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Archives for October 2019

Peer Tutor Tuesdays with Benny Wang

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Name:        Benny Wang
Program:   Computer Science Technology

What attracted you to becoming a Peer Tutor?
It is a good way to make some money while also helping other students.

How has working as a Tutor helped you?
It helped me reinforce my learning.

If you could give one piece of advice to a BCIT student what would it be?
Having a strong mentality is everything. Believing that you can do it even if you can’t will still help you a lot.

What would your dream job be when you leave BCIT?
Technical lead at a major company.

If you had a free day, how would you spend it?
Gaming, anime and coding.

BCIT Open Education Grants and Open Education Faculty Champion/Fellow Grant

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BCIT Open Education Grants

BCIT’s Open Education Working Group is thrilled to announce that BCIT is the recipient of a 2020 Open Education Sustainability Grant for Institutions from BCcampus.

The grant consists of $32,250 from BCcampus with matching funds from BCIT to support the following initiatives:

BCIT Faculty Champion/Open Fellow Grant

This grant recipient will:

  • expand open education advocacy with faculty and students
  • liaise with the BCIT Student Association
  • organize/participate in events and workshops
  • conduct a small research project or survey focused on BCIT faculty or students and the use of OER.

Find more information and the application form at https://open.bcit.ca/proposals

Closes November 3, 2019 for a January 2020 start.

BCIT Open Education Grant Program:

Continue the Open Education Grant Program. BCIT is in its fourth year of offering small open education grants (up to $5K) to faculty to develop open education resources (OER) or to redesign courses to incorporate open educational practices and open course materials. To date, 24 grants have been awarded. 

Call for proposals for the next round of grants will go out early January 2020.

Trades Online Content Conversion:

Some time ago, BCcampus helped fund the creation of Tools for the Trades, an online learning resource created with Adobe Flash.

https://ltc.bcit.ca/multimedia/_SOC/trades/

The grant will help with the conversion of this resource into a sustainable and accessible format. 

Open Publishing Program:

Establish an Open Publishing Program which will offer a variety of levels of support for faculty including the following:

  • convert instructor learning material already in digital format to PressBooks (if the format allows conversion)
  • support instructors who wish to work in PressBooks themselves – workshops and 1-1 support

The BCIT Open Education Working Group thanks James Rout, AVP Education Support and Innovation, for his ongoing support of and advocacy for open education initiatives at BCIT.

To find out more about Open Education at BCIT, visit open.bcit.ca

BCIT Open Education Faculty Champion/Fellow Grant

The BCIT Open Education Working Group is inviting BCIT Instructors to apply for a BCIT Open Education Faculty Champion/Faculty Fellow Grant in the amount of $15,000. The Faculty Champion/Fellow will collaborate with and be supported by the BCIT Open Education Working Group.

The successful grant recipient will be committed to generating awareness about and increasing the use of OER and Open Pedagogy (OP) at BCIT. They will work with students and faculty to transform the student learning experience at BCIT through the widespread use of OER and OP and will be eager to share their expertise with colleagues and students across the institution.

This grant must be used to include, but is not limited to, the following activities:
• expand open education advocacy with faculty and students
• liaise with the BCIT Student Association and other student groups
• organize/participate in events and workshops
• conduct a small research project or survey focused on BCIT faculty or students and the use of OER/OEP (results to be presented to the Institute and openly published)

The recipient is expected to dedicate a minimum of 240 hours to grant-related activities. The grant time frame is between January 2020 and March 2021 but does not have to be spread over that entire time.
Please include a letter of support from your manager with your application if you intend to use the funding for release time or engage in this work in a way that will impact your regular duties. Also, please don’t forget to include in the application an outline of your experience in Open Education to date.

Submit your application to open@bcit.ca on or before Sunday, November 3, 2019.

This opportunity is funded by an Open Education Sustainability Grant for Institutions from BCcampus with matching funds from BCIT.

Questions? Contact Lin Brander (lbrander@bcit.ca)

Open Education Faculty Champion/Fellow Grant application form

Peer Tutor Tuesdays with Colin Noort

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Name:        Colin Noort
Program:   Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering

What attracted you to becoming a Peer Tutor?

I have always enjoyed being in people oriented roles whether it be supervising at Starbucks or being a resident advisor with BCIT housing.  Additionally I really love the academic environment and being able to help my fellow students succeed in their BCIT programs.  I also would love to become an instructor one day and saw this as a great opportunity to dip my toes into a teaching role.

How has working as a Tutor helped you?
Tutoring has helped me in a few major ways.  One big one is simply in the connections I have made through the peer tutoring role be it with fellow tutors or students in grades before or after my own.  Additionally I believe I have gained a vast amount of skills in terms of teaching and framing information in a way that is understandable and relatable for a wide range of people since everyone learns in different ways.  It’s also a great way to review material that I have learned in previous years of study.

