Information for DE School Students

As well as a module of lessons and this online handbook you are reading, SCIDES online students should have the following:

  • a letter from your distance education school;

  • your student number and your marker's and / or instructor's name and e-mail address;

  • an information card for you to fill out;

  • any course specific resources;

  • If any of these materials are missing or incomplete, inform SCIDES. Please note, however, that the letter, the sheet with your student number and your instructor's name and address, the student information card, and the test supervisor card (if you are not in school) may arrive a few days after the rest of the materials;

  • Let the SCIDES know if you have a problem or a complaint. Your marker deals only with the subject matter of the course and how you relate to it. If you have questions on administrative matters or need your marks forwarded, contact the school where you enrolled. Never send cash through the mail. Make cheques payable to the SCIDES.

Your Instructor and Marker

Your marker and instructor are experts in the content of your course. He or she will answer questions about the course, help you with difficulties, mark and comment on your section assignments, and monitor your progress. Your marker or teacher may assign you additional activities or assignments.

Contact your marker or instructor if you:

    • do not understand some aspect of the learning materials;

    • are uncertain about the meaning of a lesson activity question or a section assignment question;

    • wish to discuss a comment or a grade on a section;

    • are having trouble getting sections in on time.

Your Learner Support Person

Your instructor is available to answer your questions, but it would also be helpful for you to be able to consult a Learner Support Person. This is someone you choose who can assist you when you need help understanding something or want feedback on an activity or assignment. Your Learner Support Person can be a parent, older friend or relative, or anyone you believe is knowledgeable and readily available to help you.

Test Writing Information

  1. Students in School: All test supervision will be arranged by the school, including supervision required during school vacation periods.

  2. All other students: When tests are not supervised by an enrolling school or by SCIDES, test supervision will be arranged according to direction from SCIDES.

  3. Tests are mailed directly to the supervisor approved by SCIDES. You don't have to ask for tests, they are ordered automatically. When you are ready to be tested, you need to arrange a convenient time and place with your supervisor to write the test. Each test should be written on the completion of each module.

  4. Marked tests cannot be returned for security reasons. You receive your mark and any comments, but not the test itself.

  5. Fees are charged to rewrite a test.


Good Course Management

Your Personal Study Timetable

To complete your course, you will usually need to spend between 100 to 120 hours to complete. There are no short cuts or easy ways to gain a satisfactory result.

Success in a self-teaching situation usually involves being well organized. Set aside a number of relatively short, definite periods each week for the course study -- don't do it all in one block.

Most students find that working in one-hour chunks on a regular basis is better than putting in three- or four- hour marathons once in a while. You also need to allow sufficient time to prepare for each test.

To help you organize your time so that you can work through the course at an even pace, you may want to develop your own study schedule. A sample timetable follows.


Sample Timetable

 

Suggestions for Managing Your Course

  1. Do the sections in the proper order. If you have difficulty with your course, it is best if you wait for each section assignment to be graded before working on the next so that you can benefit from corrections and comments. You should, however, keep on with the reading of the next section's lesson and activities while you wait.

  2. Don't skip or omit section assignments. If you cannot do a question because you don't understand it, you may contact your instructor for help.

  3. If handwriting assignments, use blue or black ink, not pencil. It is all right to cross things out, so long as you do it neatly, and so long as what you intend to have marked is clear.

  4. Try not to submit batches of section assignments. Do one section assignment at a time and submit it immediately when you are finished.

  5. Be sure to label each page. For section assignments, be sure to label each page in case pages get separated. Put the following information at the top of every page:

    • your name and student number

    • course name

    • section assignment number.

  6. Don't submit the lesson activities. Submit them only if your instructor asks to see them.

  7. Make sure all your work is your own. Don't ever copy answers, either from a book or from another student.

  8. Remember that your instructor wants to help you do well in the course. To be effective, learning should be a two-way conversation, so contact your instructor if you have any questions or comments.

 

Submitting Your Work

All your work is to be submitted electronically unless prior approval is received from your marker or instructor to use an alternate method.