My wish for Christmas

Nada, DL Teacher,
opening a Christmas present

One of the old Christmas traditions is for children to write a letter to Santa to make a wish and ask for presents, usually toys!  As adults we have our own wish lists.

A couple of weeks ago a number of columnists for the Sunday Herald were asked about their wish for Christmas.  Here is some of what they said:

"Dear Santa, could you please bring me world peace for Christmas?  If this is too tricky, I'll focus on what's possible .... My children skipping off to bed when I tell them it's bed time ... and staying in bed all night." Jessica Rowe

"I want to lose 10 kilos and grow five centimetres.  I want to have thicker hair, longer legs and fewer chins.... But as none of that is going to happen ... I want self-confidence to accept myself the way I am." Jane Caro

"I want what money can't buy: contentment, clarity, gratitude and - I dare ask? - happiness." Jacinta Tynan

"I am drowning in clutter.  Books I haven't read, CD's I no longer listen to, cupboards full of chaos.  So I don't want more stuff.  But if I could have anything for Christmas, I'd go for an extra hour in my days." Jo Stanely

What about you! What do YOU want for Christmas?  Share your wish under comments below.

As for us in Distance Learning, our wish for you is to continue to enjoy your lessons and improve your English so you could achieve your goals in Australia.  Needless to say, we also wish you a merry Christmas, a safe break and a fabulous new year.

Thank you for your participation in the DL program this year and for reading the blog.  This is our last issue for 2015 until we meet again from 4th January, 2016.  

Fall 2015 End of Semester Email

Dear BCTC Instructors: 

As the Fall 2015 semester winds to a close, I have a few updates to pass along about Blackboard and Distance Learning.  Even if your classes are taught face-to-face, there is still information here of use. . . 

Online Syllabi and Roster Verification.  If you are teaching a Spring 2016 online class, be sure to review these Suggestions for Online Syllabi.  There are lots of helpful tips here.  *New for Spring 2016* Some online instructors have been frustrated when students from other KCTCS colleges are dropped for non-attendance but the home college registrar does not process the drop.  Consider adding language to your syllabus to address this.  For example: "Students must submit Week One assignments by the stated deadline in order to remain in this course.  Students who do not meet the first deadline must withdraw--or take an E." 

Opening Bb Courseshells.  All BCTC classes are provided with a Blackboard courseshell; this shell is a great communication tool for you.  Use it to provide students with information about textbooks, course supplies as well as your syllabus.  Note: by default the courseshell is closed, use these directions to open your courseshell.  And you can open that shell at any time in order to get information out to your students. 

Technology Support Center.  Connie Rine (5-4608) runs the Technology Support Center out of Leestown A-101.  Check in with Connie for help using Blackboard, MS Lync, MS Office products and more.   

eMentors.  Another great resources for Blackboard and eLearning support are the college eMentors.  Our distribution list is a quick way to get an answer to a Bb question.  Contact us at: bl_ementors@kctcs.edu. 

Training Opportunities.  Additional training for Blackboard and other educational software such as Starfish, MS OneDrive, and more will be provided at the Changing Classroom Cultures Conference (February 19-20, 2016).  Also look for PD events scheduled during upcoming Division Fridays.   

BCTC Testing Center.  The BCTC Testing Center will reopen January 4 with greatly improved hours and scheduling.  Expect major updates in the new year as we move to an hours of operation schedule which will allow students to register for exams Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM; Wednesday, 8:30 AM - 7:00 PM; and Friday, 8:30 AM - 12:00 PM.  New Testing Center information will go live on our Web site next week.  Path: Academics >> Assessment & Testing.   

Online Readiness.  When advising students about online learning, be sure to encourage them to complete the digital literacy requirement and/or FYE 105 before taking online classes or as their first online class.  Additional resources are available online: o Academics >> Distance Learning >> General Information page.  

BCTC First.  Also when advising students, encourage them to enroll in Bluegrass online classes.  Doing so puts them in touch with program faculty who serve as academic advisors. To help with this process, here is a list of open, BCTC Spring 2016 online classes.  That list is also available from the Distance Learning Web page: Academics >> Distance Learning >> Schedule of Classes. 

Additional Information.  This email is archived in the BCTC Distance Learning blog along with other distance learning updates and announcements.  Additional information about Distance Learning is available on the Colle Web site: Academics >> Distance Learning. 

Phuong's creative side

Phuong, DL student, Cabramatta

Hi, my name�s Phuong and I�m from Vietnam. I�ve been here for 7 months and I�ve been studying by Distance Learning with my teacher, Frank, for nearly 4 months.

When I came to Australia, I wasn�t really acquainted with life here. It�s very different to my country. It caused me to feel a little bit bored and stressed, so sometimes when I feel weary, I do my favourite activity - water colour painting.

I have liked painting since I was a little girl; however, I�ve only known about water colours for the past few years. In my opinion, water colours are very light and limpid and when I see them, I want to use them to colour in my drawings. I know I don�t have a good sense of colours. My first painting with water colours looked really terrible! I didn�t know how to control the water and the colours. But I persevered and tried to study tutorials from the internet. I practised a lot and learned from experience. After one year, my water colour paintings started to look better. My favourite type of water colour painting is portraits. Painting the outline is hard for me but I�m trying to learn and practise when I have time. Completing a painting makes me very happy and I always paint to relax after a hard working week.

These are some of my water colour portraits I�d like to share with you. Hope you like them!

    

Thanks Phuong for sharing these wonderful paintings with us and congratulations on mastering this creative new skill.

• What kind of art do you appreciate?
• Do you think being good at art is a natural gift or is it a taught skill?
• Puong found that paining is a good way to cope with boredom and stress in a new country. What helps you cope with stress?

We'd love  you to share your comments below.