Learning support is for all of you who need a helping hand with the challenges of online learning. Learning something new is an exciting and fulfilling endeavour that can take you to places that you want to be. But sometimes when we’re faced with something new some of us begin to doubt ourselves for one reason or another. It’s times like these when you need a bit of extra support and that’s what we’re about.
What is the learning support team?
The learning support team is an enthusiastic and specialised new team that was introduced to Open Colleges to give you an added level of support and advice. We have your best interests in mind and we’re here to help you be a successful learner.
What kinds of things can the learning support team help me with?
The learning support team can help you with:
- navigating around OpenSpace
- getting you started with your studies
- ways to fit your studies around your other commitments
- tips to keep you on track
- working around disability issues
- researching online
- learning, literacy and numeracy support
- academic writing and referencing.
How do I get help from a learning support officer?
If you would like to have one of our friendly learning support officers contact you, all you need to do is click here: Learning Support Appointments and choose your preferred day and time for a telephone appointment (up to two selections). One of the team will be in contact within two working days of your request to chat with you about your concerns.
What happens during a telephone appointment with a learning support officer?
Telephone appointments with the learning support team generally take about 20 minutes. During that time, we can concentrate on covering one topic or a few—it’s entirely up to you. We tailor our conversation with you to suit your particular study concerns and we work with you to find solutions that fit with your life and your learning style.
Resources
Guide to Goal Setting and Time Management
If you’re just setting out on your course, this guide will help you to work out a plan for your studies and put you on a path to success. It contains tips about how to set goals, schedule your study times and keep motivated about the exciting journey you’ve embarked on. This guide will also support you during times when you might have lost some of the drive that you had when you decided that it would be a great idea to learn something new and get a qualification that’s going to make a positive difference to your life and career.
Academic Writing Guide
This academic writing guide was written for those of you who are working towards Diplomas and Advanced Diplomas. If you’re studying for Certificate IV qualifications you may also want to refer to this guide; however, it’s not compulsory.
Academic Referencing Guide
As a student at Open Colleges, you’re required to reference all assessment tasks that incorporate material from other authors. All work you submit for assessment must be researched and prepared entirely by you and should make a clear reference to other authors’ material. This guide takes you through that process.
Guide to Searching the Web
The internet is a vast, rich and ever-growing resource. If you’re new to looking for information on the internet it can be a bit daunting. We’ve put this guide together to make it a little less so. You’ll find definitions of basic terms, advice on evaluating content and minimising spam, as well as a few tips about how to refine your searches.
Guide to Creative Thinking
Perhaps you’re thinking that you’re not a creative person because you’re not ‘good at’ art or writing or inventing. But the truth is that everyone is creative, it’s just that we’re all creative in different ways and sometimes when we’re adults we don’t access our creativity as much as we could. The Open Colleges Guide to Creative Thinking is not only useful for those of you studying in our ‘creative’ courses like photography, writing and design, it’s for anyone who needs to solve problems.
Guide to Critical Thinking
Learning how to think critically opens you up to a whole new means of understanding any subject more effectively and deeply. It’s like building brain muscle—your thinking becomes more robust and you can systematically see through problems to find new ways of solving them. The critical thinking skills covered in this guide will not only help you get those assessment tasks done, they’ll make the process more enjoyable, faster and lead to better results. Not only that, they’ll also help you with challenges in your professional and personal life.