ca. All cancelled classes must be rescheduled.

Teaching this Winter?

Whether you are a returning instructor to Continuing Studies or new to our team there are some important items you need to be aware of:

Photocopying requests:
Copying of weekly materials are to be submitted to Karen De Heus (preferably electronically) no later than 1 week prior to your class. All copying will be double sided and stapled unless otherwise specified. Please use the templates for the course outline, course handout and powerpoints found on our Instructor Resource website.

Teaching in the evening:
In January our evening staff members will be here until 7:30pm Monday thru Thursday. They will be here to support your needs and assist you with classroom set up. If your class ends after 7:30, please power off all equipment and close your classroom door. The Citi Plaza mall security will lock the main office doors once the last class has ended.

Need to reschedule or cancel a class?
If a class meeting time must be cancelled or rescheduled, please contact Karen De Heus as soon by email kdeheus@uwo.ca or by phone at 519 661 2111 ext 85665 as soon as possible so that students can be redirected if they turn up in our office.

All class meeting times that are cancelled must be made up. Please consult with Karen De Heus prior to rescheduling to ensure space is available.

HR
If you are teaching with Continuing Studies this winter it is important to update any changes to your personal information on the HR website. (You will need your user name and password. If you have forgotten this information you may call the Computer Accounts Office at 519-661-3800 and by having your UWO ID number ready your user name and password will be re-issued). If you are a new instructor or a returning instructor that is still receiving cheques we encourage you to set yourself up with direct deposit. This will ensure that you are paid in a timely fashion and help us in reducing the amount of paper that UWO uses.

WebCT
For online or web-enhanced courses content has been copied over from the previous year, where you will be able to login and make the appropriate changes/updates. If the course is new to WebCT it will be the responsibility of the instructor to create the course content that they wish provide to the students. Please note that all course content must be added/updated the week prior to the course starting.

http://webct.uwo.ca/

Having troubles logging in or using WebCT

• You will need to login using your UWO user ID and password issued by ITS. If you have forgotten these please contact the Computer Accounts Office at 519-661-3800 and they can re-issue you this information.
• There are many helpful items on the WebCT Owl web page that can assist you with some of the common questions and issues. This is a great resource especially if you are new to WebCT http://webct.uwo.ca/ . Please note that this is where you will login to your WebCT Owl course. Please ensure you click on Continuing Studies at Western in order to be directed to your course.

• Training and questions about using the WebCT OWL tools
  If you are new to WebCT or need assistance the ITRC (Instructional Technology Resource Centre) is has many resources available on their website http://www.uwo.ca/its/itrc/index.html You may also contact them at 519-661-519-661-2111 Ext. 85513.

A Social Network can be a Learning Network

Highlighting the motivational aspects of social learning (social pedagogies).

Click here to read the full article

Social Capital, Social Media and Adult Learning

Connecting and building relationships between fellow students and with instructors is an important factor in student academic success. With the increase use of social media, now more than ever there are more tools to bring these communities of learning together.

Click here to read the full article

Post-class Assessment Tool

The Classroom Critical Incident Questionnaire. Adapted from Stephen Brookfield by Liz Rejman for her course, NFPM 6005 - Technology in the Not-for-Profit Sector.

Click here for more information

The Cyber Campus

Universities are a place for cultures and buliding relationships, so what happens when a University is online. (Article from the 2011 Grad School Planning Guide developed by jobpostings.ca)

Click here for more information

Facilitating online discussions in WebCT

Tips for Planning Discussion Board Activities, Evaluating Postings, and Managing Discussion
Boards...

Click here for more information

Twitter for teaching?

Twitter can be a great resource – if you know how to use it. Here are 30 tips for teachers who want to learn how to use Twitter to network, teach, and share information

Click here for more information

Online Brand Consistency

Online learning is area of development, growth and potential for Continuing Studies.  To enhance the students learning experience we have standardized our webct courses. As well as creating a  consistent look and feel to our virtual classrooms, and a stronger link to the Western's brand these changes will benefit both student and instructors navigate their online environment.

If you are teaching an online and blended course offered in Fall 2011 you have noticed the changes.

Online Education is Gaining Credibility

The DeVry Institute of Technology in Calgary released a survey that found most Calgarians think online education is not only viable, it's valuable.

Click here for the full article

4 Tips for Teaching a Course Online

There are a lot of differences teaching online vs. face-to-face.  If you are new to implementing online modules or courses into your traditional classroom or are a fairly new online teacher or maybe you haven’t had much formal training in teaching online, here are 4 quick tips to help you with teaching online:

Communication
So, do you want to try teaching without using your face, hands, or voice? Sounds daunting doesn’t. When teaching online there aren’t any non-verbal communication devices….for the most part. Since much of online teaching is currently asynchronous, you have to consider that the student it unable to watch your facial expressions and body language when delivering content. Also, your sense of humor may not transfer so things that are funny out-loud may sound like insults or demoralizing comments in digital text. You need to get very good at being super specific in emails (the main form of online communication), instant messaging and feedback. You want to show emotion through the use of emoticons and acronyms but be careful not to lose that teacher-student relationship by being overly friendly and informal.

Click here to read the next three tips!

Western's New Online Learning Management System

Say goodbye to WebCT Owl and hello to Sakai. WebCT Owl the online learning platform used by Western faculty, staff , and students since 1998, will not be supported after January
2013. Sakai has been selected to replace WebCT as Western University’s learning
management system (LMS).