If you could give one piece of advice to a BCIT student what would it be?

What I tell all students who come to me for help is that the biggest key in succeeding at school and especially at BCIT is to learn how to learn material and study most efficiently.  Being able to regurgitate information and perform during tests will help with you grades but in terms of overall performance at school and afterwards, I believe developing great studying, learning and organizational skills is key.  So try to focus equally on learning the material as well as on learning how to learn and study better and more effectively and efficiently.

What would your dream job be when you leave BCIT?

My dream job after leaving BCIT would be working as a design engineer in the renewable energy sector, focusing on developing more sustainable and economically responsible energy generation and retention systems.

If you had a free day, how would you spend it?

I would spend it with friends doing something active or exploring somewhere new.  I love outdoor activities.  In the summer time I enjoy rock climbing, and in the winter I love to snowboard.  I would also love to go on a day trip somewhere beautiful I haven’t been before.

Peer Tutor Tuesdays with Riley Smith

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Name:        Riley Smith
Program:   Nuclear Medicine Technology

What attracted you to becoming a Peer Tutor?
I used the service last year several times and I enjoy talking about what I learned.

How has working as a Tutor helped you?
It’s great to get encouragement from peers that have done the classes we are currently in and get insight on successful course management.

If you could give one piece of advice to a BCIT student what would it be?
Look at the big picture. In other words, why are you learning this topic?

What would your dream job be when you leave BCIT?
A nuclear medicine technologist to practice my acquired skills, but eventually teach as an instructor at BCIT.

If you had a free day, how would you spend it?
I would take the time for myself to decrease the sense of panic and stress and go swimming, hiking, or camping, etc.

Peer Tutor Tuesdays with Carlos Suzara

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Name:        Carlos Suzara
Program:   Architecture and Building Technology

What attracted you to becoming a Peer Tutor?
I was already helping my classmates understand course material in our program in my first year, and I enjoyed it. I figured I might as well get paid to do something I enjoy part-time while I help other people learn, grow and succeed. I was also attracted to the job-transferable skills I would gain.

How has working as a Tutor helped you?
I took up tutoring once in our building (NE01) to get help with learning a fundamental concept for Structures class; I hit a mental block with understanding the content. I have to say that I would not have come out with good grades for this class if it weren’t for the tutors’ help with this basic knowledge. They helped guide me through the concept, encouraged me  and gave tips on how they went about it when they were in my shoes.

If you could give one piece of advice to a BCIT student what would it be?
My one piece of advice would be to remember why you are in school. Keeping your life goals at the forefront, whether that is having a stable income to buy a house, traveling, funding your wedding, or making your family proud, helps with your resilience. It gives you motivation to do well and overcome learning obstacles.

What would your dream job be when you leave BCIT?
My dream job would be to work for a prestigious architectural firm with coworkers I can get along with and with a good work-life balance so that I can tend to my family.

If you had a free day, how would you spend it?
On my free day, I would go out on a date with my girlfriend or play Tekken on my PS4 if she wasn’t available.

Practice Mindfulness

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What is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness is the art of paying attention to our moment-to-moment experience with openness and curiosity. We all have this ability to come home to ourselves and find peace, even in the midst of stress and difficulty.

Just as we can strengthen the body and increase physical endurance with regular exercise, the consistent practice of mindful awareness is associated with beneficial changes in the brain that increase resilience to stress, promote physical and mental well-being, and improve the ability to focus.

There are many ways to practice mindfulness, including sitting and walking meditation, yoga, art, and spending time in nature. We can also bring mindful awareness to daily activities, such as driving, listening to music, eating, and washing the dishes.

Mindful Brain Break

Practice mindfulness with other students in a friendly, relaxing environment. Return to class refreshed, focused and ready to learn.

Each 30 minute session is a combination of instruction, guided practice, group sharing and inquiry.

We will be sitting on chairs (no need to bring a cushion or yoga mat), and no special clothing is required. Come as you are!

Beginners welcome. No registration required.

Burnaby Campus Library (room 303)
Wednesdays, Sept 4 – Nov 20, 2019
2:30 – 3:00pm

About the Instructor

Judy Bushnell MA, CCC, CMT-P is a BCIT counsellor and a graduate of the Training in Mindfulness Facilitation program at the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior.

Peer Tutor Tuesdays with Aleksey Makin

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Name:        Aleksey Makin
Program:   Electrical and Computer Engineering

What attracted you to becoming a Peer Tutor?
I’ve wanted to become a peer tutor because it gives me the opportunity to help other students, review content and work while studying.

How has working as a Tutor helped you?
Tutoring helped me when I was unable to understand a subject myself and now I can help others.

If you could give one piece of advice to a BCIT student what would it be?
If you want to be successful you need to understand, not just memorize.

What would your dream job be when you leave BCIT?
Embedded systems design or in power distribution.

If you had a free day, how would you spend it?
Go hiking.