Vol. 1 No. 2 November 5, 2008
SPRING TERM IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER
No, we haven't had Thanksgiving or Christmas, but there are only 59 days before the first day of class! So it's not too early to start thinking about Computer College courses that you might want to take starting in January. The next several editions of e-Notes will be devoted to information that we hope will be helpful to you.
FINDING THE RIGHT CLASSES
All the classes in the Computer College have been assigned a Level to assist you in selecting a class suited to you. Students should not attempt to take the next level course until they have (recently) satisfactorily completed the previous course. Sometimes we learn a lot more if we take the course a second time.
NEW NEXT TERM – TWO SESSION WORKSHOPS
There was an enthusiastic response to the Workshops offered for the first time this Fall Term. However, in some cases it was difficult to adequately cover the subject in just one session. Eight two-session workshops will be offered in addition to 7 one-session workshops. Workshops offer a challenge to both the instructors and the residents. Workshops are not regular computer classes. All workshops are listed as Level 2 so it is essential that the student is prepared to take a Level 2 class. There simply is not time to teach someone "how to use" a computer. For this you should register for one of the 6 "basic" classes. (The Crawl, Walk, Run Strategy applies to learning how to use a computer.) Workshops are designed to provide additional information and techniques to help you fine tune your skill in a specific subject. For these reasons, you can expect the instructor to limit the course content to the Workshop described in the brochure.
NEW ADMISSION PROCEDURES
The myth that "if I register very early on the first day I have a better chance of getting in the class" simply is not true. For 5 terms the CCSC has provided randomization of the names of all the residents who have registered for classes in which the number exceeds the maximum number that can be accommodated. Thus, any resident who registers during 3 working days from the start of registration will have an equal chance of being enrolled. (It is not necessary to attempt to register very early on the first day.)
New this term will be "Class Balancing". Long waitlists have been virtually eliminated by offering additional sections for the classes with large registration. In some cases, those who were not included in the first section after randomization, were not able to attend the second section at the time it was being offered. For two days following randomization, an attempt will be made to "balance" the two sections of the class. You may be contacted to see if you could attend the second section at the new time. This will provide the best opportunity to meet the needs of the residents.
COMING IN FUTURE EDITIONS OF e-Notes
List of Courses and Instructors
"Raftup" (A time to meet the Instructors and get information on courses) December 12, 2008 in the Grand Cyprus Room at 1 P.M.
Registration Details (Registration starts December 12, 2008)
New Computer College Web Site
If you have any suggestions for the Computer College, please send them to e-Notes. ccsc8sp@gmail.com
e-Notes
Published by the Computer College Steering Committee (CCSC)
Russ Kraay, Editor