Click here for more information

It's That Time of Year

Whether you are a returning instructor to Continuing Studies or new to our team there are some important items you need to be aware of!

Click here for more information

Continuing Studies Celebrates 10 Years in the Downtown Community

Join us along with Mayor Joe Fontana and University President Amit Chakma on Wednesday September 7th from 4:00pm - 5:30pm.

Click here for more details.

Western News Article

If you are passionate about lifelong learning and have an area of expertise to share with others, teaching at Continuing Studies may be the place for you!

As a result of our continued growth, we are seeking additional experienced instructors in a variety of content areas such as project management, management, marketing, human resources, communications, not-for-profit management, leadership and finance.

find out more

UPDATE: Canada Post Strike

Payroll cheques will continue to be mailed to the employees’ home address as per our normal procedure.  If Employees are concerned about receiving their cheques on a timely basis they should login to myHumanResources (link below) and set up their direct deposit banking data.  Please note pay statements are available for viewing and printing 3 days prior to the pay date.g a course in the Fall 2011 term, your contract will be emailed to you with instructions how to return it.

Updates will be communicated to students on our homepage www.uwo.ca/cstudies and to instructors here.

Later-in-life schooling ‘is not just growing, it’s growing exponentially

The increased demand for later-in-life schooling is coming from foreigners seeking a quick gateway to the Canadian workplace, mid-career professionals who want to update their skills and, especially, sprightly baby boomers looking for a new career after retirement or some stimulation to keep an aging mind in shape. But regardless of place and year of birth, when skilled workers look for a professional upgrade or intellectual pastime, they increasingly want to do so at the university level, says Serge Blais, director of U of O’s adult ed centre. The sector, he says, “is not just growing, it’s growing exponentially.”

read more

WEATHER CLOSURES

We have added a Weather Alert section to our homepage to communicate the status of courses.

Decisions to close Continuing Studies due to inclement weather follow the University’s policy on class cancellation; decisions will be communicated on the University’s homepage at www.uwo.ca.

For updates follow us on twitter and facebook.

Classroom Tips - Resolving Difficult Situations

There are a number of situations and issues all instructors must deal with at some time or another. Below are a few excerpts of tips and techniques for dealing with those challenges.
Click here to read the full article

Continuing Studies Staff Announcement

On September 27, 2010 the Director of Continuing Studies, Kim Miller  will be leaving us to join the team of The Student Success Centre at Western. Kim has made a tremendous contribution to Continuing Studies and we wish her every success in her new role.

The acting director of Continuing Studies will be Carolyn Young, who will be on secondment from the Bookstore @ Western for the next two years. Carolyn brings with her a wealth of experience with marketing and a dynamic vision for the next few years at Continuing Studies. Please join me in welcoming Carolyn to Continuing Studies.

WebCT Online Courses

All online and blended courses are now accessible on WebCT. Content has been copied over from the previous year, where you will be able to login and make the appropriate changes/updates. If the course is new to WebCT it will be the responsibility of the instructor to create the course content that they wish to provide to the students. Please note that all course content must be added/updated the week prior to the course starting.

Having troubles logging in or using WebCT?

Human Resources

Please remember that if any of your personal information has changed you will need to advise Continuing Studies(e-mail Karen De Heus kdeheus@uwo.ca). You will also need to update your personal information on My Human Resources; after logging in, click Personal Information. This is particularly important to ensure you receive your weekly pay and T4 slip at the end of the year. You can also sign up for direct deposit to avoid any delays in pay or cheques getting lost in the mail.

Spring Teaching

If you are teaching in our Spring term, just a few reminders:

• Submit your materials for copying to Karen De Heus no later than 2 days prior to your class.
• For evening classes, students may no longer be left unattended in the classrooms for security reasons. Once your class has ended please power off all equipment and close the classroom door. The evening staff person, Margaret will contact the Citi Plaza security office to have our main doors locked 15 minutes after the last class has ended.
• All cancelled classes are to be rescheduled. Contact Karen De Heus for classroom availability.

Spring has Sprung
Spring courses are soon underway. Please ensure you forward your course outlines on our new templates by the deadline specified in your contract. The templates can be found under Course Materials at the top of this page.

In the event that you need to cancel a class, contact Karen De Heus. Please note that all cancelled classes must be rescheduled.

Wrapping up the Winter Term
As many of our winter courses are wrapping up, please remember to submit your final grades to Karen De Heus within 7 days of your course ending. All course materials and teaching notes are to be submitted to Continuing Studies. Please forward to Karen within 2 weeks of your course ending.

Teaching Opportunities
We have begun our 2010 - 2011 course planning. You will be contacted over the coming weeks to confirm your teaching dates. If you are interested in any other teaching opportunities in the Professional Development programs please contact Christine Wilton or in our Post Degree programs please contact Kim Miller.

Milestones
Congratulations to Bill Dowhaniuk (instructor in our Project Management program), who has just reached his 10 year anniversary teaching at Continuing Studies.

Instructional Skills Workshop
The Teaching Support Centre is once again offering an Instructional Skills Workshop for all faculty. Click here for more details.

Tax Time
T4's were mailed out the week of February 26th. If you have moved and have not yet changed your address, please contact Karen De Heus.

Teaching Tips
Obtaining feedback throughout your course is a great way to improve teaching skills while meeting the expectations of your students. The Start-Stop-Continuing and One Minute Intermission exercises are great ways to solicit feedback.